Let’s say that you have hundreds of pictures or a large file you want to share with your colleagues/friends/family. There are plenty of options available in today’s tech world. Two of them are for sharing and storing: Google Drive and Dropbox. So which one is for you? The answer to this could be determined by considering what aspect(s) is most important. Storage space? Method of sharing? Collaboration? Searching? Security? Retrieval of lost files? Support? Availability?
There is free storage in both apps and various ways of “earning” more. However, having substantial space will cost you. Google Drive is less costly: $59.88/year for 100 GB vs. Dropbox’s $199, as an example.
Google Drive’s way of sharing is multi-stepped; it is simpler to share files with Dropbox-drag and drop is the name of that game. Both products make it easy to collaborate on documents. Google Drive’s use of Google Docs makes it so you can see the editing by your colleague and even chat about it as it happens.
Google Drive’s search is by document type, owner, and other advanced filters. Dropbox also has an advanced search: “all these words,” “any of these words,” “this exact phrase,” or “none of these words.”
Online security is always a big concern with my computer. Because Google Drive is directly linked to your Google account, you will have the same two-step authorization. Dropbox has one simpler level: A unique user name and password.
Do you ever wish you hadn’t deleted those files? Dropbox holds onto deleted files for 30 days. Google Drive keeps track of each change and saves a new version of your document, which would take up storage space.
Google Drive’s method of support is to supply you with links to “How To” documents; Dropbox provides a detailed tour of the entire product as well as community forums and a support team that will respond to your help request by email.
Google Drive is available on Android, Mac OS X, and Windows. iOS applications are on the way. Dropbox is available for iOS, Blackberry, Android, Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows.
So get those pictures over to your mom right away!
