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Comparison of organizations providing Storage Space on the Web
There are many companies providing free online storage. These Storage-as-a-Service providers have very similar feature set. These companies provide an easy to use online interface to upload or download files from a user’s desktop to the servers on the cloud. Typical usage of these sites is to take a backup of files and data. Other usages are hosting images, videos or large files and making them available from web sites.All these sites follow a freemium business model. They provide a basic online account that typically has limited disk storage and/or a limit on individual file size. A less restrictive storage scheme is available for paying members. This is a very competitive space with no clear leader. There are as many as 11 sites that provide free online storage, among the top 500 most popular sites. This is as per alexa traffic statistics as on Dec 2009.
Table below gives comparison of free offering of Storage-as-a-Service providers
| Vendor | File Size | Storage Size | Waiting time | Advertising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RapidShare | 200 MB | Unlimited | Yes | Yes |
| MediaFire | 200 MB | Unlimited | nil | Yes |
| MegaUpload | 2 GB | 200 GB | 25 sec | Yes |
| Hotfile | 400 MB | Unlimited | 30 sec | No |
| 4Shared | 500 MB | 10 GB | Yes | Yes |
| DepositFiles | 2 GB | Unlimited | 60 sec | Yes |
| YourFileHost | 25 MB | ? | Yes | Yes |
| Zshare | 1 GB | ? | 20 sec | Yes |
| easy-share | 200 MB | Unlimited | Yes | Yes |
| Imgur | 10 MB | Unlimited | No | Yes |
| Uploading | 1 GB | Unlimited | Yes | Yes |
There are other constraints of the free version. Some of the important ones are explained below.
| Vendor name | Limitations |
|---|---|
| Rapidshare | Files not accessed within three months are deleted |
| MediaFire | No URL is provided to access the files directly from a website |
| Hotfiles | 30 minutes waiting time between two downloads. Files not accessed within 90 days are deleted |
| 4Shared | In the free version, files not accessed for 30 days are deleted |
| Uploading | Deletes files that are not downloaded after six months in the free version |
| Imgur | Files more than 1MB are compressed. Files not accessed within three months are deleted |
| Easy-share | Premium account allows users to download statistics, rename or organize your files into folders or set your file properties |
| Yourfilehost | Deletes files that are not downloaded in fourteen days |
| Depositfiles | Deletes files that are not downloaded in thirty days |
Table below gives comparison of basic premium version offering of Storage-as-a-Service providers. Imgur and yourfilehost only have a free version.
| Vendor | File Size | Storage Size | Waiting time | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RapidShare | 2 GB | Unlimited | nil | 6.99 Euro |
| MediaFire | 2 GB | Unlimited | nil | $6.97 |
| MegaUpload | Unlimited | Unlimited | nil | $9.99 |
| Hotfile | 400 MB | Unlimited | nil | $9 |
| 4shared | 5 GB | 100 GB | nil | $9.95 |
| depositfiles | 2 GB | Unlimited | nil | $10.95 |
| Zshare | 2 GB | ? | nil | No |
| Easy-share | 1 GB | Unlimited | Yes | $11.95 |
| Uploading | 2 GB | Unlimited | nil | $9.95 |
An important criteria in selecting a provider for storage space on web is the download speed. However it is difficult for thecloudtutorial to do this comparison, as the download speed is dependent on many factors. Users will need to select couple of vendors based upon information provided above, and then choose one based upon performance.