Does Google Have A Cloud Storage Service

Storing your files in the cloud has many advantages. You can view your files from whatsoever phone, tablet or computer that's continued to the Net, and the cloud can too provide backup for files so they'll never disappear if your phone gets lost or your computer crashes. Using the cloud is a no-brainer, just picking which service to use is a fleck more difficult.

For that reason, I've compiled a guide to the most popular cloud storage services, covering how they piece of work and their strengths and weaknesses. I've as well highlighted some lesser-known options if yous desire to get away from the mainstream.

Editors' notation, March 25, 2016: This guide originally include cloud storage service Copy, but we've removed it because information technology is shutting down on May 1, 2016.

Cloud storage comparison

	OneDrive	Dropbox	Google Drive	Box	Amazon Cloud Bulldoze
File size restrictions?	10GB	10GB with website, none with Dropbox apps	5TB	250MB for free program, 5GB for paid personal programme	2GB*
Costless storage?	5GB**	2GB	15GB	10GB	No***
Tin can I earn extra free storage?	No**	Yeah	No	No	No
Paid plans	$2/month for 50GB**	$ten/month for 1TB	$2/month 100GB, $10/calendar month for 1TB	$ten/month for 100GB	$12/year for unlimited photos, $threescore/year for unlimited files
OSes supported	Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Windows Phone	Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, Kindle Fire	Windows, Mac, Android, iOS	Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Windows Telephone, BlackBerry	Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Kindle Fire

*At that place is no file size limit with desktop apps.

**In early 2016, Microsoft will change its free storage from 15GB to 5GB and offer a $two per month for 50GB paid programme instead of its before offerings. It will besides no longer allow you earn free storage.

***Amazon Cloud Drive offers limited gratuitous storage with an Amazon Prime subscription.

Before we get started, just a annotation about Apple's iCloud Drive. I didn't include it here considering the service is not available for Android and it's really meant to be used within the Apple ecosystem, meaning if you utilise Mac computers and iOS devices together. If you practise use mostly Apple products, it'southward a solid pick for cloud storage. For a full run-downwards of its features, pricing and availability, bank check out CNET's guide to Apple tree iCloud Drive.

OneDrive

Commencement up is OneDrive, Microsoft's storage option. Those who use Windows 8 and 10 have OneDrive built into their operating organization, where it shows up in the file explorer side by side to all of the files on your estimator'southward hard drive. However, anyone tin use information technology on the Spider web, by downloading a desktop app for Mac and earlier versions of Windows, or the OneDrive Android, iOS, Windows Telephone and Xbox apps.

You lot can store whatever kind of file in the service, including photos, video and documents, and so access them from any of your Windows PCs or mobile devices. The service organizes your files by blazon for you, so information technology's piece of cake to notice what yous demand.

The Android, iOS and Windows Phone apps all have automatic photo uploads, meaning that when yous shoot a photo with your phone, it'due south automatically saved to your account. OneDrive'southward biggest force is that it works closely with Microsoft Office apps, such equally Discussion or PowerPoint, so when you launch i of those applications y'all'll see a list of recent documents saved to OneDrive. If you have an Office 365 subscription and open a document saved in OneDrive, you can interact on it in real fourth dimension with other people. You'll even be able to meet the changes they make equally they make them.

Microsoft is hoping that OneDrive volition be the place where you store your photos, and the company is working on technology that will eventually sort all of the photos yous take based on how important and meaningful they are. For example, if y'all take a photo of your kids, a picture show of a special meal and a shot of your parking space so y'all can find your automobile later, OneDrive would be able to understand the importance of each picture, save the ones it thinks are the almost useful, and trash the balance. That's still big-picture stuff for OneDrive, but information technology gives you an idea of the direction Microsoft is moving in.

In late 2015, Microsoft made an declaration that it would no longer offering unlimited deject storage to Function 365 subscribers. Instead, they are limited to 1TB. Additionally, beginning in early 2016, the 100GB and 200GB paid storage plans volition exist discontinued, replaced with a 50GB for $i.99 per month plan. You volition no longer get extra space if y'all allow the OneDrive apps to automatically fill-in photos on your phone. Finally, anyone with a Microsoft account will simply get 5GB of free storage, instead of 15GB. We will update this guide in 2016 when those changes are made.

