Google Drive vs. IBM Cloud Object Storage vs. ownCloud

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Google Drive
Score 8.6 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
IBM Cloud Object Storage
Score 9.3 out of 10
N/A
IBM Cloud Object Storage is an IBM Cloud product in the endpoint backup and IaaS categories. It is commonly used for data archiving and backup, for web and mobile applications, and as scalable, persistent storage for analytics.
$0
per month
ownCloud
Score 9.2 out of 10
N/A
ownCloud is a self-hosted open source file syncing and sharing option, from the Boston-based company of the same name.
$5
per month
Pricing
Google DriveIBM Cloud Object StorageownCloud
Editions & Modules
Basic
$6.00
per month
Business
$12.00
per month
Enterprise
Contact Vendor for Quote
per month
One-Rate Plan
As low as USD $12/TB a month
per month
Standard Plan
Free up to 5GB—no minimum fee, pay only for what you use
per month
Standard
$5
per month
Enterprise
$12
per month
For Teams
$13
per month
For Single Users
$15
per month
Community
Free
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Google DriveIBM Cloud Object StorageownCloud
Free Trial
YesNoNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesYesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional DetailsDiscounts are available for students, educators, and non profit organizations.The One-Rate and Standard service plans for Cloud Object Storage include resiliency options, flexible data classes and built-in security. Pricing is based on the choice of location, storage class and resiliency choice.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Google DriveIBM Cloud Object StorageownCloud
Considered Multiple Products
Google Drive
Chose Google Drive
I have used ownCloud and Dropbox for file storage and they do a decent job of allowing me to backup, share and access my files. iCloud is still new and while it's getting better, there is no Enterprise edition and they only start you out with 5 GBs of space, for all of your …
IBM Cloud Object Storage
Chose IBM Cloud Object Storage
IBM is allowing dynamic access of the data and there are open-source platforms on Fedora Scientific that gain connections to resources from some applications that are developed for Arduino microcontrollers and runs machines and devices to intelligently manipulate scientific …
Chose IBM Cloud Object Storage
As far as the other cloud storage services are concerned, I have limited experience. I used pleased by IBM cloud storage because it provided a smooth, running environment for my data science projects. I used IBM Watson Studio and the experience was smooth. I used IBM Db2, and …
Chose IBM Cloud Object Storage
IBM Cloud Object Storage is naturally faster, more effective, specified, and professional, and, along with other important services like Watson, it helps in the education department.
ownCloud
Chose ownCloud
The sync client is great and outperforms OneDrive for sure and sometimes even Google Drive depending on the number and size of the files.

If you already have your own home-lab or server room, it's really not expensive to buy a couple hard drives and have TBs of storage. Compared …
Chose ownCloud
ownCloud is better than Google Drive and Microsoft's OneDrive. I have not used Google Drive in some time now, so it may have improved. OneDrive has become better over time too, but my go-to is still ownCloud. Firstly, I prefer to have my data under my control. No other service …
Chose ownCloud
The most important advantage for our research group is security and access control to our files, which cannot be guaranteed with 3rd party services

