the best cloud storage for video editors

the best cloud storage for video editors depends on how you work. a solo editor is usually best served by google drive or dropbox for storing and delivering footage, plus a way to stream clips into the editing app instead of downloading them. teams editing the same media from different places are better off with a streaming filespace like lucidlink, and client review belongs in a review tool like frame.io. icloud drive works for small projects but has a 50 GB per-file limit.

what actually matters for video

• per-file limits. a long take in prores or raw can pass 50 GB. check the limit before you commit a project to a service.
• upload speed. your connection is almost always the bottleneck, not the service. at 100 Mbit/s up, 100 GB takes a bit over two hours. many home connections upload far slower than they download.
• streaming vs sync. sync apps copy files to your disk, either all of them or each one when it's opened. streaming reads only the parts the editing app needs. this decides whether a 2 TB archive fits next to your 512 GB ssd.
• sharing and review. sending a link to a client is easy everywhere; frame-accurate comments are not.
• collaboration. two editors on one project need shared storage and project locking that consumer sync apps weren't designed for.

the options compared

google drive

the biggest per-file limit here and simple sharing. google's help pages list 5 TB per file and a 750 GB per day upload limit per user, which a big shoot can hit. on a mac, google drive for desktop has two modes: mirror keeps everything on your disk too, and stream keeps files in the cloud until an app opens one, then downloads the whole file and keeps a copy. for editing, that means either room for the footage or a lot of waiting.

dropbox

dropbox's help center gives a 2 TB per-file limit through the desktop app, with large browser uploads capped much lower, so upload big files with the app. its sync has a long track record, and online-only files keep the disk clear until you open them, at which point they download in full. dropbox also has replay, its own tool for frame-accurate video review.

icloud drive

built into every mac, and apple's support pages say each item can be up to 50 GB. with optimize mac storage on, files download in full when opened. fine for phone footage and short projects; awkward for long prores takes or sharing with people outside apple's apps.

frame.io

frame.io is adobe's platform for uploading, reviewing and sharing creative work. reviewers get frame-accurate comments, editors see notes inside premiere, and camera to cloud uploads takes from the set as they're shot. storage comes with its plans, and its site lists a mounted storage option for streaming assets to the desktop. it's best as the place footage and cuts go for review, alongside wherever you keep the archive.

lucidlink

lucidlink streams only the data your applications need from a shared filespace that acts like a local drive, with no syncing. it runs on macos, windows and linux, advertises zero-knowledge encryption, and is aimed at media teams working on the same files from different places. it's the closest cloud equivalent to a shared edit server, and the strongest choice here for remote collaboration.

streaming vs sync, in practice

the difference shows up the moment you double-click. in a side-by-side test, the same 1.22 GB video opened in 1.7 s from a streaming drive and after 1 min 44 s from google drive for desktop, which downloaded the whole file first. scale that up to a 200 GB project and sync means either 200 GB free on your disk or a long wait.

if your footage already lives in google drive or dropbox and you edit alone on a mac, you don't have to move it to get streaming. feather drive mounts google drive and dropbox in finder and fetches only the byte ranges your editing app reads. it's narrower than the tools above: macos 26 or later, google drive and dropbox only, it only sees files you put in it (not your whole drive), it needs a connection to open files, and it's a paid app with a 3-day free trial. it has no review tools and no shared locking, so it isn't a substitute for frame.io or lucidlink on a team.

quick picks

• solo editor, archive and delivery: google drive or dropbox, with a streaming drive or proxies for editing.
• remote team on the same media: lucidlink.
• client review and approvals: frame.io (or dropbox replay if you're already on dropbox).
• davinci resolve collaboration: blackmagic cloud; see resolve and cloud storage.
• short projects, all apple: icloud drive.

related

• how to edit videos on a mac with your footage in the cloud
• how to use premiere pro with footage in google drive
• how much storage you need for video editing on a mac
• external ssd vs cloud storage on a mac

common questions

is google drive good for video editing?

it's good for storing and sharing footage, with a 5 TB per-file limit. for editing, google drive for desktop downloads each clip in full when it's opened, so either mirror the project you're working on or use a streaming drive.

what is the difference between lucidlink and dropbox?

dropbox syncs files, and online-only files download in full when opened. lucidlink streams only the data an app needs from a shared filespace that acts like a local drive, which is built for teams editing the same media.

is frame.io cloud storage?

it includes storage, but frame.io is mainly adobe's platform for uploading, reviewing and sharing creative work, with frame-accurate comments and camera to cloud uploads. its site also lists a mounted storage option that streams assets to the desktop.

can i edit video from icloud drive?

you can, but each file must be 50 GB or less, and with optimize mac storage on, a clip downloads in full when an app opens it. icloud works best for smaller projects inside the apple ecosystem.

how long does it take to upload footage?

it depends on your upload speed, not the service. at 100 Mbit/s, 100 GB takes a bit over two hours; at 20 Mbit/s, about eleven hours.