 | 2.7/5 ★★★✩✩ |
| PRICING & PLANS ★★★★★★★★✩✩ | 8.0/10 |
| EASE OF USE ★★★★★★★★✩✩ | 7.5/10 |
| FILE SYNCING ★★★★★★★★✩✩ | 8.0/10 |
| FILE SHARING ★★★★✩✩✩✩✩✩ | 4.0/10 |
| RETRIEVING FILES ★★★★✩✩✩✩✩✩ | 4.0/10 |
| SECURITY ★★★✩✩✩✩✩✩✩ | 3.0/10 |
| SUPPORT ★★★★✩✩✩✩✩✩ | 4.0/10 |
| ADDITIONAL FEATURES ★★★★★✩✩✩✩✩ | 5.0/10 |
PROS
- Good variety of plans
- Well made mobile application
- Unlimited photo storage for Amazon Prime
CONS
- Plenty of bugs
- Limited sharing options
- No versioning system
- Security and privacy unknown
- Very limited support
Amazon Drive Review
Amazon Drive Review – After extensive testing and research of the Amazon cloud, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are plenty of features missing and that this service should perhaps still be in beta. Amazon pricing & plans are slightly more expensive when compared with other top cloud storages, however, not justly. There are plenty of bugs lying around, sharing options are limited and there’s no versioning system. The mobile application is well made but that’s pretty much everything that’s positive about this cloud service. I would recommend you to check our Best Cloud Storage Providers List and find the cloud service best suited for you.
Read the full Amazon Drive review down below.
Amazon Drive Alternatives
 | pCloud 4.6/5 ★★★★★ | 5-10 000 GB 10 GB Free | ❌Sync Folder | Read Review |
 | Sync.com 4.6/5 ★★★★★ | 5-6000 GB 5 GB Free | ✔️Sync Folder | Read Review |
 | Icedrive 4.5/5 ★★★★★ | 10-10 000 GB 10 GB Free | ✔️Sync Folder | Read Review |
 | Cubbit 4.5/5 ★★★★★ | 1-8000 GB 1 GB Free | ✔️Sync Folder | Read Review |
 | Mega 4.2/5 ★★★★✩ | 15-16000 GB 15 GB Free | ✔️Sync Folder | Read Review |
Jump to:
Pricing & Plans
Who is it for?
Ease of use
File syncing
File sharing
Retrieving files
Security
Online support
Additional features
Conclusion
Amazon Drive Features
| Pricing & Plans | |
| Free storage |  |
| Free trial |  |
| Lifetime plans | |
| Payment methods | Credit card |
| Ease of use | |
| Open in-browser | |
| Edit in-browser | |
| Mobile apps | |
| WebDAV | |
| File syncing | |
| Supported systems | |
Imaginary drive  | |
| Sync folder | |
| Block-level file sync | |
| Selective sync | |
| Sync any folder | |
| File sharing | |
| Share download links | |
| Link password protection | |
| Link expiration dates | |
| Link branding | |
| Link download limits | |
| Link stats | |
| Share upload links | |
| Share folders | |
| Set folder permissions | |
| Retrieving files | |
| File versioning system | |
| Trash bin | |
| Rewind feature | |
| Security | |
| Server location | |
| HIPAA Compliance | |
| Encryption protocol | |
| At-rest encryption | |
| In-transit encryption | |
| Client-side encryption | |
| Zero-knowledge privacy | |
| Two-factor authentication | |
| Online support | |
| FAQ base | |
| Forums | |
| E-mail support | |
| Live chat support | |
| Phone support | |
Pricing & Plans
Amazon Drive has a very simple type of pricing & plans. You’re given all of the features as a free user and if you want more storage you have to upgrade to the plan most suitable to your needs.
The free plan includes 5 GB of free cloud storage which you receive forever.
When we compare the prices with other cloud storages they are slightly more expensive than Sync.com or pCloud. That slight difference becomes larger and larger if you wish to go for more terabytes. Amazon Drive certainly doesn’t come between the cheapest cloud storage providers.
If you’re part of Amazon Prime you also receive unlimited photo storage and 5 GB of storage for videos and other files.
Amazon Drive offers no lifetime cloud storage plans.
Who is it for?
