Google One's new 5TB option fills big gap between storage plans

Google One, the company's subscription plan that includes cloud storage space, has added a new 5TB plan for those who need more than 2TB but aren't willing to pay for the next highest level, 10TB. The new 5TB option joins the existing smaller plans, including 100GB and 200GB options, as well as the huge 20TB and 30TB plans.

Until now, Google One has had a somewhat inconsistent series of cloud storage plans: you could get 100GB, 200GB, or jump straight to 2TB. If 2TB wasn't quite enough, your next option what jumping all the way to the 10TB option, which may be overkill for a number of users. That's where the new 5TB cloud storage plan comes in.

The change arrived quietly after Google ended its free unlimited, compressed Photos storage this year, meaning a bunch of Google users suddenly had a mass of videos and photos counting against their storage space. These files are joined by whatever you have in Gmail and Drive. As a result, some Google users had to sign up for Google One plans to boost their storage capacity.

The 2TB plan is priced at $9.99/month, making it comfortable enough for many users, but the only next option — until now — was a huge jump to the 10TB plan at $49.99/month. The 5TB plan bridges that gap at a more palatable $24.99/month or slightly discounted $249.99 if you're willing to pay for a year upfront.

As with the 2TB plan, Google One subscribers who sign up for the 5TB option will also get 10-percent in Store credit when they buy something from the Google Store, access to a VPN for Android smartphones, priority Google support, and select other perks.