Apple iCloud vs. Google Cloud Storage

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Apple iCloud
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
Apple iCloud is a document management software offering from Apple. It includes features such as access to music, photos, calendars, contacts, and documents, and it is built into every new iOS device.
$0.99
per month
Google Cloud Storage
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
Google Cloud Storage is unified object storage for developers and enterprises.N/A
Pricing
Apple iCloudGoogle Cloud Storage
Editions & Modules
50GB
$0.99
per month
200GB
$2.99
per month
2TB
$9.99
per month
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Apple iCloudGoogle Cloud Storage
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Apple iCloudGoogle Cloud Storage
Considered Both Products
Apple iCloud
Chose Apple iCloud
Selected iCloud just because it is necessary for owners of Apple/iOS devices.
Google Cloud Storage
Chose Google Cloud Storage
One drive only offers you 5GB free space when google gives you 15 GB. and google cloud as better performance. even with real-time sync.
Chose Google Cloud Storage
Easier to set up and has a natural interface that is well known to users so it is easy for them to assimilate. Google Cloud Storage is faster than any other option we tried and works perfectly with our Chromebooks. From an ROI perspective, it is the best option for a medium …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Apple iCloudGoogle Cloud Storage
File Sharing & Management
Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Product A and Product B
Apple iCloud
9.1
74 Ratings
8% above category average
Google Cloud Storage
-
Ratings
Versioning8.750 Ratings00 Ratings
Video files9.270 Ratings00 Ratings
Audio files9.267 Ratings00 Ratings
Document collaboration8.963 Ratings00 Ratings
Access control8.461 Ratings00 Ratings
File search9.766 Ratings00 Ratings
Device sync9.473 Ratings00 Ratings
Cloud Storage Security & Administration
Comparison of Cloud Storage Security & Administration features of Product A and Product B
Apple iCloud
8.7
70 Ratings
1% above category average
Google Cloud Storage
-
Ratings
User and role management8.654 Ratings00 Ratings
File organization8.266 Ratings00 Ratings
Device management9.467 Ratings00 Ratings
Cloud Storage Platform
Comparison of Cloud Storage Platform features of Product A and Product B
Apple iCloud
9.4
74 Ratings
10% above category average
Google Cloud Storage
-
Ratings
Performance9.674 Ratings00 Ratings
Reliability9.674 Ratings00 Ratings
Storage Reports9.158 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Apple iCloudGoogle Cloud Storage
Small Businesses
SugarSync
SugarSync
Score 10.0 out of 10
Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage
Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage
Score 9.7 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Druva Data Resiliency Cloud
Druva Data Resiliency Cloud
Score 9.6 out of 10
Azure Blob Storage
Azure Blob Storage
Score 8.7 out of 10
Enterprises
Druva Data Resiliency Cloud
Druva Data Resiliency Cloud
Score 9.6 out of 10
Azure Blob Storage
Azure Blob Storage
Score 8.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Apple iCloudGoogle Cloud Storage
Likelihood to Recommend
9.2
(74 ratings)
9.1
(35 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(4 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(21 ratings)
8.0
(13 ratings)
Performance
8.2
(12 ratings)
9.0
(10 ratings)
Support Rating
7.5
(20 ratings)
7.8
(13 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Apple iCloudGoogle Cloud Storage
Likelihood to Recommend
Apple
iCloud is also great to keep access to photos synced across devices. Ex: I can snap a photo at a job site and have access to that photo on my desktop when I return to my office. I can then drop the photo into a document that is stored in iCloud and have instant access to that document on my iPad at a client's office later in the day. Seamless transitions make life much easier.
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Google
[Google Cloud Storage is] great for storing and playing large video files, and even sharing them securely with others, whether or not they are part of your organization. No need to download video files before watching, and can also be used to store any other kinds of files.
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Pros
Apple
  • Syncing files, appointments, Notes and contacts. If I'm away from home, and set an appointment using my phone, that appointment automatically updates real time to my home laptop and vice-versa.
  • It stores files (e.g photos) nicely
  • Once it's set up, it's fairly easy to use.
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Google
  • Perhaps the strongest advantage of Google Cloud Storage is that they seem to update files quicker than competing cloud storage providers. The software rarely runs into sharing violations or access issues.
  • Google Cloud Storage has a unified API, which is nice when authorizing others to access data.
  • The software rarely fails and handles large volumes of data well.
