I have the most basic of backups and I’m constantly getting messages saying that my 5GB of storage is almost used up. I only have my iPhone backup which doesn’t include photos. I’ve tried clearing out text messages to ensure those don’t get included with large attachments.

Nothing seems to work and I almost feel like it’s worth the $12 a year to get rid of the annoying message or to try and micromanage my backup.

EDIT: wow thanks for all the responses everyone. Everyone has made a lot of good points. I did look into Apple One as well but we just don’t use the services so it looks like for our family best option is to just start off at 50GB and see where we need it from there. We’re a family of 5 with 2 iPhones and 2 iPads (soon to be a 3rd iPad for our youngest) so the storage could definitely help as our kids get older.

EDIT2: turns out I don’t pay attention to our credit card bill that closely. Wife already has the 50GB for iCloud+ so I had her add me to the family sharing. Problem solved!

iCloud storage (200gig) is full and the next option up is 2tb, 10x as much. Pretty disappointing…

My current iCloud plan is the 6TB plan. I have my iPhone, an iPad Pro, a MacBook Air, an iMac, an Apple Watch, and my mom’s iPad A16 and MacBook Pro all on the “family plan”. For the longest time I had the 2TB storage plan which is $9.99 a month. That’s reasonable. However, my storage is now at 2.4TB. The next tier is the 6TB option which is $29.99 a month. Why they don’t have a 4TB level seems silly. I’m not sure if I should try to figure out how to reduce enough space off the cloud to get back on the lower plan or if I just should suck it up. My thought is that even if I can get back down to the lower tier, I’m ultimately going to have to subscribe to a second service. I do have Dropbox Plus (all my work stuff and pre-iPhone photos, and other documents live here), but that is also a 2TB plan and already has 1.61GB of storage used. I also don’t want dozens of apps storing my data and then trying to figure out where things are. Curious how other people have handled this or if they have any tips or tricks? Thanks!

I’ve used their $2.99/200GB plan for years now. My data is creeping over 200GB, so now my only option is to spend more than triple that for way more data than I need: $9.99/2TB.

It’s just so annoying that they won’t at least let you stack them: e.g. 200GB x 2…

I’m currently out of iCloud storage space so the next available option is 2TB of storage which costs 9.99 a month. I feel like this is too much space and too much money. Is iCloud space necessary? Or is there another option? Thank you!

I do take pictures a lot and not so much on videos. I don't really want to spend too much on storage that I may not all use.

Family of 5: 4 iPads, 4 iPhones, 1 MacBook Pro.

I want to move away from the subscription. It costs over $50 a month where I live and it’s just become too expensive. I can do without all the features, except cloud storage. For example my wife uses around 560 gb primarily photos, which we don’t want to lose. Anybody know of any solutions where I can navigate away from iCloud? Im willing to pay just not the current price.

Edit: sorry guys, yes the subscription is Apple one. In Canada costs ~$51-52 tax in.

Hi all, I’m a bit confused about iCloud storage. My spouse set up a 2TB family plan ($9.99/month), but we ran out of space due to my 4k 60fps videos. iOS suggested I add another 2TB, which I did, so now we’re paying an extra $9.99/month.

I assumed this would give us 4TB total, but I only see 2TB for myself, with 1.8TB used and 200GB left, while my wife still has her 2TB. Despite family photo sharing working fine, the storage doesn’t seem to be combined.

Is there a way to pool the storage, or is this how it's supposed to work?

EDIT: I don't think I want to go the NAS route, just appreciate having low res of all photos / videos on hand at all times even though it's a bit irrational. Also definitely don't need to shoot everything on this but it's kinda funky how you get used to the quality and now even 4k 30fps looks less "alive".

I have a 2TB storage plan from iCloud and it is almost running full. It took my quite some years. And in those years I over paid (obviously not all storage was full). I have 2 other family members (good for 600 GB of data I guess).

I am investigating my options.

* Upgrading to 6 TB. I will pay years and years 20 euros per month until filled.

