pCloud vs Google Drive: Which Cloud Storage Is Better for Your Photos and Videos?

You take a lot of photos and videos, your phone says “storage full”, and you need somewhere safe to put them. Two names come up again and again: Google Drive (with Google Photos) and pCloud.

This guide compares them on what matters for photos and videos: free space, paid plans, how you pay, and who each one suits. We checked each company’s official pages on October 11, 2026. We did not run speed tests, so you will not find speed claims here.

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Prices change. Check the official pages before you pay: Google One plans and pCloud plans.

The short answer

• Pick Google Drive if you already use Gmail and Android or Google Photos, and you want a small, cheap plan that works with everything else you do on Google.
• Pick pCloud if you would rather pay once for a big amount of space, or you want an optional encryption add-on for private files.
• Pick neither right now if 15 GB is enough for you. Both have free storage.

pCloud vs Google Drive at a glance

Prices are in US dollars as shown on each company’s site on October 11, 2026. The three prices in each cell go in the order of the paid sizes above them.

Two notes on the Google column. First, the 2 TB and 5 TB plans come bundled with Google’s AI features, so part of that price is not about storage. Second, Google’s free 15 GB is shared across Gmail, Drive and Google Photos, so a full inbox can use up your photo space.

Free storage

Google gives every account up to 15 GB, and that one pool is shared by Drive, Gmail and Google Photos.

pCloud also has a free plan, with no credit card needed to sign up. We could not see the exact free amount on the pages we checked, so look at pCloud when you sign up and compare it with Google’s 15 GB.

Paid plans and what you pay over time

This is the biggest difference.

Google sells monthly or annual plans. The 100 GB plan at $1.99 a month is the cheapest entry on either side. It suits someone who just needs to get past the free limit.

pCloud sells monthly, annual, and lifetime plans. Lifetime means you pay once instead of every month. For example, the 2 TB lifetime plan is listed at $499, while the 2 TB monthly plan is $9.99. If you keep storing files for many years, a one-time payment can cost less than a subscription. If you stop needing the space after a year, the subscription costs less.

Be careful with the word “lifetime”. Read pCloud’s terms to see exactly what it covers. You can see the current prices on pCloud’s lifetime plans page.

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To compare, multiply the yearly price by the number of years you expect to keep the plan.

Photos and videos

Google Photos

Google Photos is built into most Android phones and works on iPhone too. Photos and videos backed up in “Original quality” count toward your storage. “Storage saver” compresses them to save space, and photos over 16 megapixels are resized to 16 MP. That saves space but you give up some quality. Choose Original quality for photos you may print or edit later.

pCloud Photos

pCloud Photos comes with every Premium plan. It lets you browse photos and videos in a timeline or on a map, and the app can back up your phone gallery. pCloud says you can restore older versions of files and recover deleted data from up to 30 days ago. pCloud also has a built-in video and music player, so you can watch saved clips from the cloud.

Privacy

pCloud is based in Switzerland and lets you choose where your files are stored: Europe or the USA. Its optional Encryption add-on encrypts files on your device before upload, and only you hold the key. It costs extra (a lifetime price of $150 was shown when we checked). Because only you hold the key, keep it somewhere safe.

Google handles your data under its own policies. If you want to know how, read Google’s privacy page before you decide.

Shrink photos before you upload

Cloud space fills up fast when every photo is a full-size file. For pictures you only need to send or attach, make a smaller copy first with the free Savedfast image compressor. It works with JPG, PNG and WebP in your browser.

A few tips:

• Keep the original of any photo you care about. Only compress a copy.
• Compressing lowers quality a little, so do not overwrite your best photos.

Saving videos you already own

If you save your own clips from social apps, move them into the cloud too, so they do not stay on a phone that can break. With Savedfast you can download your own posts from Instagram Reels or TikTok, then upload the files to Drive or pCloud.

Only download videos you made or have permission to keep. Do not re-upload other people’s work as your own.

Who should pick which

Pick Google Drive if:

• You live in Gmail, Docs and Android, and want everything in one account.
• You only need a small plan. The 100 GB option is the cheapest paid plan we found on either side.
• You edit documents with other people in Google Docs and Sheets.
• You prefer a plan you can cancel any time.

Pick pCloud if:

• You want to pay once for a large amount of space.
• You have a big library of photos and videos and do not want a monthly bill.
• You want an optional, extra-private folder for sensitive files.

You can try pCloud on the free plan first. If you want to move your files over, start with a small folder to see how it feels.

Stay with free storage if: you only have a few GB of photos. Do not pay for space you do not use.

FAQ

Is pCloud better than Google Drive?
It depends on what you need. pCloud offers lifetime plans and an optional encryption add-on. Google Drive is cheaper at the small end and fits well if you already use Google services.

Does Google Drive count Google Photos in its storage?
Yes. Google says your 15 GB is shared across Drive, Gmail and Google Photos.

Is a pCloud lifetime plan really a one-time payment?
The pricing page labels it “one-time payment”. Read pCloud’s terms for what lifetime means before you buy.

What is the best cloud storage for photos and videos?
There is no single winner. Match the plan to the size of your library and how long you will keep it. Check the official pricing pages first, because prices change.

Short version

Google Drive is the easy pick if you already use Google and need a small plan. pCloud is worth a look if you want a one-time payment or an optional encryption add-on. Check the current prices on each official page before you buy, and shrink or back up your photos before your phone runs out of room.