Where it excels

Works seamlessly with Windows devices because it's built in to the Windows operating system.
It'due south easy to open up and edit files from OneDrive in Microsoft's other applications, such as Word or Excel.
Signing up for OneDrive gets you a Microsoft business relationship, which gives you access to Outlook, Xbox Alive, and other Microsoft services.

Where it falls flat

OneDrive'south automatic file organization doesn't always put files in the right folders.

Best for: If you take a Windows PC, tablet and telephone, and need to get to your files from any device with lilliputian attempt.

Dropbox

Dropbox is a favorite in the cloud storage world because it'southward reliable, easy to use, and a cakewalk to gear up. Your files alive in the cloud and you lot can go to them at whatsoever time from Dropbox'south website, desktop applications for Mac, Windows and Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora or compile your own), or the iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Kindle Fire mobile apps.

Yous can store any kind of file in Dropbox, by either uploading to the website or adding it with the desktop apps. Those apps live in your file arrangement so that you can easily move files from your computer to the deject and vice versa past dragging and dropping them into your Dropbox folder. The service automatically and speedily syncs your files across all of your devices, and so yous can access everything, everywhere. At that place is no size limit on files y'all upload to Dropbox with the desktop or mobile apps, just larger files tin have several hours to upload, depending on your connection speed.

Dropbox gets a lot of praise for its clean design, and rightfully so. Though I am not a fan of Dropbox'due south website because the design is very basic and it doesn't give yous many options to view and organize your files, its mobile apps and desktop apps are cute and like shooting fish in a barrel to navigate.

Dropbox gives its users plenty of opportunities to go actress storage to beef up the paltry 2GB yous get when you lot sign up. If you participate in the quick Getting Started tutorial, you become 250MB. Turn on the automatic photo upload feature on any of the mobile apps to go 3GB of extra space (yous can become just 3GB total, not per device). You can earn 500MB for each friend you refer to Dropbox who actually signs upward for the service, up to 16GB total, or 32 referrals.

Where it excels

Dropbox works equally well on PCs and Macs, Android and iOS.
The service is so simple and elegantly designed, that information technology's easy for anyone to master.
Its desktop applications seamlessly blend with your computer's file system.

Where it falls flat

Dropbox's website doesn't let y'all control how your files are displayed.

Best for: Simple sharing when y'all use tons of unlike kinds of devices.

Google Drive

Google combines a complete set of role tools with cloud storage in Drive. You go a picayune bit of everything with this service, including a word processor, spreadsheet application, and presentation builder, plus 15GB of free storage space.

If you already take a Google account, you can already admission Google Drive. You just have to head to drive.google.com and enable the service. Yous get 15GB of storage for anything you upload to Bulldoze, including photos, videos, documents, Photoshop files and more. However, you have to share that 15GB with your Gmail business relationship, photos you upload to Google+, and whatever documents you create in Google Bulldoze.

While yous tin access any of your files from the Drive Web site, you can also download the Bulldoze desktop app for Mac and PC to manage your files from your computer. Y'all tin can organize all of your files in the desktop app, and they'll sync with the cloud so you can get to them anywhere.

Bulldoze is built into Google's Web-based operating system Chromium, then if you have a Chromebook, Google Drive is your best deject storage option. Like other cloud storage services, Drive has apps for iOS and Android for viewing and managing your files from your telephone.

Google Bulldoze has the benefit of a built-in office suite, where you can edit documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, even if you created the document in another programme. The service also a large collection of extras, such as third-political party apps that can send faxes or sign documents.

Google also recently introduced Google Photos, an online photograph locker, where you tin can organize photos into albums. Google Photos is built into Drive in a dissever tab, just you lot're actually better off going straight to googlephotos.com to come across and organize photos. Nonetheless, you don't need to download the Google Photos app on your phone or tablet to back pictures you take there. The Google Bulldoze app can accept intendance of that.

What I similar most about Google Bulldoze is that you tin elevate and drop files into the Bulldoze Web site and they'll be uploaded automatically. You can likewise preview attachments from Gmail in Google Drive, and relieve those files to your cloud.

Where information technology excels

Google Bulldoze requires very little setup if y'all already have a Google business relationship.
If you use Gmail, information technology'due south easy to save attachments from your email direct to Drive with just a few clicks.
The app can automatically back up your photos on its own, without the need for the separate Google Photos app.

Where it falls flat

If you employ Google Bulldoze's tools to create documents, spreadsheets or presentations, you must export those files to edit them in another programme.
You have to share your storage infinite with Gmail, so if you're inbox is overflowing, you lot'll get less cloud storage space.

