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Users can organise their media and store a copy in the cloud in case the original data is lost or stolen. Google Photos has been ahead of the competition for a long time when it arrives to media backup, AI search features, and editing.
But things changed when the company said it would no longer let people store as much as they wanted. When we have a lot of photos on our phones, we usually back them up by putting them on our computers or in the cloud, like Google Photos.
Selecting the best cloud storage on the market is hard because the market is so competitive right now. It’s hard to know which solution is best for you. Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive are two of the leaders.
OneDrive vs Google Photos: Features
| OneDrive | Google Photos |
|---|---|
| free 5GB storage plan | Google Drive uploaded a 1GB file in just under five minutes which is pretty impressive |
| OneDrive has email tickets and phone lines, but you have to look through quite a few pages to find them. | Google Photos has been one of the most popular photo storage services |
| Google Drive comes out on top because its prices are a little lower and it works with more apps. | OneDrive has added a feature for editing photos that is similar to Google Photos. |
OneDrive vs Google Photos: Price
Since Google Photos will no longer offer unlimited storage after June 1, 2021, many users are wondering if 15GB of free space will be enough to store photos and videos if they share the space with Google Drive and Gmail.
OneDrive, on the other hand, has 5GB of free space. Once you reach the limit, you will also need to upgrade your account. You can pay $15 per month for 100GB of storage, or you can sign up for Microsoft 365 Personal or Microsoft 365 Family.
OneDrive vs Google Photos: Security
OneDrive has fingerprint protection built in, which Google Photos doesn’t have yet. But the second one lets users lock pictures in different folders within the app. It has a two-step verification and an auto-locking feature to keep it safe, and biometrics are needed to get in.
Google Photos’ AI-powered search feature is a clear advantage, and OneDrive’s auto-tagging feature can’t compete with Google’s powerful AI, which is a major point of difference.
OneDrive vs Google Photos: Performance
Both services’ computer clients work great for syncing files in the background. You can choose to download all files so you can access them offline or leave them in the cloud to free up space on your computer. Just keep in mind that most of Google’s files are managed online anyway.
In our tests, Google Drive uploaded a 1GB file in just under five minutes, which is pretty good. OneDrive took about a minute longer to do the same thing. When you compare how long it takes to download the same file, the difference is clearer: Google takes less than two minutes, while Microsoft takes more than seven.
OneDrive vs Google Photos: File Sharing
There isn’t much difference between Google Drive, OneDrive, and iCloud when it comes to sharing files. All platforms make it easy to share files and control who can do what with them. They also let you choose who can make changes that need to be made.
When it comes to Google Drive and One Drive, you can do almost the same things with each. Between Windows apps, Android apps, and iOS apps, it’s easy to share files. But Android apps can’t be shared with iCloud because it doesn’t support that.
ONEDRIVE VS GOOGLE PHOTOS: Supports
Because these cloud drives are made by two of the biggest tech companies in the world, you can count on getting a lot of help if you need it. Both have a lot of self-help articles for some of the easier problems, and there are ways to get real-time help if you have more complicated issues.
OneDrive has email tickets and phone lines, but you have to look through quite a few pages to find them. Google doesn’t offer support to people on the free plan, but people who pay can get help by email, phone, or live chat, which helps to solve some problems faster.
OneDrive Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Free
- two-factor authentication
Cons:
Google Photos Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Free
- uploaded 1 GB data
Cons:
- 15GB limit
FAQs
Can Google Photos be switched out for OneDrive?
OneDrive is popular with business users because it works well with Office apps, but it can also be used instead of Google Photos. You can put the app on your phone and have it sync your photos to the cloud automatically.
Is Google better than OneDrive?
In short, Google Drive is better for people who work on their own and need to store a normal amount of stuff. OneDrive is better for businesses and teams that need to store a lot of data or sync a lot of data. In reality, though, most users will be somewhere in the middle, so either platform will work for them.
Does it make sense to pay for OneDrive?
With Microsoft 365, you can get a great deal on OneDrive cloud storage, but you can only store up to 1TB. The Personal plan costs about $5.83 per month and gives you access to the Microsoft Office suite as well as 1TB of storage space.