Google Cloud Storage vs. Google Drive

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Google Cloud Storage
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Google Cloud Storage is unified object storage for developers and enterprises.N/A
Google Drive
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Google Drive is a cloud file storage, synchronization, and collaboration platform and service, that features Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides for document editing and presentation.
$6
per month
Pricing
Google Cloud StorageGoogle Drive
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Basic
$6.00
per month
Business
$12.00
per month
Enterprise
Contact Vendor for Quote
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Google Cloud StorageGoogle Drive
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsDiscounts are available for students, educators, and non profit organizations.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Google Cloud StorageGoogle Drive
Features
Google Cloud StorageGoogle Drive
File Sharing & Management
Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Product A and Product B
Google Cloud Storage
-
Ratings
Google Drive
7.8
Ratings
7% below category average
Versioning00 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Video files00 Ratings7.60 Ratings
Audio files00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Document collaboration00 Ratings8.50 Ratings
Access control00 Ratings8.30 Ratings
File search00 Ratings6.10 Ratings
Device sync00 Ratings7.90 Ratings
Cloud Storage Security & Administration
Comparison of Cloud Storage Security & Administration features of Product A and Product B
Google Cloud Storage
-
Ratings
Google Drive
8.2
Ratings
6% below category average
User and role management00 Ratings8.30 Ratings
File organization00 Ratings7.50 Ratings
Device management00 Ratings8.70 Ratings
Cloud Storage Platform
Comparison of Cloud Storage Platform features of Product A and Product B
Google Cloud Storage
-
Ratings
Google Drive
8.4
Ratings
1% below category average
Performance00 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Reliability00 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Storage Reports00 Ratings8.50 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Google Cloud StorageGoogle Drive
Small Businesses
Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage
Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage
Score 9.6 out of 10
SugarSync
SugarSync
Score 5.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Azure Blob Storage
Azure Blob Storage
Score 9.7 out of 10
Druva Security Cloud
Druva Security Cloud
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
Azure Blob Storage
Azure Blob Storage
Score 9.7 out of 10
Druva Security Cloud
Druva Security Cloud
Score 9.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Google Cloud StorageGoogle Drive
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(0 ratings)
8.4
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(0 ratings)
9.9
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.0
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.8
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.0
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
5.0
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Google Cloud StorageGoogle Drive
Likelihood to Recommend
[Google Cloud Storage is] great for storing and playing large video files, and even sharing them securely with others, whether or not they are part of your organization. No need to download video files before watching, and can also be used to store any other kinds of files.
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Suppose you require quick access to files across multiple systems. Real-time collaboration on Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets. You don’t have to send ten different versions of the same file back and forth. One person can write a document in Los Angeles, and someone in Tokyo can be on at the same time and see their edits as they make them.
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Pros
  • Really great, easy to use interface helps us manage files easily. Storage is fast and inexpensive, so we don't have to spin up storage instances locally
  • Great set of command-line tools to manage data and storage options via scripts and apps, as well as an SDK means we can build GCS into our orchestration and operations tools
  • Robust integration with other Google cloud tools means that we don't have to think too hard about using GCS for a variety of storage tasks as we interact with other Google services.
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  • Any user with access can store a file using different platforms like Android, IOS, Windows, or Ubuntu (Desktop version)
  • You can share files with any number of different users with different access rights or you can even keep it public by providing the access link and assign different rights for public access
  • You can open Excel/Word files using google software Sheets/Docs in the browser environment without having to install software like Microsoft Office etc on your Windows OS
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Cons
  • Sometimes we would find advice for how to do something that wasn't documented in the API, although this was very early on.
  • When we first started using it, Google Cloud Storage was changing a lot, and some of these changes required us to adapt our code to fit them.
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  • Advanced File Search, personally I find it uncomfortable to search for files with specific extensions within my drive in Google Drive, the interface is not very clear and the search options are limited, making this work tedious.
  • In applications like Google Sheets, the number of cells is extremely small, which limits the amount of information that can be saved, this makes the tool focus on small files.
  • Inherited permissions, it happens to me that in certain shared files when analyzing the permissions granted to the participants some of them are left with owner permissions without having given such property, that point is confusing so I would like the interface to be clearer.
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Likelihood to Renew
after all of the investment made in the tool and considering how many teams use it I think we would not be likely to move away from this tool. A lot of our information including historical is already here and we are happy with the capabilities of the tool currently
