Google Cloud Storage vs Google Drive: Which is Better in 2022

When the hard drive is broken, the repair cost is high, but the data inside the hard drive is corrupted and can not be recovered. Getting your hard drives repaired and your data recovered and saved can be a time-consuming and challenging task. And that is where cloud storage came into the picture. You can upload and view your files from anywhere, and there are minimal chances of data loss.

Google offers two excellent storage services – Google Cloud Storage and Google Drive. Both are cloud storage services where you can store your backups safely. However, although they are commonly mixed, both are two different cloud storage options. Therefore, it’s critical to understand the distinctions between them to decide. In this article, we compare Google Cloud Storage vs Google Drive to decide which is best for you as per your requirements.

What is Google Drive

Google Drive is a popular, free cloud storage service offered by Google for storing and transferring files. You can think of it as Google’s SaaS product for storing files for common users. It gives you the power and convenience of storing and accessing data anywhere and anytime by utilizing cloud technology.

Users may view their stored files from any location and easily share them with other Google Drive users. It also provides access to free web-based tools for document and spreadsheet creation(Docs and Sheets). Google Drive serves as the default storage for Gmail or Google Docs.

With a free plan, Google Drive offers up to 15 GB of storage, and you can extend it by purchasing the higher plan.

What is Google Cloud Storage

Google Cloud Storage is a feature of Google’s cloud computing platform, GCP. Google Cloud Platform(GCP) offers cloud computing and storage services to enable the creation, development, and deployment of cloud-hosted applications.

It uses the same infrastructure that Google uses internally, and stability and security are two of the key features extensively included in GCP’s underlying architecture.

As Google Cloud Storage comes under the paid subscription of GCP, it offers more functionalities and freedom than Drive. For example, in Google Drive, you can only store your files, whereas Google Cloud Storage can also be integrated with an app or website.

You can say it is a server-based cloud storage service, and you need to have some technical experience to use it. Therefore it is mainly used by the developers.

Google Cloud Storage vs Google Drive: The Difference

The main difference between Google Cloud Storage and Google Drive is that Google Drive is a cloud-based storage service for individuals and businesses. Everyone can use it, and it offers both free and fee-based storage solutions, allowing you to purchase as much storage as you require. On the other hand, Google Cloud Storage is not a usual consumer offering.

Developers and other professionals proficient in technical backgrounds are among the target audience. This is an enterprise-level online file storage service for application development organizations use.

Let’s see some of the other major differences between Google Cloud Storage and Google Drive:

Pricing

With Google Drive, you get the first 15GB free with every Gmail account. After that, you can extend this space up to 20TB. Once you upgrade it, you get a Google one account which starts from 100 GB, and you pay $1.99 per month.

On the other hand, there is no fixed pricing for Google Cloud Storage. Furthermore, as you are not only paying for storage, there are other multiple operations associated, such as data processing and network usage.

Security

Google is a big brand in the market, and they pay a lot of attention to the security of their products. For example, both Google Drive and Google Cloud storage are highly secured services.

In Google Drive, you can enable two-factor authentication, and you can also password-protect your content. For Cloud storage, you get IAM permissions and other encryption options to keep your data safe.

Ease of use

Google Drive is a clear winner here because of its simplicity. It is so popular as it is easy to use and highly productive. Even a non-tech background can use it with a clean and intuitive user interface.

Whereas Google Cloud storage is the opposite of drive, you need to have some technical experience. Normal users prefer Google drive over cloud storage.

Scalability

Google Cloud storage is more scalable compared to drive storage. Also, as your stored files grow in drive, it becomes difficult to manage and navigate between them. Moreover, you get limited storage with the drive.

Google Cloud storage is designed to help organizations meet their storage requirements, offering more scalability. In addition, you can easily store and manage a large amount of data with it.

Storage

You get the first 15 GB of storage free with Google Drive, and then you can buy up to 20 TB. There is no free storage availability in Google Cloud storage. It works on a pay-as-you-go model, and you pay only for what you use. Also, it offers near-unlimited storage.

Performance

Cloud storage has a better performance compared to Google drive. The upload and download speed is good in the case of Google Cloud storage. In addition, it is more stable and fast.

Which one should you choose?

Both of them have different use cases with some benefits and drawbacks. Which one you should choose solely depends on what your needs are.

Choose Google cloud storage if

You have some technical experience, or if there are any developers on your team.
You are developing an application, and you need to integrate storage service.
Your company is growing extensively, and you need to handle big data needs.

Choose Google drive if

You want to store your files and photos for backup purposes.
You want a simple storage service, and there is no need for any computational capabilities.

Final words

Google Drive is a perfect option for personal use, and if you need storage for your organization, then Google Cloud storage is the best option for you.

That’s it for this article.