Filen vs Google Cloud Storage
Filen
filen.io
Google Cloud Storage
cloud.google.comSide by side
| Figure | Filen | Google Cloud Storage |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | €1.99/mo | $0.01/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 6 | 9 |
| Spec score · Cloud Storage Services | 9.3 (#4) | 9.2 (#6) |
| Spec score · Cloud storage | 9.1 (#13) | 9.5 (#2) |
| Encryption | Files are encrypted on the client with AES-GCM 256-bit encryption before upload. | Server-side encryption is enabled by default, with optional customer-managed, customer-supplied and client-side encryption. |
| Founded | 2021 | 1998 |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Headquarters | Recklinghausen, Germany | Mountain View, California, United States |
| Integrations | The CLI and desktop client can run local WebDAV and S3-compatible mirror servers. | Buckets can back services including BigQuery, Vertex AI, Google Kubernetes Engine and Managed Service for Apache Spark. |
| Rating on Capterra | 5.0 out of 5 from 1 review | 4.8 out of 5 from 2290 reviews |
| Rating on Google Play | 3.3 out of 5 from 1.48K reviews | 4.1 out of 5 from 906K reviews |
| Rating on Trustpilot | 3.8 out of 5 from 112 reviews | 2.0 out of 5 from 17 reviews |
| What it does | Filen provides zero-knowledge, client-side encrypted cloud storage and communication services. | Google Cloud Storage is a managed, scalable object-storage service that stores data as objects inside buckets. |
Plans
Filen
- Pro I€1.99 a month
- Pro II€3.99 a month
- Pro III€8.99 a month
- Pro X€39.99 a month
- FreeFree
- Free accountFree
Google Cloud Storage
- Archive storageFree
- Cloud Storage Archive storageFree
- Cloud Storage Coldline storageFree
- Coldline storageFree
- Free tierFree
- Cloud Storage Nearline storage$0.01 a month
- Nearline storage$0.01 a month
- Cloud Storage Standard storage$0.02 a month
- Standard storage$0.02 a month
In their own words
Filen
Filen is a cloud storage service that encrypts data on the client before storage, using zero-knowledge, end-to-end encryption. It supports syncing, network-drive access with Smart Sync and five sync modes across Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android and the web. Mobile apps include encrypted camera uploads, offline files, notes, chats and notifications. Encrypted notes support rich text, code, Markdown and checklists, while chats are end-to-end encrypted. Developers can use the documented API, command-line interface and TypeScript, Rust and Go SDKs. The desktop client and CLI can run local WebDAV and S3-compatible mirror servers. Filen says its apps are open source under AGPL v3 and that its headquarters and servers are in Germany. The free account includes 10GB storage. Paid monthly plans start with Pro I at €1.99 a month for 200 GiB; higher tiers offer 500 GiB, 2 TiB or 10 TiB. Filen says data in free accounts is deleted after three months of inactivity, with reminder emails beforehand.
Google Cloud Storage
Google Cloud Storage is a managed service for storing unstructured data in buckets. Its storage classes—Standard, Nearline, Coldline, Archive, and Rapid—cover different access patterns, while Autoclass and Object Lifecycle Management can move or delete objects under access-based or custom rules. Data can be used with BigQuery, Managed Service for Apache Spark, and Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform. Transfer options include online, offline, and SFTP methods. Security controls include IAM access controls, encryption at rest and in transit, retention policies, and signed URLs. Soft delete is enabled by default with seven days of retention, and Object Versioning can preserve overwritten or deleted objects. Dual-region and multi-region buckets replicate data across separated regions for 99.99% availability. Users can access the service through the browser-based console, client libraries, command-line tools, or JSON and XML APIs. Always Free usage has monthly limits for storage, operations, and qualifying transfer in three US regions. Other charges may apply for operations, retrieval, replication, and network use, with rates varying by location and storage class.