GitHub vs. Google Drive

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
GitHub
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
GitHub is a platform that hosts public and private code and provides software development and collaboration tools. Features include version control, issue tracking, code review, team management, syntax highlighting, etc. Personal plans ($0-50), Organizational plans ($0-200), and Enterprise plans are available.
$4
per month per user
Google Drive
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Google 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
GitHubGoogle Drive
Editions & Modules
Team
$40
per year per user
Enterprise
$210
per year per user
Basic
$6.00
per month
Business
$12.00
per month
Enterprise
Contact Vendor for Quote
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
GitHubGoogle Drive
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsDiscounts are available for students, educators, and non profit organizations.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
GitHubGoogle Drive
Considered Both Products
GitHub
Chose GitHub
Github thrives against Google Drive when it comes to sharing code since it's very quick and easy. This is assuming you know how to use github. Google has the upper hand when it comes to user accessibility.
Chose GitHub
Before switching to GitHub we used Apache Subversion, but found GitHub was better in virtually every way. When we used subversion in 2011 (albeit things might have changed by now) creating and working on separate branches was tedious. We had to create a bunch of different …
Chose GitHub
Github seems to be the leader and most progressive in terms of making sure the interface does what you need when you need it.
Chose GitHub
GitHub is the best git repository service available and the industry standard. It's fast, reliable, and constantly adding new services. Bitbucket and Gitlab are both good, free (or inexpensive) alternatives, but they lack some of the design and speed of GitHub. Both alternative …
Chose GitHub
GitHub holds up well against Gitlab and Bitbucket in terms of ease of use, documentation, support, and features for enterprise. However, it falls a bit flat on the pricing side with paid plans for private repos. It has been and remains the service of choice on which to post …
Chose GitHub
I selected GitHub because I knew it integrated with more other services and seemed like the more established platform.
Google Drive
Chose Google Drive
The free plan takes Google Drive at the top of the stack, paying nothing you can store data up to 15GB. This could be really important for a startup that has to consider how to manage the initial budget. I selected Google Drive because I had already a Google account, before …
Chose Google Drive
From Google Drive, we like the simplicity of having a single vendor, and the integration with the rest of Google Apps. From Dropbox, we like the smooth desktop integration and the cheap storage plans.
Chose Google Drive
Google Drive works perfectly when used in sync with Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, but is less ideal for other file types. Dropbox and Dropbox Business, however, are far superior in terms of native desktop integration and managing any other file types. Dropbox also has a nicer …
Chose Google Drive
Dropbox is a very slick product but lacks the tight integration with document editing tools OneDrive is very good on Windows, but not quite as reliable on Mac. And it integrates well with Office desktop products, but the online Office apps are still not quite as streamlined as …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
GitHubGoogle Drive
Version Control Software Features
Comparison of Version Control Software Features features of Product A and Product B
GitHub
5.8
1 Ratings
22% below category average
Google Drive
-
Ratings
Branching and Merging8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Version History8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Version Control Collaboration Tools8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Pull Requests7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Code Review Tools6.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Project Access Control2.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Automated Testing Integration3.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Issue Tracking Integration5.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Branch Protection5.01 Ratings00 Ratings
File Sharing & Management
Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Product A and Product B
GitHub
-
Ratings
Google Drive
8.6
202 Ratings
2% above category average
Versioning00 Ratings8.3178 Ratings
Video files00 Ratings8.0171 Ratings
Audio files00 Ratings8.1165 Ratings
Document collaboration00 Ratings9.2199 Ratings
Access control00 Ratings8.9197 Ratings
File search00 Ratings8.9201 Ratings
Device sync00 Ratings9.0188 Ratings
Cloud Storage Security & Administration
Comparison of Cloud Storage Security & Administration features of Product A and Product B
GitHub
-
Ratings
Google Drive
8.3
196 Ratings
4% below category average
User and role management00 Ratings8.3185 Ratings
File organization00 Ratings7.9195 Ratings
Device management00 Ratings8.799 Ratings
Cloud Storage Platform
Comparison of Cloud Storage Platform features of Product A and Product B
GitHub
-
Ratings
Google Drive
8.7
196 Ratings
3% above category average
Performance00 Ratings8.7194 Ratings
Reliability00 Ratings9.1196 Ratings
Storage Reports00 Ratings8.587 Ratings
Best Alternatives
GitHubGoogle Drive
Small Businesses
Git
Git
Score 10.0 out of 10
SugarSync
SugarSync
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Git
Git
Score 10.0 out of 10
Druva Data Resiliency Cloud
Druva Data Resiliency Cloud
Score 9.6 out of 10
Enterprises
Perforce Helix Core
Perforce Helix Core
Score 6.3 out of 10
Druva Data Resiliency Cloud
Druva Data Resiliency Cloud
Score 9.6 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
GitHubGoogle Drive
Likelihood to Recommend
6.8
(122 ratings)
8.8
(203 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.9
(5 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(1 ratings)
8.7
(36 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(7 ratings)
Support Rating
8.8
(26 ratings)
7.8
(48 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(3 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
5.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
GitHubGoogle Drive
Likelihood to Recommend
GitHub
GitHub is well suited for software development, GitHub is particularly well suited for software development projects, where teams need to collaborate on code, track changes, and review code changes. Also for open-source projects, GitHub is an ideal platform for open-source projects, where teams of developers from all over the world can collaborate on code and contribute to projects. For documentation, GitHub provides a platform for creating and sharing documentation, making it an ideal solution for teams that need to create and maintain documentation. On small and medium-sized teams GitHub is well suited as those teams that need to collaborate on software projects and track changes to their code.
