There is no single best cloud storage provider for creators. Each profession has specific needs. In this article, we look at the best cloud storage providers for creators.
Each type of creator — photographer, video editor, designer, writer, etc. — has specific needs when it comes to deciding on the best cloud storage for them. Unfortunately, there is no “one size fits all” cloud storage provider. Some providers offer better value for money in terms of storage, but fall short in making it easy to organize files.
Photographers would typically place a different importance on certain features compared to copywriters. It is often necessary to use multiple cloud storage providers to ensure you’re getting the cheapest possible cloud storage by balancing the best features of each.
The best cloud storage for photographers
We recommend iDrive as the best cloud storage provider for photographers. It offers a free 5GB tier but professionals will certainly need more than that.
Their pricing is competitive, currently offering 5TB of storage for about $59 for the first year, and $79 thereafter. This is far cheaper than Dropbox which currently offers only 2TB for $119 per year. And Dropbox’s support for photos is pretty atrocious because it provides absolutely no organizational features for them. It even groups photos from multiple folders into one big jumble, sorted by date, when you browse its photos section.
iDrive, like Google Photos, offers face recognition which can be a blessing when hunting for photos quickly.
iDrive runs on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Linux.
The best cloud storage for copywriters
Copywriters have the most flexible needs when deciding on the best cloud storage provider. They don’t typically need to store large files, and their image needs are few.
For easy collaboration, Google Drive is usually the best cloud storage option. It’s hard to find people who don’t have a Google account, but even if they don’t, one can share documents publicly to allow for easy editing by anyone.
iCloud from Apple also offers some collaboration features, but Apple’s “closed-door” approach means we wouldn’t recommend this storage for copywriters as there will undoubtedly be customers who don’t use Apple devices. Google Drive is open to anyone with a Google Account.
With Google competitive pricing — you can currently get 2TB for the same price as Dropbox’s 2TB — there is no real reason to use Dropbox. Google Drive also integrates well with Chromebooks which is a popular choice of computer for copywriters.
The best cloud storage for video professionals
Video professionals typically have the heaviest needs for cloud storage. File sizes are high and storage space gets used up quickly when storing 4K and 8K videos.
We consider pCloud to be the best cloud storage overall for video professionals. There are no restrictions on file size uploads so video professionals can upload high-res videos without any worries.
pCloud’s video player lets you watch videos right in your browser. pCloud doesn’t convert original files but will show you a web-friendly version of all video files when you access them through their built-in media player.
pCloud is based in Switzerland and so adheres strictly privacy laws. For an extra fee, you can get zero-knowledge encryption for all your files which is an awesome feature when dealing with video content.
Unfortunately, pCloud doesn’t offer support for NAS drives, which might put some video editors off. For that, video pros would need to go with iDrive which does back up your NAS drives to the cloud.
We recommend testing both pCloud and iDrive and seeing which works best for your needs.
The best cloud storage for price efficiency
The cheapest cloud storage available is always storage for “cold” files.
“Cold” files are files that do not need to be accessed instantly. Another term for this is “archived” files. Various providers offer cold file storage at an enormous fraction of usual storage costs, the only drawback being that users will need to wait a predetermined time before being able to download the file when they need it — anything between a few hours to a few days, depending on the provider and the size of the file.
These providers typically do not offer web access for any of these files, such as for direct editing or watching a video. They usually just offer a download option for the file.
Cold storage providers have complicated pricing models which are based on total storage and how often the files are accessed. Either way, storage is generally dirt cheap. Two major players in this field are:
- Google’s Archival Cloud Storage
- Amazon S3 Glacier Storage
Another incredibly cost-efficient provider is Web 3.0 storage, or “decentralized storage.”
Web 3.0 is the latest evolution of the internet. Connections are made peer-to-peer (computer-to-computer) and not on a central server. Web 3.0 storage capabilities are virtually limitless.
Cloud storage honorable mentions for creators
Every cloud storage provider has its niche offerings.
Here are some other excellent cloud storage providers that creators might want to use:
- Sync.com is a great overall service with excellent privacy options and features. It integrates well with your local drive and has easy folder and file sharing options. Unfortunately, syncing can sometimes be a bit slow and the extreme level of security means there are no third-party apps that work with it.
- For designers who work with any of the products in the Adobe Suite, using Adobe’s Creative Cloud is a no-brainer. Also, Dropbox integrates well with Adobe Creative Cloud.
- Finally, Dropbox will always remain an excellent storage choice for many creators and is often used in conjunction with other, more industry-specific storage providers.
Creators often have to test several cloud storage providers before deciding which is the best one for them.
No matter what storage provider you’re using, the way to get maximum storage potential for the lowest possible price is to automatically move files from your chosen provider — such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Sync.com, etc. — into Web 3.0 storage on a regular schedule so that your chosen storage provider is freed up to deal with more regularly accessed files. This was the primary reason behind our creation of Mineral.