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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    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

    ownCloud

    Score9.2 out of 10
    N/AownCloud 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 DriveownCloud
    Editions & Modules
    Basic
    $6.00
    per month
    Business
    $12.00
    per month
    Enterprise
    Contact Vendor for Quote
    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 DriveownCloud
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesNo
    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
    Google DriveownCloud
    Considered Both Products
    Google
    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 …
    Incentivized
    ownCloud
    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 …
    Incentivized
    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 …
    Incentivized
    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 …
    Incentivized
    Chose ownCloud
    This is another alternative to Google Drive as well, but less able to edit and use documents.
    Incentivized
    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 …
    Incentivized
    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 …
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    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 …
    Incentivized
    Chose ownCloud
    ownCloud's ease of install, maintenance and use as well as a modern interface were major reasons for the choice.
    Incentivized
    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 …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    99%
    Would buy again
    120 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    99%
    Delivers good value for the price
    114 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    97%
    Happy with the feature set
    117 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    95%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    81 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    99%
    Implementation went as expected
    93 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    Google DriveownCloud
    File Sharing & Management
    Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Google Drive and ownCloud
    Feature
    Google Drive
    8.4
    221 Ratings
    0% above category average
    ownCloud
    8.5
    13 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Versioning8.7195 Ratings9.010 Ratings
    Video files7.8190 Ratings7.89 Ratings
    Audio files8.3184 Ratings8.19 Ratings
    Document collaboration9.0218 Ratings7.812 Ratings
    Access control8.0216 Ratings9.512 Ratings
    File search8.1220 Ratings8.112 Ratings
    Device sync8.9205 Ratings9.312 Ratings
    Cloud Storage Security & Administration
    Comparison of Cloud Storage Security & Administration features of Google Drive and ownCloud
    Feature
    Google Drive
    8.6
    215 Ratings
    1% below category average
    ownCloud
    8.5
    13 Ratings
    2% below category average
    User and role management9.0202 Ratings9.012 Ratings
    File organization8.0213 Ratings8.713 Ratings
    Device management8.799 Ratings7.79 Ratings
    Cloud Storage Platform
    Comparison of Cloud Storage Platform features of Google Drive and ownCloud
    Feature
    Google Drive
    8.9
    214 Ratings
    3% above category average
    ownCloud
    8.8
    13 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Performance9.2212 Ratings8.813 Ratings
    Reliability9.0214 Ratings9.113 Ratings
    Storage Reports8.587 Ratings8.410 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Google DriveownCloud
    Small Businesses
    IDrive Online Backup and Object Storage e2
    Score9.1 out of 10
    IDrive Online Backup and Object Storage e2
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Apple iCloud
    Score8.4 out of 10
    Apple iCloud
    Score8.4 out of 10
    Enterprises
    ownCloud
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Apple iCloud
    Score8.4 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Google DriveownCloud
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.5
    (224 ratings)
    7.8
    (13 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (6 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    8.8
    (54 ratings)
    8.7
    (4 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    9.0
    (7 ratings)
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    Support Rating
    1.0
    (49 ratings)
    8.0
    (3 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.0
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Google DriveownCloud
    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
    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.
    Incentivized
    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
    Incentivized
    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!
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    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
    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.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Google
    Always available
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    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
    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.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    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
    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
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Google
    I have always been able to access
    Incentivized
    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
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Google Drive Screenshots

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