Google One vs Google Drive: Pricing, Storage, and Feature 2024

When it comes to cloud storage, it is impossible not to think about Google Drive and One Drive. These are two of the most popular cloud storage and file-sharing platforms out there. While both of them provide useful features for storing and accessing your documents, photos, videos, and other files from any device with an internet connection, there are some key differences between Google Drive and One Drive.

Key factors to consider when choosing between these two options include their pricing structure, available storage space, sharing and collaboration features, integration with other productivity apps, and supported platforms and devices.

In this article, we will look at the key differences between Google Drive and One Drive. This will help you determine which one best fits your storage and sharing needs.

Google Drive and One Drive: Comparison

Nowadays, keeping your data in the cloud storage has come up as the mainstream storage. It works as a safe spot for your stuff that you can reach from anywhere. Two big names serving users in this dominion are Google Drive and OneDrive. They both are kind of similar, but there are some key areas where one can be preferred over the other.

1. Storage and Pricing

Google Drive gives you 15GB for free, while OneDrive starts with 5GB for free. This seems like a good start. Now, any additional storage comes with a price. Google Drive starts at $1.99 per month for 100GB (Offer: Discounted price for first 3 months), and OneDrive costs $1.99 per month for 100GB of cloud storage and offers an additional 50 GB of mailbox storage.

2. Integrations

Now, let’s look at how well they work with other programs. Google Drive goes great with Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. While OneDrive is best buddies with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. So, as expected both of these work great with other products of the same company. This means you can easily make, change, and share files online.

3. Collaboration Features

This is one of the most appreciated features in the corporate world. The ability to seamlessly corroborate the efforts of a team makes these two stand out. With Google Drive and OneDrive, multiple people can work on the same files in real time. One Drive had an edge over Google Drive because of its ability to reflect changes almost instantaneously. But now even Google Drive shows the changes happening in real-time.

4. Security

When it comes to keeping your stuff safe, both Google Drive and OneDrive use really good security tricks. They use robust features such as code encryption, locks on who can see what (access controls), and tools to prevent any data loss.

Google Drive and One Drive: Features

Both OneDrive and Google Drive support files on-demand on Windows and Mac. You can download the files and keep others on the cloud.

1. Organization

Google Drive offers aesthetic document organization with different color-coded folders which makes finding required files easy. You can also mark files as favorites and check your recently opened ones at the top. On the other hand, OneDrive’s organization is basic with default folders, it comes with a handy Photos tab to check your media files in a single place. Moreover, it supports different views, albums, and categories, and the ability to filter photos by location.

2. Handling Media

OneDrive offers basic editing tools to make adjustments on the go. In comparison, Google Drive relies on Google Photos to handle your media files, a dedicated tool to take care of your media needs.

3. Integration

Google Drive works well with company apps like Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms, JamBoard, Keep, and more. Comparatively, OneDrive integrates well with the Start menu on Windows 11 to quickly access your frequently used files. OneDrive nails basic and minute details. For instance, something as small as showing the folder size (something that’s unavailable on Google Drive), assists users in monitoring storage.

4. Backup

When using Google Drive, you can back up your contact list, calendar events, and media files with a single toggle button. Compared to Google Drive, OneDrive has some limitations as you can only back up media files on your local phones, such as videos and photos.

5. Speed

When it comes to speed, both OneDrive and Google Drive perform the same. The difference comes when you deal with Microsoft native files that support block-level copying, where a file is broken into smaller packages. The smart algorithm only works the changes and uploads them to the cloud document as opposed to the entire file. As a result, data transfers take less time.

However, if you use Google productivity apps, block-level copying technology has no real benefit to offer in either of the two products as they perform at par with each other.

Google Drive and One Drive: Pricing

Regardless of whether you require cloud storage for personal or business needs, pricing depends on the amount of storage you opt for. Both OneDrive and Google Drive offer several plans depending on whether they are purchased for personal or commercial use.

Google Drive vs OneDrive: Personal Use

Specifications	Google Drive
Price	Free	$1.99/Month	$2.99/Month	$9.99/Month
Storage	15 GB	100 GB	200 GB	2 TB
Cost	NA	$0.020/GB	$0.0015/GB	$0.0005/GB

Specifications	One Drive
Plan Name	Basic Version	Standalone Version	Microsoft 365 for Personal	Microsoft 365 for Family
Price	Free	$1.99/Month	$6.99/Month	$9.99/Month
Storage	5 GB	100 GB	1 TB	6 TB
Cost	NA	$0.020/GB	$0.0068/GB	$0.0016/GB

Google Workspace vs OneDrive: Business Use

	Version	Price	Storage	Cost
Google Workspace	Entrepreneurs	$6/Month	30 GB	$0.2/GB
	Business Standard Version	$12/Month	2 TB	$0.006/GB
	Business Upgraded Version	$18/Month	5 TB	$0.004/GB
OneDrive	Business Plan No.1	$5/Month	1 TB	$0.005/GB
	Business Plan No.2	$10/Month	Unlimited Storage	Customized
	Microsoft 365 Business Basic Version	$6/Month	1 TB	$0.006/GB
	Microsoft 365 Business Standard Version	$12.5/Month	1 TB	$0.012/GB

Conclusion

Choosing one among the two of the most popular products can be very challenging, especially when they are offered by the two tech giants.

Both Google Drive and One Drive offer great features for cloud-based file storage and sharing. Google Drive generally has an advantage when it comes to integration with other Google services and available free storage. However, One Drive provides tighter integration with Microsoft Office apps.

For most personal use cases, Google Drive is likely to be sufficient. But if you rely heavily on Microsoft Office tools for work, the snug synergy between One Drive and those apps gives it an edge for business and enterprise applications.

FAQs

What is the disadvantage of using OneDrive?

The disadvantages of OneDrive are limited sharing options, file management, and desktop synchronization settings. OneDrive’s sharing options are limited compared to other cloud storage services, making it difficult to share files with non-Microsoft users.

Who can see my OneDrive files?

The files on your OneDrive are private until you share them. If you want to share you need to give edit permissions to the folders you need to share.

Can I password-protect a OneDrive folder?

There is an option to add an extra layer of security by putting a password over its user access.