As many people know I am an avid supporter of Google, be it their Gmail, Chrome, Android, or any other Google product, I have always had good experiences with everything that comes out. The newest (to me) is Google Drive.
Google Drive is an especially good find as I have been an active user of Dropbox, which is the same sort of thing. The problem with Dropbox, or rather my limit, was that it was reached quite quickly. Dropbox by default for a free account gives you only 2GB, I have been able to get it up to 3.1 by referring friends and following them on Twitter, etc. But that’s still a very small amount for what I need. So when I found out about Google Drive, which gives you 5GB right off the bat, I had to check it out.
Some of the bonuses with Google Drive is that it incorporates Picasa (1GB free on top of your 5GB). When you upgrade your account (options list up to 16GB of space) it also upgrades your Gmail space (from 10 to 25GB). And the prices are amazing compared to Dropbox. Here is a quick chart of the options and prices available from both Google Drive and Dropbox:
| Option | Google Drive | Dropbox |
|---|---|---|
| 25GB | $2.49/mth | N/A |
| 100GB | $4.99/mth | $8.25/mth* |
| 200GB | $9.99/mth | $16.58/mth* |
| 400GB | $19.99/mth | N/A |
| 500GB | N/A | $41.58/mth* |
| 1TB | $49.99/mth | N/A |
| 2TB | $99.99/mth | N/A |
| 4TB | $199.99/mth | N/A |
| 8TB | $399.99/mth | N/A |
| 16TB | $799.99/mth | N/A |
* – As low as (if you buy for the year)
So as you can see, Google Drive is much cheaper than Dropbox, and has plenty more options. It also allows users to work on files together in real time just like Google Docs (which is integrated into Google Drive).
Now this is the first time I have seen anything like Dropbox that has caught my attention, after doing research I have found several more alternatives, but as of yet have not tried any of them, nor seen what they offer. If you want to see a full comparison of most of the options out there, you can check out a very comprehensive comparison over at TheVerge.
Now I have used Dropbox for quite a while, and prolly will continue to do so, but at the same time I am now installing Google Drive on all my devices and syncing them up for an extra 5GB of space (and might even buy into the 25GB option). One of the KEY things I love about Google Drive, is that for my Google account I have dual authentication, which means if someone on another machine tries to access my account, even if they have my password, they cannot access my EMail, Docs, Drive or anything as they would need to have my Cell which caries an app called Google Authenticator. Google Auth generates a 6 digit pin that changes every 30 seconds making it even harder to crack. Upon installation of Google Drive, it asked me to log in and authenticate, giving an extra step of security.
All in all both apps are great, but with 3GB more on the free account (to start) and integration with Google Docs, Gmail and Picasa, mixed with more realistic prices and higher options for business, Google Drive gets my vote.