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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    ExpressionEngine

    Score7.8 out of 10
    N/AExpressionEngine is a content management system from EllisLab in 2002, a successor to pMachine Pro, a blogging system, which is written in object-oriented PHP and uses MySQL for data storage. ExpressionEngine is their flagship Content Delivery Platform.

    $249

    per year

    Google Drive

    Score8.7 out of 10
    N/AGoogle Drive is a cloud file storage, synchronization, and collaboration platform and service, that features Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides for document editing and presentation.

    $6

    per month

    Pricing
    ExpressionEngineGoogle Drive
    Editions & Modules
    License
    $299.00
    One Time Fee
    Basic
    $6.00
    per month
    Business
    $12.00
    per month
    Enterprise
    Contact Vendor for Quote
    per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    ExpressionEngineGoogle Drive
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details—Discounts are available for students, educators, and non profit organizations.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    ExpressionEngineGoogle Drive
    Considered Both Products
    Open Source
    No answer on this topic
    Google
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    99%
    Would buy again
    120 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    99%
    Delivers good value for the price
    114 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    97%
    Happy with the feature set
    117 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    95%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    81 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    99%
    Implementation went as expected
    93 Answers
    Features
    ExpressionEngineGoogle Drive
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of ExpressionEngine and Google Drive
    Feature
    ExpressionEngine
    10.0
    36 Ratings
    19% above category average
    Google Drive
    -
    Ratings
    Role-based user permissions10.036 Ratings00 Ratings
    Platform & Infrastructure
    Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of ExpressionEngine and Google Drive
    Feature
    ExpressionEngine
    9.0
    29 Ratings
    14% above category average
    Google Drive
    -
    Ratings
    API9.025 Ratings00 Ratings
    Internationalization / multi-language9.023 Ratings00 Ratings
    Web Content Creation
    Comparison of Web Content Creation features of ExpressionEngine and Google Drive
    Feature
    ExpressionEngine
    8.9
    36 Ratings
    13% above category average
    Google Drive
    -
    Ratings
    WYSIWYG editor10.033 Ratings00 Ratings
    Code quality / cleanliness9.135 Ratings00 Ratings
    Admin section7.135 Ratings00 Ratings
    Page templates10.030 Ratings00 Ratings
    Library of website themes7.011 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile optimization / responsive design10.018 Ratings00 Ratings
    Publishing workflow9.028 Ratings00 Ratings
    Form generator9.021 Ratings00 Ratings
    Web Content Management
    Comparison of Web Content Management features of ExpressionEngine and Google Drive
    Feature
    ExpressionEngine
    8.1
    36 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Google Drive
    -
    Ratings
    Content taxonomy8.128 Ratings00 Ratings
    SEO support10.028 Ratings00 Ratings
    Bulk management6.230 Ratings00 Ratings
    Availability / breadth of extensions8.035 Ratings00 Ratings
    Community / comment management8.132 Ratings00 Ratings
    File Sharing & Management
    Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of ExpressionEngine and Google Drive
    Feature
    ExpressionEngine
    -
    Ratings
    Google Drive
    8.4
    221 Ratings
    0% above category average
    Versioning00 Ratings8.7195 Ratings
    Video files00 Ratings7.8190 Ratings
    Audio files00 Ratings8.3184 Ratings
    Document collaboration00 Ratings9.0218 Ratings
    Access control00 Ratings8.0216 Ratings
    File search00 Ratings8.1220 Ratings
    Device sync00 Ratings8.9205 Ratings
    Cloud Storage Security & Administration
    Comparison of Cloud Storage Security & Administration features of ExpressionEngine and Google Drive
    Feature
    ExpressionEngine
    -
    Ratings
    Google Drive
    8.6
    215 Ratings
    1% below category average
    User and role management00 Ratings9.0202 Ratings
    File organization00 Ratings8.0213 Ratings
    Device management00 Ratings8.799 Ratings
    Cloud Storage Platform
    Comparison of Cloud Storage Platform features of ExpressionEngine and Google Drive
    Feature
    ExpressionEngine
    -
    Ratings
    Google Drive
    8.9
    214 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Performance00 Ratings9.2212 Ratings
    Reliability00 Ratings9.1214 Ratings
    Storage Reports00 Ratings8.587 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    ExpressionEngineGoogle Drive
    Small Businesses
    Umbraco CMS
    Score7 out of 10
    IDrive Online Backup and Object Storage e2
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Square Online
    Score7.7 out of 10
    Apple iCloud
    Score8.4 out of 10
    Enterprises
    RWS Tridion Sites
    Score9 out of 10
    ownCloud
    Score9.2 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    ExpressionEngineGoogle Drive
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.1
    (64 ratings)
    8.5
    (224 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.2
    (36 ratings)
    10.0
    (6 ratings)
    Usability
    7.0
    (7 ratings)
    8.8
    (54 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    2.8
    (2 ratings)
    9.0
    (7 ratings)
    Support Rating
    6.2
    (4 ratings)
    1.0
    (49 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    6.9
