Google Drive and iCloud are the two most popular cloud services currently available. Google Drive is integrated into the Android system, whereas iCloud is integrated into the Apple ecosystem. These two are loaded with lots of features that make them unique and better in themselves.
However, when it comes to choosing the best of the two, it can be quite difficult for one to decide. If you cannot choose between Google Drive and iCloud, this article will help you with that.
This article will discuss the differences between both the platforms and which one is better amongst them.
Google Drive Vs iCloud: Plan Comparison
Firstly talking about the pricing of Google Drive, it has a free plan which provides 15GB of cloud storage. This plan is enabled when you create your account. You are not restricted to storing any kind of file on this free plan.
It has three more plans, including a 100GB plan, 200GB plan, and 2TB plan. The 100GB plan costs $1.99/month, the 200GB plan of Google Drive costs $2.99/month, and the 2TB plan costs $9.99/month.
iCloud also has one free plan and three paid plans. The free plan offers 5GB of cloud storage data. There is a 50GB plan, a 200GB plan, and a 2TB plan. The 50GB plan costs $0.99 per month, the 200GB plan costs $2.99 per month, and the 2TB plan costs $9.99 per month.
Read Google Drive vs Amazon Drive
Google Drive Vs iCloud: Security And Privacy
The data you store on Google Drive is encrypted in transit using the SSL and stored at rest using the 128-bit AES.
Google has implemented HTTPS on all of its services, and they have certain internal measures to ensure the data you store on the cloud platform is safe.
Moreover, you do have the option to enable 2FA (2-factor authentication), which will add a third layer of login protection to your data stored on it.
Coming to iCloud, the data is protected by the same encryption as that of Google Drive. It uses 128-bit AES encryption to protect your data.
Moreover, all the sessions on the iCloud are encrypted over the server with the TLS 1.2. The encrypted data is not stored on IMAP mail servers, and their email client supports optional S/MIME encryption.
Google Drive Vs iCloud: Accessibility
Google Drive is supported on all platforms, including Android, iOS, Mac OS, and Windows. It is integrated into Android phones and tablets, while for iOS devices, you will have to download the app from the App Store.
Google Drive allows taking backup on both the devices and if you are using a PC, then you will need Backup and Sync cloud to backup data. This cloud storage app is accessible through the browser, so it is not restricted to only Android users in terms of usage.
Google Drive makes it easier to upload files, download them, share them, and open them with their easy-to-use interface.
Moreover, its integration with Google Chrome makes saving files much easier. You can get a Chrome extension named Save to Google Drive, using which you can save files from your browser on the cloud.
iCloud has both the app version, but unlike Google Drive, it is limited in terms of accessibility.
You cannot use the iCloud on Android devices, leaving them with only one option, i.e., Google Drive. Non-Apple users can access iCloud through the web. You can easily access the iCloud website on your PC and store your data on it.
Google Drive Vs iCloud: Integrations And Sharing
Google Drive has integrated with many apps including Salesforce, Zoho, Slack, Trello, HubSpot, MailChimp, Trello, YouTube, and various others. You can easily collaborate on Google Drive.
You can easily share your files with other people and let them edit the files. Moreover, you can also include extensions and templates for Google Drive to improve the functionality and features.
iCloud from Apple can integrate with their existing software infrastructure as well as various applications. You can use the cloud platform with HipChat, Microsoft Office, Pager Duty, and various others.
Just like Google Drive, you can share files with anyone and access them. You can share any files like music, photos, videos, documents, and any other with your friends.
Google Drive Vs iCloud: Customer Support
Customer support is as important as any other aspect when choosing the best cloud service. Well, Google Drive has a team of professionals to help them with technical and other errors.
Google Drive has a technical support team to assist users with their queries. Moreover, it supports various languages, including German, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, English, and 14 other languages. The support of this app is available over email, phone, tickets, and training.
When it comes to iCloud, they only support one language, i.e., only English. Moreover, they offer to provide support only through training, tickets, and phone. Of course, the customer support of iCloud is not that good compared to Google Drive, and Google Drive outperforms iCloud in this aspect.
Final Words
If it comes to choosing the best one of the two, our choice would be Google Drive. The first reason to go for Google Drive is that it works on all the platforms, and it is not limited to only Android devices.
Moreover, when it comes to iOS, you cannot use it on your Android phone or tablet. Also, the technical support of Google Drive is way better than that of the iCloud, and that gives us another reason to choose Google Drive over iCloud.
Related Google Drive articles:
- How to Restore Text Messages from Google Drive
- 4 Best Google Drive Clients for Linux
- Why is Google Drive So Slow?
- How to Sync Google Drive with Windows 10
- Upload Large Files to Google Drive
I am Carissa Gudinoa, a technology buff, and Office online and Apple expert with over 9 years of experience. I am passionate about helping others get the most out of their Apple devices. I have written extensively about Apple products and technologies. I am committed to providing my clients with the best possible service and am always up-to-date on the latest Apple products and features. I also write extensively on other software available for use at minimal cost or free. This includes Word Online, Outlook Online, Excel Online, and other Office online programs… Check out more.