Proton Drive vs iCloud+: privacy against convenience

If you want the provider locked out of your files, pick Proton Drive. If you want your phone to back itself up without a thought, pick iCloud+. Both are good at their own job.

Who holds the key

Proton's security page says end-to-end encryption means no one, not even Proton, can access your files and folders or see their names without your permission. That applies to the free 5 GB plan too, according to the pricing page.

Apple splits it in two. Its security overview says standard data protection is the default: your data is encrypted, but the keys sit in Apple data centers so Apple can help with recovery, and only certain data is end-to-end encrypted. Fifteen categories, including Health and iCloud Keychain passwords, always are.

Advanced Data Protection is the opt-in. Apple says it raises the end-to-end categories to 25, adding iCloud Backup, Photos and Notes. If you lose access to the account, Apple can't recover that data for you. That's the trade, and Proton makes the same one by design.

So the question is which default you want. Proton's is the strict one. Apple's is the forgiving one, and you can tighten it.

Price and size

iCloud+ starts at $0.99 a month for 50 GB GB, billed monthly, on Apple's US page (checked November 1, 2026). The same page lists 200 GB at $2.99 and 2 TB at $9.99.

Proton Drive Plus is $4.99 a month for 200 GB GB, on the monthly toggle (checked November 1, 2026). Proton's yearly toggle shows $3.99 a month, billed $47.88 a year. Against iCloud's $2.99 a month for the same 200 GB, that is a real premium either way. The encryption isn't what you pay for, since Proton's free plan has it too. The extra buys 200 GB and 10 years of version recovery, per Proton's page.

Proton Unlimited is $12.99 a month for 500 GB, but it bundles VPN, Mail, Calendar and Pass. If you don't want those, you're paying for them anyway. iCloud's 2 TB at $9.99 is the better deal for bulk photos.

Fit with your devices

iCloud+ runs on Mac, iOS, Windows, Web. On an iPhone it's where Photos and device backup already point. It also bundles Private Relay, Hide My Email and family sharing with up to five other people, per Apple.

Proton Drive runs on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Web, so it also covers Android. It has an online document and spreadsheet editor on the free plan. It isn't wired into iOS the way iCloud is.

My pick

Mixed households with a Windows PC and an Android phone should lean Proton. Apple-only households should start with iCloud+, and turn on Advanced Data Protection if the files are sensitive. My score is 7.4, an opinion from the plan pages.

See Proton Drive's own review, the roundup for Apple users and what zero-knowledge encryption means. The cloud storage catalog has the rest.