The sync client is great and outperforms OneDrive for sure and sometimes even Google Drive depending on the number and size of the …
Chose ownCloud
Other tools with similar functionality have been much better for me to use. However, my company uses ownCloud as its software of choice, so I use it to remain consistent with them.
Chose ownCloud
The paid cloud services are expensive if you need a lot of data. You're giving your personal and business information to a data-hungry organization. Local NAS solutions are too slow. We run ownCloud on an older business PC and the performance is outstanding, even for remote …
Chose ownCloud
I have a very similar experience between Google Drive and Dropbox. Both offer real-time sharing and collaboration. Google Drive limits external access and requires the recipient of shared files to have a Google account. In the case of both Dropbox and GoogleDrive, they limit …
Chose ownCloud
ownCloud is one of the only self-hosted solutions worth it. It is open source and free, meaning that anyone with a Linux VM or an old laptop can host its own feature-rich cloud server. Many all-in-one firewalls will mix OwnCloud and CrashPlan, joining document management and …
Chose ownCloud
I have used several products based on public (DropBox, Google Drive, Microsoft Drive, etc) and private cloud (Citrix). Most of them work on public cloud space so they could present problems with compliance. Also, it is usually difficult to protect the information contained in …
Chose ownCloud
ownCloud's ease of install, maintenance and use as well as a modern interface were major reasons for the choice.
Features
Google DriveIBM Cloud Object StorageownCloud
File Sharing & Management
Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Product A and Product B
Google Drive
8.0
219 Ratings
4% below category average
IBM Cloud Object Storage
-
Ratings
ownCloud
8.5
13 Ratings
2% above category average
Versioning8.3193 Ratings00 Ratings9.010 Ratings
Video files7.2188 Ratings00 Ratings7.89 Ratings
Audio files7.8182 Ratings00 Ratings8.19 Ratings
Document collaboration8.8216 Ratings00 Ratings7.812 Ratings
Access control7.6214 Ratings00 Ratings9.512 Ratings
File search7.5218 Ratings00 Ratings8.112 Ratings
Device sync8.9204 Ratings00 Ratings9.312 Ratings
Cloud Storage Security & Administration
Comparison of Cloud Storage Security & Administration features of Product A and Product B
Google Drive
8.3
213 Ratings
4% below category average
IBM Cloud Object Storage
-
Ratings
ownCloud
8.5
13 Ratings
1% below category average
User and role management8.6200 Ratings00 Ratings9.012 Ratings
File organization7.5211 Ratings00 Ratings8.713 Ratings
Device management8.799 Ratings00 Ratings7.79 Ratings
Cloud Storage Platform
Comparison of Cloud Storage Platform features of Product A and Product B
Google Drive
8.7
212 Ratings
1% above category average
IBM Cloud Object Storage
-
Ratings
ownCloud
8.8
13 Ratings
2% above category average
Performance8.9210 Ratings00 Ratings8.813 Ratings
Reliability8.8212 Ratings00 Ratings9.113 Ratings
Storage Reports8.587 Ratings00 Ratings8.410 Ratings
Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)
Comparison of Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) features of Product A and Product B
Google Drive
-
Ratings
IBM Cloud Object Storage
8.7
155 Ratings
6% above category average
ownCloud
-
Ratings
Service-level Agreement (SLA) uptime00 Ratings6.1143 Ratings00 Ratings
Dynamic scaling00 Ratings9.8143 Ratings00 Ratings
Elastic load balancing00 Ratings8.9140 Ratings00 Ratings
Monitoring tools00 Ratings8.8144 Ratings00 Ratings
Security controls00 Ratings9.8149 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Google DriveIBM Cloud Object StorageownCloud
Small Businesses
SugarSync
SugarSync
Score 4.1 out of 10
DigitalOcean Droplets
DigitalOcean Droplets
Score 9.4 out of 10
SugarSync
SugarSync
Score 4.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Druva Security Cloud
Druva Security Cloud
Score 9.4 out of 10
SAP on IBM Cloud
SAP on IBM Cloud
Score 9.0 out of 10
Druva Security Cloud
Druva Security Cloud
Score 9.4 out of 10
Enterprises
Druva Security Cloud
Druva Security Cloud
Score 9.4 out of 10
SAP on IBM Cloud
SAP on IBM Cloud
Score 9.0 out of 10
Druva Security Cloud
Druva Security Cloud
Score 9.4 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Google DriveIBM Cloud Object StorageownCloud
Likelihood to Recommend
8.4
(222 ratings)
9.4
(158 ratings)
7.8
(13 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(6 ratings)
9.1
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.5
(52 ratings)
7.3
(5 ratings)
8.7
(4 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.0
(7 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
1.2
(49 ratings)
9.1
(8 ratings)
8.0
(3 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.0
(3 ratings)
5.8
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
6.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
5.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Google DriveIBM Cloud Object StorageownCloud
Likelihood to Recommend
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
IBM
