Swiss-based Tresorit (opens in new tab) focuses on two key aspects with its cloud storage service: security and simplicity. It sits on your computers and your mobile devices, syncing files to and from the cloud, and enabling you to share files and folders with other people when needed.
It's a lot like services such as Dropbox (opens in new tab) or SugarSync (opens in new tab) in the way that it operates, but its clean user interface and its emphasis on keeping your files protected (it offers end-to-end encryption everywhere, more on that below) make it worth considering whatever requirements you've got.
- Want to try Tresorit? Check out the service here (opens in new tab)
Tresorit features
End-to-end encryption (opens in new tab) is one of the key features offered by Tresorit, which we'll talk a little bit more about in the security section below. As for core functionality, the client software essentially lets you sync any file or folder from your computer or mobile device to the cloud and back, under the limits set by the type of account you're using. Free accounts limit you to a 500MB file size, which is quite restricting but equally reasonable given the lack of payment.
Personal, Professional, Business Standard, Business Plus and Enterprise plans up the limit to 10GB, 15GB, 5GB, 15GB or 20GB respectively, which we think still presents limits for users needing to work with larger media files. Other competitors like Internxt (opens in new tab) and pCloud (opens in new tab) have unrestricted file size limits available.
You can also create specific 'tresors' inside the apps: collections of files and folders that you wish to organize, share and distribute as one. It gives you a bit more flexibility if you don't want to stick to the exact folder structure that already exists on your computer, but to be honest, we can't imagine using it very much. Online collaboration tools (opens in new tab) are fairly strong, offering access to Tresorit account holders and non-account holders, as well as the ability to set up a link for other people to upload files into.
Data from networked drives and NAS drives (opens in new tab) can be included in your cloud backups, if needed, and there's also support for file versioning: that means you can roll back to older versions of files rather than the latest versions, if you have to. This varies by account, with top-tier Enterprise plans getting unlimited versions and entry-level Personal plans making do with 10 versions. When it comes to sharing files and folders, you have the option to add expiry dates and passwords to the generated links, for extra security and privacy.
While you can sync files (opens in new tab) between multiple people and multiple devices—so everyone is always working off the latest versions—there's limited in-app collaboration here, like you get in alternatives such as Dropbox and Google Drive. While Tresorit might not have as many bells and whistles as these rivals, it covers the core functions very well indeed.
Tresorit interface
The interface sported by the various Tresorit apps is certainly one of the strong points of the service. The apps are clean, tidy and modern-looking, and you won't have any problems finding your way around them (the guided tour that you get when you first open up the client apps certainly helps).
Upload and download speeds using the desktop client were poor compared with other cloud drives. Multiple tests with a minimum 30Mbps upload speed resulted in the upload of our 1GB test file taking around 30 minutes. We’ve seen as little as five minutes elsewhere. Downloading the same file, on the other hand, took a little over 30 seconds, which is the best we’ve seen using the same 350Mbps speed used elsewhere. Remember that these are just guidelines, and are not necessarily representative of what you may experience with your own computer and broadband connection. We're pleased to see the ability to throttle bandwidth use in the client apps, in order to avoid overwhelming your web connection, which is something other services offer too.
In our case, most of the functionality could be controlled through the macOS desktop client, including file activity, sharing and integrations, however the ability to also embed Tresorit into the native file management (opens in new tab) system - Finder - was really appreciated, helping to create a seamless experience with which users are already familiar.
The mobile apps are perhaps even more intuitive to use than the desktop programs, and there's definitely a Dropbox-style vibe here. Files can be accessed quickly and simply, and shared with just a few taps. If you need yet another app to automatically upload your mobile photos and videos to the cloud, then the apps for Android and iOS are able to do this for you too. There is a toggle to enable and disable mobile data, helping to preserve your allowance, however there are no automated warnings based on file size unlike some other cloud storage apps. Passcode or biometric access to the app adds another level of security, and this can be a different passcode to the one you use to log in to the device itself.
It's a similar story on the web—everything is simple and plain, but easy to find and functional. A few more options would be welcome (like the ability to stream media files directly from the web interface), but overall we can't have too many complaints. If you want, files can be kept exclusively on the web rather than being synced to one or more of your devices, giving you better control over how you manage local storage.
Tresorit security
End-to-end encryption is one of the flagship features of Tresorit, with all files and metadata protected using randomly generated encryption keys that never travel in an unencrypted form. As an extra level of protection, Tresorit clients apply a Message Authentication Code (MAC) to the content of each file, and this code is held only by the client and with those the file is shared, but not kept by Tresorit.
Decryption is only possible with a user’s unique decryption key: even Tresorit staff can't access your files. This 'blind' or 'zero knowledge' approach has the advantage that neither hackers nor law enforcement can access your files; but if you forget your key, it's gone forever.
As well as zero-knowledge security, two-factor authentication (2FA) is included as well, for extra account protection from the user’s end.
Tresorit pricing
Tresorit has pricing both for individuals and for teams as well as a free offering called Basic with 5GB storage. For the full cloud storage, after a 14-day free trial, you'll need to pay $14.49 (£9.99) per month for 1TB of storage or $34.99 (£23.99) per month for 4TB of storage.
On the business side, your options are $18 (£12) per user per month for 1TB each or $24 (£16) per user per month for 2TB; both plans require a minimum of three users. For larger organizations with at least 50 users, Enterprise plans start at $30 (£20) per user per month, with a scalable amount of storage depending on the company’s needs.
Business users can also add end-to-end email encryption for emails using the Tresorit tool for the desktop version of Microsoft’s Outlook app - on Windows only. This costs $7.50 (£5) per user per month on top of any of the three business subscriptions.
All tiers of membership, including the email encryption add-on, can be paid annually for a discount of approximately 20%, with a slightly smaller discount for the entry-level Personal plan. Naturally, this represents the best value for prospective Tresorit users, and while business pricing is reasonable, we find the personal plans to be on the pricey side. The 1TB Personal plan, for example, costs more than the 2TB available from iCloud Drive and other big names.
Tresorit verdict
On the plus side, Tresorit is a very secure, very fast, very reliable service, with apps that are a breeze to use. Its backup services are flexible and sophisticated, with the option to create custom groups of files and folders outside of the folder structure of your main computer. Meanwhile, the end-to-end encryption and security measures are top notch – there's nowhere safer to put your data.
That said, Tresorit is on the relatively expensive side for the amount of cloud storage you get, puts limits on the number of devices you can use, and doesn't come with some of the extras (like collaboration tools) that its rivals do. We came away impressed, but it's not going to be the best cloud storage solution for everyone and every business.
