OneDrive is Microsoft’s cloud storage service that is a direct competitor to Google Drive. Though OneDrive has been around for longer than both Google Drive and the likes of Dropbox. OneDrive was previously known as SkyDrive. Remember SkyDrive? Yeah& I am that old& sadly.
OneDrive was launched in 2007 as SkyDrive whereas pCloud was launched 6 years later& in 2013. Both services enjoy a large following& with Microsoft OneDrive clearly leading pCloud owing to a number of reasons that you will read about below.
pCloud vs OneDrive comparison comes down to what you want to use the cloud storage for& since while both offer a large amount of storage at a price& the overall offerings couldn’t be more different and targeted to more different users.
Part 1 Quick Information On Microsoft OneDrive
Microsoft OneDrive provides users with a 5 GB account for free. On the face of it& this looks meagre& although Dropbox takes the low cake at an insultingly low 2 GB free& but that is not all that OneDrive offers.
Part of availing Microsoft OneDrive service is creating a Microsoft Account& that itself gives you a free Outlook.com email address with a 5 GB inbox (and a shared 5 GB OneDrive). So& like Gmail and Google Drive& you get email and storage& only that Google offers 15 GB.
The secret (or not such a secret) is Microsoft Office. Even the free version of OneDrive comes with online versions of Microsoft Word& Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Excel& all of them powerful enough even in their online versions to cater to a large number of users who wouldn’t ever need to buy Office if their use falls under what is allowed for free.
Availing OneDrive means making use of the full-spectrum service package of email& the power of Microsoft Office suite and 5 GB online storage& for free. This is where the value proposition of Microsoft OneDrive lies and skyrockets ahead of the competition such as Google Drive& not to mention pCloud.
Part 2 Quick Information On pCloud
pCloud is a storage service provider through and through& meaning it only offers storage& both free and at a cost. It provides a 10 GB account to users for free and there are paid plans to choose from.
pCloud is based in Switzerland and expressly markets its consumer privacy-centric business model& a model in stark contrast with the likes of Google Drive. pCloud is known for its pricing structure wherein it offers two plans with two payment options& that’s it. There is a 500 GB plan and a 2 TB plan& and you can pay for these plans either annually or as a one-time payment and be done with for life. When comparing pCloud vs OneDrive& this is where pCloud is dramatically different from OneDrive as well as other cloud storage providers& since it offers an option to pay a reasonable one-time fee and avail a large amount of storage for life.
Part 3 pCloud vs OneDrive Features: In-depth Comparison
pCloud vs OneDrive: Storage Space
Microsoft OneDrive: 5 GB free
pCloud: 10 GB free
Microsoft offers a small 5 GB storage for free. In a pCloud vs OneDrive comparison& this round goes to pCloud since it offers 10 GB free.
pCloud vs OneDrive: Integrations And Document Collaboration
App and service integrations and document collaboration have been buzzwords for a few years now. How does pCloud vs OneDrive comparison look like when it comes to integrations and collaboration?
Using OneDrive means you get document collaboration abilities by way of the power of Microsoft Office suite. And this is free& you are not paying for anything yet. You can share files using OneDrive and people can work together on a document online.
OneDrive integrates with Microsoft Windows inherently and as natively as can be. This is another feather in the OneDrive cap in the pCloud vs OneDrive comparison. Along with integration with Windows like no other& every major software developer in the world supports OneDrive& and extensive documentation and APIs available with OneDrive mean that it is one of the most-integrated& highly agile cloud storage solutions available and can be deployed for any number of business uses.
pCloud is what can only be labelled today as a traditional cloud storage service provider& providing only cloud storage and nothing else. It does one thing& and in that one thing& it can beat OneDrive depending on the way you look at it. pCloud does not offer document collaboration or any other feature such as email. But it does one thing well& and that is storage in the cloud at unbeatable value.
pCloud vs OneDrive: Data Privacy & Security
People have become more aware of the privacy of their data online as they store more and more of it online in the cloud. Both pCloud and Microsoft have robust privacy policies and they do not snoop around your storage looking for ways to monetize your data for their revenue.
