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.
31.7 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 22.2 hours, and nothing achieves that for a day at a time. Leave the machine on and awake.
The same 500 GB at every common upload speed. This is why two people report wildly different experiences of the same provider.
| Upload speed | Time to move 500 GB |
|---|---|
| 5 Mbps | 13 days 5 hours |
| 10 Mbps | 6 days 15 hours |
| 25 Mbps | 2 days 15 hours |
| 50 Mbps | 31.7 hours |
| 100 Mbps | 15.9 hours |
| 300 Mbps | 5.3 hours |
| 1000 Mbps | 1.6 hours |
35 plans we track can hold 500 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 | 0 GB — tight | $3.99 | $144 billed monthly |
Yes | |
| Sync | Teams Standard | 1000 GB | 500 GB | $6.00 | $216 billed annually |
Yes | |
| pCloud | Premium | 500 GB | 0 GB — tight | $9.13 $219 once, spread over 24 mo |
$219 one-time |
No | |
| Proton Drive | Drive Professional | 1000 GB | 500 GB | $7.99 | $288 billed annually |
No | |
| Wasabi | Reserved Capacity Storage | Unlimited | No limit | $7.99 | $288 billed monthly |
No | |
| Wasabi | Pay-As-You-Go | 1000 GB | 500 GB | $7.99 | $288 billed monthly |
No | |
| Sync | Solo Basic | 2000 GB | 1500 GB | $8.00 | $288 billed annually |
Yes | |
| Filen | Pro III | 2048 GB | 1548 GB | $8.99 | $324 billed monthly |
Yes | |
| MEGA | Pro I | 3000 GB | 2500 GB | $9.33 | $336 billed annually |
Yes | |
| Proton Drive | Proton Unlimited | 500 GB | 0 GB — tight | $9.99 | $360 billed annually |
Yes | |
| pCloud | Premium Plus | 2000 GB | 1500 GB | $8.33 $399 once, spread over 24 mo |
$399 one-time |
Yes | |
| Tresorit | Personal Essential | 1000 GB | 500 GB | $11.99 | $432 billed monthly |
Yes | |
| Proton Drive | Proton Duo | 2000 GB | 1500 GB | $14.99 | $540 billed annually |
Yes | |
| pCloud | Family 2 TB | 2000 GB | 1500 GB | $24.79 $595 once, spread over 24 mo |
$595 one-time |
No | |
| Icedrive | Pro Plus | 5000 GB | 4500 GB | $7.00 $599 once, spread over 24 mo |
$599 one-time |
Yes | |
| MEGA | Pro Flexi | 3000 GB | 2500 GB | $16.89 | $608 billed annually |
Yes | |
| MEGA | Pro II | 10000 GB | 9500 GB | $18.73 | $674 billed annually |
Yes | |
| Tresorit | Business Standard | 6000 GB | 5500 GB | $19.00 | $684 billed annually |
Yes | |
| Sync | Solo Pro | 6000 GB | 5500 GB | $20.00 | $720 billed annually |
Yes | |
| Proton Drive | Proton Family | 3000 GB | 2500 GB | $23.99 | $864 billed annually |
Yes | |
| Tresorit | Business Plus | 15000 GB | 14500 GB | $24.00 | $864 billed monthly |
Yes | |
| Tresorit | Personal Pro | 4000 GB | 3500 GB | $21.99 | $990 billed monthly |
Yes | |
| MEGA | Pro III | 20000 GB | 19500 GB | $28.00 | $1008 billed annually |
Yes | |
| Filen | Pro X | 10995 GB | 10495 GB | $39.99 | $1440 billed monthly |
Yes | |
| pCloud | Ultra | 10000 GB | 9500 GB | $62.46 $1499 once, spread over 24 mo |
$1499 one-time |
Yes | |
| pCloud | Family 10 TB | 10000 GB | 9500 GB | $77.04 $1849 once, spread over 24 mo |
$1849 one-time |
No | |
| Internxt | Essential | 1000 GB | 500 GB | $24.92 $1999 once, spread over 24 mo |
$1999 one-time |
Yes | |
| Icedrive | Pro | 2000 GB | 1500 GB | $59.00 | $2124 billed annually |
Yes | |
| Internxt | Premium | 2000 GB | 1500 GB | $49.92 $2999 once, spread over 24 mo |
$2999 one-time |
Yes | |
| Internxt | Ultimate | 5000 GB | 4500 GB | $66.58 $3999 once, spread over 24 mo |
$3999 one-time |
Yes | |
| Icedrive | Pro Max | 6000 GB | 5500 GB | $149.00 | $5364 billed annually |
Yes | |
| NordLocker | Personal Plus | 2000 GB | 1500 GB | $6.99 | — | Yes | |
| NordLocker | Personal | 500 GB | 0 GB — tight | — | — | Yes | |
| NordLocker | Business | 2000 GB | 1500 GB | — | — | No | |
| Sync | Teams+ Unlimited | Unlimited | No limit | — | — | No |
This page gives you the numbers. These walk you through the move itself.
Prices and capacities come from our verified provider database, last updated Oct 22, 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 →