Are you planning to opt for the Google Drive service but are confused if it will be a good choice or not? If yes, you have landed on the right webpage as here I am going to share a thorough Google Drive review with you that can help you decide whether you should opt for Google Drive services or not.
So, without any further ado, let’s get started –
Google Drive Review
Google Drive is one of the most popular cloud storage solutions, mainly because of its free 15 GB storage and ease of use. It boasts very powerful syncing functionalities and integrates with the free collaborative office suite offered by Google.
This makes Google Drive a great choice for personal and professional usage. But the question is whether it is a good choice for you or not.
Let’s find it out –
What exactly is Google Drive?
Google Drive is a cloud storage platform offered by Google. It comes with a Google account and gives you15 GB of cloud storage for free. For both free and Google Workspace accounts, Google Drive acts as a part of the collaborative suite, as whenever you create a new document or copy one, it automatically gets stored in your Google Drive storage.
Besides that, everything that you receive or store using your Google accounts, such as Google Photos, Gmail inboxes, attachments, and more, automatically uses the Google Drive storage. So overall, Google Drive is not a separate service but an integrated part of your Google account.
Additionally, you can install Google Drive backup & sync client on your computer and mobile devices to enable file syncing. Once you configure it, it will automatically start backing up all of your important files so that even in the catastrophic situations where you lose your mobile or your computer’s data corrupts; you can get your important files back.
Google Drive Features
Google Drive is an amazing cloud storage solution, and for some good reasons.
The first is that Google Drive offers both web and app-based services, allowing you to access all your files from anywhere in the world. On top of that, Google Drive’s sharing settings make it extremely easy to share essential files with others very easily.
The sharing settings let you configure what level of access you want to provide to the receiver. You can allow them to only open and see the file, or you give them editor-level access so they can have complete control over the files that have been shared with them, except for deleting the files. You can share files using a regular shareable link or via email invites. Here, you can read more about Google Drive ownership.
Google Drive has integrated access to the Google office suite, such as Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. All of these services are also available directly on the web or as mobile applications. The best thing is that you get access to these applications for free, and you can use them to open all your Google Drive documents and files.
Google Drive also boasts many additional features such as file versioning, offline access, advanced search, a range of preview and layout options, and more. If you use Google Workspace, you get access to additional features such as customized spaces for groups and colleagues and more.
However, there are a few things about Google Drive that is not as good as other Google Drive alternatives, such as Dropbox. For example, the configuration process of Google Drive syncing is not as straightforward as it is on Dropbox. But overall, it is not a big deal.
Pricing – How much does Google Drive cost?
If you are just planning to test Google Drive, it won’t cost you anything. With a free Google account, you get 15 GB of free cloud space, which is much better compared to other cloud storage solutions, and this 15 GB is more than sufficient to store necessary files such as documents, files, and your smartphone settings as contacts, and more.
However, when you decide to back up your photos and upload other video files, you may need more storage. In that case, you can opt for the Google One service, a bundled service for Google Drive users.
Google One unlocks additional features for you, such as image editing, mobile VPN service, and an additional discount on other Google products. If we compare Google One pricing with other cloud storage solutions, you will find it more budget-friendly.
For instance, you can start with Google One base plan, which costs you $1.99 a month or $19.99 a year for 100 GB of additional cloud space. You get this 100 GB storage along with the 15 GB of a free one, meaning your total storage space will become 115 GB.
The same goes for the other Google One plans as well. For example, if you opt for the 200 GB plan, that will cost you $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year. The last plan of Google One includes the VPN service, 2 TB of storage, and an additional discount of 10% on all Google products. This plan will cost you $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year.
Google One also offers a family plan which costs $149.99 per month. This plan offers 30 TB of cloud storage which can be shared amongst five family members or friends. Overall, in terms of pricing, Google Drive is more competitive than others.
User Interface – How easy is Google Drive to use?
The user interface of Google Drive is quite intuitive and easy to use. It is quite similar to using a desktop or mobile file browser. You can change the view of your files from thumbnails to lists.
File and folder creation is quite easy. You can easily organize files and folders the way you want. Plus, it lets you color code or star mark your folders to identify easily identify or highlight them. It also lets you use the drag-and-drop feature to upload files or copy them, both on the desktop application as well as the web interface.
When you install the Google Drive client on your computer, you can easily find them on the left pane of My Computer or Finder. By default, these folders will be named Google Drive, but you can configure them with the name you want.
By default, when you open a document or file on the Google Drive web interface, it will use the Google office suite application such as Docs, Sheets, or Slides to open them. Other files also use Google Drive’s built-in file viewer. The good thing about this is that you can integrate third-party web applications into your Google Drive to open other files that Google Drive does not support.
However, one thing that I really hate about Google Drive is that it doesn’t offer any easy way to figure out and delete big files that are consuming Google Drive storage. Google has fixed it in Google One, but it is still an issue on free plans. But overall, I will say that Google Drive is quite effortless to use.
Powerful Search and OCR Function – How good is Google Drive at finding files?
One thing that I really like and am annoyed (you will find why in the security section) with is Google Drive’s search and OCR function.
Google Drive boasts an in-built OCR function that makes it extremely easy to search files that you have stored. Whenever you upload any file, image, or anything to Google Drive, the OCR function scans it for all available texts to make the file searchable.
You can find similar functionality on Microsoft OneDrive and cloud storage solutions as well, but we find it works effortlessly with Google Drive.
Security and Privacy – Is Google Drive safe to upload your confidential documents?
In terms of security, Google Drive is quite secure as the data centers of Google are geographically distributed and have tested for all SOC audits required to meet the standard to mark it safe.
Does that mean your data is unhackable? The answer is no. If an attacker has access to your Google account credentials, he can easily get into your Google Drive storage and access all your files. To protect yourself from that, you can simply enable additional security such as 2FA.
When it comes to privacy, things get a bit complicated. Google has a bad reputation for user privacy as it collects a vast amount of user data. However, Google has given some control to its users to control or delete the data that Google stores about the users, but the hardest part here is to identify the data which you want to protect.
Final Verdict – is Google Drive really a good cloud storage solution for you?
There you have it – a detailed article where we have reviewed Google Drive thoroughly.
Google Drive is undoubtedly a great platform, and since it offers a powerful free plan, I highly recommend you try it. Its backup & sync functionality is one of the best in the market.
However, Google has some serious concerns regarding user privacy as it doesn’t boast a zero-knowledge policy. But that is not a big deal. That said, I won’t suggest using Google Drive to store highly confidential data, but it is an awesome cloud storage solution for general purposes.
With that said, here I am wrapping up this article. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot them in the comment section below. Our team will try to respond ASAP.
