The best family cloud storage plans, the honest read.
Family plans give you multiple accounts under one bill so photos, videos, and documents share across a household. Here is what the four biggest names actually price at and where each one wins. Prices checked August 27, 2026.
The short answer
✓ Prices checked August 27, 2026
| Provider | Free | Entry paid | 2 TB class | Family | Encryption | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OneDrive (Microsoft 365 Basic) | 5 GB | $1.99/mo (100 GB) | 6 TB via Family $129.99/yr | 6 users x 1 TB each | Provider-side (Personal Vault adds E2E for 3 files free) | Family plan bundles Office; SKUs are confusing |
| iCloud+ | 5 GB | $0.99/mo (50 GB) | $9.99/mo (2 TB) | Share w/ up to 5 | Advanced Data Protection is opt-in E2E | Best inside the Apple ecosystem; weak on Windows |
| Google Drive (Google One) | 15 GB (shared w/ Gmail + Photos) | 100 GB Basic (see current price) | 2 TB Premium (see current price) | Up to 5 members | Provider-side (Google can access) | Free tier fills fast with email + photo uploads |
| Proton Drive | 5 GB | $3.99/mo (Drive Plus 200 GB, yearly) | $14.99/mo (Duo 2 TB, 2 users, includes VPN) | $23.99/mo (Family 3 TB, 6 users) | Zero-knowledge by default | Higher tiers bundle VPN + Mail; Swiss privacy |
Microsoft 365 Family: cheapest per TB, biggest headline number
$129.99/year for 6 TB total (1 TB per user across up to 6 users) plus Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook desktop apps for every user. Works out to roughly $10.83 a month for the whole household. Nothing else in the category comes close on per-TB math if you actually use all six seats. The catch: 1 TB per user is a per-account cap, not a shared pool, so one heavy user can’t overflow into another user’s space.
iCloud+ Family: best for Apple households
2 TB shared across up to 5 family members at $9.99/month. The 2 TB is a genuine shared pool, unlike Microsoft’s per-user caps. If everyone in the house uses an iPhone or iPad, iCloud+ is the least-friction option because iOS backup, Photos, Notes, and Messages all sync automatically. There is a 6 TB tier at $29.99/month and a 12 TB tier at $59.99/month if 2 TB isn’t enough.
Google One Family: for Google-first households
2 TB Premium plan can be shared with up to 5 family members. Same effective price as iCloud+ 2 TB. Wins if your family lives in Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Photos. Loses if you also want the Office apps that come free with Microsoft 365 Family.
Proton Family: for privacy-first households
3 TB for 6 users at $23.99/month (yearly). Everything is zero-knowledge encrypted by default, which no other family plan on this list offers. Also bundles Proton VPN, Proton Mail, and Proton Calendar for every family member. Pricier than the others per TB, but the encryption bundle is the buy.
The bottom line
Cheapest per TB: Microsoft 365 Family, and you get the Office apps. Best for Apple families: iCloud+. Best for Google families: Google One. Best for privacy: Proton Family. There is no one right answer, only the right answer for your household’s device and app mix.
Common questions
Which family plan is actually cheapest?
Microsoft 365 Family at $129.99/year for 6 TB across 6 users works out to about $10.83/month household-wide. That’s the cheapest per-TB math in the category, and it includes the full Office suite for every user.
Can I share Dropbox with my family?
Yes, Dropbox has a Family plan with 2 TB shared across up to 6 members. Pricing is similar to iCloud+ Family. Dropbox’s sync engine is stronger than any of the four hosts above, but the ecosystem integration is weaker on iOS and worse on Android.
Do family plans really share storage?
iCloud+, Google One, and Proton Family use a genuine shared pool that anyone in the family can draw from. Microsoft 365 Family gives each user their own 1 TB (six 1 TB pools, not one 6 TB pool). If you have one heavy user and five light users, iCloud+ or Google One handles that better than Microsoft.
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