    (3 ratings)
    8.0
    (3 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    1.0
    (1 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    ExpressionEngineGoogle Drive
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Open Source
    ExpressionEngine is a very powerful and flexible content management system. It can handle a simple small business website all the way to a large corporation's website. If you are a business with multiple websites ExpresionEngine can handle that as well with it's Multiple Site Manager. I think ExpressionEngine would be less appropriate for a global large scale business with a magnitude of sites with different regions and languages.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Google
    It is possible to share files and folders with up to 200 email addresses, as well as with persons outside the company.Use the drop-down arrow to select who may see, comment on, or change the file or folder before sending out an invitation.I am very much impressed with this feature
    Read full review
    Pros
    Open Source
    • Content structuring. You can set up channels and fields to hold just about any kind of information imaginable; text, images, videos, numbers, code, etc. You can structure this information any way you want and in any order. You literally create your own information database just the way you want it using a clear, easy online interface.
    • Template system. Utter freedom. Need I say more?
    • Exensible. There are a lot of add-ons, extensions, and other external modules that extend the core functionality of ExpressionEngine. Need a user management system? Check out the User module at http://solspace.com.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Google
    • Any user with access can store a file using different platforms like Android, IOS, Windows, or Ubuntu (Desktop version)
    • You can share files with any number of different users with different access rights or you can even keep it public by providing the access link and assign different rights for public access
    • You can open Excel/Word files using google software Sheets/Docs in the browser environment without having to install software like Microsoft Office etc on your Windows OS
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Open Source
    • For me, one of the greatest strengths of ExpressionEngine is also one of their weaknesses. There are so many add-ons available (some free, some not) for ExpressionEngine to allow you to do just about anything you want. However, the more add-ons that you use the more you have to deal with when performing updates. For instance, is the add-on compatible with the new version of ExpressionEngine - or even another add-on? What if that add-on gets abandoned by the developer - is there another that can perform the same functionality?
    • I think that ExpressionEngine needs to offer more out of the box than it does. Yes, you can get add-ons for just about anything but this adds to the cost. I have a list of add-ons that I use on almost every site which can raise the cost of getting started with a new site by $100-300. So add that to the cost of a license and you're at $400-600 and you haven't even started working on it yet. For instance, I shouldn't have to buy an add-on to allow me to customize the menu for my end-users.
    • The membership management feature is seriously lacking. Fortunately, there are add-ons (for an additional cost) to allow you to manage things better.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Google
    • Having a little bit more control and clarity over what is shared and how it is shared would be a useful improvement.
    • Could be more robust and flexible as far as assigning restrictions.
    • Google Sheets could be enhanced because Excel really is not there yet as a product with equal capabilities as there are still quite a few limitations to the functionality.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Open Source
    I'm satisfied with the way that my site runs on EE. My primary concern is that support is now a profit center for EE's publisher and so they've consequently gutted their community support boards. However, a good EE community is developing at StackExchange. At this stage, I don't think that EE is a good choice for an individual site owner. WordPress or SquareSpace would be a better choice unless you have a budget for support.
    Read full review
    Google
    It's perfect for me. It keeps things saved and is easy to remove items if needed. Also, I very much enjoy the formatting options. Along with the integrations it has for SSO. Overall, this is the most user friendly system I have ever come across.
    Read full review
    Usability
    Open Source
    ExpressionEngine is very powerful and flexible. With this flexibility comes a bit of a learning curve. There are some great online resources for getting up to speed with EE, but the control panel can be a bit daunting. A lot of EE's installation process involves settings, configurations and flipping of switches. It is tedious, but well worth it as you ultimately have a very robust, secure and scalable CMS. Also, as of version 2.9.2, the control panel isn't responsive natively. You'll want to have a big enough screen to see the full control panel UI. Personally, I think the control panel would benefit from a major overhaul. It would be nice to see the colors and UI controls "modernized" and be able to more effectively customize the layout. Yes, some of this is built-in, and there are third-party add-ons to help, but maybe we'll see more refinement in future versions.
    Read full review
    Google
    It's easy enough to use for computer users of all ages and skill levels. I am an advanced user, and I think the hardest part might be showing someone how to download and set up the app on their device if they weren't too familiar with computers, but overall it is very easy to understand.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Open Source