I would recommend Amazon Drive only to those that are part of Amazon Prime which gets you unlimited cloud storage for your photos. Even then, you’ll still feel that there are multiple features missing. I would recommend you to pick better cloud storage which you can find here.
Ease of use
The registration itself is very simple, there’s no need to provide any bank details or anything of the sort. If you already own an Amazon account you’ll be through it even faster. The interface itself feels responsive and has a modern feel to it though nothing special.
File previews & edits
Amazon Drive allows you to preview PDF and Word documents directly in the browser, however, the same won’t be possible with other Office documents. Editing those documents is also out of the question.
You can also watch videos and preview images but can’t listen to music directly in the browser.
File syncing
The Amazon Photos official application is available for Windows and macOS.
The primary focus of the application is to backup and upload your photos as it’s stated in the name. You can also backup any folder on your computer which is a characteristic of the cloud backup services.
The “Download” tab enables you to download folders and files to a specific place on your computer without syncing them (one-time download).
You can also enable the “Sync” folder which mirrors all of your files in the cloud to your local storage as well. This is the standard feature all of us has come to expect from a decent cloud storage.
Selective Sync is also available. You can disable the synchronisation of certain folders that are in the cloud directly to your device. It is not possible to sync any folder on your computer though.
There’s no limit to transfer speeds but you’re able to limit them yourself via the application settings.
Amazon Drive also utilizes block-level sync which enables faster upload of files that need updating. When a file is uploaded, it gets separated into smaller pieces. Only the pieces that have changed then get uploaded. That reduces the time needed to upload files that have been updated.
File sharing
You’re able to share your files with your friends or co-workers with email, social media or by creating a shareable link, which can also be cancelled at any point. Unfortunately, there are no additional options like password protection, time, download limits and so on. The sharing features are very limited and I wish they had more advanced options.
Retrieving files
Versioning system is not available with Amazon Drive. That’s a great feature to have which prevents the loss of overwritten files.
Deleted files are kept in a trash bin for 30 days, after which they’re permanently deleted.
Security
There’s absolutely no information provided from Amazon regarding the safety of your files. We do know that they don’t provide client-side encryption (unlike pCloud and Sync.com) and we don’t really know what are their measures to ensure your privacy. The best way to protect your files nowadays is to protect them client-side with your own software or by joining a cloud service like pCloud or Sync.com which provides that for you.
Amazon’s really a big question mark when we touch the security and privacy. If they did anything to ensure your safety they would surely publish it somewhere, which they didn’t. A big minus for Amazon Drive within this topic.
We’ve decided to contact Amazon Drive support to check what encryption methods if any they use to protect our data. The responses were border-line confusing to say the least.
As displayed above the support agent clearly has a few pre-made answers to display when it comes to the security of files with Amazon Drive but we just wanted to find out how they encrypt the files if they encrypt them at all.
Trying to convience us that “every thing is security” isn’t too reassuring either.
To sum up this whole live chat, the support agent stated that files are encrypted both while in-transit and while at-rest on their S3 servers. He claimed that they use 256-bit AES for encrypting files at-rest but didn’t feel comfortable disclosing which encryption protocol they use for encrypting files in-transit – only saying that they use different methods which doesn’t make much sense at all.
I am having a hard time believing anything he said, especially after reviewing other statements on the web in regards to Amazon Drive services. The fact that they don’t disclose this information publicly anywhere worries me enough already not to trust them with my files without any client-side encryption. This makes Amazon Drive insecure and certainly doesn’t qualify it amongst the most secure cloud storage providers.
You’re able to use two-factor verification with Amazon accounts though.
Online support
I wish I could say this is finally a topic at which Amazon Drive excels at, but that’s not the case. You have quite limited options for support. There’s a small FAQ base available to you which probably won’t solve your problems. There’s also no specific way to contact them. Amazon does offer email support and live chat in regards to their broader service so you can try your luck there if you have any issues. You can also leave them feedback, but that’s not the same.
In our experience, the live chat agent was trying to be helpful but he either chose not to answer our questions directly, he didn’t have the knowledge to answer them or he was just telling us false statements. In any case, Amazon should have provided better support to their users and be more upfront in regards to their features & security issues.
