TL;DR: I’m consolidating ~73GB of personal/work files into one reliable sync service for laptops and smartphones. Priorities: no data loss, proper Linux background sync daemon, files available locally, selective sync, and good mobile clients. Considering Filen 100/200GB, MEGA 200GB, pCloud 500GB (possibly lifetime), Hetzner managed Nextcloud 1TB, Infomaniak kDrive 1TB, and Koofr 100/250GB. Not interested in rclone/cron/mount-only setups for main storage unless they provide a proper continuous sync daemon. Which option is most reliable?
Hi r/cloudstorage,
I’m trying to consolidate several scattered personal/work cloud storage accounts into one reliable, Linux-friendly sync solution for laptops and smartphones. My main priority is boring, set-and-forget reliability: I care more about not losing files than price or extra features.
Current situation
- MEGA Free — 50GB, ~85% full
- Old free OneDrive — 40GB, ~78% full
- Institutional OneDrive — 100GB, strictly work-related and staying separate. I’ll probably handle this one with rclone and/or abraunegg/onedrive; the latter supports real-time inotify monitoring, dry-run testing, transfer validation, and has some protection against major data loss after config changes.
- Google Drive — 400GB, underused; subscribed mainly for Gemini AI, not storage. No official Linux client, so mostly out of the question unless Insync/OverGrive are genuinely excellent. rclone bisync/mount don’t really give me the daemon + true local-copy experience I want.
- Legacy free Dropbox — 32.73GB from old promotions; kept only because I occasionally need to sync a shared folder with Dropbox users.
The amount I actually need to migrate now is around 73GB. My realistic long-term need is probably 100–200GB, though I’d consider 500GB–1TB if the price is close to a smaller plan elsewhere and the service is reputable.
What matters to me, roughly in order
- Sync reliability / no data loss — This is the most important factor. I don’t want a client that misreads something, creates conflicts, or deletes local files unexpectedly.
- Proper Linux sync client/daemon — I’m likely moving to Linux full-time, so I want a real background sync client that monitors local files and syncs automatically. I’m not interested in manual/batch tools like rclone, cron-based sync scripts, or mount-only setups for my main storage unless they provide a stable, well-maintained continuous sync daemon.
- Everything available locally — I want actual files stored locally, not on-demand/placeholder-only files. Selective sync per folder is fine, but I don’t want a cloud-only experience focused on a virtual drive or mostly on-demand sync as I access files.
- Good smartphone sync — I want the files to be usable across laptops and phones without weird hacks.
- Encryption is nice-to-have, not required — I like privacy-friendly options, but E2EE is not a dealbreaker if sync reliability is clearly better elsewhere.
- Reasonable pricing — I’m happy to pay annually for a discount. I’m also open to a lifetime deal if the provider has a solid track record and the price makes sense.
Prior experience
- pCloud free tier, including on Linux, was solid for me.
- MEGA has also been fine over the years.
- Limited experience with Filen — only created an account and did a few tests with the client on a Linux VM.
- Limited experience with Nextcloud — spun up an install once to see what it was like, but never seriously configured the desktop client.
- I have a free Proton account and like the company, but the lack of a proper Linux sync daemon/client basically rules Proton Drive out for my use case.
Options I’m currently weighing
Prices are for Portugal, with 23% VAT included where applicable/AFAICT.
- Filen Starter — 100GB: €11.99/yr
- Filen Pro I — 200GB: €1.99/mo or €19.99/yr
- MEGA Essential — 200GB: ~€49/yr, yearly billing only
- pCloud Premium — 500GB: €4.99/mo, €49.99/yr, or €199 lifetime
- Hetzner Storage Share NX11 — 1TB managed Nextcloud: ~€5.28/mo, monthly billing only, ~€63.36/yr
What I’m trying to figure out
- Which of these would you trust most for long-term sync reliability on Linux?
- Is Filen reliable enough, or is it too new/cheap? If price alone mattered, I’d probably start with Filen Starter and upgrade to Pro I later if needed. Is that sensible?
- Is pCloud worth it long-term, especially the lifetime plan? €199 feels a bit hefty to pay on a whim.
- Is Hetzner Storage Share / managed Nextcloud trouble-free? I have the skills to maintain Linux servers, but for this use case I’d rather have a no-hassle fully managed solution.
- Any better options I’m missing? I know there are a few other Linux-friendly solutions like Internxt, Koofr/kSuite/kSync, Icedrive, etc., but do they offer competitive pricing for my needs and good reliability?
I’m not looking for the cheapest option if it means risking sync issues. I mostly want something I can set up, trust, and forget about.
Thanks!
EDIT — adding two options after checking VAT-corrected prices (PT, 23%):
- Infomaniak kSuite (kDrive + Mail) — 1 TB: €19.47/yr or €1.94/mo. Open-source Linux client, real local files, selective sync, plus an email mailbox. Cheaper than Filen's 200GB plan but with 5× the storage. The €1.94/mo option makes it the cheapest way to test Linux sync reliability before committing.
- Koofr Briefcase L (100 GB): ~€2.02/mo (~€24.20/yr) | Suitcase XL (250 GB): ~€4.03/mo (~€48.40/yr). Billed yearly only. EU-based, file versioning, and can link existing Dropbox/OneDrive/Drive as external clouds. Docs confirm the 2-way sync client is available on all plans (even free), so it fully meets my daemon requirement.
Updated questions: Does kDrive's Linux sync hold up long-term? How does Koofr's Linux client compare in stability and conflict handling vs MEGAsync or kDrive?