Filen vs pCloud: Security, Encryption, and Features Comparison

Filen is a German cloud storage company with end-to-end encryption and support for various platforms to help you sync and back up your files in the cloud.

pCloud is a cloud storage company that’s been around for a bit longer, but it doesn’t offer zero-knowledge encryption as the default; you have to pay extra.

So Filen vs pCloud: which one should you pick?

This article compares both services, and when you should choose each one depending on the features you need, and how much you’re willing to pay.

• Filen vs pCloud overview
• Pros and cons of Filen and Proton Drive
• Filen vs pCloud free cloud storage
• Filen vs pCloud pricing comparison
• Filen vs pCloud features
• Filen vs pCloud vs Internxt Drive
• Filen vs pCloud: Which one should you choose?
• Related products

If you want lifetime cloud storage with post-quantum encryption, then you should consider Internxt, as it combines the end-to-end encryption Filen offers with lifetime options that also include VPN, Meet, Mail, Photos, and more.

Filen vs pCloud overview

Filen is a German and open-source cloud-storage company offering zero-knowledge encrypted file storage for all its free and paid plans. Filen mainly focuses on cloud storage features designed for privacy, with file syncing, sharing, encrypted notes, chat, and WebDAV and rclone support.

pCloud is a Swiss company headquartered in Baar, Switzerland. It provides conventional cloud storage, file syncing, automatic backups, file sharing, media storage/playback, and desktop and mobile apps. It offers business plans and lifetime plans for families and individual use.

The main difference to consider between Filen vs pCloud is that while Filen offers end-to-end encryption as standard, this is a paid add-on for pCloud, so you have to pay extra for private encryption.

pCloud is also not open source, so if you value transparency with open source cloud storage, you should consider Filen or Internxt Drive as an open source pCloud alternative.

Pros and cons of Filen and Proton Drive

Filen pros and cons

Pros

• Client-side, zero-knowledge end-to-end encryption
• Open source
• Plans up to 10TB
• CLI and rclone support

Cons

• Limited to cloud storage
• Free accounts can be deleted for inactivity
• No lifetime, business, or family plans

pCloud pros and cons

pCloud pros

• Popular for media and music streaming
• Automatic backups for photos and videos
• Additional features, such as pCloud Pass, available separately

pCloud cons

• Not open source.
• Standard pCloud storage is not zero-knowledge encrypted.
• There are reports of accounts being suspended/terminated after automated detection of prohibited or copyrighted content.

Filen vs pCloud free cloud storage

For free plans, Filen offers 10GB of free cloud storage with zero-knowledge encryption and limited access to its features. If you don’t use the account for more than three months, Filen will notify you beforehand that your account will be deleted for inactivity unless you log in again.

pCloud advertises 10GB of free storage, but you actually start with 2GB. To unlock the full 10GB, you have to do the following:

• Sign up for a free pCloud account → 2 GB.
• Verify your email → +1 GB.
• Upload a file → +1 GB.
• Download and log in to the pCloud Drive desktop app → +1 GB.
• Download and log in to the pCloud mobile app → +1 GB.
• Enable Automatic Upload in the mobile app → +1 GB.
• Invite friends who create a free account and verify their email → +1 GB per successful referral, up to the 10 GB total

Who wins? For free cloud storage, if you want zero-knowledge encryption, Filen or Internxt include end-to-end encryption for all plans. If you want the biggest free storage plan, Filen beats pCloud for privacy and storage without taking additional steps.

Filen vs pCloud pricing comparison

Monthly

Filen used to offer lifetime plans, but has since discontinued them, pCloud offers lifetime cloud storage, so if that’s your main need, you can check out pCloud or our lifetime cloud storage comparison article.

If you’re not ready to invest in a lifetime plan, then below is a comparison for Filen vs pCloud monthly and annual plans.

Who wins? Filen is 10% cheaper than pCloud for the 500GB plan, whereas pCloud is 25% cheaper than Filen for the 10TB plan, so it depends on how much storage you need.

Annual

As with most cloud providers, you can save more money if you pay annually, unless you choose a service like Apple, as iCloud pricing only allows for monthly subscriptions.

Below is the cost of a Filen vs pCloud annual plan.

Lifetime plans

As mentioned before, Filen no longer offers lifetime plans, so if you want the zero-knowledge encryption of Filen for a lifetime plan, without paying the additional pCloud crypto costs, then Internxt offers lifetime plans with an 85% discount with post-quantum and zero-knowledge encryption.

Below you can compare pCloud vs Internxt prices for lifetime plans.

Who wins? Internxt wins for its zero-knowledge encryption and full product suite included in its plans. You can also stack storage, or split payments with Klarna.

