My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on May 18, 2018

Like most longtime savvy Internet users, I use Google more than I would like to admit. I try not to depend on them for everything, but just like with online shopping using Amazon … Google is simply the best at what they do: Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube and Drive/Cloud Storage. The latter has been a weak link in my opinion for those of us seeking low cost or free options … and so I’ve been reluctant to marry into only ONE Cloud Storage option (although Brenda uses a Chromebook giving her plenty of space).

This past week Google has announced a new series of cloud storage plans arriving for Google Account holders, including a new family option for divvying up a single storage plan amongst up to five members. It is called Google One and will replace existing Google Drive paid storage plans (which I do not use).  The new plans break down like this:

• 100GB storage for $1.99 a month
• 200GB for $2.99 a month
• 2TB for $9.99 a month (was $19.99/mo)
• 30TB for $300 a month (same as previous)

I think the last comparison I did was back in 2015 … and now only a few smaller players are left. I haven’t made a decision yet a, but will likely continue to use the FREE 15GB storage (it will continue to be offered) since I have several Google Accounts to multiply the free storage and spread around my data (I store data in different folders anyway – see odrive comment below).

I also have other favorites for cloud storage, including OneDrive cloud storage with my paid Microsoft Live account; it includes 1TB of cloud storage. If all options were free and equal at this point, my choices between cloud storage I use everyday would be in order as follows:

1. Dropbox (still my top choice, but pricey if paid for)
2. Google Drive (number 2 … so a good reason to upgrade to paid)
3. Microsoft OneDrive (1TB with Live subscription for apps – Word, Excel, etc)
4. Amazon AWS
5. Box.net
6. Apple iCloud
7. Amazon Drive

Another worthwhile cloud storage HELPER tool is ODrive. It synchronizes all the different cloud storage accounts between different computers WITHOUT keeping copy of the file on each computer unless you want it. If you use several different cloud services … check it out.

As before, the new Google storage plans provide users with space for Google Drive, Gmail, and original quality photos and videos (including 4K) in Google Photos.

All the paid plans come with access to live chat support, a feature that was previously limited to G Suite business account holders. The changes will be seen first by paying Google Drive users in the U.S. "in the coming months", with rollout to users in other countries shortly after.

Categories: Advice, Cloud, Computer, Technology
Tags: amazon, apple, aws, box.net, cloud, comparison, drive, Dropbox, google, icloud, microsoft, odrive, onedrive, storage, tech friday, techfriday