You may be confused about which cloud storage service to pick from the wide range of options available. Because it’s well-integrated with the Apple ecosystem, most consumers opt to use Apple’s iCloud Drive service. And Android users prefer Google drive. Because Apple’s and Google’s services are the most popular ones, we’ve included a comparison of Google Drive and iCloud.
What is Google Drive?
Google Drive is a well-known and commonly used free cloud storage and file-sharing service. It provides you with the capacity to save and retrieve data in the cloud from any location and at any time.
Users can view their files and share them with others quickly and effortlessly. The free Google Drive plan offers up to 15 GB of storage, which may be expanded by upgrading to a higher plan.
What are the benefits of using Google Drive?
- Access files from anywhere: The primary benefit of storing your files on Google Drive is that you may access them from anywhere using your Gmail account. All you need is a device that can connect to the internet and an active internet connection.
- Compatibility: You are not limited to using only one device to access Google Drive. You may access your stored data anytime and anywhere using any device, such as an Android phone, Mac, iPad, iPhone, or PC.
- Easy Sharing: It merely takes a few seconds to send and receive files and data. This makes it easy for people to work together as a group. You must set permissions so that your colleagues may edit, view, and share data.
- Free Storage: When you create a Google account, you receive 15 GB of storage for free. It may be accessed using Google Photos, Gmail, and Google Drive. If you need to keep many files and data, you can upgrade.
What is iCloud?
Consider iCloud, the Apple cloud that runs all Apple services and sync across your devices. The iCloud service from Apple is free to set up and use, linked to your Apple ID. With iCloud, you get the first 5GB of storage for free, and you may upgrade later if you need more.
The goal of iCloud is to store your files and vital information safely on Apple’s remote servers or cloud. As a result, all of your files and data are securely stored and synchronized across your devices.
What are the advantages of using iCloud?
iCloud is a cloud service that is built into every Apple device. You can back up your files directly and sync several devices simultaneously. In addition, your data will be kept on iCloud if you ever lose your device.
You can then recover this information by going to iCloud.com or signing in with your Apple ID to get all of your data restored on your new Apple device right away. The following are just a few of the many benefits of using iCloud:
- Data backup: Contacts, calendar, notes, music, purchase history photos, app data, apple watch backup, messages, voice memos, and health data are all backed up and synced between devices through iCloud. iCloud can back up all of this data, but each iCloud account is set up differently. Open Settings on your device, select your profile at the top of the screen, and scroll down to the iCloud area to see what your iCloud account is backing up.
- Auto Sync: One of the essential features of iCloud is that it automatically syncs your data between your Apple devices like iPhone, Mac, and iPad. It makes your working smooth while using multiple devices.
- High Security: Cyberattacks are advancing at a breakneck pace. It is now vital to keep your data secure. iCloud includes a high level of security to protect your files from harmful intrusions.
Google Drive vs Apple iCloud: The Difference
The main difference between Google Drive vs iCloud is pricing and available free storage. Google Drive offers 15GB of Free storage, and iCloud provides 5GB of free cloud storage.
Both of these cloud storage options have significant variances in factors like free storage, features, security, or overall ease. So before deciding between iCloud and Google Drive, it’s a good idea to study both and discover what they have to offer and the differences between the two.
- Features: Many of the functions of iCloud and Google Drive are similar. Integration with productivity apps, file versioning, device backup, and sync are just a few of the features available. In addition, both tools can be used with Adobe Creative Cloud and other creative suites like Affinity Designer. In reality, there’s very little to distinguish the two systems regarding performance.
- Performance and Environment: Overall, Google Drive is the more suitable and extensively supported platform. Apps for iOS, macOS, iPad, Windows, and Android are all available. In other words, Google Drive works well on both Apple and Windows devices. Apple iCloud, on the other hand, is best suited to iOS, macOS, and iPadOS devices, which is somewhat predictable. This is due to the platform’s complete integration with these operating systems. Unfortunately, iCloud has issues outside of Apple’s environment. Also, iCloud is fantastic for collaborating with other Apple users but struggles when a PC is connected for file sharing. As a result, we believe iCloud is a far less tempting alternative if your primary devices are not Apple products.
- Pricing: Google offers all customers 15 GB of free storage. However, Apple only offers 5 GB. You’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan if you want to store bigger files. The most affordable iCloud subscription gives the user an additional 50 GB of storage, for 55 GB, for $0.99 per month. The most affordable Google Drive plan is $1.99 per month and includes 100 GB of storage. A 200 GB storage plan costs the same $2.99 per month on all platforms. Apple iCloud and Google Drive charge $9.99 per month for 2 TB of storage.
- Security: In terms of safety, Apple comes out on top, with the platform being far safer than Google One. iCloud’s servers encrypt nearly all data in transit and at rest using the 128-bit AES standard. iCloud also provides several security features, such as Safari History, end-to-end encrypted Wi-Fi passwords, and an iCloud keychain. Although Google encrypts data in transit and rest, it does not provide end-to-end encryption. This means that Google workers or anybody else to whom Google distributes your data may have access to it (including law enforcement).
Conclusion
If you want to use cloud storage purely for your Mac, iCloud Drive is, without a doubt, the viable choice. However, if you’re going to use it across many devices, that would not be easy. Outside of the Apple ecosystem, you can have trouble using iCloud’s services because they don’t function as well as Google Drive. On the other hand, Google One is simple to use when there is anything you need to share with others.
That’s it for this article.
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Amit Doshi is a Cloud Engineer who has experienced more than 5 years in AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. He is an IT professional responsible for designing, implementing, managing, and maintaining cloud computing infrastructure, applications, and services.