Filen vs pCloud features

For other features, Filen vs pCloud have difference in how their pricing works. Filen offers all its features included in its subscriptions which are:

• Unlimited bandwidth
• Unlimited uploads
• Client side encryption
• Zero knowledge technology
• Syncing
• Network drive
• File sharing
• Unlimited notes
• Unlimited chats

pCloud offers these features for its paid cloud storage plans:

• Automatic backup of selected folders from your computer
• Automatic camera/photo backup from your phone
• pCloud Drive, which lets you access cloud files like a local drive
• Built-in audio and video players
• Account Rewind, allowing you to restore your account or folders to an earlier point in time

For other features, these are available separately, and the cost is on top of the plan you have paid for, most notably zero-knowledge encryption.

To get private cloud storage with pCloud, therefore, you have to pay extra. pCloud Pass is another paid add-on, so to access these two features, you have to pay the initial cost of the plan, plus the cost of one or both of these services.

The costs of pCloud Crypto and pCloud Pass can be seen below.

pCloud Pass Premium

• Monthly: €2.99/month
• Annual: €29.99/year
• Lifetime: €149 one-time payment

pCloud crypto Monthly:

• €4.99/month + cost of your storage plan
• Annual: €49.99/year + cost of your storage plan
• Lifetime: €150 one-time payment

For Internxt, you get Internxt Drive post-quantum and zero-knowledge encryption as standards. All paid plans offer VPN, Antivirus, and backups, and the full features of a paid monthly or lifetime plan, as well as pricing, can be viewed below.

Who wins? For cloud storage alone, Filen is best if you only want cloud storage with zero-knowledge encryption. Internxt is best if you want a full privacy suite of secure video conferencing, encrypted email, and an alternative to Google Photos.

Filen vs pCloud vs Internxt Drive

Encryption

Both Filen and Internxt use zero-knowledge encryption, and you don’t need to pay extra to get it. If you choose pCloud, you either pay extra, or consider using a service like Cryptomator to ensure your files are private.

Filen’s encryption uses AES-256-GCM, and pCloud uses AES 256 in transit and at rest encryption for free and paid plans.

As pCloud doesn’t use end-to-end encryption unless you pay for it, there are reports of lifetime users having their lifetime plans deleted for copyrighted content, suggesting pCloud can view the contents of your cloud account and delete plans they believe violate its terms and conditions.

You can read more about this in our is pCloud secure article.

Internxt uses Kyber-512 post-quantum encryption, combined with AES-256.

This encryption protects your files against the future risks of quantum computers, which could break current data encryption technology, causing major data breaches.

Who wins? Internxt wins because of its post-quantum cryptography and zero-knowledge encryption. Encryption happens on your device, ensuring nobody can view your files, even Internxt.

Open source and security audit

Filen and Internxt are open source, pCloud is not, so if you want transparency, avoid pCloud.

Filen is not independently audited, but Internxt has been audited twice by Securitum to ensure it meets the security standards needed to protect your data.

Who wins? Internxt for being the only one that is both open source and security audited.

File sharing

If you want to know how to send files securely, Filen, pCloud, and Internxt have this option.

Internxt has the free file sharing service, Internxt Send, which you can use for free, as many times as you like and is a secure alternative to WeTransfer.

Filen lets you share files and folders that can be configured with view-only access, passwords, and expiration dates, and you can change or disable the sharing settings afterward.

pCloud has file sharing, branded links, and expiring links for its file sharing features.

Internxt Drive offers encrypted cloud storage and secure file sharing with password protection and restricted access to shared files at any time, you can share with as many users as you like and revoke access whenever needed.

Who wins? All three offer the same features, so it's a draw.

Platforms

Filen, pCloud, and Internxt all offer Windows and Mac support, and more advanced options, including:

• Linux
• WebDAV and CLI
• Rclone
• NAS support

Internxt is the only one with S3 cloud object support available as a separate subscription to manage large amounts of data.

Who wins? All three offer the same support across multiple apps, but Internxt slightly gains the edge if you also want object storage.

Compliance

Filen is based in Germany, so follows GDPR compliance laws, the same as Internxt.

pCloud’s legal entity is pCloud International AG, a Swiss company registered in Baar, Switzerland. But you can choose EU storage in Luxembourg or US storage in Dallas, so the privacy laws for those regions apply to your files.  

pCloud and Internxt offer SOC 2 and ISO compliance, with Internxt also offering HIPAA compliance.

Who wins?  Internxt if you want European cloud storage with multiple compliance certifications.

Business and family plans

Finally, Filen only offers personal plans, while pCloud offers family and business plans.

Internxt offers individual plans and enterprise cloud storage for companies that need to manage large amounts of data, and a cheaper alternative to AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.

Who wins? pCloud if you want family plans, Internxt if you want cloud storage for large businesses.

Filen vs pCloud: Which one should you choose?

Filen and Internxt are a better alternative to pCloud if you want zero-knowledge encryption at no extra cost. Internxt is the better option if you want lifetime cloud storage.

If you want family plans, pCloud is a better alternative to Filen, it’s also a good choice if you want to stream files in the cloud.

We also cover Filen vs Proton Drive, if you want more options to consider.

For the best encrypted cloud storage, plus a wide range of products to protect you online, Internxt is the best alternative to Filen and pCloud, as it offers everything you need to protect your files, devices, and personal information online, at the best prices.

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