IDrive vs MEGA
We give IDrive and MEGA the same GPA: 3.2 out of 4.0. IDrive grades higher on value for money. MEGA grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
IDrive
Cloud backup for many devices in one account, with a sync folder
MEGA
Zero-knowledge encrypted cloud storage with a 20 GB free plan
How we grade them
| 3.2GPAIDriveVery good | 3.2GPAMEGAVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AGraded as backup. Mini is $0.25 a month for 100 GB billed yearly, far under the cheap end of this category, and 500 GB is $0.83. Personal is $9.99 a month for 5 TB once the first-year discount ends. Go over your storage, though, and it's $0.25 per GB a month. | BEssential is €3.33 a month charged yearly for 200 GB, which lands inside the cheap quarter of this category without being the cheapest way in. Pro I is 3 TB for €9.99 where Dropbox and Google sell 2 TB for $9.99, and the VPN and password manager come free with any paid plan. You pay in euros. |
| Free plan and trial | CIDrive Basic is free with 10 GB and no credit card. That holds your documents, but a computer's worth of photos will go straight past it, so it's a cap most people will hit. | B20 GB free is the most generous start in this category, encrypted like the paid plans, with up to 100 versions of a file. One person could live on it. It isn't limitless, mind: downloads draw on a transfer quota, and calls stop at an hour. |
| Features | BGraded as backup, it does the whole job: many devices in one account, continuous backup, 30 versions of each file, snapshots, a private encryption key and drives sent by post for big restores. Cloud Drive adds sync, sharing and editing in the browser. | BThe whole job and some extras: device-side encryption, folder sync and computer backup, links with a password or expiry, 100 versions of a file and Rewind back 60 days on paid plans, plus encrypted chat and video calls. The transfer quota on downloads is what keeps it off an A. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record. Install the app, pick what to back up, and it carries on by itself as files change. The one catch is that Cloud Drive sync is a separate service you have to switch on. | B4.6 from about 108,000 App Store ratings, good but not the top of this category. Nothing in the listing suggests a fiddly start: install the desktop app, choose folders, and changes copy as they happen. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android, plus Synology and QNAP NAS apps, and add-ons that back up Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Salesforce, Dropbox and Box. Every device and then some. | AWeb, Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android, plus a browser extension, with official Linux packages for Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora and Arch. There's a public API for developers too, though no ready-made hook-ups with other apps are listed. |
| Best for | backing up lots of devices cheaply | encrypted storage with a roomy free plan |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: IDrive and MEGA. How we grade
Price against what you get
IDrive starts at $0.25 a month and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. MEGA starts at about $3.73 a month and scores 3.3.
They score the same, and IDrive starts $3.48 a month lower. Of the other file storage and sync services on the chart, none scores higher than IDrive for less, and 2 score higher than MEGA for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- IDrive starts at $0.25 per month for 100 GB, billed annually (Mini). MEGA starts at €3.33 per month, charged yearly.
- Only MEGA lists a browser extension.
- MEGA is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- MEGA also covers video calls.
At a glance
| IDrive | MEGA | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $0.25 per month for 100 GB, billed annually (Mini) | €3.33 per month, charged yearly |
| Free plan | IDrive Basic: 10 GB of backup storage, no credit card required. Add-ons such as cloud app backup can be bought on top of it. | 20 GB of storage with a limited transfer quota. Calls are capped at 1 hour and 100 participants, and Rewind is view-only. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | IDrive Inc. | MEGA |
| Price read from | idrive.com | mega.io |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 10, 2026 |
Who each one suits
IDrive
- Households backing up several computers and phones to one account
- Small businesses that need server, NAS and computer backup together
- People who want large amounts of backup storage at a low yearly price
MEGA
- People who want encrypted storage with a 20 GB free tier
- Linux users: official packages cover Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch and others
- Large personal archives, with individual plans of up to 20 TB
Worth knowing
IDrive
- Advertised prices are 30% off the first year only, and the discount is not available when signing up from the mobile apps.
- Cloud Drive sync is a separate service that has to be activated; it is distinct from cloud backup.
- Going over the storage limit costs $0.25 per GB a month on Personal and $0.50 per GB on Team and Business.
- Server backup is a $5 per server a month add-on on Mini, Personal and Team, and is part of Business.
MEGA
- Prices are set and charged in euros; amounts shown in other currencies on the site are estimates.
- Downloads count against a transfer quota, which is limited on the free plan and 1 TB a month on Pro Lite.
- Business and Pro Flexi are usage-based, starting from €15.00 per month for a 3 TB base. Business needs at least 3 users.
- The Essential plan is shown only with yearly charging on the pricing page.
