Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

iCloud VS ownCloud

Compare iCloud VS ownCloud and see what are their differences

iCloud logo iCloud

iCloud is cloud service done right. It stores your music, photos, apps, calendars, documents, and more. And wirelessly pushes them to all your devices.

ownCloud logo ownCloud

ownCloud is an open source project enabling businesses to host their own cloud storage while maintaining regulatory and compliance needs.
  • iCloud Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-26
  • ownCloud Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-21

iCloud features and specs

  • Seamless integration with Apple devices
    iCloud works flawlessly across all Apple devices, enabling users to access their data from iPhones, iPads, Macs, and even Apple Watches without any extra effort.
  • Automatic backups
    iCloud automatically backs up your data, including photos, contacts, and app data, ensuring that you don't lose important information even if your device is lost or damaged.
  • Family Sharing
    iCloud allows up to six family members to share purchases from App Store, Apple Music, iTunes, and more, making it a cost-effective solution for families.
  • iCloud Drive
    iCloud Drive lets you store, access, and share files from any device, providing a convenient way to manage documents and other files.
  • End-to-end encryption
    iCloud uses strong encryption methods to secure your data, ensuring that it remains safe from unauthorized access.

Possible disadvantages of iCloud

  • Limited free storage
    iCloud offers only 5 GB of free storage, which can quickly get filled up, especially with large files like photos and videos. Users often need to purchase additional storage.
  • Apple ecosystem dependency
    While iCloud is optimized for Apple devices, its functionality on non-Apple devices is limited, which can be an issue for users who use a mix of devices from different manufacturers.
  • Cost of additional storage
    The cost of purchasing additional iCloud storage can add up over time, making it less economical compared to some other cloud storage solutions.
  • Occasional sync issues
    Some users experience occasional sync issues where not all data is updated across devices in real-time, potentially causing inconsistencies.
  • Privacy concerns
    Despite robust encryption measures, some users are concerned about the potential for data breaches or unauthorized access, especially given recent incidents in the tech industry.

ownCloud features and specs

  • Open Source
    ownCloud offers an open-source version, allowing users to inspect, modify, and enhance the software according to their needs.
  • Data Privacy
    Users maintain complete control over their data as it can be hosted on their own servers, ensuring compliance with data privacy regulations.
  • Customizability
    The platform provides extensive customization options, enabling users to tailor it to their specific requirements.
  • Integration Capabilities
    ownCloud supports various integrations with third-party services and applications, enhancing its functionality.
  • Active Community
    A vibrant and active community contributes to continuous improvements, bug fixes, and the development of new features.

Possible disadvantages of ownCloud

  • Complex Setup
    Initial setup and configuration can be complex and may require technical expertise, which can be a barrier for non-tech-savvy users.
  • Maintenance Requirements
    Self-hosting ownCloud necessitates regular maintenance, updates, and security management, which can be time-consuming.
  • Performance Issues
    Performance can be impacted by the server's hardware capabilities and the efficiency of the network infrastructure.
  • Costs
    While the open-source version is free, the enterprise version, which offers more features and support, comes with a cost.
  • Limited Advanced Features
    In comparison to some proprietary cloud storage solutions, ownCloud may lack certain advanced features and ease of use.

iCloud videos

Understanding Apple's iCloud - The Basic Edition

More videos:

  • Review - Should You Buy More iCloud Storage? - Fliptroniks.com
  • Review - What is the Best Way to Use iCloud ? 15 Tips for Your iPhone, iPad, and Mac!

ownCloud videos

ownCloud Demonstration

More videos:

  • Review - Create Your Own Hosted Cloud Storage Server in Minutes - OwnCloud

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to iCloud and ownCloud)
Cloud Storage
43 43%
57% 57
File Sharing
40 40%
60% 60
Encrypted Cloud Storage
36 36%
64% 64
Backup & Sync
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare iCloud and ownCloud

iCloud Reviews

Best Top 12 MEGA Alternatives in 2024
Apple users can opt for iCloud, Apple's proprietary cloud storage solution. It effortlessly syncs data across all Apple devices and offers a seamless user experience.
23 Best Free Image Hosting Sites (Upload & Share) in 2022
iCloud is an amazing cloud storage service offered and run by Apple Inc. If you already use Apple products in your work, you might as well take advantage of the sweet, seamless integration that using iCloud provides — although you can use this service on both Mac and PC.
The Best iPhone Transfer & Manager Software for 2022
iCloud can be costly: As much as it offers a convenient option for syncing your old iPhone with iCloud, purchasing iCloud storage can be a costly affair for most people. The worst part is that you will have to keep upgrading over time whenever you need more storage for more data.
10 top file-sharing services: Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, OneDrive, and more
Anyone who owns a Mac, iPhone, or iPad likely already has the free 5GB of online storage via iCloud that comes with the creation of an AppleID, and those users can share folders and documents with other iCloud users. Although Apple does offer an iCloud app for Windows, it’s likely that this mainly benefits Apple users who also use a Windows PC; we don’t really see people who...
The 13 Best Presentation Apps in 2018
You can use it online at iCloud.com to make presentations in Keynote even on a PC. Or, move your Keynote to iCloud to share with others to view or edit. You can also save presentations to a PowerPoint file if needed.
Source: zapier.com

