Until a few years ago cloud services were mainly used to share files online, after the widespread use of smartphones and tablets, solutions like Google Drive are exploited to get a copy of the data of the various devices, including computers.
In this article we will see the best alternatives to Google Drive, the famous Mountain View company cloud solution launched in 2012 that allows you to store files and work on them directly on one of the following suites: Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slide and Forms and Office.
The service works by accessing directly from your Google account and are offered free of charge 15 GB of storage, which can reach up to 1 Terabyte by activating a paid plan.
After this quick showcase on the Google cloud service, let’s take a closer look at the best alternatives to Google Drive.
Dropbox
Dropbox is a cloud storage service that allows users to save any type of file on the computer or mobile device to a remote datacenter that is always available to the user who can access it at any time.
This system allows greater security for which it is chosen gladly by millions of users every day, moreover, the accessibility from any computer, smartphone and tablet is definitely a point to its advantage.
You can use the service through a web interface or by downloading the program for PC or the appropriate apps.
The strength of Dropbox, in fact, is its perfect integration with most desktop and mobile operating systems: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, iOS, Android and Windows Phone.
Dropbox offers a free plan in its basic version for users of 2 GB of space on which to store all types of files, synchronize multiple devices, share folders and links and enjoy Dropbox Paper.
You can also take advantage of paid plans for those who need to use Dropbox in a professional way: for 9.99 dollars a month you can have 1 TB of space, offline access to files, remote cleaning from devices and priority assistance via email; for 19.99 dollars a month advanced features are added.
Specific plans are available for companies: Standard at 10 dollars per month, Advance at 15 dollars per month and the Enterprise with customizable solution according to needs.
pCloud
pCloud is one of the best alternatives to Google Drive, an easy-to-use service with a minimalist and intuitive interface that allows even less cloud storage users, to create shared files and upload data in just a few steps.
This cloud storage is able to capture photos, videos, MP3s that are stored without the risk of losing any data; the upload is very fast and can be done via the web, but also using the appropriate apps for Android and iOS or those for desktop systems such as Windows, Mac and Linux.
You can instantly transfer content that comes from other platforms like Google Drive, Dropbox, Facebook, Instagram and Onedrive and you can even sync your account on every device you have.
PCloud offers a free 20 GB memory plan that you can extend with additional GB for each friend you refer, then the following paid plans are provided: Premium plan at 3.99 dollars per month or 47.88 per month in annual solution, which offers 500 GB of space, 500 GB link download traffic, unlimited remote loading traffic and files stored in the recycle bin for 30 days. Premium Plus Plan at 7.99 per month or 95.98 dollars per year with 2 TB of space and link traffic downloads, unlimited remote loading traffic and files stored in the trash bin for 30 days.
The possibility of buying the two solutions for life is also available: Premium at 175 dollars and Premium Plus at 350 dollars.
Amazon Drive
Amazon Drive is another alternative to Google Drive to choose if you do not have great professional needs, registration takes place, when you open an Amazon account, but to take advantage of the cloud service must be accessed in order to activate the appropriate account.
After registering you have 5 Gb free, a major advantage of Amazon Drive is that you can listen to music online directly from the cloud account, the music purchased by Amazon has a separate space that does not affect the gigabytes offered without cost, where you can store files, photos and other types of documents.
Files can be manually uploaded from the computer to the cloud or dragged and dropped into the application; sharing files with other users can be done with links that Amazon creates and which can be sent via email or used on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin.
Amazon’s Cloud Drive service is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems, but apps for Android and iOS are also available.
The Amazon Photo App saves your photos to Amazon Drive so they will always be safe
Amazon Drive offers a 70-dollars annual plan offering a storage space of 1 TB, the first three months are free.
OneDrive
OneDrive is a cloud storage service offered by Microsoft that allows you to synchronize settings and apps on all products and devices of the company.
This means that when you upload a photo, a document or any other file in the OneDrive folder will appear on all other devices that have the service like XboxLive, Windows phone and more and you can also share entire folders, while using Windows Office online can also make changes to files.
You can also upload and store photos and videos made from your mobile device so that they become instantly accessible on One Drive.
Using the Office apps integrated into the service you can also edit an online document instantly, one that works well for a remote group project. You can view and edit files in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF and ZIP files.
As for the plans offered we have two Personal solutions: One Drive Basic with 5 GB of free archiving, with the possibility of buying the package with 50 GB at a cost of 2 dollars per month.
For the Business we have One Drive Plan 1 with a Terabyte available per user at a cost of 50.40 dollars per year and One Drive Piano 2 with unlimited space for 5 or more users or 5 TB of space per user for 100, 80 dollars a year.
Mega
Mega is one of the best alternatives to Google Drive, allows you to synchronize files on a virtual drive but, unlike other services, makes you choose which folders to synchronize. There is no limit on a folder, but you can share all the folders you want.
Files and folders can be shared publicly but a MEGA account is required, it is not possible to send files by mail to those who do not own the account; shared private files can only be viewed and not edited.
The deleted files are shown in the Recycle Bin and retrieving them is really simple, they remain stored there for 30 days and occupy the space as for all the other files.
In the event that a file is modified it will be completely replaced, as the MEGA service does not save file changes. Mega is accessible from apps on Android, Mac and Blackberry.
As for the plans available we have the following solutions: at the time of registration are provided 50 GB free, then you can choose from Pro Lite – $ 4.99 per month – 200 GB, Pro I – $ 9.99 per month – 500 GB, Pro II – $ 19.99 per month – 2000 GB and Pro III – $ 29.99 per month – 4000 GB.