In this tight competition Dropbox vs Google Drive& we all are confused about which one we should choose to save both of our personal and official data.
However& both technologies are great with their services and provide plenty of space and free options depending upon your package and needs.
If you deliberately want to know which one suits you the best then you need to dive deeper into how they both syncs& integrate& backup& and share your files.
Here you go with the top-7 functional & operational key areas.
Table of Contents
Part 1: The Common Features of Dropbox and Google Drive
Here's the basic gist of what Dropbox and Google Drive offer:
Backup your files to the cloud: First& both Dropbox and Google Drive create a dedicated folder on your device. If you save any file in that particular folder& it automatically & immediately will get uploaded to the company’s services and provides backup in case anything wrong happens with your machine.
Synchronize files across your devices: Also& it lets you access your important data across your multiple devices If you have multiple devices& Dropbox and Google Drive make sure that you have copies of all your files on each of them.
Let's share your files with other people: Both cloud data management services also have robust tools to give other people access so that they can collaborate together on your work.
Part 2: The Difference Between Dropbox and Google Drive
To find out the basic difference between both of the cloud storage technologies we’ve to dig deep and explore their features and offerings to the users. Then we can find out which one fits the best to our requirements.
Here you go with the list of some common features measured& which will answer your question which is better Google Drive or Dropbox.
2.1 Dropbox vs Google Drive: File Sync
The most required function in any data management tool is its synchronisation ability. When we talk about Dropbox it can sync files across multiple devices and OS including all mobile and desktop platforms. And the thing that set Dropbox apart from the competition is its Linux support and “smart-sync”. It means at one time only changes are synchronised not the entire folder.
In comparison& Google drive & dropbox also provides support across multiple devices& but it doesn’t support Linux. It has workarounds to make it so& but it is not considered as the officially supported platform for file syncing. It only lets you sync some specific files and doesn’t support file change syncing. That’s why GDrive Synchronisation is also called as ‘block-level’ synchronisation& which says that it always requires re-upload to download or sync entire files and its changes.
If you want to synchronize two Google Drive or Dropbox accounts& then you can use third-party platforms like Wondershare InClowdz to do it. This is how easy it is -
Migrate, Sync, Manage Clouds Files in One Place
- • Migrate cloud files such as photos, music, documents from one drive to another, like Dropbox to Google Drive.
- • Backup your music, photos, videos in one could drive to another to keep files safe.
- • Manage all cloud drives such as Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, box, and Amazon S3 in one place.
- • Sync clouds files such as music, photos, videos, etc., from one cloud drive to another.
Step 1 - You should have an InClowdz account to do this. If you do not have it& create one by following the steps that the app guides you through.
Step 2 - Once you are Logged In& on the left panel of the screen& you’ll find the ‘Sync’ option. Click on it and go for ‘Add Cloud Drive’.
Step 3 - Choose the two accounts you want Sync as ‘Source Cloud Drive’ and ‘Target Cloud Drive’.
Step 4 - Click on ‘Sync’ and you are good to go!
2.2 Dropbox vs Google Drive: File Sharing
There is no denying fact that both Google Drive let you share files and folders. Also& they are almost the same when it comes to granting permission for file and link sharing. However& Dropbox beats the GDrive when it's about securing your files. It allows you to set passwords on your shared files and the one who has the password can access them.
Along with it& you can set an expiry date of your file& once the date passes no one would be able to share it anywhere.
Dropbox has also made sharing the files directly through windows explorer and MacOS finder. Both let you right-click on the file and folder that you want to share via email. But with Dropbox& you will also get a “Copy Dropbox link” option that you can paste into a Slack channel and email.
Wondershare InClowdz can be used for file sharing between Dropbox and Google Drive or between 2 Dropbox and Google Drive accounts respectively.
Wondershare InClowdz
Migrate& Sync& Manage Clouds Files in One Place
- Migrate cloud files such as photos& music& documents from one drive to another& like Dropbox to Google Drive.
- Backup your music& photos& videos in one could drive to another to keep files safe.
- Sync clouds files such as music& photos& videos& etc. from one cloud drive to another.
- Manage all cloud drives such as Google Drive& Dropbox& OneDrive& box& and Amazon S3 in one place.
