iCloud Costs: All storage plans, prices, and which one is worth it

Every Apple account comes with 5 GB of free iCloud storage – regardless of how many devices are linked. That's enough for a few photos and a backup – nothing more. Anyone using an iPhone with a large photo library will quickly reach this limit. iCloud+ solves this problem with more storage and additional privacy features. But which plan is really worth it? And what else do you get besides the storage?

The question of choosing the right iCloud plan has become even more important in 2026. While Apple adjusted prices for hardware and music subscriptions this summer, storage plans in Germany remained unchanged – at the same time, Apple is increasingly tying more features to specific storage tiers. Choosing a plan today means deciding not only on gigabytes but also on access to individual features. A look at the new iCloud features in iOS 27 shows just how much the service is currently changing.

Key Facts at a Glance

• The five iCloud+ tiers remain unchanged at €0.99 to €59.99 per month in Germany and Austria, and at CHF 1 to CHF 60 in Switzerland – the increases from July 2026 affected other countries.
• The 200GB plan for €2.99 offers the best price-to-storage ratio for most households.
• All iCloud+ tiers include Private Relay, hide email address, custom email domain, and HomeKit Secure Video.
• Some iOS 27 features require the 2TB plan – the storage capacity therefore also determines the range of functions.
• All plans are monthly subscriptions with no minimum term and can be shared with up to five family members.

What is iCloud+ and how does it differ from iCloud?

iCloud is Apple's cloud service, pre-installed on every Apple device. Photos, contacts, calendars, notes, passwords, and backups are automatically synchronized and available across all devices. The free version offers 5 GB of storage – unchanged since iCloud's launch in 2011.

iCloud+ is the paid upgrade. It expands storage to up to 12 TB and includes additional features not available in the free version: iCloud Private Relay, hide your email address, a custom email domain, and HomeKit Secure Video. All iCloud+ plans can be shared with up to five family members.

Storage plans and prices in Germany

Plan	Memory	Price per month	HomeKit Secure Video
iCloud (free)	5 GB	0,00 €	–
iCloud+ 50 GB	50 GB	0,99 €	1 camera
iCloud+ 200 GB	200 GB	2,99 €	up to 5 cameras
iCloud+ 2 TB	2 TB	9,99 €	unlimited
iCloud+ 6 TB	6 TB	29,99 €	unlimited
iCloud+ 12 TB	12 TB	59,99 €	unlimited

All iCloud+ plans are monthly subscriptions with no minimum term. You can switch between plans at any time – up or down. There are no annual subscriptions and no discounts for longer terms. Apple lists the applicable rates for each country in its iCloud+ plan and pricing overview.

The same prices apply in Austria as in Germany, as Apple sets uniform prices for the entire Eurozone. Switzerland, however, charges in Swiss francs.

Plan	Germany and Austria	Switzerland
50 GB	0,99 €	1 CHF
200 GB	2,99 €	3 CHF
2 TB	9,99 €	10 CHF
6 TB	29,99 €	30 CHF
12 TB	59,99 €	60 CHF

In all three countries, the prices quoted already include VAT.

These prices remain unchanged in Germany, even though Apple made several adjustments in July 2026. The increase in iCloud+ pricing affected eight countries: Egypt, Nigeria, Turkey, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Converted to German prices, the new prices are sometimes higher than those in Germany, making a later adjustment quite likely. Even the introduction of additional storage providers to the market hasn't driven prices down so far – competition has had little impact on end-user pricing.

What else is included in iCloud+ besides storage?

For many, the storage alone justifies the upgrade. But iCloud+ brings four additional features that are missing in the free version.

iCloud Private Relay

Private Relay masks your IP address and browsing history when using Safari. Data traffic is routed through two separate servers – Apple knows your IP address, but not the website you're visiting. The second server knows the website, but not your IP address. It's not a full-fledged VPN, but it significantly improves privacy for everyday browsing. A comparison between Private Relay and a VPN will show exactly where its limitations lie.

Private Relay only works in Safari and is not available in all countries. Some websites may require additional login steps after activation.

Hide email address

This feature generates random, unique email addresses that forward to your real address. This is useful when registering on websites or in apps where you don't want to disclose your personal email address. Each generated address can be deactivated individually – if spam arrives, the disposable address is simply deleted. Combined with other measures for secure email use on the iPhone, this significantly reduces the attack surface.

Own email domain

iCloud+ allows you to use your own domain (e.g., name[at]myfamily.com) for iCloud Mail. Up to five custom domains are possible. Family members can have their own addresses under the same domain. It's a niche feature, but attractive for freelancers or tech-savvy families.

HomeKit Secure Video

HomeKit-enabled security cameras can store their recordings encrypted in iCloud. Video analytics (person, animal, and vehicle detection) runs locally on a HomePod, Apple TV, or iPad as a control center. These recordings do not count against your iCloud storage quota. The number of supported cameras depends on your chosen plan: one camera with 50 GB, up to five with 200 GB, and unlimited with 2 TB.

When the memory plan determines functions

One factor that now counts when choosing a plan: Apple ties certain features to specific storage tiers. The new AI features for the home in iOS 27 require the 2TB plan and are not available on the smaller tiers. At the same time, Apple offers higher limits for AI features for an additional fee via iCloud+.

For plan selection, this means: Anyone wanting to use these features will need the 2 TB plan – even if 200 GB of storage would theoretically be perfectly sufficient. The price difference of €7 per month doesn't reflect a need for additional storage, but rather unlocks the feature.

