Is 500GB Enough for Client Video Files? Size Your pCloud Plan by Retention

Disclosure: this article contains affiliate links to pCloud. We may earn a commission if you purchase a paid plan through them. Plan limits below were checked against pCloud’s help pages on 19 October 2026.

How long do client files need to stay online? Ask that before comparing 500GB with 2TB. A freelance videographer asked how to set expectations about keeping raw files when clients may request changes later. The same intake needs very different storage depending on the online window. Here is a way to estimate yours before paying for another plan.

Step 1: Measure, don’t guess

Check the folder sizes of three recent, representative projects. Count what will actually live online: original footage, audio and assets, plus exports and other files. Keep source media and generated files as separate subtotals so you don’t count them twice. Count proxies alone only if proxies are the intended online copy. If the projects differ widely, sum the expected retained project sizes instead of relying on one average. If you can’t measure yet, defer the decision.

Step 2: Start the retention clock at receipt

For this calculation, the timer starts when files arrive, not when the client approves. Include both the active editing period and any post-approval window. “90 days after approval” is not “90 days from receipt.” Uneven arrivals also matter: your peak number of simultaneously retained projects can exceed the monthly average.

What pCloud’s limits are

pCloud lists three numbers per plan. Storage is the space you hold. Upload is the amount you can send within 30 days. Shared-link download traffic is monthly.

Storage is not the only limit. A plan can have the space and still fail on upload or download traffic.

Worked example (our illustration, not a measurement)

Assume 4 new projects a month, 30GB of incoming footage each, kept online for 2 months from receipt:

• 4 projects × 2 months = 8 retained projects
• 8 × 30GB = 240GB of footage
• Exports and other online files: 60GB
• Subtotal: 300GB
• 30% headroom (our choice, not a safety guarantee): 90GB
• Estimate: 390GB

Keep the same intake but retain for 4 months. For this illustration only, hold the exports/other-files budget at the same 60GB; increase it if more projects mean more retained exports in your workflow:

• 16 projects × 30GB = 480GB, plus 60GB = 540GB
• 30% headroom: 162GB
• Estimate: 702GB

Same work, different storage. The first fits within 500GB on paper. The second doesn’t.

Count the 30-day upload separately

Incoming footage alone is 4 × 30GB = 120GB. Add uploaded exports, replacements, re-uploads and any other traffic, and use your busiest 30-day stretch, not a calendar month or a four-week shortcut. Deleting files should not be assumed to restore upload allowance.

A hypothetical shows why this matters. If 400GB is stored but 1.2TB is uploaded in a busy 30 days, that exceeds the Premium upload figure despite fitting its storage capacity. This is an arithmetic example, not measured use.

If clients send files directly, file requests let uploaders send without an account, with a custom upload limit and expiry. Received files count toward your storage. For setup, see our file request guide. For whether individual large files fit, see Dropbox vs pCloud. A capacity plan alone does not establish that a big upload will succeed.

Estimate share downloads

Repeated downloads add up. A 20GB delivery package downloaded 5 times is 100GB of traffic. Multiply your package size by realistic downloads per client, sum your busiest month, and check pCloud’s current accounting before relying on the number. Don’t assume previews are counted exactly as you expect.

Copyable worksheet

Source media per project: footage/audio/assets (GB): A ___  B ___  C ___
Active editing period (months from receipt): ___
Post-approval online window (months): ___
Total retention from receipt (months): ___
New projects per month: ___
Peak retained projects: ___
Retained source media (GB): peak projects x representative size = ___
(For uneven projects, sum their sizes instead.)
Exports/other online files (GB): ___
Subtotal (GB): ___
Headroom % (your choice): ___  -> ___ GB
STORAGE ESTIMATE (GB): ___

Busiest 30 days incoming (GB): ___
+ uploaded exports/replacements/re-uploads (GB): ___
30-DAY UPLOAD ESTIMATE (GB): ___

Delivery package size (GB): ___ x downloads: ___ x packages/month: ___
SHARE-DOWNLOAD ESTIMATE (GB/month): ___

The offline boundary

Online storage is a working window, not your only copy. Keep source originals independently, such as a separate local drive or another backup. Sync is not automatically an independent backup, and deletions can propagate. Verify that files copied and can be read before removing any online copy.

Honor whatever retention or handoff terms you’ve agreed with clients. Don’t shorten commitments just to fit 500GB. A plain message can clarify things, for example: “Project files stay online for X months from receipt. After that they move to offline archive, and retrieval takes Y.” This is a clarifying note, not contract language.

Buy, keep or defer

Keep your existing plan if your current Dropbox or other cloud has enough capacity, an upload route that works for your clients, and room for the agreed retention window. No new purchase is needed.

Defer if you haven’t measured folder sizes or settled retention. Free pCloud may be enough if your stored files and traffic fit its available allowance. A small-file test does not validate a 20GB route, speed or reliability.

Consider paid pCloud if files arrive regularly, you know your online window, you need capacity beyond your current setup, and your three estimates fit within one plan’s limits. In the example, 390GB suits 500GB on storage, while 702GB points to 2TB. Upload and download estimates can still overrule that.

Lifetime is an optional later step. Individual plans can be monthly, annual or Lifetime. Lifetime lasts 99 years or the account holder’s lifetime, whichever is shorter, with no guaranteed payback. If you keep Dropbox or another service, those bills continue. An additional Lifetime purchase is at full price and adds storage (500GB + 2TB = 2.5TB), rather than paying a difference. Check prices, currency and billing interval at purchase.

Next action: fill in the worksheet with three real project sizes. Then either try the free account for a small test, or view paid options only if all three estimates clear one plan.