Lifetime cloud storage break-even calculator
Quick answer: a lifetime cloud storage plan usually breaks even against an equivalent annual subscription within three to five years, and against monthly billing even sooner. The exact year depends on the provider, storage tier, and currency, which is what this calculator computes from checked, sourced prices below.
| Plan | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internxt 3 TB LifetimeSite-wide 80 percent off promotion active at capture time. | €580 | €580 | €580 |
| Internxt 3 TB annualVendor bills annual plans with a first-month intro discount off the 19.99 EUR/month rate. Price recorded here is 12 x the full monthly rate, so the true first-year total is lower than 239.88 EUR. | €719.64 | €1199.40 | €2398.80 |
| Infomaniak kDrive 3 TB annualPage shows only the 1-year discounted per-month-equivalent rate (4.99 EUR/mo, 10 percent off the monthly-billing rate), not a total. Annual total computed as 4.99 x 12. | €179.64 | €299.40 | €598.80 |
| Filen 2 TB annualVendor shows storage in TiB, not TB. | €269.97 | €449.95 | €899.90 |
| Koofr 2.5 TB annualVendor bills yearly only; annual total computed as the monthly-equivalent rate (20 EUR/mo) x 12. | €720 | €1200 | €2400 |
| Google One (Google Drive) 5 TB monthlyCaptured from a signed-in Google One session showing a personalized plans screen rather than a generic public price list; spot-check against a signed-out view before relying on this figure. 21.99 EUR is labeled the standard (Gewoonlijk) price on the page. The browsing session was signed into an active Google One subscription showing a personalized 3-month promo (5.49 EUR/mo); that account-specific figure was excluded. Classic Basic/Standard/Premium tier names were not shown to this account. | €791.64 | €1319.40 | €2638.80 |
| iCloud+ 2 TB monthly | €359.64 | €599.40 | €1198.80 |
| Microsoft 365 / OneDrive 6 TB annual (covers 6 users; shared 6 TB)Annual figure quoted alongside the monthly rate on the same comparison page (129,00 EUR/Jahr). | €387 | €645 | €1290 |
| Proton (suite) 2 TB annual (covers 2 users; shared 2 TB)Billed at 179.88 EUR every 12 months (14.99 EUR/month equivalent). | €539.64 | €899.40 | €1798.80 |
| Proton Drive: Proton Drive has no EUR single-user plan covering 2000 GB. | |||
Prices checked between 16 Sep 2026 and 16 Sep 2026, in EUR; sources linked per row.
- Internxt 3 TB Lifetime costs less than Internxt 3 TB annual from year 3.
- Internxt 3 TB Lifetime costs less than Infomaniak kDrive 3 TB annual from year 10.
- Internxt 3 TB Lifetime costs less than Filen 2 TB annual from year 7.
- Internxt 3 TB Lifetime costs less than Koofr 2.5 TB annual from year 3.
- Internxt 3 TB Lifetime costs less than Google One (Google Drive) 5 TB monthly from year 3.
- Internxt 3 TB Lifetime costs less than iCloud+ 2 TB monthly from year 5.
- Internxt 3 TB Lifetime costs less than Microsoft 365 / OneDrive 6 TB annual (covers 6 users; shared 6 TB) from year 5.
- Internxt 3 TB Lifetime costs less than Proton (suite) 2 TB annual (covers 2 users; shared 2 TB) from year 4.
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How the maths works
For each provider, the calculator finds the cheapest plan in your chosen currency that covers your storage amount for one user. Monthly plans are multiplied by 12 and then by the number of years; annual plans are multiplied by the number of years; lifetime plans are a flat one-time cost that never increases. A break-even crossover is the first year in which a lifetime plan's cumulative cost drops to or below a recurring plan's cumulative cost for that year.
Prices are not converted between currencies. If a provider has no plan in the currency you selected, it is shown as unavailable rather than guessed at. Every price links to the page it was checked against, with the capture date shown in the caption under the table.