Key features
IDrive
- Many devices in one account
- Back up PCs, Macs, Linux machines, iPhones, iPads, Android devices and external or NAS drives into one account, with continuous backup of changed files.
- Cloud Drive sync and sharing
- Sync folders across linked devices in real time, share files with view or edit permissions, and edit Office files and PDFs in the browser.
- Snapshots and versioning
- Keeps up to 30 previous versions of every backed-up file, with snapshots for point-in-time recovery and a 30-day trash for deleted files.
- Private-key encryption
- Files are encrypted with 256-bit AES, optionally with a key you define that IDrive says is not stored on its servers.
- IDrive Express shipping
- Back up or restore bulk data by mail on a physical drive: free once a year on Personal, three times a year on Team and Business, then $59.95 a request.
- Cloud app backup add-ons
- Back up Microsoft 365, Entra ID, Google Workspace, Salesforce, Dropbox and Box accounts for $20 per seat a year, with a 7-day free trial.
MEGA
- Zero-knowledge encryption
- Data is encrypted before it leaves the device, and MEGA says only the owner and the people they authorize hold the keys needed to read it.
- Sync and backup
- The desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux syncs folders and backs up a computer to MEGA, replicating changes as they happen.
- Sharing with link controls
- Files and folders can be shared with people who have no MEGA account, with read-only or full access. Links can carry a password or an expiry date.
- File versioning and Rewind
- Every plan keeps up to 100 versions of a file. Rewind goes back up to 60 days on paid plans and is view-only for up to 30 days on the free plan.
- Chat and meetings
- Private messaging and video calls are built in. Free accounts are limited to 1-hour calls with up to 100 participants; paid plans remove both limits.
- Bundled VPN, passwords and S4
- Paid plans include MEGA VPN and the MEGA Pass password manager, and plans from Pro Lite up add S3-compatible object storage.
Plans
IDrive
Basic$0
10 GB of storage with no credit card required.
IDrive Mini$0.25
per month for 100 GB, billed annually
One user. 500 GB is $0.83 a month. Sold on yearly billing only, to new sign-ups, and the pricing page marks it "Limited time only".
IDrive Personal$9.99
per month for 5 TB, billed annually ($11.99 billed monthly)
One user, multiple computers. Advertised at $6.99 a month for the first year. 10 TB is $14.99 a month and 100 TB $99.99, billed annually.
IDrive Team$9.99
per month for up to 5 users, billed annually ($11.99 monthly)
5 computers, 5 users and 5 TB, managed from a web console. Advertised at $6.99 a month for the first year; 10 users and 10 TB is $19.99 a month.
IDrive Business$19.99
per month for 500 GB, billed annually
Unlimited users, computers, servers and NAS devices. Advertised at $13.99 a month the first year; 1.25 TB is $49.99 a month, or $59.99 billed monthly.
MEGA
Free€0
20 GB of storage, a limited transfer quota, 100 file versions and view-only Rewind for up to 30 days.
Essential€3.33
per month, charged yearly
200 GB of storage and 2.4 TB of transfer over the year, with MEGA VPN, MEGA Pass and unrestricted chat and meetings.
Pro Lite€4.99
per month, or €5.00 per month charged yearly
750 GB of storage and 1 TB of transfer a month, plus object storage, MEGA VPN and MEGA Pass.
Pro I€9.99
per month, or €8.33 per month charged yearly
3 TB of storage and 3 TB of transfer a month, plus object storage, MEGA VPN and MEGA Pass.
Pro II€19.99
per month, or €16.67 per month charged yearly
10 TB of storage and 10 TB of transfer a month, with the same extras as Pro I.
Pro III€29.99
per month, or €25.00 per month charged yearly
20 TB of storage and 20 TB of transfer a month, with the same extras as Pro I.
Ways to pay less
IDrive
- Other savings
30% off the first year
New sign-ups on yearly Personal, Team and Business plans pay 30% less for the first year, such as $6.99 instead of $9.99 a month for Personal 5 TB. Standard pricing applies from the second year.
- Other savings
50% off the first year of a 2-year plan
Two-year plans take 50% off the first year: Personal 5 TB is $179.82 for 2 years instead of $239.76.
- Annual discount
Lower price with yearly billing
Personal and Team 5 TB cost $9.99 a month billed yearly against $11.99 billed monthly, a saving of about 17%.
- Education
50% off for students and schools
Students, educational institutions and anyone with a valid education email address can get Personal or Business at half price, as a limited-period offer.
MEGA
- Annual discount
Save up to 17% with yearly billing
MEGA's pricing page advertises up to 17% off for yearly billing: Pro I drops from €9.99 to €8.33 a month, Pro II from €19.99 to €16.67 and Pro III from €29.99 to €25.00.