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It's perfect for me. It keeps things saved and is easy to remove items if needed. Also, I very much enjoy the formatting options. Along with the integrations it has for SSO. Overall, this is the most user friendly system I have ever come across.
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Usability
Overall I say this product is awesome and very easy to use, and would highly recommend it to other business professionals. I feel that my documents and work product are safe and secure, and that I will find them easily when needed.
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It's easy enough to use for computer users of all ages and skill levels. I am an advanced user, and I think the hardest part might be showing someone how to download and set up the app on their device if they weren't too familiar with computers, but overall it is very easy to understand.
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Reliability and Availability
No answers on this topic
Always available
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Performance
For performance i give Google Cloud Storage 10 of 10 on performance because even though there are other softwares that do exactly the same thing as Google Drive, it still works exceptionally well. It is very fast, and and far as integration, the only software I have used with it that integrated was Google Docs, and of course it integrates perfectly.
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The documents load fairly quickly and also update in real time, especially given the fact that multiple people can be using it at once. The "Offline" feature works great to allow the user to make edits and access the document without access to the internet, and then sync changes later once they're back.
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Support Rating
We have never used official support from Google for our Google Cloud Storage, but there is plenty of documentation in place already. With a small amount of work, anybody should be able to get started. Once needs get more complicated, there is still documentation from Google, but also plenty of community support for common use cases around the internet.
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It takes a few days for customer support to get back to you. Although, I have not had to use support too often. Once you get an email back, they are very thorough and work hard to fix the problem quickly. It is a really great resource and a great way to get the help you need if you're stuck. A phone call also works quickly but you have to call during specific times.
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In-Person Training
No answers on this topic
The effective google workspace using training that my organization received and was conducted by me (as a team lead of the ICT team) was mind-blowing and as a result, our staff is performing well in terms of using the application for their daily jobs than before. Now, in my institution, all teachers and all the administrative personnel are very much interested in cloud storage facilities, in previous my institution was afraid of losing all important documents in the cloud storage. But, after having received the training they are now realized that if anyone has only one google account then he or she can use 15GB of cloud storage freely and they are now happy because now it is not necessary for anyone to carry the traditional pen drive.
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Implementation Rating
overall I was not directly involved but hears the teams were satisfied with the implementation. the teams that used the tool did not encounter major issues, it was as expected with minor issues and bugs that were resolved later. The more significant learning curve was actually starting to use the tool
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It's an extremely easy software to implement, once you sign up for a google account you automatically have access to google drive with a set amount of storage space. The business or Google Suite accounts have more storage space than a regular free account, but setting up and accessing google drive is very easy in both cases
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Alternatives Considered
Google Cloud Storage compares very similar to Dropbox. The difference of using Googe Cloud Storage is that it is part of a big bundle of products that you are probably already using. If you are a big Google user then it would make sense to get Google Cloud Storage. This way you can have all of the tools you need under one roof. I selected Google Cloud Storage because I was already using Google's other products and I was very impressed by those products so it was an easy sale.
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Apple Drive dosn't offer that much storage and doesn't provide vast features with collaborative tools like docs , spreadsheet and forms etc. Google drive also allows you to search for files and folders that contain certain words in their title or content in any perticular file. therefore search is very deep and reliable and hepls to access your data easily
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Scalability
No answers on this topic
I have always been able to access
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Return on Investment
  • It allows the use of large Big Query data sets, this enables better data analysis.
  • It helps the business maintain a central storage solution for data.
  • Secure and easy to learn and use, it allows for fast adoption which improves productivity.
  • It does not enable collaboration and has limits on flexibility.
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  • It has given our operation remote capabilities
  • Easier to access and understand client's need through collaborative enviroment
  • availability to digital resources fast and easy
  • saved our operation hundreds of dollars in physical storage (both investment and maintenance)
  • our operation became easier for new staff to get onboard: small learning curve to use it
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ScreenShots

Google Drive Screenshots

Screenshot of Google Drive PriorityScreenshot of Comment on Microsoft Files in Google DriveScreenshot of Shared drives