Lifetime cloud storage deal: a 10-point checklist (2026)
Ten checks before you pay for a lifetime cloud storage deal, with facts from five vendors' own pages and terms.
A lifetime cloud storage deal is worth buying when the vendor's own terms say what "lifetime" means, the plan has the sharing features you need, and you can live with the refund rule. Best for storing your own files: pCloud, Icedrive or Internxt. Best for storage plus signing and an encrypted vault in one account: Drime. Best for agencies that send and collect files on their own domain: Tarkle. Agency is $299 paid once for 20 client workspaces.
We make Tarkle, so read this as one vendor's view and check every source. Each fact below carries a link to the vendor's own page or terms. Deals change quickly, so read the page again on the day you pay.
What a lifetime cloud storage deal really buys
A lifetime deal is one payment for a plan that has no renewal. It is not a promise that the plan lasts as long as your agency does. The vendors below word "lifetime" in their own terms, and the wording differs from one to the next. The ten checks that follow are the questions to put to any deal, whether it sits on the vendor's own site or on a marketplace.
Tool | Lifetime tiers | Refund as published |
|---|---|---|
pCloud | 500 GB, 2 TB, 10 TB | 14 days |
Icedrive | See its plans page | 14 days on all purchases |
Internxt | See its lifetime page | 30-day money-back guarantee |
Drime | Sold by Drime or by resellers such as StackSocial | Only where the law requires |
Tarkle | Pro 500 GB, Pro, Agency | Not after processing, except where the law requires |
1. Does the contract say what "lifetime" means?
Read the definition before the price. Drime's Terms of Sales say the term "Lifetime" does not refer to the lifetime of the purchaser, but to the operational lifespan of the product. Tarkle's Terms of Service set the access term of a one-time purchase as the Product Life, defined in section 6.6. Check the definition in the vendor's own terms, not in the deal headline.
Copy the exact sentence that defines lifetime into a note next to the receipt. If the vendor's terms do not define it, ask in writing before you pay.
2. What happens if the vendor stops?
This is the real risk of a lifetime deal. Drime's terms say that if it discontinues the service or ceases operations, access may be terminated without refund or compensation. Icedrive's terms of service say it may change, suspend or discontinue all or any aspect of the services at any time without prior notice or liability. None of this makes these companies bad choices. It means a lifetime deal is a bet on the vendor, so keep a second copy of anything a client could sue you over.
3. Does the plan include the features your clients touch?
Storage size is the headline, but features decide whether you can use it for client work. On Drime's pricing page, password-protected links and custom expiration dates are in the Essentials plan, and workspace branding starts on Professional. Its lifetime help page (updated 20 October 2026) says a lifetime plan has the limits of the plan you bought. Write down the three things you cannot work without, such as a branded link on your own domain, a client sign-in or an expiry date, and find each one in the plan's feature list, not in the deal headline.
4. Is there a cap on shared link traffic?
Storage is what you keep. Traffic is what your clients download. On pCloud's pricing page, look for the shared link traffic figure of the plan you are buying, and compare it with the download volume your clients need. Read the price on the day you pay. Tarkle's lifetime plans list storage, workspaces and team members, so check those against your client work.
5. How many people and workspaces can use it?
An agency needs seats and separate client spaces, not one personal drive. Drime's pricing page sets a maximum number of workspaces and members for each plan. Tarkle's lifetime plans are Pro 500 GB with 1 workspace and 1 team seat, Pro with 2 workspaces and unlimited team members, and Agency with 20 workspaces for your clients. A lifetime purchase belongs to your organization, not to one workspace.
6. Can you upgrade, and does adding storage cost you the plan?
Upgrading depends on the vendor. Drime says a lifetime plan cannot be switched from its app, and that redeeming a new code replaces your current plan. Stacking is done by its team, and the purchase and the stacking request must be made before 1 December 2026. pCloud's pricing page links an article on upgrading to a larger Lifetime plan.
