Get 50GB of FREE Cloud Storage & Bulletproof Security

Anybody who needs to store large amounts of data in the cloud would be well served by MEGA.
Their policy of end to end encryption – making it impossible for MEGA to view your data (even if they wanted to) is a step above other cloud storage services.
You’re also out of luck if you forget your password, so this service isn’t ideal for newbies.
As far as performance, I was really impressed with the quality of the web interface.  Downloading and uploading files is essentially effortless.  Speeds are fast.  You can give custom permissions to shared folders, and it’s all very easy to use.

Pros

• 50GB free cloud storage
• Synchronize folders on your PC
• Great mobile apps
• Completely private encryption
• Attractive, useful web interface
• File versioning
• Deleted file recovery 

Cons

• Security features aren’t as newbie friendly as other cloud storage services
• Doesn’t transcode shared videos

MEGA Plans and Pricing

MEGA offers several plans to choose from:

Free Plan

• 50GB storage
• 10GB bandwidth limit, reset every 30 minutes

Pro I

• 9.99 € (about $13.50 USD) per month.  Or 99.99 € per year (save 17%).
• 500GB storage
• 1TB monthly bandwidth limit

Pro II

• 19.99 € (about $27 USD) per month.  Or 199.99 € per year (save 17%).
• 2TB storage
• 4TB monthly bandwidth limit

Pro III

• 29.99 € (about $40 USD) per month.  Or 299.99 € per year (save 17%).
• 4TB storage
• 8TB monthly bandwidth limit

If you pay for the annual plan, the bandwidth limits are multiplied for the entire year.  So sign up for a yearly Pro I plan, and get 12TB of total bandwidth (1TB x 12 months).

The MEGA Sync Client

The MEGA sync client can synchronize files and folders on your PC with your MEGA account.  This is kind of like Dropbox and other cloud storage services which put a virtual drive on your computer.  The difference is that MEGA lets you choose which folders to sync.  So you can have a “Pictures” folder on your hard drive that syncs to a “Pictures” folder in your MEGA account.  You’re not limited to just one folder; you can sync as many as you want.

Sharing Files and Folders

You can share files publicly, which would not require a MEGA account to view.  This is good for files you don’t care too much about, security wise.
For private files, you can grant access to other MEGA users.  Shared folders can be set as read-only, read & write, or full access.  You can set permissions on a per individual basis.  So if you want Fred to have read-only access to a folder, but Mary to have full access, you can do so.  Both parties need to have a MEGA account for security.  Since MEGA offers free accounts, this is a great way to share files with friends and family.
Shared folders with pictures in them will be converted to photo galleries, so your recipient can easily view them.  Videos are not viewable on the web, however.  You have to download them, which I thought was a bit of a bummer.  Other cloud storage services can transcode videos.  Not MEGA, apparently.
If you no longer want to share a folder, you can turn off the public link in the Sharing menu.

Restore Deleted and Changed Files

Deleted files will show up in your Rubbish Bin.  Restoring a deleted file is easy.  Just navigate to it using the folders organized by date, right click on it, then restore it.
MEGA lets you recover previous versions of files.  However, it does not perform incremental file versioning.  So if a synced file changes, it is replaced as a whole.  It is not recommended to sync large, constantly changing files for this reason.
Regardless, you can restore previous versions of files by right clicking on them and downloading them to your computer.  It’s not perfect, but it works.

MEGA Speed

MEGA is very, very fast when uploading and downloading files.
My upload speeds to MEGA averaged 7.8 megabits per second (Mbps), which maxed out my bandwidth.  So potential speeds could be even higher.
As far as restore speeds, I downloaded a 10GB test file at 27.3 Mbps, which was just short of my 31 Mbps maximum.

MEGA Mobile Apps

MEGA has mobile apps for Android, iOS, and Blackberry.
I felt the Android app was polished and easy to use.  With it, I could access my cloud files, upload files, move files, and create share links.  It does everything the web interface does.
There’s a photo sync feature to automatically backup photos on your phone.  A PIN unlock setting adds an additional layer of security, by requiring a passcode before opening the app.
MEGA also has apps for Chrome and Firefox, which are supposed to be faster than using the default web interface.  I tested the Chrome app and it was definitely better than using the default web interface.  Using the app resolved an issue where large files (many gigabytes in size) failed to download.  So I highly recommend you use it, especially if you’re working with large files.

MEGA Security

When you’re storing data in the cloud, security is extremely important.  After all, you don’t want hackers or government agencies to have access to your data.  Only you should have access to your files.
All data stored on MEGA is encrypted end to end.  Data is only decrypted once it’s on the receiving device (i.e. your computer).  MEGA stores your data encrypted at all times, and never has access to your decrypted data.
Your password unlocks your master encryption key.  Without it, you can’t view your data.  You can reset your password, but this requires a copy of your encryption key (which you can download as a backup).