Additional features
Mobile Application
The mobile application is available for Android and iOS systems.
I’ve tried the application for iOS and it’s really well designed. Files get synced across devices quickly, you can share, move and delete files within the app. All-in-all a well made application.
Conclusion
Amazon Drive feels like a service that wasn’t paid much attention in the grand scheme of things within Amazon. It’s obvious that they don’t pay much attention to it and is more of a side product of their other features such as Amazon Photos etc. Pricing & Plans are decent when you look at them alone, but the whole cloud service doesn’t deliver.
When you realise that there’s no versioning system and notice the number of bugs, those plans become really expensive. Sharing options and support is also very limited which is why I would recommend you go for proper cloud storage which you can find here.
Hopefully, we’ve gone through everything that you wanted to know about Amazon Drive within this Amazon Drive review. If you have any unanswered questions feel free to ask them in the comments section down below and I’ll answer them shortly!
As I prime member i tried but size constraints was unacceptable for videos. Upgraded. Still to many limitations. Videos will not play if over 2gigs. Makes no since. 2gig is limit for mobile uploading. Makes no since. I usually am logged on at PC and mobile at the same time, not actually accessing the website. From PC, amazon thinks I am actually on a mobile device. Forced to turn on the mobile device, load the amazon webpage, log out, log out of the PC, then relogin from PC. All that in order to amazon to no make complains of limits here and limits there from a mobile device.
Wanted a simple click on file to create a link. Thats all. But no….. Sharing must be mult-stepped, and indirect. First make as share from amazon drive. Go to amazon photos, then go to share, then go to invite, then it creates a link. Turns out the link is to access the interface for chatting and not a link to directly view a particular file.
Whoever was the architecture and are the architects most definitely are not customers. For they don’t actually use it for themselves that’s for sure. Its the year 2020 and amazon has armies of developers. I prefer ftp or telnet over this convoluted mess.
I will be ending my upgraded amazon drive account minutes after posting this comment.
Very interesting web site. I learned a lot about cloud services. I am an Amazon Prime subscriber and was interested in learning about their cloud service. Then I read about all the trouble you were having with it. Like you said if you have it you might as well take advantage of the unlimited pictures storage. So I will do just that and then look into another more easily accessed Cloud Service. Thanks for your advice/
I have been looking into a cloud service. Right now, I am using nothing, and that scares me because if my computer crashes, then it is all gone. I am Amazon prime so I got excited at first when I saw this post. But the privacy, ease of use and support alone is going to steer me clear! I am glad I found this review. Can you recommend a good free cloud service? I really only need if for pictures.
Hello there,
Well, you can give Amazon a go since you’re already a member of Amazon Prime, but if you’re willing to spend some extra dollars to get a quality cloud storage, then I would advise you to have a look at My Top Cloud Storage List. You mentioned you would like to get a good free cloud storage. Chances are that you will need a larger amount of storage that is not available for free at all. Mega offers 50 GB of free cloud storage, OneDrive offers 1TB of storage for students, Amazon Drive an unlimited amount for pictures. Those aren’t necessarily the best cloud storages but they offer the free storage you need. Again, I would rather spend some money and get a good cloud storage. The other path just leads to headaches due to bugs, incomplete features, etc.
Let me know if you have any more questions.
Dejan
I am super interested in getting a better cloud storage. I never knew Amazon did this sort of thing so I really enjoyed your little review the pros and cons were clearly there thank you for the knowledge. I personally use Dropbox so I am looking to see if there’s anything else out there.
I am generally satisfied regarding Dropbox and its features but I do worry about my privacy and safety of my files. Do you have any suggestions in that area? I would like to keep the functionality but increase my security with a client-side encryption.
Hello Andrew,
You’re right about Dropbox. It truly is very versetile and offers many features in the collaboration department. Although I have my concerns regarding the safety of files. You can read my thoughts in the Dropbox review.
I would honestly advise you to go either with pCloud or Sync.com if you want an upgrade in security. pCloud will definitely offer more features than Sync.com, but Sync.com has an integrated client-encryption while pCloud requires a monthly fee for that. Well, pCloud recently implemented a “Lifetime” system as well so you can get rid of the monthly fees with a single payment. Have a look at my reviews and decide on your own.
