To store and share files as a team, keep them in one cloud storage service with shared team folders, not in personal accounts or email attachments. You give access to folders by team or project, share outside links with limits where needed, and let the desktop and phone apps keep copies in sync. Sync is not a backup, so keep a separate copy of anything you cannot afford to lose.
Proton 2026: 86% of SMBs rely on cloud-based services day to day. Source
Which categories a job needs is Editorial assessment; the tools, prices and dates are Verified data.
Prices are each vendor’s published entry plan, recorded from its own pricing page and dated. The example column prices a team of 10: only per-user prices are multiplied; flat and per-account prices are shown as published. Change the team size in the finder.
Cloud storage keeps files backed up and shareable from anywhere.
| Tool | Entry price (as published) | Billing unit | Example: team of 10 | Free plan | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dropbox | From $9.99/mo | Per month, billed yearly, for 1 person (Dropbox Plus, a personal plan) | $9.99/moFlat per month, billed yearly, for 1 person (Dropbox Plus, a personal plan); includes 1 login, so more logins need a higher plan or extra users | Yes2 GB (Dropbox Basic) | Aug 19, 2026Vendor pricing |
| Google Drive | From $1.99/mo | Per Google account per month (Google One consumer storage, not Google Workspace) | $1.99/moFlat per Google account per month (Google One consumer storage, not Google Workspace); includes 1 login, so more logins need a higher plan or extra users | Yes15 GB (shared across Drive, Gmail, Photos) | Aug 19, 2026Vendor pricing |
Backup software copies the files on your computers and servers to the cloud automatically, so you can restore them after loss, theft or ransomware.
| Tool | Entry price (as published) | Billing unit | Example: team of 10 | Free plan | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backblaze | Business Backup $99/computer/year or $9/computer/mo; unlimited data | Per computer per month ($99 per computer per year billed annually); not per user | $9 per computer/moPriced per computer, not per login; multiply by how many you have | NoNo — 15-day free trial, no card | Sep 19, 2026Vendor pricing |
| IDrive | Team $9.99/mo for 5 computers & 5 users, 5 TB (annual); $11.99 monthly | Per account per month for 5 computers, 5 users and 5 TB, billed annually ($11.99 monthly) | $9.99/moFlat per account per month for 5 computers, 5 users and 5 TB, billed annually ($11.99 monthly); includes 5 logins, so more logins need a higher plan or extra users | YesYes — IDrive Basic, 10 GB | Sep 19, 2026Vendor pricing |
| Carbonite | Safe Backup Pro Core $287.99/year ($24/mo), up to 25 computers, 250 GB | Per account for up to 25 computers and 250 GB, billed annually ($287.99 a year) | $24/moFlat per account for up to 25 computers and 250 GB, billed annually ($287.99 a year) | NoNo — 30-day free trial | Sep 19, 2026Vendor pricing |
An office suite gives you email at your own domain, documents, calendars and video meetings in one subscription.
| Tool | Entry price (as published) | Billing unit | Example: team of 10 | Free plan | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Workspace | Business Starter $7/user/mo (annual) | Per user | $70/mo$7 × 10 users | NoNo — 14-day free trial | Sep 19, 2026Vendor pricing |
| Microsoft 365 | Business Basic $7/user/mo (annual) | Per user | $70/mo$7 × 10 users | NoNo — one-month free trial (card required) | Sep 19, 2026Vendor pricing |
| Zoho Workplace | Free for up to 5 users; Workplace Standard $3/user/mo (annual) | Per user | $30/mo$3 × 10 users | YesYes — up to 5 users, 5 GB each (no IMAP/POP) | Sep 19, 2026Vendor pricing |
Look for one that works with the office apps your team already uses, prices storage in a way that suits your file sizes and lets you control sharing by group. The table above shows the 2 cloud storage tools we track (Dropbox and Google Drive) with each one's verified entry price and billing unit.
Put the files in a shared team folder and give access to a group rather than to individuals. Everyone then works on the same copy, and a new hire gets access by joining the group. Avoid emailing attachments, which creates competing versions.
Start with your office suite, since storage that sits alongside the apps your team already uses is simpler to run. Then compare the per-user price, whether storage is pooled, sharing controls and how long version history lasts. The table above shows each tool's verified entry price and billing unit.
Not on its own. Sync copies deletions and damaged files to every device, so you need a separate backup that keeps older copies. Check how long version history lasts on your plan, and test a restore.
We start from the job, not the product. The phrasings people search for this job (for example “best cloud storage for small business”) come from our research into how small and mid-size teams describe it. Which software categories the job takes is our editorial judgment. Every tool, entry price, billing unit and date comes from HelpCompare’s open dataset, recorded from each vendor’s own pricing page; nothing is estimated, and where a vendor publishes no price we say so. We take no affiliate commissions and publish no scores of our own. See our methodology or download the data from Open Data.
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