Google Drive or OneDrive: What do I choose and why?

Google Drive or OneDrive? Surely you've read our warnings about what can happen if you don't hold on of your files. If not, we recommend that you keep regular backups for a variety of reasons.

However, you acknowledge the need for regular backup and you think you will. With the publication below we will try to look at two of the largest data storage services in the cloud.

Google Drive or OneDrive: Define Cloud

Cloud storage is a network-based data storage model where data is stored on remote sites. Data is stored in large data centers and the user can access them through a web interface. The data may be scattered on more than one server.
Wikipedia

Below we will look at Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive, two of the largest services available today.

Back up to Google DriveGoogle Drive

Capacity

The free Google Drive offers up to 15GB of storage, but that space is shared with other company services like Gmail, Google Photos, and Google Docs.

Unlimited photos

What's quite attractive about Google's Cloud Storage is that the space captured by your photos is not counted on the 15GB limit, as long as you upload them through Google Photos and choose High Quality instead of Original Quality.

Google Docs

Google Drive also works directly with Google Docs, which means your documents, spreadsheets and presentations stored on Google Drive can be converted to Google Docs and viewed or edited on the web.

Pricing

If you need more than 15GB free storage, Google will charge you with 2 dollars a month for 100GB, and 10 per month for space that reaches 1TB.

For 10TB in addition the company charges 100 dollars per month. But think about the above storage spaces being a Google-maintained disk that is accessible from anywhere.

Privacy concerns

Perhaps one of the reasons you should avoid Google Drive is the concern about what Google does with your data. It's no secret that Google analyzes all the data it can have to create an end-user profile and maximize its advertising revenue. Of course you will not be the exception. Your only choice in this matter is to use another service.

When to choose Google Drive?

If you have a lot of photos and you do not mind the storage will be in non-original quality.
If you need as cheap as possible and more storage space
If you use Google Docs as the main Office application
If you are not worried about your privacy and Google's tracking behaviors

Backup to OneDrive

Capacity

The free version of OneDrive offers 5GB storage that can be expanded as soon as you bring a friend to your service. Whenever one of your friends creates a new OneDrive account using the referral code you sent, you both get from 0,5GB in addition. You can reach up to 10 GB this way.

Integration

If you use OneDrive and OneNote with the same Microsoft account, the two applications share the same storage limit unless you use the paid version of OneNote and save your offline notes.

This should be taken seriously because laptops with OneNote (OneNote Notebooks) can use enough space if you upload them with pictures, video clips, attachments, etc. If you are not careful, you could easily reach and overcome 1GB.

Online Unification Office

Office documents stored in OneDrive can be opened, edited and shared with the free online Microsoft suite: Word Online, Excel Online and PowerPoint Online. OneNote Notebooks can also be accessed through OneNote Online.

If you work on your own, then it does not matter because you can choose between Office Online and Google Docs according to your preferences. But if you regularly work with DOCX, XLSX or PPTX (in your school or work), then you will be better off with OneDrive and Office Online.

Advanced features

OneDrive features two major features:

File history: Each file that is stored in OneDrive, whether it is an Office file or not, records all changes made in the last 30 days. This allows you to restore the changes to any of these files at any time.
Files On-Demand: Instead of keeping two copies of each file, one on your computer and one on OneDrive servers - you can mark the files with "internet only". This will keep them on OneDrive servers and not on your computer.

Google also has the Backup and Sync service offering something similar to Microsoft's Files On Demand, but it does not compete with File History, which is undoubtedly a very useful feature.

Pricing

To add extra space to the OneDrive you use or will use, you can do it for $2 a month for 50GB, or $7 a month (or $70 a year) for Office 365 which has a total capacity of 1TB along with Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook applications.

When should I choose OneDrive?

If you use Microsoft Office regularly.
If you use OneNote and want to store other data in the same service
You need File History
You trust more Microsoft from Google

Other Ways to Back Up Windows

Whichever service you choose, are both the most reliable (at security level) that exist.

But if you have reasons not to trust them, or if you like the idea of ​​storing data in the cloud, you can always store your backups on an external data drive or a hybrid external NAS (from Network-attached storage).

iGuRu.gr The Best Technology Site in Greecefgns

every publication, directly to your inbox

Join the 2.100 registrants.

Written by giorgos

George still wonders what he's doing here ...

2 Comments

Leave a Reply
  1. I have activated the subscription for 100GB on Google Drive. I have it on my mobile and computer (Win 10). On the mobile it shows the space of 100GB normally, but on the computer while in the application it seems that I use 17GB of the 100GB, in MyComputer it seems that I have 12 of the 100GB free. Why is this happening and how can I fix it?

    Thanks

  2. I would like to add that the google drive service also provides a history of the files not only for 30 days but from the first moment they appeared on the drive. You will find it in the menu to be referred to as revisions and you can go back to any revisions made in the past if it is a Google docs file while it is referred to as "editions" if it is a file of another type. Finally, Google docs files do not take up space within 15 GB but are hosted for free.

Leave a reply

Your email address is not published. Required fields are mentioned with *

Your message will not be published if:
1. Contains insulting, defamatory, racist, offensive or inappropriate comments.
2. Causes harm to minors.
3. It interferes with the privacy and individual and social rights of other users.
4. Advertises products or services or websites.
5. Contains personal information (address, phone, etc.).