

Microsoft OneDrive starts off with a free 5GB storage plan, which is fairly average if not slightly unimpressive. Microsoft OneDrive vs Google Drive: Pricing

We would like to see a live chat option for Microsoft, too. There’s no support for free plan members with Google, but paying customers get access to email, phone and live chat support which helps to cut down the waiting time for some queries. OneDrive has email ticket generation and phone lines, which are available after quite some digging through several pages. Both provide a large number of self-help articles for some of the simpler troubleshooting, but there are options for real-time support if your needs are more complex. Microsoft OneDrive vs Google Drive: Supportīecause these cloud drives belong to two of the most dominating companies in the sector, and indeed the entire tech industry, you can expect support to be extensive. That said, these times are just indications and will vary constantly, even when using the same broadband connection. The difference is more obvious when comparing download speeds for the same file - less than two minutes for Google vs more than seven minutes for Microsoft. OneDrive did the same in about a minute more. In our tests, Google Drive uploaded a 1GB file in just under five minutes which is pretty impressive given our connection limitations. Cloud storage reviews: how we tested them.Both have controls for bandwidth throttling, too, if you need that sort of control. Just remember that Google’s own files are typically managed online anyway. The desktop clients for both services work great for syncing files in the background, with options to download all files for offline access or keep them in the cloud to free up storage. Microsoft OneDrive vs Google Drive: Performance In this day and age with Wi-Fi and mobile hotspots available mostly everywhere, that may not be an issue, but if you expect to be somewhere without Internet - like abroad - it’s worth considering when comparing OneDrive with Google Drive. The key difference with Google’s apps is that they are online-only: they are accessed through the browser and there are no downloadable versions so an Internet connection is a must. As is the case with iCloud Drive, Google Drive can open Microsoft Office-based files - such as Word documents - however it cannot open Apple file types. Google Drive works in a similar way to OneDrive in that you have an online pot of storage that can be accessed from browsers, desktop clients and mobile apps, and the company also operates its own suite of word processing apps which are called Docs, Sheets, and Slides. There are iOS and Android apps, too, and both computer and smartphone apps give you access to offline files so you don’t necessarily need an Internet connection to access your work (though syncing will be paused until you regain a connection). Using the desktop client, edited files are automatically replaced, as OneDrive deals with syncing in the background with no input from the user. Any other file types - like Photoshop templates - will need to be downloaded then re-uploaded. This is because only Microsoft Office files can be edited online (using the company’s online versions of the apps). Yes, it’s smooth and has plenty of user-friendly features like drag-and-drop and plenty of sharing options, but most users will get the best experience from using the desktop client.

Like most - if not all - cloud storage drives, there is a browser interface for on-the-go access to your files. Even files that can’t be opened on a Windows computer can be saved in the cloud, such as Pages, Numbers, and Keynote files which is great for macOS users, but most users will end up running Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, which come as part of the Microsoft 365 bundle on higher-tier subscriptions. A whole range of files can be saved in OneDrive, including common documents, photos, videos, and PDFs.
