Google Cloud Storage vs IDrive
Google Cloud Storage
cloud.google.com
IDrive
idrive.comSide by side
| Figure | Google Cloud Storage | IDrive |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $0.01/mo | $0.25/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 9 | 16 |
| Spec score · Cloud storage | 9.5 (#2) | 9.2 (#9) |
| Spec score · Cloud Storage Services | 9.2 (#6) | 9.2 (#7) |
| Compliance | Google Cloud publishes certifications, attestations, and audit reports for compliance controls, while noting providers cannot certify customers' own compliance with laws. | IDrive states it has SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certifications and assists customers with regulatory requirements including GDPR, PCI, and HIPAA. |
| Encryption | Server-side encryption is enabled by default, with optional customer-managed, customer-supplied and client-side encryption. | Files use 256-bit AES encryption in transit and at rest; private keys are optional. |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Headquarters | Mountain View, California, United States | Calabasas, California, United States |
| Security | Security controls include IAM access controls, encryption at rest and in transit, retention policies, and signed URLs. | IDrive says data is encrypted with 256-bit AES in transit and at rest, and private encryption keys are not stored on its servers. |
Plans
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
IDrive
- IDrive Mini$0.25 a month
- IDrive Personal$11.99 a month
- IDrive Team$11.99 a month
- IDrive Business$59.99 a month
- IDrive Mini$3 a year
- IDrive Personal$119.88 a year
- IDrive Team$119.88 a year
- IDrive Business$239.88 a year
- BasicFree
- Microsoft Office 365 Backup$20 a year
In their own words
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.
IDrive
IDrive backs up computers, mobile devices, servers, and NAS devices to one account, with apps and access for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and the web. Its free Basic plan provides 10 GB of storage without a credit card; paid plans start at $0.25 per month for IDrive Mini, which includes 100 GB for one user. Backup and restore options cover files, devices, earlier versions, deleted files, disk images, and IDrive Express. The service retains up to 30 earlier versions of each backed-up file, and Snapshots provide point-in-time recovery. True Archiving keeps files in the account until you delete them or run Archive Cleanup. IDrive says it encrypts data in transit and at rest using 256-bit AES, with private keys optional, and that stored versions and Snapshots support recovery after ransomware incidents. Add-ons provide backup for Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Salesforce, Dropbox, and Box. Team and Business plans include multi-user administration. Support is available 24/7 by live chat, email, and phone.