Google has two cloud storage products (Google Cloud and Google Drive) which often get lumped together when they are not the same at all.
While they may share a few similarities, they are unique cloud storage options, and understanding the difference between Google Cloud and Google Drive can help you make sure you're utilizing the option that's most appropriate for your needs.
Today, we will compare Cloud and Drive to show you some of the ways they are the same, and then explain some of the ways they are different.
What is Google Drive?
Google Drive is a cloud storage option with a strong connection to their Google Apps platform (i.e. Docs, Sheets, etc.).
If you own a G Suite license or purchase one for each of your employees, their cloud storage tool will primarily be Google Drive.
The Drive product from Google is similar to Amazon Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, or Dropbox. All of these services have a “free” plan, but for added features, functionality, and enhanced security, it's recommended that you upgrade to G Suite.
What is Google Cloud?
Google Cloud is more of a “true” storage option, available as part of the Google Cloud Platform. Google Cloud is capable of handling bigger data needs like server backups and hosting. This product offers increased security using the OAuth protocol, adds advanced service tiers, access to data snapshots, support for REST API commands and app integration.
With Google Cloud, you can also resume broken uploads if the connection is weak/non-existent, and much more.
In essence, Google Cloud is a server-based cloud storage and cloud computing solution, rather than a cloud-based file manager (Drive).
Drive vs Cloud: Price Differences
Google Drive, if purchased outside of a G Suite license, has four payment options:
- Free
- $1.99/month
- $9.99/month
- $99.99/month
Each plan gives you access to a certain amount of storage. On the free plan, you will have access to 15GB of data (including email storage). For $1.99/month, you will have access to 100GB of data. For $9.99/month, you will have access to 1TB of data. And for $99.99/month, you will have access to 10TB+ (basically, unlimited).
If you leverage the cloud storage of Google Drive as part of G Suite, you can have unlimited cloud storage with 5 or more Business licenses ($12 per license, per month), which is the best value you'll find for any cloud storage / file management solution.
Google Cloud does not have a fixed pricing model, as it should not. Instead, you can contact Suitebriar and we will come up with a customized pricing solution to ensure that you get the best deal for your Google Cloud implementation.
For most businesses, the Google Drive platform with G Suite will easily handle 100% of their file storage needs, but if you're looking for big data storage, backups, and app integration, talk to us about Google Cloud Platform.
Cloud vs Drive: Storage
As a standalone cloud storage solution, storage for Google Drive ranges from 15GB of space (free) to 10TB+ ($99.99/month).
If you need a true cloud storage option for processing securely storing big data, then you may want to look into Google Cloud Platform as your storage solution.
With Google Cloud, you only pay for what you need (as you need it). You can ramp up / ramp down your plan and costs as needed. If you need more space, just use it and your costs will adjust to reflect your usage.
Differences Between Google Cloud and Google Drive
While Google has done a great job creating a platform that users love, it's easy to get confused about the difference between Cloud and Drive and what each of their cloud storage options offer to businesses and end-users.
We hope this short article has helped to clearly explain the differences, and if you're ready to move forward with either Google Cloud Platform or Google Drive as part of G Suite, please contact our team.
As a Google Cloud Premier Partner, Suitebriar has the technical know-how and experience to implement Google Cloud storage solutions for your business.
"With Google Cloud Platform & Suitebriar we were able to create an affordable custom Cloud solution that we can use to significantly improve the efficiency of our core product."
Timothy Smith, IT Manager
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