If you are storing photos I would use a dedicated provider like Ente.
If you are storing other files that are just for you then I would use any storage provider + Cryptomator. I’d never pay more than $5/TB for storage like this. If you used a program like Cyberduck (which has Cryptomator built in) you could easily use more technical providers like Hetzner Storage Boxes or Backblaze B2 that will be more economical than most of the solutions that provide their own desktop app. That assumes you only need to access them on a desktop, if you want to access them on a phone you should research which providers work natively with the Cryptomator mobile app and use one of those probably.
If you are storing other files to share with other people, I would use Proton Drive or Tresorit.
Don’t buy lifetime plans.
I mean, when you’re talking about less than 1 TB like you are(?), the difference in cost between all these providers is going to be like… $1-2/month?
I have around 200 TB so the economics are a bit different 