Best for: Google diehards, or anyone who wants a few office tools with their deject storage.

Box on Android.
Screenshot by Sarah Mitroff/CNET

Box

Anyone can sign up for a free private account on Box, only the service's countless list of sharing and privacy features were built specifically for business and It users. Beyond the basic cloud storage setup, where you tin shop just about any kind of file, Box lets yous share files with colleagues, assign tasks, get out comments on someone's work, and become notifications when a file changes.

You can preview files from Box'due south website and fifty-fifty create basic text documents in Box. Similar other cloud storage services, y'all can download a desktop app and sync your files between your hard drive and the cloud.

Box also gives yous a lot of control over the privacy of your files. For example, you tin make up one's mind who in your business can view and open specific folders and files, every bit well as who tin can edit and upload documents. You tin even password-protect individual files and fix expiration dates for shared folders.

Business organization users tin also connect other apps, such as Salesforce and NetSuite, so that you tin hands save documents to Box. In that location are also plug-ins for Microsoft Office and Adobe Lightroom that let you lot open and edit files saved to Box from those applications.

Where it excels

Box comes with tons of tools for businesses, including collaboration and file privacy control.

Where it falls apartment

The service'south countless list of sharing and privacy features tin can be lost on someone who'southward but using the service for personal storage.
Because of all those features, it can feel overwhelming to navigate the Box website if you're only trying to manage a few files and folders.

Best for: Teams of employees working together on projects, and large companies that need a place to securely share documents with everyone.

Amazon Cloud Drive

Amazon already sells you nigh annihilation under the lord's day, and information technology wants to be the place you store all of your music, photos, videos and other files as well. Amazon Cloud Drive has been around for a few years, but the visitor introduced new storage plans in March 2015; one just for photos and one for all other kinds of files.

Neither plan is free, only both have three-month trials. Unlimited Photos is bachelor for free for all Amazon Prime members or anyone with a Fire device. If you don't accept a Prime subscription or a Fire telephone or tablet, you'll need to pay $12 per month for the storage.

Truthful to its name, Unlimited Photos gets you unlimited storage for your photos (GIF, JPEG, BMP, TIFF and so on) and 5GB of free storage for other file types, including videos, PDFs and documents.

Unlimited Everything gets you storage for an unlimited number of files of any type, for $60 per year. There is no limit for how many files y'all can upload, merely each file needs to be nether 2GB unless you lot employ the Cloud Bulldoze desktop apps.

The Cloud Bulldoze desktop apps are available for PC and Mac, and permit y'all upload or download files. However, unlike other cloud storage services, the Amazon Cloud Drive app doesn't let you lot view your files from a folder on your computer. You can upload private files and download your unabridged library, but if you want to view them or make changes, you'll need to become to Amazon's website.

Amazon Deject Drive has apps for iOS and Android with automatic upload so videos and photos you take with your phone get saved to the cloud correct after you shoot them. The service is also baked into Amazon's Burn down tablets and phone.

Where it excels

If you already have an Amazon account, y'all don't need to sign upwards for a new service, y'all can simply sign into Cloud Drive.

Where it falls flat

The desktop app doesn't work with your file system, you can simply utilize it upload or download files.
You can just view and manage files from the Cloud Drive website, merely you cannot upload files larger than 2GB at that place.

Best for: Anyone with an Amazon Fire tablet or Fire phone, because it's function of the operating organisation. Unlimited Photos is good for Amazon Prime members, because you get it for gratis as part of that subscription.

Actress deject options

Of course, OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive and Box aren't your simply options for cloud storage.

One is SugarSync, a Dropbox-like alternative with apps for every mobile platform. The catch is that after your 90-24-hour interval free trial, where you lot can play around with 5GB of storage, you need to pay at $7.l per month for 60GB to keep using the service (yous can upgrade to more than storage for extra money).

At that place'south also Space Monkey , which has an entirely different take on cloud storage. For $200, you buy a 2-terabyte (TB) hard drive from the visitor. Yous get to use 1TB of the drive's space to store any and all of your files as a local backup. Your files also get encrypted and broken into bits that are sent to other Space Monkey users' hard drives, and so that you can access your files from another reckoner or mobile device. That's where that extra 1TB of infinite on your drive comes in -- information technology's used to store bits of other people's files. The service is free for the first yr, then costs $49 per year to keep storing your files in the cloud.