ownCloud Reviews

Best Top 12 MEGA Alternatives in 2024
ownCloud is an open-source file sync and share software for everyone from individuals operating the free ownCloud server, to large enterprises and service providers operating under the ownCloud Enterprise Subscription. ownCloud provides a safe, secure and compliant file sync and share solution – on servers you control.
6 cPanel Alternatives
ownCloud is a file sharing solution for teams looking to manage data outside of something like Google Drive. The personal cloud storage solution has dozens of stable plugins that further consolidate data for remote-based organizations:
13 Best Free Dropbox Alternatives for File Sharing
Owncloud is not as such a cloud service, but a software to create our own. Owncloud allows us to take advantage of an old equipment or a service that we have to use it as if it were Dropbox.
Source: brainyhubs.com
16 Tresorit Alternatives
Like Dropbox, this service will allow you to manage all elements from a browser tab. From it, you can manage them, divide them into folders, and even download them online. ownCloud is a synchronization tool and ‘backup’ file, which is especially useful for small and medium enterprises. Moreover, it is not only versatile and practical but also extremely safe.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, iCloud seems to be a lot more popular than ownCloud. While we know about 754 links to iCloud, we've tracked only 31 mentions of ownCloud. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

iCloud mentions (754)

  • iCloud.com Is Down
    The web page itself at https://icloud.com/ comes up, but trying to login renders "Connection error iCloud encountered an error while trying to connect to the server". - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • I’ve been using Apple for six years and switching over to the OnePlus open. Ordered it this morning and it says it will be here on Thursday. I’m stoked! Any suggestions on the first thing I should do when getting it? Also is the transition to android from iPhone challenging?
    I purchased two apps from the Google play store that keep continues to sync my Apple Calendar and sync my Apple Contacts. I have a lot of already shared calendars with family that I didn't want to have to re-share with Google Calendar, and I wanted to be able to sync contact changes easily from Apple devices. I have used them for quite some time and they work great. Only one thing you need to know for setting... Source: over 1 year ago
  • iOS 17.2 RC: there's now a GUI for "messages in iCloud"
    I meant to say, right now there are services operating on iCloud.com, right? Could it be the case that those services operate without end-to-end encryption? Not sure, but I don't think so. My understanding is, iCloud.com shouldn't be the obstacle for end-to-end encryption. Didn't mean to say to disable it all together. Source: over 1 year ago
  • iOS 17.2 RC: there's now a GUI for "messages in iCloud"
    I can't believe Apple can't figure it out. How the rest icloud.com services operate right now? Without end to end encryption? Source: over 1 year ago
  • unable to sync icloud on my macbook air m1 8/256gb macos sonoma v14.1.1, it asks me for a 4 digit security code i never set and its the only apple device i have...unable to sync icloud
    Try signing in on the web using https://icloud.com and if that doesn't work contact Apple support. Source: over 1 year ago
View more

ownCloud mentions (31)

  • Automating My Cloud Workflow with OwnCloud, Docker, and GCP
    Hey folks! 👋 I'm Sahal, a software engineer currently diving deeper into the world of DevOps and cloud automation. Recently, I’ve been working on deploying my own cloud storage solution using OwnCloud — self-hosted, scalable, and privacy-friendly. Here’s a quick overview of what I’ve been hacking on. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • 5 Awesome ownCloud Alternatives
    If you've been using ownCloud, you might recently be reconsidering. Maybe you're frustrated by feature limitations, licensing costs, or concerned about its uncertain future since the acquisition. Switching solutions after a product changes ownership isn't unusual—products do sometimes deteriorate under new management. Luckily, there are strong options if you're looking for a reliable file syncing and sharing... - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Roundcube Open-Source Webmail Software Merges with Nextcloud
    You might want to check out ownCloud[0] if you're purely interested in file sharing. Its all open source and you can run your own server. I can't attest to how well it runs currently, as I haven't used it for a few years, but I used it a couple years ago and it was pretty solid [0]: https://owncloud.com/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • What's your web browser based access to file system?
    I am not interested in complex cloud hosting systems like https://www.seafile.com/en/home/, https://nextcloud.com/, https://owncloud.com/. I run some cloud software (forgot the name) in the past and it was very inefficient at synchronizing, Seafile was great with synchronization, but recovery was painful. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • All Ford EV will have access to Tesla Supercharger network
    Also just because something is "free" doesn't mean it is cheaper. I can run a free Owncloud but it might be cheaper to pay someone else to run my server while I focus on my solution. USB-A could be patent free and USB-C may have a small royalty but the UX and cost of manufacture may make USB-C still cheaper. I would be curious what the end agreement money exchange between Ford and Tesla was but I don't think we... Source: about 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing iCloud and ownCloud, you can also consider the following products

Dropbox - Online Sync and File Sharing

Google Drive - Access and sync your files anywhere

Mega - Secure File Storage and collaboration

Microsoft OneDrive - Secure access, sharing & file storage

pCloud - Cloud storage service with up to 20GB for free! Store, share and send large files to anyone. Join now and have your files everywhere you go.

Nextcloud - With Nextcloud enterprises host their own secure cloud solution for storage, collaboration & communication from any device, anywhere.