    Never experienced an issue like this with it
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Google
    Always available
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Performance
    Open Source
    The admin section would slow to a crawl the larger the tag section grew. There were many areas where better pagination would've helped improve performance. Nothing complicated, which made the lag so frustrating
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Google
    The documents load fairly quickly and also update in real time, especially given the fact that multiple people can be using it at once. The "Offline" feature works great to allow the user to make edits and access the document without access to the internet, and then sync changes later once they're back.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Open Source
    I have personally never found any complications when trying to receive support from EllisLab in regards to ExpressionEngine when using the support plans they offer. I have always been responded to promptly and received satisfactory help with whatever my needs were in an extremely timely manner. This makes rating the support offered an easy job for me
    Read full review
    Google
    It takes a few days for customer support to get back to you. Although, I have not had to use support too often. Once you get an email back, they are very thorough and work hard to fix the problem quickly. It is a really great resource and a great way to get the help you need if you're stuck. A phone call also works quickly but you have to call during specific times.
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    Open Source
    No answers on this topic
    Google
    The effective google workspace using training that my organization received and was conducted by me (as a team lead of the ICT team) was mind-blowing and as a result, our staff is performing well in terms of using the application for their daily jobs than before. Now, in my institution, all teachers and all the administrative personnel are very much interested in cloud storage facilities, in previous my institution was afraid of losing all important documents in the cloud storage. But, after having received the training they are now realized that if anyone has only one google account then he or she can use 15GB of cloud storage freely and they are now happy because now it is not necessary for anyone to carry the traditional pen drive.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Open Source
    After installing the system a few times, you can see a pattern of things that have to be done to work the way you want them (settings, paths, etc.). By knowing what you want, you can put together some scripts that prepare the file system for installation, adjust post installation configuration settings, and install initial templates.
    Read full review
    Google
    It's an extremely easy software to implement, once you sign up for a google account you automatically have access to google drive with a set amount of storage space. The business or Google Suite accounts have more storage space than a regular free account, but setting up and accessing google drive is very easy in both cases
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Open Source
    ExpressionEngine is vastly more flexible than any other content management system I have used to date and the quality of the add-ons are significantly higher than what you find in other directories. The ExpressionEngine community is also very willing and helpful with if you have any questions or run into any issues.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Google
    In short, Google Drive is better for independent users who store a normal amount of stuff. OneDrive makes more sense for businesses and teams that are doing heavy-duty storage or large-scale syncing. Realistically, though, most users will fall somewhere in between the two, where either platform would meet their needs.
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Open Source
    Maybe it's scale-able from the content user perspective, but it was very limited from the programmers perspective. So many custom hacks were necessary that it reached a point it would be impossible to upgrade to a newer version
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Google
    I have always been able to access
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Open Source
    • Being able to be recognized as a leader within the ExpressionEngine development community has led to us being sought out by those customers seeking expert guidance.
    • We tend to specialize in using ExpressionEngine for our customers, so it has been easier to ramp new resources up on our development process, as well as be able to seek out independent experts to use as sub contractors or freelancers.
    • As we have been using ExpressionEngine almost exclusively for a number of years, we have built a reusable repository of proprietary code that makes our development process much more efficient and decreases the effort required for our projects.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Google
    • It has given our operation remote capabilities
    • Easier to access and understand client's need through collaborative enviroment
    • availability to digital resources fast and easy
    • saved our operation hundreds of dollars in physical storage (both investment and maintenance)
    • our operation became easier for new staff to get onboard: small learning curve to use it
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Google Drive Screenshots

    Screenshot of Google Drive PriorityScreenshot of Comment on Microsoft Files in Google DriveScreenshot of Shared drives