What you get free
2 GB at signup (up to 10 GB total: 7 GB via onboarding tasks, final 3 GB via 3 referrals)
Referrals and promotional tasks can raise this to about 10 GB. That ceiling is deliberately kept out of the headline figure, because a plan you have to keep working for is not the same as one you are simply given.
Taken from pCloud's own pricing page on 2026-07-29. Free tiers move, so check the source before you plan around the number.
How it changed
2Every entry below is dated and linked to the announcement it came from. This is the part worth reading before you commit: a free tier that has been cut once can be cut again.
| Date | Change | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| February 11, 2022 | Feature | pCloud restricted WebDAV access to paid plans. From 11 February 2022, Basic/free accounts could no longer connect over WebDAV; the feature became Premium-and-above only. Zotero Forums — 'pcloud ending webdav support for free plan' (thread opened 9 Feb 2022, quoting pCloud's notification email) |
| September 2013 | Launch | pCloud, a Swiss-registered / Sofia-based cloud storage service founded by Tunio Zafer and Anton Titov, publicly debuted in September 2013 with a free consumer tier alongside paid plans. pCloud press release (Media OutReach, Nov 2023) — 'About pCloud' boilerplate |
What happens if you stop using it
Inactive for 12 months: Free (Basic) pCloud accounts with no activity for 12 months are permanently deleted along with all files inside. Simply logging in to my.pcloud.com counts as activity and resets the timer; warning emails are sent before deletion. A separate rule closes and…
This is the policy as written by pCloud, checked on 2026-07-29. It is the clause people discover too late, which is why it gets its own section.
Can a backup tool reach it?
| rclone | Supported via the pcloud backend docs |
|---|---|
| WebDAV | Not publicly specified — being verified |
| API on the free tier | Not publicly specified — being verified |
CORRECTION TO A LIKELY SEED ASSUMPTION: rclone does NOT recommend creating your own client ID for pCloud. The config walkthrough…
Should you rely on it?
Not on its own. A free tier is a reasonable third copy under the 3-2-1 rule and a poor only copy, for the reason this page documents: the allowance is a business decision the provider can revise, and several on the tracker already have.
If the data matters, pair it with something you control. The offsite backup guide covers the pattern, and cloud backup options compares paid tiers that come with a retention promise instead of a marketing page.
2 GB at signup (up to 10 GB total: 7 GB via onboarding tasks, final 3 GB via 3 referrals) Last verified 2026-07-29.
The tracked history holds 2 dated changes, the most recent being Feature on February 11, 2022. Each entry links the announcement it came from.
After 12 months. Free (Basic) pCloud accounts with no activity for 12 months are permanently deleted along with all files inside. Simply logging in to my.pcloud.com counts as activity and resets the timer; warning emails are sent before deletion. A separate rule closes and…
Yes, via the pcloud backend. WebDAV: Not publicly specified — being verified. Free-tier API access: Not publicly specified — being verified.
No. One copy in one place is not a backup, whoever hosts it. A free tier is a useful third copy inside the 3-2-1 rule, never the only one — free tiers change, and this page exists because they have.