For 14 July, pCloud cuts its lifetime storage plans by up to 70% and includes zero-knowledge encryption

Online storage almost always follows the same model: a monthly subscription that runs on indefinitely and, as prices rise, becomes more expensive-especially when big names such as Dropbox, OneDrive and even Google Drive put their tariffs up. pCloud takes a different approach with a Lifetime option: you pay once and keep access to the storage tier you chose for as long as the service exists.

To mark 14 July, the Swiss provider is cutting the price of its three lifetime storage tiers by up to 70%. The 1 TB plan drops to €199 instead of €664, and it also includes the pCloud Encryption module at no extra cost. The 2 TB plan falls to €299 rather than €828 (-64%), while the 10 TB plan is €890 instead of €2,119 (-58%)-with encryption included in every case.

One-off payment, with encryption included as a bonus

pCloud does offer monthly and annual subscriptions, but the Lifetime deal is what the service is best known for. The idea is straightforward: a single payment for 1, 2 or 10 TB, with no recurring invoice to keep an eye on and no annual price rises to worry about.

Using pCloud Lifetime storage across devices

In practice, pCloud installs as a virtual drive on your computer, mounting like a local disk even though the files remain hosted in the cloud and only download when you open them. This helps avoid filling up your machine’s SSD, which is particularly useful on systems with limited storage. Apps are available for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android, with selective sync on a folder-by-folder basis.

The service also includes version history, letting you restore an earlier version of a file from up to 30 days back-handy after an accidental change. On top of that, there’s a built-in media player for music and video, plus file sharing via links that can be protected with a password.

Security, TLS/SSL, and pCloud Encryption zero-knowledge

From a security perspective, data is transferred using TLS/SSL and encrypted at rest with 256-bit AES, with the option to host data in Luxembourg under Swiss law and GDPR rules. That is exactly why the 14 July promotion matters: all three plans include pCloud Encryption, the zero-knowledge encryption add-on that is usually sold separately.

With zero-knowledge encryption enabled, a dedicated folder is unreadable to anyone without the key-including pCloud itself. The trade-off is that you must never lose your encryption password; if you do, the files in that folder become permanently inaccessible.