Two things decide whether switching providers is worth it: how long your files take to move, and what the destination costs once they are there. This answers both from 52 verified plans across 10 providers.
15.9 hours
That is a realistic sustained figure — 70% of your line rate, which is roughly what large uploads achieve once protocol overhead and client-side encryption are accounted for. At a perfect 50 Mbps with no overhead at all it would be 11.1 hours, and nothing achieves that for a day at a time. Leave the machine on and awake.
The same 250 GB at every common upload speed. This is why two people report wildly different experiences of the same provider.
| Upload speed | Time to move 250 GB |
|---|---|
| 5 Mbps | 6 days 15 hours |
| 10 Mbps | 3 days 7 hours |
| 25 Mbps | 31.7 hours |
| 50 Mbps | 15.9 hours |
| 100 Mbps | 7.9 hours |
| 300 Mbps | 2.6 hours |
| 1000 Mbps | 48 minutes |
26 plans we track can hold 250 GB. The cheapest paid option over three years is Filen Pro II at $144 (billed monthly). Ranked by what three years actually costs, because that is the only number that compares a one-time lifetime price against a subscription.
| Provider | Plan | Capacity | Room left | Monthly | 3-yr cost | Zero-knowledge | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Filen | Pro II | 500 GB | 250 GB | {# A lifetime plan's "monthly" figure is the one-time price spread over 24 months, which reads as a contradiction beside a one-time 3-year total unless it says so. Same note the compare tool uses. #}$3.99 | $144 billed monthly |
Yes | |
| pCloud | Premium | 500 GB | 250 GB | {# A lifetime plan's "monthly" figure is the one-time price spread over 24 months, which reads as a contradiction beside a one-time 3-year total unless it says so. Same note the compare tool uses. #}$4.17 $199 once, spread over 24 mo |
$199 one-time |
Yes | |
| Proton Drive | Drive Professional | 1000 GB | 750 GB | {# A lifetime plan's "monthly" figure is the one-time price spread over 24 months, which reads as a contradiction beside a one-time 3-year total unless it says so. Same note the compare tool uses. #}$7.00 | $288 billed annually |
Yes | |
| Wasabi | Pay-As-You-Go | 1024 GB | 774 GB | {# A lifetime plan's "monthly" figure is the one-time price spread over 24 months, which reads as a contradiction beside a one-time 3-year total unless it says so. Same note the compare tool uses. #}$7.00 | $288 billed monthly |
No | |
| Sync | Solo Basic | 2048 GB | 1798 GB | {# A lifetime plan's "monthly" figure is the one-time price spread over 24 months, which reads as a contradiction beside a one-time 3-year total unless it says so. Same note the compare tool uses. #}$8.00 | $288 billed monthly |
No | |
| Icedrive | Pro Max | 6000 GB | 5750 GB | {# A lifetime plan's "monthly" figure is the one-time price spread over 24 months, which reads as a contradiction beside a one-time 3-year total unless it says so. Same note the compare tool uses. #}$8.00 | $292 billed monthly |
Yes | |
| Icedrive | Pro | 1024 GB | 774 GB | {# A lifetime plan's "monthly" figure is the one-time price spread over 24 months, which reads as a contradiction beside a one-time 3-year total unless it says so. Same note the compare tool uses. #}$4.00 | $297 billed annually |
Yes | |
| Filen | Pro III | 2048 GB | 1798 GB | {# A lifetime plan's "monthly" figure is the one-time price spread over 24 months, which reads as a contradiction beside a one-time 3-year total unless it says so. Same note the compare tool uses. #}$8.00 | $324 billed monthly |
Yes | |
| MEGA | Pro I | 3000 GB | 2750 GB | {# A lifetime plan's "monthly" figure is the one-time price spread over 24 months, which reads as a contradiction beside a one-time 3-year total unless it says so. Same note the compare tool uses. #}$9.00 | $351 billed annually |
Yes | |
| pCloud | Premium Plus | 2000 GB | 1750 GB | {# A lifetime plan's "monthly" figure is the one-time price spread over 24 months, which reads as a contradiction beside a one-time 3-year total unless it says so. Same note the compare tool uses. #}$16.63 $399 once, spread over 24 mo |
$399 one-time |
No | |
| Tresorit | Personal Pro | 1024 GB | 774 GB | {# A lifetime plan's "monthly" figure is the one-time price spread over 24 months, which reads as a contradiction beside a one-time 3-year total unless it says so. Same note the compare tool uses. #}$11.99 | $432 billed monthly |
Yes | |
