Proton Drive is cloud storage built on the same principle as Proton Mail: your files are encrypted before they leave your device, and Proton says it cannot see what is inside them. That makes it one of the few mainstream alternatives to Google Drive, Dropbox and iCloud where the provider is locked out by design. It is also younger and rougher around the edges than those rivals, and the price per gigabyte reflects privacy rather than scale.
Proton Drive deal: 20% off Drive Plus on annual billing
- Offer: Drive Plus, 200GB, at US$3.99 a month (£2.99 / €3.55), billed US$47.88 (£35.93 / €42.64) every 12 months
- Promo Code: No Promo Code needed; the annual price is shown on Proton’s pricing page
- Who qualifies: anyone buying Drive Plus direct from Proton on a 12-month plan
- Key terms: the monthly plan costs US$4.99 (£3.74 / €4.44). 30-day money-back guarantee, pro rata for unused time. A free 5GB plan needs no card.
| Offer detail | What you get |
|---|---|
| Promo Code | No Promo Code needed |
| Welcome offer | 20% off Drive Plus (200GB) on annual billing: US$3.99 a month (£2.99 / €3.55), saving US$12 (£9.00 / €10.69) a year |
| Who qualifies | Anyone buying Drive Plus direct from Proton on the 12-month plan; the free plan is open to all |
| Key terms | Billed US$47.88 (£35.93 / €42.64) every 12 months; renews automatically; monthly plan US$4.99 (£3.74 / €4.44); 30-day money-back guarantee |
| How to claim | Create a free Proton account, choose Drive Plus on the 12-month plan and pay at checkout |
Proton Drive: key facts
- Official website: proton.me/drive
- Owner: Proton AG (primary shareholder: the non-profit Proton Foundation)
- Headquarters: Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva, Switzerland
- Founded: 2014 (Proton AG); Proton Drive mobile apps launched December 2022
- Ratings: Trustpilot 2.7 (20 reviews in the last 12 months, Proton Drive profile)
- Headline offer: 20% off Drive Plus (200GB) on annual billing: US$3.99 a month, billed US$47.88 a year
- Promo Code: No Promo Code needed
- Price from: Free; Drive Plus from US$3.99 a month (£2.99 / €3.55) on annual billing
- Free plan or trial: Yes: 5GB Drive storage (plus 1GB Mail), no card needed
- Payment methods: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, PayPal, Bitcoin (account credit), Cash (account credit), Bank transfer (account credit)
- Best features: End-to-end encrypted files and photos; Up to 10 years of version history on Drive Plus; Encrypted share links with passwords and expiry dates
Proton Drive at a glance
- Price from: free; Drive Plus from US$3.99 a month (£2.99 / €3.55) on annual billing
- Free plan: 5GB of Drive storage, plus 1GB for Mail
- Drive Plus: 200GB, with file versions recoverable for up to 10 years
- Bundles: Proton Unlimited (500GB), Proton Duo (2TB), Proton Family (3TB)
- Platforms: web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and a command-line tool
- Money-back guarantee: 30 days
- Jurisdiction: Switzerland (Proton AG, Geneva)
- Trustpilot: 2.7/5 (Proton Drive profile)
What Proton Drive is, and who owns it
Proton Drive belongs to Proton AG, the Geneva company behind Proton Mail and Proton VPN. Its main shareholder is the non-profit Proton Foundation. Drive’s mobile apps arrived in late 2022, and it has since gained desktop apps, photo backup and an online editor for documents and spreadsheets, Proton Docs and Proton Sheets.
The core promise is end-to-end encryption. Files, folder names and photos are encrypted on your device, and the keys stay with you. Share links can carry a password, an expiry date and permissions, and you can revoke them at any time.
Proton Drive prices: every plan explained
Prices are Proton’s official US dollar figures, with sterling and euro conversions. Proton also bills in euros and Swiss francs at the same headline numbers, so Drive Plus is €4.99 a month when bought in euros. There is no sterling billing.
| Plan | Storage | Monthly billing | 12-month billing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proton Free | 5GB Drive (plus 1GB Mail) | Free | Free |
| Drive Plus | 200GB | US$4.99 (£3.74 / €4.44) a month | US$3.99 (£2.99 / €3.55) a month, US$47.88 (£35.93 / €42.64) billed |
| Proton Unlimited | 500GB | US$12.99 (£9.75 / €11.57) a month | US$9.99 (£7.50 / €8.90) a month, US$119.88 (£89.96 / €106.77) billed |
| Proton Duo | 2TB shared, 2 users | US$19.99 (£15.00 / €17.80) a month | US$14.99 (£11.25 / €13.35) a month, US$179.88 (£134.98 / €160.20) billed |
| Proton Family | 3TB shared, up to 6 users | US$29.99 (£22.50 / €26.71) a month | US$23.99 (£18.00 / €21.37) a month, US$287.88 (£216.03 / €256.39) billed |
Drive Plus is the storage-only plan: 200GB, 40 times the free allowance, with deleted or overwritten files recoverable for up to 10 years. Through Apple’s App Store, Proton also sells a 1TB version of Drive Plus at US$9.99 a month (£7.50 / €8.90) or US$95.99 (£72.03 / €85.49) a year.
