Sometimes, it's easiest to use built-in tools, even if they're not the best you can get in terms of capabilities or price. That convenience rings true with iCloud Drive, Apple's cloud storage and file-sharing service included with iPads, iPhones, Macs, and Vision Pros. You just need to turn it on and, depending on your storage needs, potentially pay for a subscription (starting at $0.99 per month). iCloud Drive is a useful sync program tightly integrated into Apple products, but Editors' Choice winners Google Drive, IDrive, and Microsoft OneDrive offer more storage for less money, have more robust sharing options, or both.

Plans and Prices: Reasonable Low End, Expensive High End

Apple grants 5GB of iCloud Drive storage to everyone who owns an Apple device, shared between iCloud Drive and other services, including any synced email, messages, and photos. That's the same amount of free storage as IDrive and Microsoft OneDrive, and much less than the 15GB offered by Google Drive (though that storage is shared with Gmail).

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iCloud+ is the name for Apple's paid cloud storage plans. The cheapest tier includes 50GB of storage for just $0.99 per month (Apple doesn't offer annual discounts). It also lets you mask your email account, create a custom email name, participate in family sharing, and stream video from a single security camera. For context, Microsoft OneDrive's entry-level tier is $1.99 per month (or $19.99 per year), which includes 100GB of storage and Outlook. With a Google One subscription, you can increase your Google Drive capacity to 100GB for $1.99 per month, too.

The second iCloud+ plan offers 200GB of storage for $2.99 per month, the same amount Google One charges for a similar plan. It increases the number of connected security cameras to five.

The next iCloud+ tier includes support for unlimited security cameras and 2TB of storage for $9.99 per month, the same price as Google One for the same storage total. Microsoft OneDrive lacks a 2TB plan, but it offers 6TB of storage to share between six people for $12.99 per month or $129.99 per year. IDrive offers even better value: 5TB of storage for $99.50 per year, which is double iCloud Drive's storage and costs less.

iCloud+'s $29.99-per-month plan ups the storage to 6TB. It costs more than IDrive's $24.95-per-month tier, which includes a generous 20TB of storage. The most expensive iCloud+ plan offers 12TB for $59.99 per month, totaling $719.88 per year. That's a very high price. 

iCloud+ isn't the most economical choice if you only care about the price per gigabyte, especially as you explore the higher-end plans. That said, there's a compelling case to stick with it. Apple's tool is the only cloud storage service that syncs images in the Photos app across Apple devices (rivals sync photos from another location, not the Photos app). It's also the simplest way to sync other Apple apps and third-party software. For many people, that's enough to roll with iCloud.

Platforms, Setup, and Syncing

Apple's iCloud Drive is primarily designed for Apple devices, though it also works on Windows. Apple recommends using the latest version of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. Note that some iCloud features, such as Folder Sharing and iCloud Photos, won't work on older operating systems. In addition, iCloud Drive lacks optical character recognition (OCR), but that tech is typically aimed toward business-focused cloud storage apps.

iCloud Drive's web version works with most browsers, including Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari. There's no dedicated app for Android or Linux.

If you own an Apple device, you probably have an iCloud account. One of the first things these devices do during the setup process is ask you to either log in to your Apple ID or create an account, which is required to use the App Store. You can check whether you have one in your device's System Settings.

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On Apple hardware, iCloud is built into the operating system. Many Apple apps that sync data use iCloud by default, such as Contacts, Messages, and Reminders. iCloud also gives you an iCloud Drive folder, which you can find using Finder on Macs and the Files app on mobile devices. In it are folders for every app you've synced using iCloud. You can manually add files and folders as needed.

Files I added to the iCloud Drive folder were available on my other devices. By default, folders and files don't automatically download when they sync to other locations, so they aren't available offline (you must enable downloads to access them). Downloading files and folders is a breeze. On the Mac, just click the download icon to the right of the file or folder name; on mobile devices, tap and hold a file or folder, then tap Download Now. In testing, the changes I made to those local copies were uploaded and synced when I later connected my device to the internet.

This is similar to how Microsoft's OneDrive works; syncing only happens if requested. IDrive, by contrast, syncs everything by default. Which approach works best for you is a matter of preference, but either way, it's easy enough to configure your settings to work the way you want. Mac users can optionally automatically sync the entire Documents and Desktop folders to iCloud. If you do, your Documents folder syncs across Macs and is accessible from other devices.

iCloud Drive on Windows: Bridging the OS Gap

iCloud Drive's Windows client lets you bring other PCs into the syncing picture. Syncing on Windows works the same way as on Apple products, so you don't have to tinker with settings too much. In a nice touch, my saved Apple bookmarks and passwords were available in my Windows PC's browser.

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Apple's iCloud Drive feels right at home in the Windows user interface. If you're an iPhone user with a PC, there's no reason not to install it. If you're primarily interested in syncing just photos, we have a separate tutorial on how to sync Apple Photos to your Windows 11 PC.

Browser Editing and Collaboration

You can access and manage your iCloud Drive from iCloud.com. Simply sign in with your Apple ID and click the Drive button. From there, you can browse and manage your iCloud Drive folder.

The user interface is similar to the Files app on iPad and iPhone. Common file types, such as images, can be previewed in the web interface. There, I edited Pages, Numbers, and Keynote files in the browser, which is handy if you're on a PC and don't use the far more popular Google Docs or Microsoft 365 apps. Like those two office suites, Apple's productivity apps offer simultaneous co-editing with multiple authors, thanks to iCloud syncing.

Apple-Focused Sharing Options

iCloud's macOS sharing functionality is slightly obscured, but you can find it by right-clicking a file in iCloud and selecting Share. You can collaborate with another iCloud Drive user or send a copy of a file. The process is arguably a little more streamlined on Windows. After you right-click a file, the sharing options are immediately visible, rather than hidden in the systemwide Share menu.

iCloud has one big shortcoming, though: Its sharing functionality requires the recipient to have an Apple ID. There's no way to share a link without requiring a login. That's incredibly disappointing because Dropbox, Google Drive, IDrive, and Microsoft OneDrive don't have that barrier.

Security: A Wealth of Protections

Apple claims that all iCloud Drive content is end-to-end encrypted. By default, encryption keys are stored on Apple's servers, but you can optionally store them on your devices via Advanced Data Protection. With this enabled, your files are private even in the case of a data center breach. 

A paid iCloud account offers a few extra security features. For example, Private Relay obscures your IP address when you browse the web in Safari. That makes it impossible for advertisers to track you, and depending on your use case, it could be a decent alternative to a VPN.

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Another perk is Hide My Email, which lets you create unique, random email addresses. It's a great option when you want to sign up for online services without using your real email address.

Keychain is a feature that all iCloud users receive, even those not paying for additional storage. Enable it, and you can sync your passwords across devices—even Windows computers, thanks to a few browser extensions. Although Keychain is positioned as an alternative to a dedicated password manager, Apple also offers passwordless passkeys, a security-enhancing technology that's seeing growing adoption.

None of the other cloud storage apps I've tested offer quite this many security-specific features, though Dropbox and more expensive services add other benefits. For example, a paid Dropbox account includes e-signature capabilities. Business-grade Dropbox accounts offer even more sharing options, including the ability to password-protect shared links and track who downloads files. Likewise, Microsoft gives subscribers access to its Microsoft 365 applications, such as Word and Excel. Google One adds photo editing tools, a mobile VPN, and priority customer support.