Google has just announced that it is shutting down its Google Drive app for Mac and Windows. Google will stop supporting the app from December 11th of this year and the app will shut down completely on 12th March, 2018. This announcement has caused panic among the users and they are starting to look for Google Drive alternatives. However, you don’t need to panic as Google is just shutting down the app and not the service itself. The Google Drive service will continue as before, and in fact, your smartphone or tablet will still have the Google Drive app alive and well. The only change that is coming is to the desktop version of Google Drive app, where, it is being replaced with a new app called “Backup and Sync”. The new app has been launched to give users a streamline cloud storage experience. The app will now act as a single storage place for both your Google Drive and Google Photos.

Note: This list doesn’t rank the cloud storages from best to worst. You should read the description and choose the one that best fits your requirement and use-case scenario.

If you are looking for a mainstream cloud storage service with features that are comparable or even more than that offered by the Google Drive, Dropbox is your best option. Look, there are a lot of services out there which you can use, and we are going to list the best of them here, but, none will be as easy to use as Dropbox. If somehow you don’t know, Dropbox was the first company that made cloud storage a common phenomenon. And since its launch in 2007, it still is one of the best and most used cloud storages out there. Dropbox has a lot of things going in its favour and we will discuss the best of them here. Firstly, Dropbox’s sync is unparalleled. It supports all the platforms including Android, iOS, macOs, Windows, and even Linux. Back in 2007, Dropbox introduced the sync model which is used by most of the cloud storage service providers today.

Once you install the app, you will get a dedicated folder on your device, and anything you put in there will be uploaded to their servers. Although other cloud storage providers have incorporated this feature, Dropbox still leads the pack with its block-level file transfer algorithms. When you upload something on Dropbox, the full file is uploaded only the first time. From the next time onwards, only the changes that you make to your files are synced. This results in lightning fast sync time with less data usage. This is one of the main reasons behind me using Dropbox. My other favourite thing about Dropbox is its compatible with almost every other service that I use. I use services like Zapier to automate my workflows. All my writing is done on the Ulysses app and that also syncs with my Dropbox. These are just one of the few instances of Dropbox being useful to me owing to its compatibility with other services.

Visit: Website (Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux)

Although, Dropbox is the best for people looking for Google Drive alternatives, there are other services which excel in their own way. For example, Tresorit is a service which focuses on providing military grade encryption services for your cloud storage, which sadly neither Google Drive nor Dropbox offers. The service is so secure, the company is offering a reward of $50,000 to anyone who can breach their security, now that’s the confidence I want to see. Now that you are planning to switch from Google Drive, you should take a moment and think about the type of security that you want for your data on the cloud. If you are keeping sensitive data on the cloud, Tresorit might be the one for you.

Not only that Tresorit also follows Zero-knowledge authentication. That’s just a fancy way of saying that your service provider (Tresorit, in this case) does not save any of the passwords and encryption keys, making it impossible for anyone, even the workers at Tresorit, to access your file. Needless to say, the service is pretty secure and your data is safe in their hands. However, this also means that you will have to pay a premium for using their services. For starters, Tresorit doesn’t offer any free account and you will have to subscribe to them if you want to enjoy their services. I think, it is a small price to pay for someone looking for a secure cloud storage services, and Tresorit is one of the best Google Drive Alternatives, that does that.

pCloud is a service which was not so popular before but is gaining popularity slowly. This is because they offer excellent service with flexible plans which anybody can pick and choose from. We will discuss its flexibility in detail below, but first, let’s see what makes it different from other cloud providers on the list. Unlike other cloud service providers which provide you with a dedicated folder, pCloud can sync anything and everything present on your desktop. This means that pCloud doesn’t take any physical space on your drive and also ensures that all your files are in their designated places. Of course, you can select the files that you want to sync, and it is very easy to do that.

In the mainstream cloud storage providers, OneDrive is the one which gives fierce competition to both Google Drive and Dropbox. Although it’s a product by Microsoft, the service is not limited to Windows users and has a client for both Android and Apple (iOS and Mac) ecosystem. It can be one of the best Google Driver alternatives as it is similar in functionality, has cross-platform app support, and the sync is fast and instantaneous. However, maybe the biggest advantage of using OneDrive is that when you opt to become a paid member you get access to the whole Office suite at no additional cost. If you are someone who already pays for Office 365 subscription, this one is no brainer for you.

