iCloud vs. Google Drive vs. OneDrive
ON cloud storage it is part of our daily life. From humble beginnings with limited services, today we have very professional options, including those aimed at large corporations such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and IBM packages.
The three tech giants – Apple, Google and Microsoft – also have their own options for the personal and professional market, features that have undergone changes in recent years. ON iCloudON Google driving It is OneDrive they are present in many computers, smartphones and tablets, often coexisting with different purposes.
When it comes to team use, standardization of tools is essential for smooth workflow and creative interaction. Therefore, choosing the ideal service is a tedious but necessary task.
I’ve used all three services and here’s a comparison of the main usability points so you can analyze which one fits your routine best. I also use Dropbox, but decided to leave it out of this comparison to focus only on services that are associated with more robust business-oriented packages.
Free space
The amount of available space is an important factor when choosing a cloud service. In this item, iCloud loses by far. In the free option, OneDrive and iCloud offer only 5 GB, compared to 15 GB for Google Drive.
When we look at the paid options, both Google Drive and OneDrive have options for unlimited storage; iCloud only has 2TB per user in its Apple Business Essentials; in the “way” of an Apple One + iCloud subscription, you can reach 4TB — but, in this case, divided among the six users of the family account (if any).
Practicality
In this item, iCloud is not a handful. Apple’s integrated ecosystem makes iCloud a natural presence in the Finder app (Mac) or the Files app (iPhone/iPad). This feature allows for very intuitive integration, with files that are naturally saved to the cloud. Additionally, you can choose which folders are available offline and which are only in the cloud, freeing up device.
Google Drive and OneDrive also allow you to take a folder offline, but much less automatically. In the case of Google Drive, syncing these folders takes up an absurd amount of memory and greatly increases battery consumption. OneDrive is easier, but uploading files has some pretty inconvenient limitations. Some elements in the file name prevent the upload, which greatly complicates the operation, which does not happen in iCloud or Google Drive.
sharing
In this sense, Google Drive wins by far. Sharing is very easy, you can send it to specific people or simply leave the link open for everyone to access, without restrictions.
Sharing OneDrive is pretty easy when people are in the same organization, but giving people access to non-corporate email starts to get complicated. Several authorizations are required, and despite this, mistakes and the need to repeat procedures are common.
On iCloud, this activity is even more complicated, especially when the other person does not have an Apple device. The procedure is not intuitive, simultaneous updates often fail, and if you need to add people to the same folder later, you may have to remove the previous ones and add them all again at the same time. This function is definitely not well planned yet.
prices
This is a very complicated item to assess, as there are a number of plans for different needs. So, let’s consider the premium package of each of the services, for reference.
For family sharing of services and compositions with 4TB of space, there would be Apple’s package 114.80 BRL (divide between six users, i.e. 19.13 BRL per user) per month.
In Google Drive’s business plan, with unlimited storage space and other company services, the value per user can reach 81.60 BRL. OneDrive, within the Microsoft Business subscription, has a value of 64.90 BRL.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, iCloud is not yet designed for optimal corporate use. Although Apple shyly advertises the possibility of using its package for remote work teams (as in the videos Apple at work), the features still seem to be designed for the individual user. Collaboration is not intuitive and sharing is complicated. For personal use it is, in my opinion, the best option; but teamwork still has a long way to go.
Between Google and Microsoft, the fight is good. If it weren’t for this very annoying file upload limit, I would have no hesitation in recommending Microsoft’s service, as its professional suite is much more robust and requires less of your machine. Despite the regret, Google Drive is still the best way to share quickly and conveniently among different users.
