Google Drive cloud storage review
Our Verdict
Piece of cake to utilize and with enough of storage available, Google Bulldoze is a very solid cloud storage provider, and a especially good selection for users of Google's integrated office apps.
For
- Very easy to work with
- Bang-up function apps integrated
Against
- No end-to-end encryption
- Security could exist tighter
Tom's Guide Verdict
Easy to use and with plenty of storage available, Google Drive is a very solid cloud storage provider, and a particularly adept choice for users of Google's integrated part apps.
Pros
- +
Very easy to work with
- +
Bang-up role apps integrated
Cons
- -
No end-to-end encryption
- -
Security could be tighter
Besides as being a search engine and email provider, Google offers ane of the best cloud storage solutions available. Google Bulldoze is a comprehensive service that allows you to store your files online and access them across your devices.
Only how does information technology stack upwardly against its competitors? In this Google Drive review, we assess its pricing, features, interface, security, and support to help you lot determine whether it's the cloud storage provider for you.
Google Drive: Plans and pricing
With a free Google account, you get 15GB of cloud storage. This is spread beyond all the Google apps—non just Google Drive, but Gmail and Google Photos, too.
If yous demand actress space, you can sign upward for a Google One personal plan. There are a few unlike options: you can access 100GB of storage for $1.99 a month or $xix.99 a year, 200GB for $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year, or 2TB for $nine.99 a month or $99.99 a year.
For businesses, Google Workspace plans requite you all Google apps plus features tailored to concern users, such as custom business organization email addresses and back-end infrastructure for squad direction. These cost $6 per user a month for 30GB of storage each, $12 per user a month for 2TB each, or $18 per user a calendar month for 5TB each.
Google Drive: Features
Google Drive has a number of file-sharing options, all of which are very simple to utilise. Y'all can share files with other users or groups, or you can get shareable links. You tin also decide whether users can edit a file or just view it. Each file's info tab has a useful summary of users who currently have access to it, and y'all tin can see who last edited it.
Google'due south word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation apps—Docs, Sheets, and Slides—are well integrated into Google Drive. You lot can easily create and open up files from the Bulldoze interface. They're all slick, polished apps, able to compete with Microsoft's industry-leading equivalents.
Alternatively, you can upload files created in Microsoft software, and either convert them easily into Google documents, or edit them using Google'due south apps while retaining the file type.
Google Drive keeps track of each version of the files you upload, including PDFs and images. It's easy to admission the version history from within the Drive interface, and to download or restore any previous iterations of files.
A search bar at the top of the Drive interface allows you to instantly pinpoint the particular file yous're looking for. You lot can search by file name, file blazon, keywords, and words contained within a file. This even includes text within PDFs and images, using Optical Graphic symbol Recognition (OCR).
Google Drive: Interface and in apply
There are three ways to admission your Google Drive files—through a web browser, a mobile app, or a desktop tool called Backup and Sync, which allows you lot to integrate your Drive folder structure into Windows File Explorer or Finder on a Mac.
The web browser interface is very well designed, with a articulate and easily navigable binder structure and distinctive icons that enable y'all to find the tools you need without much problem. You tin can add files past dragging and dropping, or past going through the simple card options. It's easy to organize, re-create, and create favorite files, and to access tools such as sharing controls.
The mobile app has a similar but scaled-down pattern, which makes information technology easy to switch between devices and not lose rail of your documents.
After a brief setup process, the synchronization between devices is automated and quick. It means you tin relieve a file direct into a Google Drive folder on your desktop, and access it about immediately on your mobile device.
Google Bulldoze: Support
There's a comprehensive Help Center bachelor on Google's website, which offers answers to most of the technical problems yous could encounter with Google Drive. At that place's besides an agile and helpful community forum.
Getting in touch with tech support isn't an option if you lot're on the gratis plan, but for paying subscribers, Google'southward experts are bachelor 24/7 via live conversation, email, or phone. The service is generally efficient, taking effectually 10 minutes to be linked with an agent.
Google Bulldoze: Security
Google offers multiple options for keeping your documents secure, including diverse levels of two-cistron authentication. For business users, admins have a comprehensive set up of tools for monitoring who has admission to what files and setting alerts for attempts at unauthorized access.
Your files and folders are stored and transferred in an encrypted format, merely the catch is that it'south not end-to-terminate encryption. This means that Google technicians can decrypt files if compelled to do so past law enforcement, and that leaves the system potentially vulnerable to hackers.
Alternatives to Google Bulldoze
The about popular competitor is Dropbox. Like Google Drive, this is a very slick service, with useful browser and mobile interfaces and desktop integration. Notwithstanding, Dropbox only offers users 2GB of storage on the costless plan, a steep drop from Google Drive'due south 15GB. Its paid plans are also pricier, starting at $11.99 a month for 2TB. Read our Dropbox review to learn more about what we made of it.
Another competitor is iCloud. This offers 5GB on its free plan, and the paid plans start at a very low $0.99 for 50GB, going upwards to $9.99 a calendar month for 2TB. Its features aren't as in-depth, simply its seamless integration with Apple devices brand information technology a good option for Mac and iPhone users. Yous can find out more in our Apple iCloud review.
Google Bulldoze: Final verdict
Google Drive'southward shine, efficient interfaces arrive like shooting fish in a barrel to upload and edit files, and to keep your files synchronized across your devices. It also has a wealth of useful features, such as file sharing, versioning, and advanced search.
Nosotros would like to run into Google tighten its security and add together total end-to-cease encryption. However, this shouldn't be a major trouble for most users. With various plans available at affordable prices, Google Bulldoze is one of the best deject storage solutions on the market.
Further reading on cloud storage
Larn more about Google Drive in comparison to other cloud storage providers in our comparison features pitting Google Drive vs Dropbox and Google Bulldoze vs OneDrive.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/google-drive-review
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