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
GitHub
  • As a repository it's great. It houses almost all the open-source applications/code that anyone can fork and play with. A huge collection of sample codes available with problem statements across different domains make Github a one-stop location.
  • I use GitHub with Windows and the Git Bash is superb. It [is] a powerful alternative to the Command Prompt and Powershell. Allows me to run shell scripts and UNIX commands inside the terminal [on] a Windows PC.
  • GitHub integration with almost all cloud development/deployment platforms is amazing. Deploying a new application in Azure is really smooth. Just link the GitHub repositories and it's good to go. From automatic build to deployment everything is just amazing.
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
Read full review
Cons
GitHub
  • When browsing history of a file, GitHub could make it easier to see the file after a particular commit instead of just being able to quickly view the commit. I'd like to be able to see the commit or the file itself in one click.
  • I would like to be able to view commits by user.
  • I would love to be able to traverse code on GitHub (go to definition, etc) - the good news here is that they are working on these features!
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.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
GitHub
GitHub's ease of use and continued investment into the Developer Experience have made it the de facto tool for our engineers to manage software changes. With new features that continue to come out, we have been able to consolidate several other SaaS solutions and reduce the number of tools required for each engineer to perform their job responsibilities.
Read full review
Google
For its compatibility, easiness, quick responses, user interface, storage capacity, files management and file listings. These are some of the reasons for giving higher ratings and Google Drive has become an integral part of my professional life. We use this software on daily basis and most of the time saving lot of time.
Read full review
Usability
GitHub
- Easy to use compared to other version control software. UI interface makes it easy to use, as well as protects against making a major mistake by deleting code, etc. - UI looks modern. - Support for multiple platforms, which I assume will only get better with time. - Student benefits are awesome! - The size limitations on their repositories make sense to me. Not too crazy but realistic from a business perspective.
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.
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Reliability and Availability
GitHub
No answers on this topic
Google
Always available
Read full review
Performance
GitHub
No answers on this topic
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.
Read full review
Support Rating
GitHub
It's a testament to how easy it is to use GitHub and how many others use it that you can pretty much find the answer to any problem you have by searching online. Consequently, I've never needed to use their support. It's an incredibly easy tool to set up initially, so it won't require much onboarding expertise to get started.
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.
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In-Person Training
GitHub
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.
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Implementation Rating
GitHub
No answers on this topic
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
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Alternatives Considered
GitHub
At the time to evaluation - Bitbucket was very tightly integrated into Atlassian’s suite of tools. For an organization that is starting out and looking to spend limited funds effectively - the cost/benefit of using that suite of tools usually doesn’t make sense. Granted things may have changed since then (its been over 5 years) - but at the time GitHub was effective - and all prospective engineers knew about it and already had accounts. This made it very easy to add to the organization and not lose time in training, etc. Developers seem to really love GitHub above most other tools out there - so that plays into the decision making as well.
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
GitHub
No answers on this topic
Google
I have always been able to access
Read full review
Return on Investment
GitHub
  • Github has increased our rate of code development, increasing our publishing rate. This helps bring attention to the research we are doing and ultimately brings in more funding for further research.
  • Because GitHub makes my team more efficient, we are able to put more hours into code development / report writing rather than agonizing over different versions of code created without version control software.
  • We use a paid version of GitHub, because we work through private repositories, but the increase in productivity, efficiency, and research progress is definitely worth the price.
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