Let me know if you run into any problems.
Dejan
Nice Article! Amazon Cloud Drive is the only cloud service which has TRUE unlimited storage. For $60 a year that is an enormous bargain. but they’re no longer offering unlimited storage. 1 Tb Space but no ftp upload and direct access to files. Also many sync problems in software.
What about speed of download files from amazon cloud drive. I have a very bad experience.
Well I got all excited when I first saw this because I am a Prime member, so thought this might be great. Until I found your review, LOL. I think I will be sticking to your information on a different post and giving pCloud a try. Seems like it has a lot more to offer and really no negatives compared to the Amazon cloud.
Thank you so much for this article! I am just now looking into cloud storage — just figured out exactly what it is — because I’d like to use it to back up my website. I tried downloading Dropbox, but it intercepted the photo upload to my computer, and I couldn’t figure out how to get the pictures OUT so I could add them to my newsletter. I fear it will take weeks to learn all this stuff since I am somewhat tech-challenged, but I think your site could really help me figure it all out. Bookmarked!
Hello Suzi,
Hopefully, you can find some useful information on this website and if you run into any issues don’t hesitate to contact me!
Dejan
Hi, I agree that there are too many bugs in the cloud storage for Amazon Drive, which is why I stopped using it. I also had some speed issues. Thanks for your post in confirming that there are better cloud storage options out there! Your content is useful and easy to read through with lots of images to help me get through the well-written text! James
Wow, I didn’t even know that Amazon was in the cloud storage market, and I even have Prime. I guess this would be good for Prime users because of the unlimited photo storage but how does it compare to Google Drive and Google Photos which also has unlimited photo storage for free? I know that Google Photos stores lower quality images and not the full resolution ones so that may be a downside to that. Is Amazon storing the full quality photos or downsized versions?
Hello Peter,
Here’s the full review of Google Drive if you wish to compare the two giants. In terms of features and how well developed they are, Google Drive is a clear winner. Google Photos compresses your photos in order to save space in the cloud but I’ve seen multiple comparisons between the original photo and the one in the cloud and there isn’t much of a difference. Here ‘s an article about it.
Here’s a quote from Amazon: “Keep your photos secure without lowering resolution or quality. “
I haven’t found it anywhere if they actually compress your images and in any way lower the quality of them, but they say they don’t. If you already have Prime you can give it a go.
I would also suggest you check out this article if you wish to find the best cloud storage for photos.
Hopefully, that was helpful.
Dejan
Hi Dejan
You have done some good investigation within this Amazon drive review. With them being an internet giant, you would think that they’re going to do a better job. The one feature that seals it for me is that there is no versioning system on your files that have been uploaded. This day and age we access files from so many different sources it’s hard to know which is the right version you need.
I’ve been part of the Amazon Drive until they cancelled the unlimited storage and brought in these new pricing plans. What cloud storage would you recommend me that offers about 4 TB of storage?
Thanks for the info.
Trevor
Hello Trevor,
Versioning system is indeed very important, especially for business use.
Amazon Drive was quite a bargain until they switched to these new plans recently. I usually recommend either pCloud or Sync.com which are my favourite cloud storages. In your case, I would go for pCloud since Sync.com doesn’t offer a 4 TB plan. With pCloud, you can modify your own plan according to your needs. I believe it goes all the way up to 200 TB. If you would like to learn more about pCloud just check my review on it here.
Hopefully, that helps.
Dejan
With so many cloud storage programs out there, why had Amazon to launch their own? And a pretty crappy one, too. They always come up with a lucrative price to suck people in. And because it’s Amazon, people think it’s actually good. I think that many people are too lazy to do research before buying a certain product or program. I stick to P-cloud. It’s just amazing!
Hello John,
As I’ve mentioned in the review, I really do believe it’s kind of a side project that they thought could bring them in some more money. They needed to make a cloud anyways for some other features like Amazon Prime Photos and decided to expand it a bit. But they forgot to polish the whole service and include many features that are still missing.
I honestly don’t think Amazon Cloud Drive can even compare to pCloud or other top cloud storages. They need to undergo some serious reforms before their service becomes competitive on the cloud storage market.
Thank you for stopping by!
Dejan