Free Storage Space: 5 GB

Don’t be fooled by the name and think that Sync.com is only a web platform as it has native apps for all the major platforms including Windows, MacOS, Android, and iOS. Sync.com is best for people looking for a service which strikes a balance between the security of Tresorit and the usability of Google Drive. Like Tresorit, it encrypts all your files and also has Zero-knowledge authentication. It is also pretty easy to navigate as it follows the same user interaction that is used by popular services like Dropbox or Google Drive. Probably one of the best thing about using Sync.com is that how easy it makes collaboration with other people. Not only you can share files, but you can also share entire folders with people you want to collaborate with.

Just like on Google Drive, you can also decide the level of access you want to give the people you have shared your files with (view only, view and edit, and so on). This makes it really easy to collaborate on Sync.com than on a secure service like Tresorit. Also, staying true to its name, the service offers lightning fast syncing capabilities. The service also allows you to allocate bandwidths for upload speeds. This comes in handy if you are on a slow connection and don’t want the service to utilise all of it. The service is also pretty cheap as it gives you access to 2TB of data for only $8/month. It’s cheap plans along with security features make Sync.com one of the best Google Drive alternatives in the market.

6. Box

Box is one of those cloud storage service providers which focus more on business users than on individual ones. This means that if you are looking for a cloud storage service for your personal use, you should probably stay clear of it. However, if you are a business user and looking for a service which not only saves your data on the cloud, but, allows your employees to collaborate easily, this is the one to get. Box provides one of the best collaborative tools in the market. It achieves that by integrating various third-party apps. For example, Box has inbuilt Microsoft’s Office suite support, which allows you to edit your documents online without even downloading them.

Premium Plans & Pricing: 100 GB for $5/month/user and Unlimited Storage for $15/month/user.

If you are someone who is looking for a cloud service where you don’t have to pay dime to use it, Mega may be your only option. Of course, with a free plan you will get limited storage, but unlike others which restrict the free users to maximum of 20GB of storage, Mega more than doubles that and gives you a whopping 50GB of free storage. Now, it might not be enough for you and me, but there are users who used cloud storage for just uploading their songs, photos and an odd file here and there. For them, Mega can be a great solution as they won’t have to pay for it.

Free Storage Space: 50 GB

SpiderOak One is another cloud storage service provider just like Tresorit which focuses a lot on security. It has all the security features that we have come to expect from a secure cloud storage platform including end-to-end encryption and Zero-knowledge authentication. SpiderOak also offers its users a more granular control over its services. However, this also means that SpiderOak is a little hard to use and is not easy as services like Google Drive or Dropbox. One major drawback of using SpiderOak is that since its servers are based in the US, your privacy is not protected from government as securely as by the services that use EU based servers. Also, SpiderOak offers more of an enterprise based solution and hence individual users might be at a disadvantage here. Still, till now the service has maintained excellent track record till now and you should check it out.

Free Storage Space: Free 21-day Trial, with 250 GB storage

Some people use cloud storages for as a backup rather than using it for storing  files for easy access and sharing. Such users require a service which provides them with unlimited storage with no restrictions on the file size of uploaded materials. Backblaze offers both of these features to its users at a very nominal price. All the files on your system are backed up automatically without you having to do anything. Users also get the ability to restrict files from being uploaded to the cloud.

10. Jottacloud

If you want unlimited storage for low prices but not for backup but for using it usually as normal cloud storage, Jottacloud is a good option for you. Jottacloud offers only two plans. The basic or the free version gives your paltry 5GB of free storage, while the paid version gives you unlimited storage. The service also provides you some extra features like backing and syncing up all your photos. In this way, it is similar to Google’s new offering “Backup and Sync”. However, you do get unlimited storage here, so you don’t have to worry about those photos eating away all your space. Also, being a Norwegian company, the service also focuses heavily on privacy. This is best for someone who doesn’t want to waste too much time on deciding which plan he wants and just settle for the unlimited one at a very reasonable price.

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