JustCloud Logo for Which Cloud Storage

JustCloud

JustCloud Logo for Which Cloud Storage

JustCloud The Easiest Way to Store Your Files in the Cloud

Justcloud launched in 2010 and they are based in Hampshire in the UK.

Their data architects have developed the storage infrastructure for your data and pride themselves on its speed, security and stability.  They have then partnered with Google Cloud Storage to use their servers and benefit from their state of the art data centres.

Which Cloud Storage Visit Site Button

Backup and restore features:

JustCloud Backup Features

Justcloud offer a good product with comprehensive features, however, you will find that many of them come at a cost, especially for personal accounts. For example, File syncing is done via a sync folder.

This folder gives you 1GB free on paid accounts which is not particularly generous.  You can then pay between £31.90 and £195.90 a year for between 5GB and 20GB.

If you want to automatically back up files over 1GB or videos then this will cost you extra too.

As standard you do get full and incremental backup and syncing.  You can sync any number of computers using the sync folder and they do not need a license for this.

Home users can retrieve up to 7 previous versions of files or upgrade their accounts to see all versions, while business users get unlimited versions as standard only the largest version of a file will count towards your storage limit.

Maximum file size is 10GB manually and 1GB automatically but you can upgrade to 5GB for £39.90 a year. Not the best in the market but not the worst either.

There are apps for iOS, Android, Windows, Blackberry and Kindle fire devices.  You can access files and back up photos and videos from your device.

You can also back up external drives, although personal users will have to pay for anything over 16GB, which again, is not very generous.  NAS is not supported at all which could be off putting for business users.

You will be able to share files and folders but as yet there are no options with regard to permissions yet.  Justcloud are working on this.

Security
JustCloud Security

Justcloud transfer your data to the Google Cloud Storage data centres in multiple locations so you have full geo-redundant storage.

Each data centre is very well protected from fire, theft etc…  and their servers are state of the art.

Usually we prefer a provider to own and maintain their own servers, however, Google Cloud has an excellent track record for data security.

Your data is protected by a 256-bit AES encryption at rest and during transfer.  They also encrypt your encryption key with a rotated set of master keys.

Alternatively you can organise your own key which you will need to provide for every operation as it will not be stored. There are many sites you can use to create your own key.

This will give you higher security but may be too much effort for some.

All in all Justcloud offer a good level of security.

Supported Configurations and Mobile Access

JustCloud Mobile Device Support

Justcloud are good for people operating older Apple systems as they go further back than anyone I have seen so far, starting at 10.5.

They cover from Windows XP up which is pretty standard but they also include Vista which is less so.

Justcloud are also very good with mobile devices as not only do they support iOS and Android devices, but also Windows, Blackberry and Kindle fire with free apps for all.

It is unusual to see all of these, especially Kindle Fire.

Price Plans

JustCloud Price Plans

Justcloud offer a free/trial account which gives you 15MB of storage and 15MB of sync space.

There is no time limit but it is unlikely that it will take you very long to fill this.

 

 

Personal

Justcloud aren’t particularly competitive here.  The basic plan fees are not the best to begin with and then you have to pay extra for features that others offer as standard.

There are 3 plans and they are all for1 computer.  There are 4 lengths of subscription for each, monthly, 6 months, 12 months and 24 months.  The latter being the cheapest.

You will be billed for the whole subscription but I will state monthly prices for the purposed of comparison:

Home/Pro plan 75GB – £5.61 to £8.69 a month.

Premium plan 250GB – £6.19 – £9.94 a month.

Ultimate plan – 1TB – £8.69 – £12.44 a month.

Then you will need to pay between £2.65 and £16.32 a month for a sync folder larger than 1GB and a further £2.49 a month to include videos in your automatic backup.  If you want to back up a network drive then you will need to buy an add on that will cost a further £16.65 a month.

These are all charged annually. There are numerous other features that are charged on top of the basic plan so it would be wise to check the website before you buy.

Business

Again, the pricing is not the most generous but it is far simpler as there are no additional options to pay for.  You have 2 plans to choose from and then you can choose to add users or storage.

Business – 100GB and 5 computers – £29.95 a month – £4.95 a month for each additional computer or 100GB of storage.

Enterprise – 500GB and 20 computers – £59.95 a month – £2.95 a month for each additional computer and £4.95 a month for 100GB extra storage.

Support


JustCloud Support

There is a good help centre with video tutorials and you also have email support.

However, there is no live support by either phone or online chat.

There is a telephone number but this is for billing enquiries only.

This is not out of the ordinary but there are many providers who offer more.

 

Conclusion

JustCloud Review Conclusion

This is a decent offering as a Google Cloud platform means data security is top notch.  Mobile devices are well catered for and they are very comprehensive with regard to operating systems supported.

They offer all of the features you would expect to see from a cloud service provider, however, the plans are not particularly generous and the pricing structure on the personal side is complicated compared to much of the competition.

Which Cloud Storage Visit Site Button

6.9

Backup & Restore Features

5.7/10

Security

5.5/10

Supported Devices

9.6/10

Help & Support

7.9/10

Value for Money

6.0/10

Pros

  • Good mobile apps including Kindle Fire and Blackberry
  • Excellent security from a well known, trusted name
  • Sync folder does not form part of storage allowance

Cons

  • Storage limits not very high
  • Extra charges on personal plans
  • Maximum file size quite small