- Cloud storage is essential to our daily lives.
Especially for business owners,
we have to make sure we have high quality file storage
we can rely on,
but do we put any thought into a cloud file platform
before uploading files to it?
You've heard of Google Drive, and I hate it.
Here's why.
From the moment you start attaching files
to emails using Google Drive links,
you start to eat up your Google account speeds.
Each Google account has 15 gigabytes of free storage,
and that storage is shared across Gmail,
Google docs and Google Drive.
I can't tell you how many times I've quickly uploaded
a file to Google Drive, to send to a friend or client.
Then I move on with my life and forget about it.
That is, until my Google account storage is full.
And then I'm sent a warning that I soon won't be able
to receive email to my Gmail address
unless I clear out storage
or purchase more storage, it's a mess.
But then when I go to clear out space,
I'm put in this awkward spot.
Do I delete these files I send to clients?
What if they try to come back at a later date and view them,
and then they can't see them because, poof, they're gone.
At this point you might be saying Christian,
if Google Drive is that important to you,
stop complaining and pay for more storage,
and you'd be right.
Purchasing additional storage on Google Drive
is highly affordable.
100 gigabytes will cost you $2 a month.
200 gigabytes will cost you $3 a month.
And two terabytes will cost you $10 a month.
So Google isn't exactly ripping you off for cloud storage,
but I still hate Google Drive.
Why? There are just better solutions out there.
And so many people mindlessly pay for Google Drive and
suffer through a subpar experience simply because
it's convenient.
I'll come out and say it.
I'm obsessed with Dropbox. It's better.
It'll change your life.
Now the main problem with Dropbox is that you only get
two gigabytes of storage for free
then you have to pay for two terabytes of storage
for $12 a month.
Now that's worth it to me,
but Google Drive is the obvious choice
if you want to pay less for storage and have the option
to only pay for one or 200 gigabytes of storage.
Saving money on storage is great and all,
but I'm sick and tired of the quirks of Google Drive.
For example, when I clear out files in bulk,
why does it take so long to empty the trash can?
Sometimes I need to clear out files quickly
to make space for more files
and I won't get more space back
until the files are removed from the trash.
I empty the trash and wait and wait and wait.
Each time I refresh the page,
my available storage increases a little bit,
but why does it take so long?
And what's the deal with the upload speed?
When I'm had to upload large files to Google Drive,
sometimes it takes hours
even when I know my internet connection is capable
of so much more,
I try to upload this same exact video file to YouTube
and it uploads way faster.
And the drive web interface is so glitchy.
Sometimes it just freezes for no reason
and I have to refresh it to get it to work.
I never had these issues with Dropbox.
Another pain point is Google Drive for desktop.
I love the file streaming feature that allows you
to access files on Google server,
right in your computer's file system,
but the huge quirk is that although you can select
which files will be downloaded for offline access,
you cannot decide what files show up with the streaming.
So everything that shows up on Google Drive for web
is going to show up in Google Drive for desktop.
And sometimes I don't want folders there.
I just want them on the web version.
I don't need my temp folder
that's on Google Drive for web showing up on my desktop.
And when I create a new Google docs file,
it's automatically added to my main Google Drive folder,
which also shows on desktop.
It's gross.
It's just like this hyperlink to a Google docs file.
And it's stuck on my desktop.
As you can see, Google Drive has quite a few pain points.
I used to think nothing could beat Google Drive
because it's Google.
They have all the resources in the world.
It wasn't until I gave Dropbox a shot
that I really discovered what I was missing.
And it's the little details about Dropbox
that make it a better experience.
You can password protect
shared links to keep things confidential.
You can also set expiration dates,
setting a clear expectation with your client
on how long they can access the file.
This prevents that awkward situation on Google Drive,
where you're left wondering how long
you should leave a file up before deleting it.
And when I upload video files to Dropbox,
they can be streamed instantly.
With Google Drive,
video files have to be processed before they can be streamed
by the client.
This always puts me in an awkward position.
How long do I wait before emailing a link to someone?
What if I've got somewhere to be and
I'd rather send the link now?
I've been in this position before where I send a link to
a client before heading out and I immediately get a response
from them saying, I can't view the file.
It's still processing.
Oh, and the Dropbox app is an absolute pleasure to use.
You can scan documents with your phone's camera
and easily upload them to Dropbox.
This eliminates apps like cam scanner that typically
want you to pay an additional fee for the same features.
The Google Drive app offers no native scanning feature.
The Dropbox app offers support for dark mode.
With the Google Drive app,
well, you can just burn your eyes out.
Now, not everything is rainbows and unicorns about Dropbox.
Google Drive definitely has the superior search algorithm.
I guess being the world's number one search engine
has its benefits.
Nothing will beat Google's accuracy with search results.
Dropbox is also constantly messing with the name
and pricing of their plans.
I mean, one day it's plus,
and the next day its pro and then the next day
it's business. What is it?
I wish they would settle on pricing and storage amounts
that were consistent for years to come.
So is Dropbox worth it?
I think at the end of the day,
if you're sharing files with others,
or if you're using cloud storage to sync files
between multiple devices,
Dropbox offers a far superior experience.
This is because file sharing is Dropbox's main business.
It's not an afterthought like Google Drive,
but suppose you just want to back up some files
and you're thinking of using Google Drive or Dropbox.
I wouldn't recommend using Google Drive or Dropbox
for file backup.
This is because if you did have a hard drive crash,
you may be left spending days trying to download hundreds
or even thousands of gigabytes of files
on your home internet connection.
Using a proper solution like Backblaze will mean
you could just get a hard drive in the mail
with all of your files from the crash drive,
plug it in, copy it over, mail it back,
and you're good to go.
And no, Backblaze is not sponsoring this video,
but shameless plug they're amazing,
link in the description below.
But okay. Back to use cases for Google Drive.
Suppose you just need to store a lot of files securely
and reliably.
Google Drive can get the job done.
Google Drive is also the obvious choice
if you really need more storage added to your Google account
for multiple reasons.
It's also worth noting that you get some bonus features
by paying for Google Drive storage through Google one.
On some plans,
Google one gives you cashback on Google store purchases
and access to a VPN on Android.
But unless you're on a tight budget
or really need more storage on your Google account
specifically, please stop using Google Drive.
So many are using it because it's convenient.
But I think it's important to seek out the best platform
to do the job instead of simply using what's convenient.
Now I'm always looking for independent companies
that do things better than tech giants.
We're always being bombarded by features and services
and more products from these companies
like Apple and Google.
In the case of Dropbox,
they just do cloud storage better than Google.
And that's why I'm a happy Dropbox customer.
So which cloud storage platform do you use?
So you think it's worth paying for a dedicated solution
like Dropbox?
I'd love to get your take in the comments below.
If you like this video, hit that like button,
and with that said, I'll catch you guys next time.
Accuracy be like, ahhh!