In my experience, IBM Cloud Object Storage is well suited for projects like the one I am working on. This includes the use of natural language classification and the uploading of data to train a machine learning model for tag suggestions based on a body of text. Using IBM Cloud Object Storage has helped with this greatly. IBM Cloud Object Storage has also been great for Big Data Analytics thanks to its scalablilty and ease of use for large datasets. Alongside IBM Watson and our team's internal big data tools we've managed to process and analyze data more efficiently, leading to key insights that have driven business value for our clients.
Read full review
ownCloud
I'd easily recommend ownCloud to small businesses or teams within organizations. I've not used ownCloud in large deployments, so I'd hesitate before suggesting it in a situation where more than 10 users need support. That said, ownCloud is easy to set up and multiple instances could be used to service a large user base.
Read full review
Pros
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
IBM
  • IBM Cloud Object Storage is an excellent choice for disaster recovery and backup solutions. Its high durability and geographic redundancy ensure that our backup data is safe and can be quickly restored in case of a disaster. This capability is crucial for maintaining our business continuity and minimizing downtime. We have deployed our loads in an IKS cluster distributed in 3 different AZs with stateful data allocated in COS.
  • We have a video streaming application and need to store and deliver a vast library of video content to millions of users worldwide, so we store our data in COS, which is cheap and reliable.
  • We have a bunch of data that must be analyzed and stored in datasets for fraud detection, risk management, and customer insights. In these cases, this data is moved from Onprem to IBM Cloud so we can use cheap storage like COS.
Read full review
ownCloud
  • Attention and dedication to making the product a world class product with continual product updates.
  • Ease of use from an administration standpoint, and a very Clear UI.
  • The price -- you can't beat free!
  • Mobile applications are great.
  • Integration with public S3 cloud providers like AWS S3 and Wasabi S3.
  • 2FA authentication is supported and works great!
  • Marketplace Add-Ons: I love this! For example, I can install an add-on that natively opens raw images. I am a photographer as well, and being able to quickly view the CR2 Raw Files direct from the camera is fantastic! This was made possible by a marketplace add-in.
  • Embedded Media Players: Photos, Music, and Video files can be viewed and played right in the browser window.
  • Sync application to keep local files on a computer updated with the files on the server.
  • Access control and permissions -- shareable links!
Read full review
Cons
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
IBM
  • Searching and retrieving—full-text search or metadata search—is one of the significant areas of improvement. It isn't easy to search for data with this.
  • Integration with other IBM cloud services is trickier. For example, integrating this with API Connect to access the data from API will be difficult for users.
  • Support - I think you should have more support community.
Read full review
ownCloud
  • Inability to easily collaboratively edit the same document by several people. Some advances have been made with Collabora (Libreoffice online) but it is still very sub-par compared to Office365 and desktop/online Office editing Sharepoint or OneDrive documents.
  • Apps for Calendar and Contacts are not part of the basic core, and although now quite supported they cannot still be easily deployed in common email clients such as Outlook or Thunderbird, separate CalDAV and CardDAV plugins need to be installed. Embedding an email solution and plugins for major email clients so they can work just by entering username and password would be good.
  • Risk of moving important folders/files to another location just by random drag-and-drop on Windows. Sometimes this breaks public links that cannot be restored anymore. Reverting such mistake by any of the users is impossible automatically.
  • When some user deletes some data in a shared folder it is put into recycle bin of the owner of the folder. The user who deleted cannot himself/herself revert such action as he/she does not see the recycle bin (trash) of the owner. Also, there is no log in the recycle bin who deleted that file or folder.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
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
IBM
because it is a robust, safe and flexible product
Read full review
ownCloud
No answers on this topic
Usability
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.
Read full review
IBM
For my use cases, it has been a very smooth experience. Even my new colleagues have been able to get on top of things very quickly. This shows how easy it is to work with
Read full review
ownCloud
OwnCloud is easy for me to use, and I believe it would be for others too. The barrier for most people will be the set up. For a technology professional like myself, ownCloud's setup is pretty straightforward, but it's not the sort of thing most casual users will be able to handle. Also, it's on the user to maintain the service. These can be taken care of by paying someone to do it for you.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Google
Always available
Read full review
IBM
We rarely face downtime or access issues with IBM Cloud Object Storage. It’s mostly available when we need it, even during peak hours or heavy data loads.