Proton Unlimited raises storage to 500GB and adds Mail Plus features, Proton VPN on 10 devices, Proton Pass and Calendar. Duo and Family share 2TB and 3TB between separate accounts. On every paid plan, Drive and Mail draw from one pool of storage, and Proton does not sell extra Drive space on its own: to get more, you move up a plan.
Payment is by Visa, Mastercard, American Express or PayPal, with Bitcoin, cash and bank transfer accepted as account credit. Refunds within 30 days are pro rata for unused time; after that they are at Proton’s discretion.
The free plan
Every Proton account, including the free one, comes with 5GB of Drive storage alongside 1GB for Mail. There is no card, no trial clock and no advertising. Five gigabytes holds a few thousand phone photos or years of PDFs, which is enough for someone in Glasgow keeping passport scans, a tenancy agreement and payslips in one encrypted place. It is not enough to back up a whole phone camera roll.
A worked example: what you really save
Take a freelance designer in Lisbon with about 150GB of client work and photos, who wants it all encrypted.
- Drive Plus paid monthly costs US$59.88 (£44.93 / €53.33) a year.
- Drive Plus on annual billing costs US$47.88 (£35.93 / €42.64), a saving of US$12 (£9.00 / €10.69).
- If she is a student in the UK, US, France or Germany, Proton’s Student Beans offer cuts Drive Plus to US$1.99 a month (£1.49 / €1.77) for 12 months, or US$23.88 (£17.92 / €21.27), saving US$24 (£18.01 / €21.37) on the standard annual price.
The honest comparison is with iCloud+, where 200GB costs US$2.99 a month (£2.99 in the UK, €2.99 in the euro zone), or US$35.88 (£26.92 / €31.95) a year. Proton is dearer for the same space. What you are paying extra for is encryption Apple applies only if you switch on its optional Advanced Data Protection, and a provider outside the US.
Black Friday and student offers
Proton does not use public Promo Codes. Instead, its savings are built into annual billing and seasonal sales. It runs a Black Friday sale most Novembers, and in 2025 it ran an end-of-year Drive sale with discounts on the first year of Drive Plus. The student scheme, run through Student Beans, covers learners at university, college, sixth form, high school or on an apprenticeship in the UK, US, France and Germany.
Key features
- End-to-end encryption of files, file names and photos, with zero-access storage
- Photo backup from the iOS and Android apps
- Version history, with up to 10 years of recovery on Drive Plus
- Secure share links with passwords, expiry dates and permissions you can revoke
- Proton Docs and Proton Sheets, encrypted online editors for documents and spreadsheets
- Desktop sync for Windows and macOS, plus a command-line tool
- One account across Mail, Calendar, Pass, VPN and Lumo, which can pull files straight from Drive
Platforms and availability
Proton Drive works in any browser at drive.proton.me and has apps for iOS, Android, Windows and macOS. Proton’s own site lists a command-line option but not a Linux desktop app, and Linux users mention its absence in reviews. The service is available worldwide.
How to sign up and use Proton Drive
- Create a free Proton account, or sign in with your Proton Mail login.
- Save your recovery phrase. Proton cannot decrypt your files if you lose your password and have no recovery method.
- Install the desktop app on your laptop and pick the folders to sync.
- Install the mobile app and switch on photo backup, ideally on Wi-Fi.
- When you outgrow 5GB, upgrade to Drive Plus or a bundle from the pricing page.
- To share a file, create a link, add a password and expiry date, and send the password separately.
A small tip from experience: for the first big upload, leave the laptop plugged in overnight. Encryption on the device adds work, and large photo libraries take a while.
Privacy and security
Proton Drive’s privacy rests on two pillars: end-to-end encryption and Swiss jurisdiction. Encryption means that even if Proton received a legal order for your files, it would have only encrypted data to hand over. Swiss law adds a layer of procedural protection, though Proton must comply with binding Swiss orders.