Which plan suits whom?

50 GB (€0.99/month)

The entry-level plan. Sufficient for an iPhone backup and a manageable photo library. If you don't take many photos, don't record 4K videos, and only use one Apple device, this will do the trick. At €0.99 per month, it's the cheapest upgrade and eliminates the constant "storage full" warning.

200 GB (€2.99/month)

The sweet spot for most users. 200 GB is enough for a large photo library, backups from two to three devices, and documents in iCloud Drive. Especially attractive for families: Family Sharing allows up to six people to share storage without having access to each other's data. For just €2 more than the 50 GB plan, you get four times the storage.

2 TB (€9.99/month)

For power users, photographers, and large families. 2TB offers space for tens of thousands of full-resolution photos, extensive video libraries, and backups of all devices in the household. Starting with this plan, HomeKit Secure Video is enabled for an unlimited number of cameras – and certain AI features in iOS 27 are already tied to this tier. Those who use Apple One Premium (€34.95/month) already receive 2TB of iCloud+ bundled with Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, and Apple Fitness+.

6 TB and 12 TB (€29.99 / €59.99/month)

These plans are designed for professional users with very large amounts of data – such as photographers with RAW libraries, videographers, or families with decades-long photo and video archives. For most private users, these plans are overkill.

iCloud+ vs. Alternatives

Provider	Memory	Price per month	Special features
iCloud+	200 GB	2,99 €	Apple ecosystem, private relay, HomeKit
Google One	200 GB	2,99 €	Google ecosystem, Google Photos, Gemini features
Microsoft 365	1 TB	approx. €10.00	Office apps included, across all platforms
Dropbox	2 TB	9,99 €	Focus on file synchronization and teamwork

iCloud+ scores points with its seamless integration into the Apple ecosystem. Photos, backups, keychain, messages, and app data sync automatically without any configuration required. For users outside the Apple ecosystem—such as those with Android or Linux—iCloud is less attractive because there are no native apps for these platforms. Access via iCloud.com in a browser is functional, but limited.

Google One is priced similarly across comparable tiers: 200 GB also costs €2.99, and 2 TB also costs €9.99. For those needing less, Google offers an intermediate option of 100 GB for €1.99, which Apple doesn't offer – iCloud+ has a gap between 50 GB and 200 GB. However, for iPhone users, Google One remains significantly less integrated into the system. Microsoft 365 is unbeatable for anyone needing Office apps – 1 TB of storage plus Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for a price only slightly higher than the 2 TB iCloud+ plan.

One detail relevant to the European market: The question of how closely Apple iCloud can integrate with the system is now also occupying competition authorities – Italy is examining a possible preferential treatment of its own service.

iCloud+ via Apple One: The bundle option

Those who use Apple Music, Apple TV, or Apple Arcade in addition to iCloud+ save money with Apple One:

• Apple One Individual (€19.95/month): 50 GB iCloud+, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade
• Apple One Family (€25.95/month): 200 GB iCloud+, all shareable with up to 6 people
• Apple One Premium (€34.95/month): 2 TB iCloud+, plus Apple Fitness+

This calculation has become significantly cheaper since July 2026 – not because Apple One has become cheaper, but because the individual products are more expensive: Apple Music now costs €11.99 in Germany instead of €10.99, and the family subscription has increased from €16.99 to €19.99. The Apple One bundles remained unchanged. This means that the Music family subscription alone now costs more than the complete Apple One Individual plan, which includes Apple TV, Apple Arcade, and 50 GB of iCloud+ storage in addition to Music.

The iCloud+ storage included in Apple One can be combined with a separate iCloud+ plan. For example, someone using Apple One Family (200 GB) who adds an extra 50 GB will have a total of 250 GB available.

Which Apple One model is worth it is shown by the comparison between Apple Music and Spotify, which also breaks down the bundle prices in detail.

Manage storage: How to keep iCloud tidy

Before subscribing to a more expensive plan, it's worth checking your actual storage usage. In Settings, tap your name at the top and then open iCloud – iOS will show you which apps and data are taking up the most space.

The biggest storage hogs are usually the photo library (especially with iCloud Photos syncing enabled), backups of old devices, and messages with many pictures and videos. Old backups from devices that are no longer in use can be deleted here. Disabling iCloud syncing for individual apps whose data doesn't need to be in the cloud can also free up storage space.

If you regularly reach your storage limit despite cleaning up, you should consider the next larger plan. Instructions on how to free up additional local storage can be found in the guide for clearing the cache on the iPhone – there are separate instructions for the iPad.

iCloud+: Is the upgrade worth it? – the most important points at a glance

The free 5 GB of iCloud storage is insufficient for most users. The 50 GB plan, at €0.99 per month, already eliminates the most common storage problems. For families, the 200 GB plan at €2.99 offers the best value – four times the storage for just €2 more. Additional privacy features like Private Relay and the ability to hide your email address are included in every iCloud+ plan and are a real plus for privacy.

The 2TB storage limit needs to be reconsidered. Those who want to use the AI features in iOS 27 that are tied to this tier will pay €9.99 per month for storage they might never fully utilize. Conversely, it's worth checking whether these features actually play a role in your daily life before subscribing.

Those already using Apple Music or Apple TV are now significantly better off with Apple One than before the July price adjustment – bundle prices remained stable, while the individual music subscription became more expensive. The seamless integration into the Apple ecosystem makes iCloud+ the most obvious cloud solution for iPhone, iPad, and Mac users anyway. (Image: Apple)

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