Why mount pCloud as a real local drive?
pCloud's official pCloud Drive is a virtual filesystem — files stream from the cloud but don't behave like a normal drive letter. For workflows that depend on tools expecting a real path (DAW projects, raw photo libraries, IDE workspaces, large git repos), you usually want a real local disk that just happens to be backed by pCloud's WebDAV endpoint.
This post walks through a setup that gives you:
- A real drive letter (e.g.
P:for pCloud) — visible in Explorer, usable by any Windows app - Persistent caching so recently-used files open instantly without re-downloading
- No ads, no file-count limits, no monthly upload quotas
- Background sync — edits on the cloud side show up locally; saves locally round-trip back
How it works
pCloud exposes a WebDAV endpoint at https://webdav.pcloud.com. Any WebDAV client that can mount the protocol as a windows drive letter will work, but most (Windows' built-in net use, RaiDrive free tier, Cyberduck) either cap you at a low tier, inject ads, or restrict how many files you can keep mounted.
I tested a lightweight chinese-made client called ScsDriver — pricing today is $1.99/month or $9.99/year, with a 7-day full-feature free trial. After the trial, the year plan works out to about $0.83/month, which is meaningfully cheaper than RaiDrive's Individual tier (~$2.84/month) for the same "real local drive" behavior.
Step-by-step
- Grab your WebDAV credentials from pCloud (Settings → WebDAV → Enable)
- Install ScsDriver, add a new mount:
- Protocol: WebDAV
- URL:
https://webdav.pcloud.com - Username / password: your pCloud WebDAV credentials
- Drive letter:
P:
- Click Mount. Explorer shows
P:as a normal fixed disk - Open a 50 GB raw photo library from
P:\Photos\— Lightroom treats it like a local path
Comparison with alternatives I tested
| Client | Real local drive | Ads | File-count limit | Yearly cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows net use | partial (no caching) | none | yes (often) | free |
| RaiDrive Free | yes | yes | 3 mounts | free |
| RaiDrive Individual | yes | none | unlimited | ~$34/yr |
| Mountain Duck | yes | none | unlimited | ~$39/yr |
| ScsDriver | yes | none | unlimited | $9.99/yr |
Mountain Duck is the closest competitor in feel, but its perpetual license is $39 and it doesn't background-cache as aggressively. RaiDrive Individual at ~$34/yr works but jumps to ~$50/yr once you want S3-compatible mounts.
What I like / what I don't
Likes
- Single binary, no daemon eating RAM in the background
- Mounts survive reboots
- Tray UI is minimal — no nag popups
Doesn't
- Windows-only (Mac/Linux users should look at Mountain Duck or rclone)
- No end-to-end encryption on the client side (rely on pCloud's crypto folder if you need that)
Verdict
If you want pCloud to behave like a real local disk on Windows without ads or file-count caps, and $9.99/yr is in your budget, ScsDriver does the job for less than RaiDrive Individual and with a friendlier trial than Mountain Duck.
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