In August 2025, Proton said proposed changes to Swiss surveillance rules had led it to move some infrastructure to other European countries, starting with servers for its AI assistant in Germany. It also said that investing in Europe did not mean leaving Switzerland. For Drive users, the practical protection still comes from encryption you control.
App ratings and customer service
Proton Drive’s iOS app is published by Proton AG on the App Store. Support runs through proton.me/support and a contact form, with priority support on paid plans. Proton replies publicly to most negative reviews on Trustpilot, usually asking the reviewer to open a support ticket.
What users say
On its Trustpilot profile, Proton Drive scores 2.7 out of 5, from a small sample of 20 reviews in the past year. The most common complaint is syncing: files not appearing on every device, conflicts, and slow uploads and downloads. Others mention missing features such as duplicate detection, a “new photos only” backup option, a Linux app and deeper integration with the iOS Files app, plus confusion about how the free storage is split. On the positive side, reviewers praise the privacy, easy installation on some platforms and helpful support.
Pros and cons
Pros
- 5GB free, with no card and no adverts
- End-to-end encryption, including file names and photos
- Ten years of version history on Drive Plus
- Excellent value inside Duo and Family bundles
- Encrypted share links with passwords and expiry dates
Cons
- Dearer per gigabyte than iCloud+ or Google One
- Sync reliability is the most common complaint
- No Linux desktop app
- You cannot buy extra Drive storage on its own
- No sterling pricing
Proton Drive vs Google Drive vs Dropbox vs iCloud
| Proton Drive | Google Drive | Dropbox | iCloud+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free storage | 5GB | 15GB | 2GB | 5GB |
| Entry paid plan | 200GB, US$4.99 a month (£3.74 / €4.44), or US$3.99 a month on annual billing | 100GB, US$1.99 a month (£1.49 / €1.77) | Plus, 2TB, US$9.99 a month (£7.50 / €8.90) | 200GB, US$2.99 / £2.99 / €2.99 a month |
| 2TB option | Proton Duo, US$14.99 a month (£11.25 / €13.35) on annual billing, two users | US$9.99 a month (£7.50 / €8.90) | Plus, US$9.99 a month | US$9.99 / £8.99 / €9.99 a month |
| End-to-end encrypted by default | Yes | No | No | Only with optional Advanced Data Protection |
| Base | Switzerland | United States | United States | United States |
Google Drive and iCloud+ are cheaper and slicker, and if you live inside Android or Apple’s world they will sync more reliably. Dropbox remains the strongest for sharing large folders with people outside your household. Proton Drive is the pick when you want the provider unable to read your files. For a security suite that adds antivirus and cloud backup in a different way, see our Bitdefender review.
Proton Drive FAQs
Is there a Proton Drive promo code?
No Promo Code is needed. The best regular saving is annual billing, which brings Drive Plus to US$3.99 a month (£2.99 / €3.55). Proton also runs Black Friday and end-of-year sales.
How much free storage does Proton Drive give you?
5GB of Drive storage, plus 1GB for Mail, with no card details.
How much is Proton Drive Plus?
US$4.99 a month (£3.74 / €4.44), or US$47.88 (£35.93 / €42.64) a year on annual billing, for 200GB. Proton’s euro price is €4.99 a month.
Is there a 1TB Proton Drive plan?
Apple’s App Store lists a 1TB Drive Plus option at US$9.99 a month. On Proton’s own pricing page, the next step up from 200GB is Proton Unlimited with 500GB.
Does Proton Drive have a student discount?
Yes. Students in the UK, US, France and Germany can get Drive Plus at US$1.99 a month for 12 months through Student Beans.
Is Proton Drive safe?
Files are end-to-end encrypted on your device, so Proton cannot read them. Losing your password without a recovery method can mean losing access to your files.
Does Proton Drive work on Linux?
There is no Linux desktop app. Proton lists a command-line option, and the web app works in any modern browser.
Is Proton Drive better than Google Drive?
For privacy, yes, because files are end-to-end encrypted. For price, free storage and sync polish, Google Drive is ahead.
Can I get a refund on Proton Drive?
Paid plans have a 30-day money-back guarantee, worked out pro rata for unused time.
Verdict
Proton Drive does the one thing that matters to its audience very well: your files are yours, and Proton cannot look at them. The free 5GB is useful, Drive Plus is fairly priced, and inside a Duo or Family bundle it is excellent value. Against that, it costs more per gigabyte than iCloud+ or Google One, there is no Linux app, and sync complaints are common enough to take seriously. For passports, contracts and family photos, it is a sensible home. As the only copy of a large working archive, test it with the free plan first.
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