* Ditch my shared 2 TB and let my Family members take they own 1 TB (possible?)

* Move away from iCloud and store my stuff somewhere else.

Are there any more options?

Seriously, why can I not pay per 100 GB, in different storage tiers? Like until 1 TB, each 100 GB =93,132 GiB 2 euro, between 1 and 2 TB each 100GB costs 1,25 euro and between 2 and 4 TB each GB will cost 1 euro. Paid when used.

hey guys, how worth it is icloud? i have a macbook and an iphone. is it worth getting 1tb or even 50gb?

Hi all,

I would like to hear some opinions about Apple's iCloud storage plans pricing.

I own a 256GB phone and yesterday I was "forced" to move from the 200 GB plan to the 2 TB one, with the price spiking from €2.99 to €9.99 monthly.

My first concern is why Apple has made such a big gap in storage plans: 200 to 2000? why not a 500 GB plan? or a 1 TB plan?

I could try to clear my photo gallery a bit, sure, but I would eventually end up in the same situation soon enough, where 200GB is not enough and I'd have to upgrade again, but I am pretty sure I will never use any more than 250 GB, considering that my phne holds 256GB data tops and the other family members don't use that much of storage.

Anyone else feel the same? Do you think Apple's prices for iCloud storage are fair? Should we get bigger free storage plans? (5GB is riddiculous..)

For years the 200GB plan was enough for me, but as me and my family take more and more pictures we had to move to the 2TB plan. I’m paying for it as I’m using 90% of it right now.

As time goes on, I see this as a problem, since at some point in the future I will also max out the 2TB storage limit. So I’m wondering if any of you guys have figured out a simple method for backing up pictures off the cloud while still keeping it fairly easy to browse. This way, I could only keep the last 2 years of pictures on my cloud and never exceed 200GB.

You’ve got 210 GB of data on iCloud. Not enough for the 200 GB plan, but definitely too little to justify a full 2 TB. Apple’s response? “Here’s your $120/year for all the cloud storage you didn’t ask for.” It’s like going to a buffet and being told you must eat the entire tray of lasagna or leave hungry. Help us, Apple!

I’m revisiting this topic because it still hasn’t changed in 5+ years i'm referring to the question on another reddit post (and also general questions about the same topic over-all):
https://www.reddit.com/r/iCloud/comments/fvgxwb/somebody_explain_why_theres_no_500gb_option/

After 5+ years since the question was asked, Apple continues to offer only these big jumps in iCloud storage plans: 200GB, then straight to 2TB. There is nothing in the middle with 300GB, 400GB, or 500GB options.

For many of us, 200GB isn’t enough, but 2TB is overkill. That forces customers to overpay for storage they’ll never use, simply because there’s no sensible mid-tier.

Other cloud services offer more granular options, yet Apple despite its huge infrastructure and resources, still refuses to add anything between 200GB and 2TB.

At this point i refuse to pay for something i will NOT USE

I’d like to hear from others:
- Would you pay for a 300GB - 500GB plan if it existed?
- Have you had to upgrade to 2TB just to avoid running out of space, even though you use only a fraction of it?
- Why do you think Apple keeps ignoring this obvious gap in their pricing tiers?

As a side note:
Does anyone even know if these practices are even allowed under EU regulations? I’m genuinely wondering whether pushing consumers to buy a massively oversized plan when there are no reasonable mid-tier options could be seen as unfair commercial practice under EU consumer protection laws?

I am in the process of consolidating my cloud storage (specifically my photos) into iCloud. Given I have years of photos on Google Photos, it’s a long process. But as I slog thru the transition, I find myself asking: “At some point I either will need to perpetually pay for more storage as I take more photos (especially as a new parent), or offload iCloud of older photos to continue storing recent photos.

I am fully capable of coming up with my own system, but it made me want to ask: what is YOUR long term plan for storing photos? What’s your plan for when you max out your 2-4TB, and how will you decide what to keep on iCloud and what to export to a hard drive?

More for discussion and other perspectives than actual help. Happy Fall Friday!