JustCloud Review

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Price Plans

Pricing

JustCloud has three personal plans on offer, which each has the option to pay one month, six months, 12 months, or 24 months at a time.

To save our American readers the trouble we’ve converted the prices of yearly accounts for them—as well as every other price listed in this JustCloud review—into USD.

Home/Pro Plan – 75 GB – 12 months: $99.29 (equivalent of $8.28 per month)
Premium Plan – 250 GB – 12 months: $119.34 (equivalent of $9.95 per month)
Ultimate Plan – 1 TB – 12 months: $159.43 (equivalent of $13.29 per month)

Please be sure to take note that JustCloud pricing may vary slightly depending on the conversion rate at the time of purchase. Also, prices are subject to VAT, which will be charged at your local rate.

Extras

Discounts

JustCloud frequently offers initial term discount promotions for new users, which automatically renew at the regular non-discounted renew after the end of their first subscription term.

In addition, once users are signed up they are qualified for up to 250 MB of free bonus space, which they can earn by doing things such as inviting friends and family to signup (100 MB per referral), trying out new features like file sharing and mobile apps (50 MB per feature), and posting on social media about JustCloud (100 MB per post). They also offer a loyalty bonus, wherein users earn 1 GB per month of being a JustCloud customer.

Free trial

When you sign up for a JustCloud free trial, you receive instant access to a free account with 1 GB of storage space and a 15 MB sync folder. This is lower than average (Google Drive offers 15 GB of free storage, for example) but is still enough for users to get a feel for the service.

Unlike some online backup service providers, who require credit card details upon signing up for a trial, JustCloud requires only your name and email address, which means that you don’t have to worry about being charged if you ultimately decide that the service isn’t for you.

Money-back guarantee

JustCloud touts an anytime money-back guarantee, promising to refund customers with no questions asked at any point during their subscription terms.

A little bit of digging on our end, however, revealed that JustCloud reserves the right to charge termination fees, with no specific numbers given. Also, their money-back guarantee does not apply to the vast majority of their add-on features, which unfortunately make up the bulk of their services.

Hidden costs

The huge number of hidden costs at JustCloud is the service’s biggest caveat.

While their lengthy list of add-ons can be found on JustCloud’s pricing page, the fact that you even need to purchase add-ons to use many of the advertised features is conspicuously absent from the rest of the website.

All add-ons are optional; however, users will want to opt-in if they want their accounts to have anything more than very basic functionality. To make matters even worse, all add-ons can only be purchased on an annual basis. The result will be a subscription that far exceeds the yearly price that’s advertised.

To add insult to injury—as was mentioned above—add-ons are not included in JustCloud’s money-back guarantee, meaning that you won’t be refunded for all the extra money you spent if you decide to close your account.
To make sure that you don’t end up signing up for JustCloud only to find out that your desired features come with a surplus price tag, be sure to compare the add-ons listed on their aforementioned pricing page with those mentioned on their features page.

Business plans

In addition to their personal plans, JustCloud also offers a range of business plans.

Business plans are currently enjoying a 20% off promotion, clocking in at $33.39 a month for a standard business plan, and $66.84 a month for their enterprise plan.

JustCloud’s business plan includes 100 GB of storage space, five free computers, and a 30-day money-back guarantee, whereas their enterprise plan boasts 500 GB storage space, 20 free computers, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Should businesses wish to customize their plans, it will—unsurprisingly—come at a price. Each additional computer over the five given will cost business plan users $5.52 per month, and each additional 100 GB of storage space in addition to the 100 GB that’s included will cost the same. For enterprises, who receive 20 computers and 500 GB of space, it costs $3.29 per additional computer per month, and $5.52 per additional 100 GB of space per month.

That said, businesses do get some desirable features for what they pay. Some of them are shared with the personal plans (such as the 256-bit encryption and free mobile device apps), while others like the 100% automated backups and administrative control panel are unique to business plans.

For more information, check out the dedicated business page on JustCloud’s website.

Payment methods

JustCloud accepts payment via Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and PayPal.

How does JustCloud compare to the competition?

Both JustCloud’s pro plan and premium plan fall into the average online data storage subscription cost of $5 to $12 a month (though consumers typically get more space from providers for those prices). Also, if and when you use any of JustCloud’s add-ons, the monthly price will rise, making JustCloud’s full range of features much more expensive than those of most other online backup providers.

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Features

Online backup or Cloud storage?

Cloud storage

Because its storage space is limited and it places an emphasis on syncing and sharing files, JustCloud is best classified as cloud storage. That said, extra features such as automatic and hourly backups push it a little into online backup territory.

If you’d like to learn more about the precise differences between these two kinds of backup, check out our detailed section on the subject in our Ultimate Backup Guide.

About JustCloud

JustCloud lacks an ‘About Us’ page on its website, requiring us to do our own research—and information is scarce.