Data security in relation to cloud storage refers to security of data at rest and while in transit. Microsoft and pCloud use 256-bit AES at rest and TLS during transit. This is contrast with Google Drive that while using TLS in transit& utilizes 128-bit AES at rest. Your data is equally secure with Microsoft and pCloud& and more secure with Microsoft and pCloud when compared to Google Drive.
pCloud vs OneDrive: Special Features
OneDrive has the advantage of being part of an ecosystem wherein there is email& office productivity suite and cloud storage built to work together. Then there is document collaboration that is critical in an office environment. For all-round use& OneDrive wins by a long shot.
pCloud does not have anything unique going for it& save for the fact that you can essentially pay for 500 GB or 2 TB once and be done with. That alone is a unique selling proposition that has millions of fans& and by pCloud’s count& 10 million and counting.
pCloud also provides options to showcase your files as a portfolio to outside users& and there is an audio player built in that you can use on the web or mobile app to listen to music stored in pCloud.
That means you can now upload your music library to pCloud and enjoy streaming music without paying $9.99 for it every month! That saving alone will cover the cost of pCloud annual plus leave you with a lot of change to spare!
Part 4 pCloud vs OneDrive: Comparison Table
|
|
pCloud |
Microsoft OneDrive |
|---|---|---|
|
Price |
Starts with Free |
Starts with Free |
|
Storage |
10 GB free& thereafter paid |
5 GB free& thereafter paid |
|
Integrations |
None |
One of the most customizable and integrated services |
|
Special Features |
Portfolio page& embedded audio player |
A very long list of features available only with OneDrive |
|
Privacy |
100% data privacy |
100% data privacy |
|
Security |
256-bit AES at rest and TLS while in transit |
256-bit AES at rest and TLS while in transit |
|
Unique Selling Proposition |
Lifetime Account allows one-time payment for lifelong use& Family Account also available |
Ubiquity – available everywhere with all major or minor software vendors for seamless integration& one of the best services for enterprise and even governments |
|
What Is It Good For? |
Personal use requiring large storage& features such as audio player and portfolio display cater to individual use |
Personal use& enterprise use with full security and privacy& and governmental use with specific compliances |
Part 5 Managing Multiple Cloud Storages In A Single App
Cloud storage& once a niche market for those that really needed files to be always available with them (and paid through their nose for the privilege)& is now used by everyone on the planet. If you have a Gmail account& you will have 15 GB Google Drive free. If you have Outlook.com email address& you have 5 GB OneDrive free. Then& there are standalone storage service providers such as Dropbox and Box and pCloud that offer just one thing - cloud storage - as against the Microsoft and Google offerings that encompass office productivity suites and document collaboration features and email along with the cloud storage service.
How do you manage multiple cloud storage accounts in 2021? Still managing them with their apps and in browser tabs? Welcome to a new way to manage your cloud storage in one place with Wondershare InClowdz and get the ability to transfer and sync your data between storages as you desire.
Wondershare InClowdz: The Cloud Storage Management Tool You Need In 2021
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.
InClowdz is an app designed by Wondershare to ease the burden that many face today& that of managing a growing number of cloud storage accounts along with the constant need to transfer data between those accounts. Here is how you use InClowdz to manage your cloud accounts in a single app and transfer and sync data between the attached cloud storages.
Step 1: Register for a Wondershare ID and download InClowdz using this link: https://drfone.wondershare.com/cloud-migration.html
Step 2: Launch InClowdz (it opens in the Migrate module). Click Add Source Drive.
Step 3: After authorization and connecting the drive& you can begin with managing your drive in InClowdz. Click Management.
You will see your drive connected here:
Step 5: Click on the connected drive and you will see the files in the drive.
If you want to migrate or sync data& click any. Here is Migrate:
Step 1: Click Migrate
Step 2: Add the drive you want to migrate from under Source Drive
Step 3: Add the drive you want to migrate to under Target Drive
Step 4: Select the checkbox next to the drive name to select the whole drive to migrate& otherwise& click source drive to specify files to migrate.
Under target drive& click target drive to select folder to copy into. If you do not do this& data will be made available in the root.
Step 5: Click Migrate and let the process finish!
Conclusion
When looking for pCloud vs OneDrive comparison& it pays to keep in mind that OneDrive and pCloud are meant for different uses and different kinds of users& consequently. If a user only wants the best possible storage that they can pay for and forget& get the pCloud lifetime service and forget paying every again. But& if you want to make use of features that involve interacting with the world out there& meaning& if you want to use features such as document collaboration and sharing and working together along with the ability to use Microsoft Office suite and integration of cloud storage with every major software developer out there& OneDrive would be a far better fit than pCloud.
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