Do you subscribe to some kind of cloud storage?  You’d be an outlier in 2026 if you don’t.  Maybe you subscribe to a dedicated cloud storage platform like Dropbox or Google Drive.  But you may also have other forms of cloud storage lying around that you’re not immediately thinking of.

For example,

• If you’re a Microsoft O365 subscriber, you’ve got 1TB of OneDrive.  If you subscribe to family, that’s 5TB split over 5 accounts.  I don’t personally use OneDrive in my personal life, so it’s sitting there unused.
• If you’re an Apple iCloud subscriber, you probably have 2TB or more.
• Even if you don’t explicitly subscribe to Google Drive for storage, you’ve got 15GB.

Etcetera.

rclone

I backup my data from one Synology to another locally.  But I also backup most of it to the cloud in the event of a fire or other disaster.  For this, I use rclone, which is a very flexible tool that speaks to the APIs provided by a huge variety of cloud providers.

I like Backblaze’s B2, but even though it’s dirt cheap, it can add up fast once you get into double-digit TBs.  10TB is $60/month.  Dirt cheap in the grand scheme of things but still, a significant monthly budget item.

OTOH, I also subscribe to Dropbox, Microsoft O365, and Apple iCloud.  Dropbox has been my main cloud storage since before competitors existed, O365 is really only for access to desktop apps, and iCloud because that’s how everyone in the family backs up their phones.

But looking at those accounts, I find:

• I’ve got about 1TB free on Dropbox.
• I use 2 of the 5 additional seats on my O365 account, leaving me 3 free accounts.
• I only use about 800GB of 2TB iCloud.

So that’s 5.2TB of space sitting unused.  That means my monthly bill could be $30/month.

rclone speaks to all of these cloud storage APIs, so it’s just a question of configuring backups so various volumes/directories go to various destinations.  For O365, it means creating 3 email accounts, which is trivial.

There are some quirks for each destination.  For example, O365 moves deleted files to Trash, which you then have to manually clear out in the web interface.  Even B2 has some quirks, such as needing to setup lifecycle rules.  But to save $300+ a year, I’m willing to put up with a little hassle.

Of course, you might also have a storage VPS or other cloud storage destination.  rclone supports those two (SFTP, etc.)  It really is an amazing, flexible tool.

So make the most of your Big Tech spend!  Leverage all of your cloud storage with rclone.

raindog308

Raindog308 is a longtime LowEndTalk community administrator, technical writer, and self-described techno polymath. With deep roots in the *nix world, he has a passion for systems both modern and vintage, ranging from Unix, Perl, Python, and Golang to shell scripting and mainframe-era operating systems like MVS. He’s equally comfortable with relational database systems, having spent years working with Oracle, PostgreSQL, and MySQL.

As an avid user of LowEndBox providers, Raindog runs an empire of LEBs, from tiny boxes for VPNs, to mid-sized instances for application hosting, and heavyweight servers for data storage and complex databases. He brings both technical rigor and real-world experience to every piece he writes.

Beyond the command line, Raindog is a lover of German Shepherds, high-quality knives, target shooting, theology, tabletop RPGs, and hiking in deep, quiet forests.

His goal with every article is to help users, from beginners to seasoned sysadmins, get more value, performance, and enjoyment out of their infrastructure.

You can find him daily in the forums at LowEndTalk under the handle @raindog308.