MEGA

Storing, syncing and sharing files with end-to-end encryption on by default — and, famously, offering one of the most generous free tiers in the field. Its encrypted chat and large-file sharing make it a popular way to send big files privately, from photo batches to video projects, without a third party being able to read them. In short, it is a mainstream-feeling cloud drive built around encryption first, equally at home for everyday backups and for handing large, sensitive files to someone else.

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The free tier gives you 20 GB. Paid plans start at €8.33/mo on annual billing and scale up to multi-terabyte tiers for heavier needs. At the larger capacities MEGA is among the cheapest encrypted storage anywhere, which is its main value pitch. Two things to keep in mind: the headline rate is the annual-billing price, and free accounts have transfer quotas (see below), even though the stored storage itself stays free.

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Yes. Files are encrypted on your device before they upload, and only your password-derived keys can decrypt them — so MEGA cannot read your data, and its client code is publicly reviewable. The flip side is real: lose both your password and your recovery key and your files are unrecoverable by design, because there is no back door for MEGA to open on your behalf.

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Mega Limited is a privately held company based in Auckland, New Zealand — the closest thing to a local provider in this comparison. Founder Kim Dotcom exited in 2015 and has had no role since; the company has run under professional management for a decade.

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Yes — the 20 GB free tier is genuinely free and permanent, the most generous in our line-up, with the same end-to-end encryption as the paid plans. The one catch is that free-tier transfer quotas throttle heavy downloading; the stored storage itself never expires or costs anything.

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The main friction points: free-tier transfer quotas that throttle heavy downloading, desktop sync that is solid but less polished than pCloud's, no built-in document editing, and some lingering brand baggage from the founder era despite a decade of clean, professionally run operation. For free encrypted gigabytes — and, being based in New Zealand, unusually close to Australia — it nonetheless remains hard to beat. Judge it as encrypted storage with a huge free allowance rather than as a full productivity suite.

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