After doing some serious investigating we discovered that JustCloud is owned by JDI Backup LTD, a UK-based company that was founded in 2011 by Nick Baker (currently the CMO) and Brooke Bryan (currently the CTO). They also own and run backup providers MyPCBackup, ZipCloud, and BackupGenie.

Also, we learned that JDI Backup is a branch of Just Develop It, a large parent company that’s involved in many diverse ventures, including real estate, web hosting, children’s wear and social account management.

Backup options

• Automatic backups
• Manual backups
• Scheduled backups*
• File size restrictions*
• Manual video uploads only*

* Can be extended by purchasing add-ons

JustCloud is unique in that it lets users choose between manual, automatic, and scheduled backups—a rarity among online backup providers, who typically offer fewer options.

Concerning backup times, users can select days, weeks, and months. If they want to go that extra mile and select time as well, they will have to pay $53.40 for the Hourly Backups add-on.

While JustCloud claims that users can backup all of the files and the folders of their choosing, the reality is that there are restrictions. A standard backup plan allows you to upload files only up to 1 GB while a trial only permits a paltry 5 MB.

Music, pictures, emails, PDFs, and Microsoft Office documents can all be uploaded to JustCloud in manual, automatic, and scheduled backups. However, video files up to 10 GB can only be uploaded manually, unless you purchase the Automatic Video Backup add-on for a yearly fee of $40.00, only after which you’ll be able to include them in automated and scheduled uploads.

Which operating systems is it compatible with?

Desktop: Mac, Windows, Linux

Mobile: Android, iOS (iPhone and iPad), Windows Phone, Kindle Fire, Blackberry

File sharing

JustCloud users can share their files in two different ways: 1) by posting public links that anyone has the freedom to access, and 2) by sending private invitations to others to view and edit your documents.

If you change your mind about giving outside access to any of your documents, it is easy to disable links or withdraw individual permissions.

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Sync options

• Sync from unlimited devices
• Upload and sync from unlimited mobile devices
• Single backup license (transferable)*
• 1 GB sync folder*

*Can be extended by purchasing add-ons

Devices

Signing up with JustCloud gives you one backup license, which you can use to upload your files from a single computer. The license is transferable, but to do so you will have to first cancel its registration with the original device, and then manually set it up on a new one. All in all not a difficult process, but one that is involved and more than a little bothersome.

Additional licenses are—surprise!—available at an extra cost, more precisely $80.15 each per year.

On the plus side to all this, files placed in your sync folder can be accessed and restored from an unlimited number of unlicensed devices, and you can upload files from mobile devices free of charge.

Sync folders

JustCloud’s sync folders serve as a central storage space wherein you can keep all the files that you’d like to have accessible to and shared among other devices.

Trial accounts have a mere 15 MB of sync folder space to play with while standard accounts are given 1 GB. If you’d like to purchase additional space, you can buy them as add-ons at the following prices:

Sync Folder – 5 GB – $42.69 per year
Sync Folder Premium – 10 GB – $133.57 per year
Sync Folder Platinum – 20 GB – $262.14 per year

If you’d like even more space, we recommend you contact JustCloud directly, and they will happily give you a quote for your desired amount.

File versioning and deleted file recovery

• Seven most recent file versions*
• Instant file deletion*

*Can be extended by purchasing add-ons

The default setting for file versioning in JustCloud’s personal plans is to store the seven most recent versions of your data.

If you would like to have older versions available to you, there’s always the Previous Version Plus add-on. For $133.68 per year, it will give you access to all your file versions from the past 30 days.

When it comes to file deletion, in a standard setup all files will be permanently removed after being deleted (though the action can take up to 24 hours to process). If you would like to have the option to view and restore deleted files up to 30 days after deletion, you’ll have to cough up $27.91 in annual Recycle Bin fees.

Archiving

As JustCloud doesn’t mirror the contents of your hard drive, you are able to move files from your computer to your backup for long-term storage. We wouldn’t particularly recommend it though, as that would mean having just one copy of your file—kept offsite, no less—which can be risky.

Speed

• Option to cap CPU usage
• Schedule backups at convenient times
• Backup while computer is in sleep mode
• Supercharged Backups add-on available for purchase for faster service

JustCloud has a nice array of options that users can take advantage of to minimize the slow-down effect that uploads typically have on computers. These include personally setting a cap on the backup program’s CPU usage, and running backups only when the computer is in sleep mode.

If you’re not satisfied with that, you can always buy the Supercharged Backups add-on ($66.73 per year). Once installed it will speed up the upload process even more by eliminating server traffic, connecting you to a server that handles fewer processes, and further reducing the program’s CPU usage.

Backup network drives

• Manual backup
• Automatic backup with Network Drive Support add-on

If you’re on one of JustCloud’s personal plans and would like to upload files from your network drive or NAS, you can do so by simply clicking and dragging the files to your JustCloud folder. All-in-all it’s an easy process, but one that can become tedious and time-consuming if you want to store a lot of data.

