Google Drive vs iCloud Drive
Google Drive comes out ahead of iCloud Drive on 5 of the 7 things that decide this, going by what each company publishes and what independent review sites report. The one that matters for you may be one the leader loses.
The verdict
Google Drive takes it, 5–2 on rounds.
On the published figures and the independent review sites, Google Drive takes 5 of 7 rounds. Treat that as a starting point and check the current figures on both pages, because prices and plans move.
Choose Google Drive if…
- • You want Google Drive's edge on how much you get free and what 2 tb costs
Choose iCloud Drive if…
- • You want iCloud Drive's edge on what the cheapest paid plan costs and who can read your files
Round by round
- Round 1How much you get freeGoogle Drive wins
Google Drive wins this round on what the company itself publishes.
- Round 2What 2 TB costsGoogle Drive wins
Google Drive wins this round on independent review-site data, not on its own claims.
- Round 3What the cheapest paid plan costsiCloud Drive wins
iCloud Drive wins this round on independent review-site data, not on its own claims.
- Round 4Who can read your filesiCloud Drive winsGoogle Drive5/10
Not zero-knowledge
Google can read files on its servers
- Not zero-knowledge, against Optional
Source: cloudslinker.com ↗
iCloud Drive8/10Optional
end-to-end encryption needs Advanced Data Protection to be switched on
Source: cloudwards.net ↗
iCloud Drive wins this round on independent review-site data, not on its own claims.
- Round 5What customers say on TrustpilotGoogle Drive winsiCloud Drive5/10
1.3 out of 5
TrustScore from 147 reviews on Trustpilot
- 1.3 out of 5, against 2.3 out of 5
Source: trustpilot.com ↗
Google Drive wins this round on independent review-site data, not on its own claims.
- Round 6Storage on the cheapest paid planGoogle Drive winsGoogle Drive8/10
100 GB
Google One Basic (100 GB) / Google AI Plus (2 TB), billed monthly (Monthly tab, US)
Source: one.google.com ↗
iCloud Drive5/1050 GB
iCloud+ 50 GB (iCloud+ 2 TB for the 2 TB price), billed monthly
- 50 GB, against 100 GB
Source: apple.com ↗
Google Drive wins this round on what the published sources say.
- Round 7Biggest single file you can uploadGoogle Drive winsGoogle Drive8/10
Up to 5 TB per file
Google One Basic (100 GB) / Google AI Plus (2 TB), billed monthly (Monthly tab, US)
Source: support.google.com ↗
iCloud Drive5/1050 GB per file
iCloud+ 50 GB (iCloud+ 2 TB for the 2 TB price), billed monthly
- 50 GB per file, against Up to 5 TB per file
Source: support.apple.com ↗
Google Drive wins this round on what the published sources say.
Side by side
- $1.99, against $0.99
- Not zero-knowledge, against Optional
- No lifetime plan, against Lifetime plans
- 2.3 out of 5, against 3.1 out of 5
- 5 GB, against 15 GB
- $9.99, against $8.33
- 1.3 out of 5, against 2.3 out of 5
- 50 GB, against 100 GB