Google Drive vs Dropbox vs OneDrive : Comparison Between 3 Cloud Storage Services
Cloud storage is considered as one of the best options for data storage. Its popularity has been driven by the facilities it offered like worldwide accessibility and multi-device synchronization. Nowadays people get confused that which cloud service to choose for their business. To help users in taking the decision regarding the same, this write-up will discuss the comparison between Google Drive vs Dropbox vs OneDrive. We have chosen Google Drive (G Drive), Dropbox, and One Drive for a comparative discussion. Before that, have a quick look at these cloud service providers.
- Google Drive (G Drive): This cloud facility is offered by Google. Everyone with a Gmail account can avail of this facility along with other free Google services.
- Dropbox: Dropbox is a popular cloud platform. It is easy to use and compatible with all Operating Systems. Its simplified interface attracts a lot of users.
- Microsoft OneDrive: OneDrive is the web storage service by Microsoft. Windows 10 and 8 users get OneDrive as an application along with their OS. Others can use it by downloading the application.
Comparison between Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive
Here, five criterion has been chosen for cloud storage comparison. The following segment will compare G Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive based on each criterion.
1. Storage Size and Pricing: Storage size is the main category users will look out for while choosing a cloud storage service. Especially, free storage matters most for ordinary users. In this field, G Drive is surely the winner with 15 GB of free storage. The Microsoft OneDrive free storage is 5 GB. Dropbox is far behind with only 2 GB of free storage that can be increased by referral, social network linking, etc. However, users can get a maximum of 16 GB of free Dropbox storage.
| G Drive | Dropbox | OneDrive | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Users | 15 GB | 2 GB | 5 GB |
| Paid Users | 100 GB – 1.99 $/ month 1 TB – 9.99 $/ month 2 TB – 19.99 $/ month 10 TB – 99.99 $/ month 20TB – 199.99 $/ month 30 TB – 299.99 $/ month |
1 TB – 9.99 $/ month 1 TB – 19.99 $/ month 2 TB – 15.00 $/month |
50 GB – 1.99 $ monthly 1 TB – 6.99 $ monthly 5 TB – 9.99 $ monthly |
| For Business Users 30 GB /user – 5 $/ user Unlimited – 10 $ / user |
OneDrive Business Plan 1 TB – 60.00 $ yearly Unlimited – 120.00$ yearly 1 TB – 15.00 monthly |
2. Platform Support: While choosing cloud storage, users must confirm whether it supports the Operating Systems they use or not. All these cloud service providers support major Operating Systems like Windows, Mac OS, iOS, and Android. Dropbox is ahead of others because it additionally supports Linux. OneDrive provides Windows phone support also but, this OS has been discontinued recently.
| G Drive | Dropbox | OneDrive | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supported Operating Systems | Windows, Mac OS, Android, iOS. | Windows, Linux, Mac OS, Blackberry, iOS, Android. | Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android, Windows Phone. |
3. File Synchronization: Synchronization feature of cloud storage providers lets users make changes by one device. This change can be seen in real time from all synchronized devices. Dropbox automatically synchronizes all files in Dropbox folder. As it supports Linux, users can synchronize files even from Linux to Dropbox. G Drive and OneDrive allow users to select particular folders and files for synchronization.
4. File Sharing: All these cloud storage platforms allow users to share their stored files with others. Sharing cloud files can be done either by email invitation or sharing a generated link that anyone can use. In addition, Dropbox also lets users set a password for their link and link expiry date.
5. Security and Privacy: Any mishandling of data can cause severe trouble to its owner. To secure data, users can set 2-step verification for Dropbox and Google Drive. Data storage on OneDrive is comparatively vulnerable as it does not have 2-step verification. Apart from this, Dropbox uses 128-bit AES encryption both at rest and in transit. G Drive also uses 128-bit AES in transit encryption to secure data from any cloud attack. On the other hand, OneDrive provides 256 – bit AES encryption only to paid users. Free users do not get any data encryption in OneDrive. In terms of privacy, none of these platforms guarantees complete privacy. A court order is enough to make all your cloud data public.
Conclusion
Choice of cloud storage between Google Drive vs Dropbox vs OneDrive depends on a number of facts. Therefore, different people find different cloud storage most suitable for their needs. However, users’ requirements can change with time and they might switch from one cloud storage to another. In that case, users need a reliable tool to safely migrate their files. Specialists suggest using G Drive to OneDrive migrator to move Google Drive files to OneDrive. This software can seamlessly transfer G Drive data to OneDrive including password-protected documents. Users can take the aid of this program for stress-free cloud storage shifting.