If this is the case, you’ll probably want to pony up the cash for the $267.48 Network Drive Support add-on, which will make transferring large amounts of files quick and easy thanks to its automatic uploads. It’s quite simple to set up and if you get stuck at any point during the uploading process—which differs a little from the standard approach—you’ll likely find the answer to your problem on this handy support page.

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Security

• Files encrypted during transfer (256-bit SSL) and on JustCloud servers (not end-to-end)
• Only metadata is visible to employees
• Supports uploads of pre-encrypted files

All files stored with JustCloud are encrypted initially for transfer, before being securely stored in the company’s data centers.

That said, because JustCloud sets your encryption key themselves, the encryption isn’t end-to-end, and the company retains the information required to decode your data. This means that should your data be requested by a corporate or governmental organization, JustCloud will be able to provide them with it.

While this fact is very troubling, JustCloud’s privacy policy is a little more reassuring, as it states that only metadata (like filenames and file paths) are visible to employees. As such, your personal data is safe from prying eyes.

If you would like to go that extra mile, however, JustCloud happily accepts the uploading of files that you’re pre-encrypted yourself using third-party software.

Customer Support

Resources

JustCloud has a comprehensive knowledge base housed on their website, wherein you are likely to find the answer to any questions you may have regarding the backup software in their FAQ’s and articles section.

Also in the knowledge base, you can find a setup section, which will guide you through processes such as installation and set up, drag and drop, and restoring files.

Contacting staff

The ways and means to contact JustCloud staff are clearly listed in the ‘Contact Us’ section of the company’s website.

The backup provider’s sales, technical and billing departments are all accessible 24/7 via email or by submitting a query using their contact form. People with billing questions have the extra option of phone calls to a number of different international numbers.

Response time and quality of service

To test JustCloud’s customer service we sent a simple question via their contact form, which is advertised as being manned 24/7 by helpful and knowledgeable staff.

Upon submission, we were told that we’d receive a reply within two hours.

However, we later received an automated response that stretched the response time to 24 hours.

When we finally received our reply, it had been six hours since we’d sent our question. Not the two hours that we’d been originally promised, but still within the 24-hour timeframe we’d been notified of in the automated email.

The email we received was professional and provided us with a straightforward answer regarding our add-on pricing question. It also supplied us with some additional information which they thought could be beneficial to us.

Overall, we were satisfied with the customer service, though it could’ve been a little quicker.

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The Process

What you’ll need to download

Setting up JustCloud is a simple process. All you have to do is signup on their website—whether it be for a free trial or a paid subscription—and then download their desktop app.

Getting set up

When you start setting up JustCloud on your computer, you will be given the choice between starting your backup with Recommended or Advanced settings.

If you choose to follow the Recommended setting, JustCloud will automatically upload your ‘My Documents’ folder, which includes folders for your pictures, desktop, documents, music, videos, and downloads.
The Advanced setting, on the other hand, allows you to pick-and-choose which files and folders you’d like to be backed up first.

Can’t decide which one to go with? If you’re registered for a subscription and want to get everything uploaded in one fell swoop, we’d suggest you go with the Recommended setting. However, if you only want to backup a few select files, or if you’re just testing out the software during the trial account period, choose the Advanced.

Using the software

JustCloud’s software doesn’t have the bells and whistles that we’ve come to expect from most modern cloud backup providers, but this can actually be thought of as a positive, as it makes it easy to use even for those with little to no technological know-how.

As you can see above, the desktop app is simply set up, making it incredibly easy to navigate to your desired feature or function. Browsing your files, however, can only be done from your browser.

How to cancel your account

You may cancel your JustCloud subscription at any time by emailing their cancellation department at [email protected].

Once confirmation is received that your account has been canceled, you can proceed with uninstalling the software, the instructions for which can be found on JustCloud’s uninstallation help page.

A word of warning: upon cancellation you will not have access to or be able to retrieve any of the data that you had backed up to JustCloud’s servers. As such, be sure to retrieve all of your data before canceling your account.

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JustCloud Review Conclusion

We liked

• Diverse range of features
• Easy to setup and use
• Plenty of backup options
• Well-designed processes

We weren’t too sure about

• Above-average and misleading pricing
• No end-to-end encryption

We hated

• Hidden costs for all extra features

Testing JustCloud left us feeling terribly conflicted. The software itself is easy to use, offers a diverse range of useful features, and is well-designed. However, one cannot ignore JustCloud’s glaring fault – that is, the plethora of hidden costs for add-on features that come free in the basic plans of nearly every other online backup provider out there.

JustCloud is not a bad backup provider in and of itself, but it isn’t for everyone. If you’re a fan of the software and have pockets deep enough to sustain the extra costs of add-ons, then we’d suggest you give it a spin, but if you’re on a tight budget and want a backup plan that’s cheaper and more transparent, we’d recommend you look elsewhere.

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