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Cons
Apple
  • Customization - iCloud is great at the stuff it does well. But it lacks features that some competitors (in Google Drive or Dropbox) do really well. API support for third-party apps is really great for some other people.
  • Remote use - Managing or accessing information from iCloud while not on one of your logged-in apple devices can sometimes be an issue. From a work computer for example. It doable, but the experience is much less user-friendly.
  • Ability to edit documents on the cloud similar to google docs or some other competitors
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Google
  • Currently can't delete folders which means there are cluttered folders on my cloud.
  • Easier upload options would be nice. The ability to upload and store other file types with an easier interface.
  • Managing files and storage could be improved a little for easier access and editing.
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Likelihood to Renew
Apple
It's so seamless that I can't imagine another product doing a better job synchronizing all of my devices. I simply do not think about it at all. Everything happens behind the scenes and I'm confident that Apple keeps my data safe and secure. I'm a happy customer as far as this is concerned. I have not had a bad experience with this service.
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Google
after all of the investment made in the tool and considering how many teams use it I think we would not be likely to move away from this tool. A lot of our information including historical is already here and we are happy with the capabilities of the tool currently
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Usability
Apple
While it may be great to use with other Apple products, I find it's an absolutist-style workflow to be debilitating and to lead to many problems. When you sign into the cloud, it completely takes over your device in many ways that you don't notice at first until there is a problem.
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Google
Very easy to use. I love having my data backed up. I love that Google Cloud Storage provides me with the peace of mind that I no longer need to worry about my data being lost. I can now sleep better at night. Google Cloud Storage is very easy to use. Overall, you save time and have less stress by using Google Cloud Storage.
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Performance
Apple
Occasionally, large files that haven't yet been synced require a few minutes to pull down but I've rarely noticed delays. It does a good job of keeping data cached on my local machines while updating them with changes from other machines transparently.
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Google
Excellent upload and download performance, excellent UI and a robust set of tools make GCS a must-have tool in our overall technical stack. Since we use so many data processes, GCS is a clutch player to help us orchestrate both input, intermediate storage, and output of all of these data processes. Because it's one tool for all of these processes, our applications get the benefit of having to need only one SDK to work against.
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Support Rating
Apple
Apple customer service is fantastic. iCloud is built with Apple in mind and its design is extremely intuitive and user-friendly. Additionally, whenever our team has encountered issues, the speed of Apple support has been more than timely in addressing our issues and solving our request. We have encountered relatively few issues in my time with the platform and this only improves our overall score for those who keep the platform stable.
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Google
We have never used official support from Google for our Google Cloud Storage, but there is plenty of documentation in place already. With a small amount of work, anybody should be able to get started. Once needs get more complicated, there is still documentation from Google, but also plenty of community support for common use cases around the internet.
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Implementation Rating
Apple
No answers on this topic
Google
overall I was not directly involved but hears the teams were satisfied with the implementation. the teams that used the tool did not encounter major issues, it was as expected with minor issues and bugs that were resolved later. The more significant learning curve was actually starting to use the tool
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Alternatives Considered
Apple
Apple does offer an alternative to Office & the Google Docs family but trusting to use it with both internal and external parties is tough. Google is more universal and easier for 3rd parties to collaborate with. Apple works well for a closed internal group that is native to Apple's ecosystem. Google offers more storage space than Apple
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Google
We prefer Google Cloud Storage over Amazon Web Services because of the tools and code integration offered by Google Cloud Storage. We found the Google Cloud Storage toolset to be highly usable and give us the fine-grained control we need for managing digital assets. Ultimately, we chose Google Cloud Storage because we found the API and suitability for code integration with our Java codebase to be impeccable and because we had excellent direct support from the Google Cloud Storage team
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Return on Investment
Apple
  • If I lose track of my credentials or my continuing education documentation, I could end up not being able to renew my certification. This would lead to a major loss in revenue.
  • Time is money and having all of my required documents easily accessible in iCloud saves me time and allows me to work more efficiently.
  • My Apple devices were certainly not cheap purchases. iCloud has allowed me to maximize my productivity through synchronizing my work no matter which device I'm working on.
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Google
  • It has assisted greatly with our ability to share documents/information cross functionally. Especially within our advertising team, we store a large amount of information to assist new hires and refresh current employees.
  • Something that could improve is employees' understanding of how to best utilize Google Cloud Storage. This could improve by implementing a potential training video or tutorial.
  • Overall, Google Storage has been great. I have not used a similar storage product that had the same enterprise level capabilities.
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ScreenShots