Mega is an excellent cloud storage with one of the best free plans on the market. It’s safe with private end-to-end encryption and has an easy-to-use, no-nonsense user interface. The service comes with an enticing free plan but fails to provide affordable paid plans.
After personally using it for 4 years and experiencing all its ups and downs, here is a complete review of Mega cloud storage.
Mega in 2023: Overview
Mega is a lesser-known cloud storage, but it has been around since 2013. It is a successor to Megaupload, the infamous file-sharing site that was eventually taken down in January 2012.
Although the predecessor of Mega had a complicated history with charges of copyright infringement, which led to the eventual takedown of its Hong Kong servers, Mega doesn’t have any of those complications.
Started in New Zealand as a cloud service, Mega has earned its name as one of the most secure cloud services available. The service comes with a robust set of security measures that sets it apart from its competitors.
Features
With multiple high-end security features, Mega is one of the most secure cloud storage in the market.
The service comes with zero-knowledge end-to-end encryption, which means only the user can access the files.
The service also comes with encrypted sharing links and two-factor authentication. With multiple layers of security, Mega is a security powerhouse for your data.
Moreover, it comes with one of the best free plans, providing 20 GB of free storage with a relatively high transfer speed.
However, the service does have a few downsides. The paid plans are overpriced compared to the storage they provide.
The free plan has a transfer quota limit, but here’s the catch – it doesn’t have a FIXED transfer limit. It calculates the limit based on the data transferred to the user’s IP address during the last six hours. This attribute creates an annoying game of guessing when your transfer quota will exceed for free users.
The service is also bad for collaboration, which is an effect of its multi-layer security.
Performance and User Experience
We at ByteSpired have been using Mega for nearly 5 years, and it has been a comfortable ride. Here is a detailed view of our personal experience with Mega.
UI and App
The user interface for the service is straightforward. You log in to the website, and there you will find your files with preview-enabled thumbnails, making it easy to identify them.
Mega also comes with a desktop and mobile app. The desktop app is nothing special but conveys what is required.
After installation, it asks you to log in, and upon doing that, it prompts you whether you want to sync everything or particular folders. Once done, you must mark the folder in which you want to sync the files.
I have found the experience much simpler than using other cloud services, like OneDrive.
Collaboration And Sharing
Sharing in Mega is very safe. The shared links are encrypted, providing an extra layer of security, making the service hard for collaboration.
Although there are live chat functionalities, and you can directly share files through the chat, which makes collaborating more tolerable, the absence of third-party app support creates a massive issue for large functioning teams that want to upload the data from other apps to Mega directly.
Google Drive still takes the cheese for the best collaboration cloud storage, in my opinion. But Mega never focused on collaboration; its main target base has always been users concerned with data security.
Secured to the Brim
Security is where Mega truly shines. The service is end-to-end encrypted. Moreover, it adds another layer of security by having zero-knowledge encryption.
Zero-knowledge encryption basically makes the data only available to the account user. Only you, as a user, have the key to data. Because of this, it’s also known as private encryption.
However, it also has a downside: if you lose your password (and the recovery key), then there is no way you can recover your data.
Once you create your Mega account, they will ask you to create a recovery key. This key is your last save. After you have created it, keep it somewhere safe and memorable. Unlike most other apps and service that allows users to simply click on ‘Forgot Password’ and reset the password, Mega only lets you do it if you have the recovery key.
If you don’t have a recovery key, Mega will ask whether you are logged in from any other device. That way, you can still reset the password because you still have access to the account, but once you lose your access, your data is gone, and even Mega cannot help you get it back.
20 GB Free Storage
Another key feature of Mega is the free storage. I started using Mega when it provided 50 GB of free storage for the first 6 months of creating your account.
Eventually, they stopped providing that offer and now only allow 20 GB of free storage, which is still a lot of space for your images and videos.
Paid Plans Are Slightly Overpriced For The Provided Storage
Once I filled my 20 GB of free storage and knew what Mega provides, I eventually decided to take the paid plans and increase the storage.
However, the pricing I found was much higher than its counter services like Google One. For 2 TB of space, Mega prices the plan at $10.99 per month, while Google One only charges around $8 monthly. It’s clear that Mega is not charging for just the cloud storage but the security it provides, making it a better choice for users highly concerned with data privacy.
Pros
- Zero-knowledge encryption allows complete data security
- Shared links are encrypted
- 20 GB of free storage lets new users
- Simple and no-nonsense UI
Cons
- The transfer limit for free plans is confusing
- Paid plans have hefty prices
- Not the best service for collaborating
- The layers of security can act as a double-edged sword
Summing It Up
Overall, our experience with Mega at ByteSpired has been very positive. I rate the service a 4/5 and recommend it to anyone concerned with data security. Those looking for free cloud storage options should also give Mega a chance. Comment below your thoughts on Mega and which cloud storage you prefer using.