With macOS Sierra, Apple Inc. introduced two new features that would allow you to free up valuable space on your Mac. But along with additional free space on your Mac comes the disadvantage of using up all your free iCloud Drive storage. If you have a lot of files, folders and photos being stored in iCloud it may mean that you will need to upgrade your iCloud storage and fork out a bit of cash each month.

Here’s a look at the new features available in macOS Sierra for freeing up storage together with the iCloud paid plans that are available.

How to free up storage on your Mac

Optimized Storage

There are various storage management options in the Optimized Storage tool in macOS Sierra.

To access the storage management options, click on the Apple icon in the menu bar > About This Mac > Storage > Manage. The Recommendations tab on the left will be highlighted and a list of storage options will be displayed on the right, including Optimize iCloud Storage, Optimize Storage, Erase Trash Automatically, and Reduce Clutter.

Read our macOS Sierra Optimized Storage article to learn more about the various options.  

iCloud Drive sync

During the setup process of macOS Sierra, you will be asked whether you want all your files on your Desktop and in your Documents folders to automatically upload to iCloud Drive. If you skipped over this in the setup process, follow the steps below to setup iCloud Drive sync.

Click the Apple menu icon > go to System Preferences > iCloud > Options > check the box next to Desktop & Documents Folders.

With iCloud Drive sync enabled you will be able to access all your Desktop and Documents folders from any iOS device, other Macs, or PCs via iCloud Drive.

iCloud Drive storage options

Apple provides you with 5GB of free iCloud Drive storage, which may be enough for some users, but others may quickly use it up if they enable the Optimized Storage tools and iCloud Drive sync.

Thankfully the paid plans of iCloud are very competitive with other cloud storage options on the market and you can easily upgrade from your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, or PC.

iCloud Drive plans

50GB: Monthly cost of $0.99

200GB: Monthly cost of $2.99

1TB: Monthly cost of $9.99

2TB: Monthly cost of $19.99

Upgrade your iCloud storage on your Mac

On your Mac, click the Apple menu icon > open System Preferences > iCloud > click Manage in the lower-right corner > click Change Storage Plan or Buy More Storage in the upper-right corner. Select one of the paid plans above > click Next > enter your Apple ID password.

Upgrade your iCloud storage on your iOS device

On your iOS device, go to Settings > iCloud > Storage > tap Change Storage Plan or Buy More Storage. Select a new plan from the options mentioned above > tap Buy > enter your Apple ID password.

Upgrade your iCloud storage on your Windows PC

On your Windows PC, open iCloud for Windows > Storage > Change Storage Plan. Select a new iCloud storage plan > click Next > enter your Apple ID password > click Buy.

If at any stage you want to decrease your iCloud storage you can do so from any iOS device, Mac or Windows PC. The downgrade will take effect once the current monthly or annual subscription ends.

Cloud storage options

Apple’s iCloud Drive paid plans are competitive, but there are alternative options to iCloud, including Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive.

Dropbox: Offers 2GB of free storage and one paid option of $9.99 monthly for 1TB of storage, putting it on par with Apple’s iCloud pricing. Alternatively, you can pay upfront for the full year and pay $99.

Google Drive: Offers 15GB of free storage and multiple paid plan options ranging from 100GB for $1.99 per month up to 30TB for $299.99 per month. The cost of 1TB of Google Drive is on par with both iCloud and Dropbox at $9.99 per month.  

OneDrive: Offers 5GB of free storage and a pricey plan of $1.99 per month for only 50GB of storage. Alternatively, you can opt for an Office 365 subscription for $6.99 per month and enjoy 1TB of storage space, in addition to Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other Office apps.

Sources: Apple Support; Cnet

Image via Apple