Hetzner Storage Box vs iCloud Drive: Complete Comparison (2026)
Choosing between Hetzner Storage Box and iCloud Drive is a common decision for cloud storage buyers in 2026. Hetzner Storage Box has been in the market since 1997, giving it a 14-year head start over iCloud Drive (founded 2011). Hetzner Storage Box serves 500K+ users while iCloud Drive has 850M+ users globally. Hetzner Storage Box differentiates with sftp and rsync access and samba/cifs support, while iCloud Drive leads with 5gb free storage and photos sync. In this head-to-head comparison, Hetzner Storage Box earns a higher hiltonsoftware.co score of 90/100 — but the right choice depends on your specific needs, budget, and team size.
Quick Comparison
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
Pros & Cons at a Glance
After comparing Hetzner Storage Box and iCloud Drive across features, pricing, and user satisfaction, Hetzner Storage Box takes the lead with a score of 90/100 versus iCloud Drive's 86/100. Hetzner Storage Box's key advantages include "extremely affordable pricing" and "european data hosting (gdpr)". That said, iCloud Drive has its own strengths — particularly "seamless apple device experience" — making it a viable alternative for specific use cases.
On pricing, there's a clear difference: iCloud Drive offers a free plan, making it more accessible for individuals and small teams exploring cloud storage solutions. Hetzner Storage Box starts at $3.81/mo (1TB) with no free tier, but often justifies the cost with sftp and rsync access and samba/cifs support.
Bottom line: Choose Hetzner Storage Box if you need european businesses and developers wanting cheap, reliable storage with sftp. Go with iCloud Drive if your priority is apple device users wanting effortless cloud backup and sync. Both are strong cloud storage tools — we recommend trying the free plan of each before committing.
European businesses and developers wanting cheap, reliable storage with SFTP.
Apple device users wanting effortless cloud backup and sync.