Step 1 - Sign in to your InClowdz account with appropriate credentials.
Step 2 - On the ‘Migrate’ Panel& Click on ‘Add Cloud Drive’ and then go on to choose the ‘Source Cloud Drive’ which is from where you will send the files and the ‘Target Cloud Drive’ is where the files will land up.
Step 3 - Once the Drives are selected& choose all the files of Source or specific files and click on ‘Migrate’ to send them to the Target Drive.
2.3 Dropbox vs Google Drive: Security
Although& both Dropbox and Gdrive provide two-factor authentication and encrypt your data when its transit from your device to the cloud storage and vice-versa.
But here also dropbox uses a stronger version of encryption (Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256-bit encryption to keep your data safe. The biggest proving point is that the US National security Agency has also approved this encryption standard to protect the information which has been classified as a top-secret.
2.4 Dropbox vs Google Drive: Integrations:
Do you know? Google Drive is pretty much fast at saving and saving the Gmail attachments& twin store images with google photos& which ultimately makes the collaboration easier through the google docs& sheets and slides. Also& the chrome web store has more than 100 third-party apps for google drive& which gives Gdrive more potential than some other competition.
Whereas the dropbox has developed its own partnerships and products. If you ask the personal users then they have always enjoyed partnership with Microsoft that offers office documents openable and editable from the dropbox only. To make collaboration easier Dropbox have also integrated PDF viewing and sharing with Adobe and the messaging app Slack.
Also& the professional users get unlimited API which gives access to security& productivity& and data transport partners. The DBX platform of Dropbox also helps to integrate with the services like Autodesk and Okta. All of this application of Dropbox helps them to build their unique solutions based on the requirements of their business.
2.5 Dropbox vs Google Drive: Storage
The very first question then you should ask yourself is “If I’m just hovering around this article for just some free space” then you must know Gdrive is the straight winner. It gives you 15GB of free storage& while the Dropbox only offers 2GB.
However& Dropbox offers extra 500MB space if you refer it to your friend. You should also know one fact that if you use Gmail& Google Photos& and other google products then you can easily burn 15GB of free space offered by Google drive.
2.6 Dropbox vs Google Drive: Pricing
What if the free space given by both of cloud data storage services is not enough for you?
Off-Course you will go for the premium services or upgrade to the paid services. Let’s compare the Dropbox price vs Google Drive.
The Dropbox plan starts from $11.99 per month for up to 2TB of space or $9.99 if you pick up the yearly package of the same. When you opt for Dropbox paid storage services then it also features Dropbox Smart Sync& which automatically syncs your file changes and addition without saving them in your hard drive and can access them without an internet connection.
Whereas& if you want to upgrade your cloud storage in google then you’ve to pick Google one service& a subscription. Which ultimately costs you less $99.9 per year as compared to $119.88 per year.
2.7 Dropbox vs Google Drive: Additional Features
Both storage technologies are not just a cloud-based file cabinet& they are off course more than that. Both carry word processor and project creation tools. Although they have noticeable differences between them.
Here you go with some additional features of Dropbox and GDrive.
Dropbox's basic document creation tool also known as Paper& lets their users create word documents with embedded calendars& media files& images& merge other Dropbox files or create a table. The text and list can be bulleted or numbered and you can add section or page break. It has a spell checker but doesn't pick up grammatical errors as Google’s programs do.
It also has three templates within paper which also helps to collaborate with the teammate as mentioned above in the sections.
Google Docs: Google docs has got slides& sheets& forms and drawings for more specialised and detailed projects. Along with google docs you get access to google maps& translate& Gmail and YouTube.
The layout of google doc is very much similar to Microsoft Word with a plethora of formatting and embedding tools pinned at the side and top of taskbars. You also have options to choose text colors& font& font style& adding images & backgrounds& etc. It has a recognized and better spell checker than Dropbox paper.
Conclusion
Aside from the question& is Google Drive better than Dropbox? Your choice totally depends upon what you exactly want to use cloud storage for. Both have unique features& dropbox ability to exchange files in shared folders provide unique collaborating channels opened.
Whereas& the Google Drive ensures that it is integrated with other cloud services for word processing and email. It's up to you what suits you the best.
Hence read the article fully and then come out with a decision.
100% Secure