Read full review
ownCloud
No answers on this topic
Performance
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
IBM
I would give it a 9 because it works smooth with our AI and analytics tools, no major slowdown. Pages and dashboards load fine most of the time, and reports finish in decent time even when data is heavy.
Read full review
ownCloud
Compared with other cloud services, ownCloud has been the most efficient. It doesn't create a noticeable drain on resources and very quickly syncs across all my devices. I'm usually able to save a file on my laptop and by the time I walk over and sit down at my desktop machine, it's already there. I don't need to wait as often as I have with services like OneDrive.
Read full review
Support Rating
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
IBM
I have been working in IT sector for more than 15 years. I have worked with various vendors. IBM's sales team, support team have been really helpful. After we start to use their product, their UX design team also contacted us to get feedback from us. They are really interested about our experience.
Read full review
ownCloud
Regarding the community edition, there is a reasonably good support on the IRC, forums and in the issue section on Github. Perhaps a much more individual approach would be available if the premium support was chosen and the instance of the server was provided by the Owncloud company that also offers some premium extensions, not available generally. However, we did not need this level of support yet.
Read full review
In-Person Training
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.
Read full review
IBM
No answers on this topic
ownCloud
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Google
No answers on this topic
IBM
I just researching and applying the tools on their platforms to ensure a good learning path, based on my needs. Reading the documentation related with resources, tools. Is too big, but I am trying to know more about it every day. It is a good way to know more about their resources. A new way to attract new customers. At the end of the day, we are all involved in improvement and automation of our tasks and resources for customers and end-users.
Read full review
ownCloud
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
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
IBM
Yes Our organization used IBM professional services to implement IBM object storage because of its data consistency and multiple way to upload and download data and its encryption security features. Also that its brand matter for the any organization to secure the layer and storage. It sis also verify that application and system are compatibale for this product
Read full review
ownCloud
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
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
IBM
Amazon S3 is a great service to safely back up your data where redundancy is guaranteed, and the cost is fair. In the past I have used Amazon S3 for data that we backup and hope we never need to access, but in the case of a catastrophic or even small slip of the finger with the delete command, we know our data and our client's data is safely backed up by Amazon S3. Amazon S3 service is a good option, but based on the features it provides compared with IBM Cloud Object Storage, it is less suitable. IBM Cloud Object Storage is also integrated with more services, like IBM Cloud SQL and IBM Aspera, which AWS does not provide to transfer files at maximum speed in the world.
Read full review
ownCloud
The paid cloud services are expensive if you need a lot of data. You're giving your personal and business information to a data-hungry organization. Local NAS solutions are too slow. We run ownCloud on an older business PC and the performance is outstanding, even for remote access, due to local syncing.
Read full review
Scalability
Google
I have always been able to access
Read full review
IBM
Scaling up the number of users can lead to significant increases in licensing costs, which, while not a technical limitation, can be a practical constraint for some organizations
Read full review
ownCloud
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
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
IBM
  • This allows us to recommend a platform to our clients that will quickly help them create new, efficient business processes with very little development.
  • This saves clients hours and days of manual analysis of images, allowing the system to do the work when attaching Object Storage to models.
  • There is a learning curve in utilizing the storage and the modeling, but once up and running, it works well during deployment.
Read full review
ownCloud
  • Software is free so if you are going for a hosted solution anyway, it's hard to beat
  • One of the easiest way to make sure your data is secured without compromising on features
  • You need to manage the infrastructure and software
Read full review
ScreenShots

Google Drive Screenshots

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

IBM Cloud Object Storage Screenshots

Screenshot of Cloud Object Storage set upScreenshot of storage bucket creationScreenshot of the Access Management interfaceScreenshot of the interface to create, add and management of Storage BucketsScreenshot of data uploadingScreenshot of usage details