| Tresorit | Personal Essential | 1000 GB | 750 GB | {# A lifetime plan's "monthly" figure is the one-time price spread over 24 months, which reads as a contradiction beside a one-time 3-year total unless it says so. Same note the compare tool uses. #}$11.99 | $432 billed monthly |
Yes | |
| Sync | Enterprise | Unlimited | No limit | {# A lifetime plan's "monthly" figure is the one-time price spread over 24 months, which reads as a contradiction beside a one-time 3-year total unless it says so. Same note the compare tool uses. #}$15.00 | $540 billed monthly |
Yes | |
| pCloud | Family 2 TB | 2000 GB | 1750 GB | {# A lifetime plan's "monthly" figure is the one-time price spread over 24 months, which reads as a contradiction beside a one-time 3-year total unless it says so. Same note the compare tool uses. #}$24.79 $595 once, spread over 24 mo |
$595 one-time |
No | |
| Icedrive | Pro Plus | 5000 GB | 4750 GB | {# A lifetime plan's "monthly" figure is the one-time price spread over 24 months, which reads as a contradiction beside a one-time 3-year total unless it says so. Same note the compare tool uses. #}$15.00 $599 once, spread over 24 mo |
$599 one-time |
Yes | |
| MEGA | Pro Flexi | 3000 GB | 2750 GB | {# A lifetime plan's "monthly" figure is the one-time price spread over 24 months, which reads as a contradiction beside a one-time 3-year total unless it says so. Same note the compare tool uses. #}$17.00 | $631 billed annually |
Yes | |
| MEGA | Pro II | 10000 GB | 9750 GB | {# A lifetime plan's "monthly" figure is the one-time price spread over 24 months, which reads as a contradiction beside a one-time 3-year total unless it says so. Same note the compare tool uses. #}$19.00 | $701 billed annually |
Yes | |
| Tresorit | Enterprise | Unlimited | No limit | {# A lifetime plan's "monthly" figure is the one-time price spread over 24 months, which reads as a contradiction beside a one-time 3-year total unless it says so. Same note the compare tool uses. #}$24.00 | $864 billed monthly |
Yes | |
| MEGA | Pro III | 20000 GB | 19750 GB | {# A lifetime plan's "monthly" figure is the one-time price spread over 24 months, which reads as a contradiction beside a one-time 3-year total unless it says so. Same note the compare tool uses. #}$29.00 | $1052 billed annually |
Yes | |
| NordLocker | Business | 2048 GB | 1798 GB | {# A lifetime plan's "monthly" figure is the one-time price spread over 24 months, which reads as a contradiction beside a one-time 3-year total unless it says so. Same note the compare tool uses. #}$29.99 | $1080 billed monthly |
Yes | |
| Filen | Pro X | 10000 GB | 9750 GB | {# A lifetime plan's "monthly" figure is the one-time price spread over 24 months, which reads as a contradiction beside a one-time 3-year total unless it says so. Same note the compare tool uses. #}$39.99 | $1440 billed monthly |
Yes | |
| pCloud | Family 10 TB | 10000 GB | 9750 GB | {# A lifetime plan's "monthly" figure is the one-time price spread over 24 months, which reads as a contradiction beside a one-time 3-year total unless it says so. Same note the compare tool uses. #}$62.46 $1499 once, spread over 24 mo |
$1499 one-time |
No | |
| Internxt | Essential | 1000 GB | 750 GB | {# A lifetime plan's "monthly" figure is the one-time price spread over 24 months, which reads as a contradiction beside a one-time 3-year total unless it says so. Same note the compare tool uses. #}$33.00 $1999 once, spread over 24 mo |
$1999 one-time |
Yes | |
| Internxt | Premium | 3000 GB | 2750 GB | {# A lifetime plan's "monthly" figure is the one-time price spread over 24 months, which reads as a contradiction beside a one-time 3-year total unless it says so. Same note the compare tool uses. #}$50.00 $2999 once, spread over 24 mo |
$2999 one-time |
Yes | |
| Internxt | Ultimate | 5000 GB | 4750 GB | {# A lifetime plan's "monthly" figure is the one-time price spread over 24 months, which reads as a contradiction beside a one-time 3-year total unless it says so. Same note the compare tool uses. #}$66.00 $3999 once, spread over 24 mo |
$3999 one-time |
Yes | |
| Wasabi | Reserved Capacity Storage | Unlimited | No limit | {# A lifetime plan's "monthly" figure is the one-time price spread over 24 months, which reads as a contradiction beside a one-time 3-year total unless it says so. Same note the compare tool uses. #}$7.99 | — | No |
Prices and capacities come from our verified provider database, last updated Aug 25, 2026. Plans whose price fields currently contradict each other are left out of the results entirely rather than shown with a figure we cannot stand behind. Compare every plan side by side →