On Tarkle, each lifetime code adds 500 GB to the organization. Each code adds 500 GB, and an organization can hold up to 12 codes for now, a temporary limit while the campaign runs. A Pro 500 GB you bought counts as 1 code toward that total, a Pro lifetime plan as 6 and an Agency lifetime plan as 12. Only the organization owner can redeem a code. An organization with a lifetime Agency plan cannot add codes. For more storage beyond that, contact support@tarkle.com. Ask how you grow before you buy the smallest tier.
7. What is the refund rule, and who sold it?
Refund rules differ more than prices do. pCloud's pricing page shows a 14-day money-back guarantee. Internxt's lifetime page shows a 30-day money-back guarantee. Icedrive's terms of service give a full, 14-day money back guarantee on all purchases, and say it does not offer refunds on subscription payments. Drime's Terms of Sales say refunds are issued only where the law requires them. Its lifetime plans can also be sold by StackSocial, a marketplace seller, so check that marketplace's own rule too.
You can test the client flow on the Free plan, which includes 1 workspace and 5 GB of cloud storage, before you pay. Tarkle's refund policy says one-time purchases are not refundable after processing, except where the law requires it.
8. What support do you get, and when?
Find the support hours and channels on each vendor's site before you buy. Tarkle's Terms of Service say support is available Monday to Friday, 10 AM to 4 PM Eastern Time, excluding U.S. federal holidays. Response times are targets, not guarantees. If your clients work in another time zone, that matters.
9. Who runs the company, and for how long?
A lifetime deal pays back over years, so look at who is behind it. The pCloud terms say the site is operated by pCloud International AG, with its registered office in Baar, Switzerland, and its about page says it was founded in 2013. Icedrive's terms of service are issued by ICE PRIVACY LTD. Drime's Terms of Sales name DRIME SAS in Évian-les-Bains, France. Tarkle's Terms of Service name Cloudbrand Technologies, Inc. in their arbitration section. Ask each vendor how long it has sold lifetime plans.
10. Does the deal fit the job, or only the price?
Some of these tools are built for storing your own files, with backup. pCloud's plans page lists backup of your phone's gallery and desktop files, and Drime's pricing page lists computer backup. If backing up your own phone or computer is the main need, those two fit that job.
Tarkle is a cloud storage and file-sharing platform for freelancers, agencies and client-facing businesses. It is built for sending and collecting files with clients. Pro includes a fully branded client portal, where your recipients get a branded place to receive and manage the files you share with them. Agency lets your clients log in and manage their files and team on your own domain, through its white-label platform. For more lifetime deals in the same space, read best lifetime cloud storage deals.
Give each deal one point for every check above that you can answer from the vendor's own page. A deal under seven points needs questions to the vendor before you pay.
What Tarkle's lifetime plans include
Pro 500 GB costs $29, paid once. Pro costs $169, paid once. Agency costs $299, paid once. Each is a one-time payment with no renewal, as listed on the lifetime plans page. Pro 500 GB and Pro include file versioning, client feedback and approval, team folders and storage, a fully branded client portal, 90-day file recovery and priority support. Agency adds 20 workspaces for your clients, 6 TB of cloud storage, a 100% white-label platform and a client provisioning portal.
The limits, once: lifetime plans do not include the AI assistant. Pro 500 GB has one team seat, and with two or more codes the organization gets unlimited team members. On Pro 500 GB and Pro the "Powered by Tarkle" backlink stays on your pages, and on Agency your agency name replaces it. Purchases are not refundable after processing, except where the law requires it.
What to remember about Tarkle
Tarkle is built for sending and collecting files with clients: a fully branded client portal on Pro, and 20 client workspaces on Agency. Its lifetime plans are paid once: Pro 500 GB, Pro and Agency, and they do not include the AI assistant. Test the client flow on the Free plan first, then decide. Start for free.