# Google Drive

> Cloud storage tied to Google Docs, Gmail and Photos

Google Drive is Google's cloud storage service for storing, syncing and sharing files. Every Google account includes 15 GB shared across Drive, Gmail and Google Photos, and Docs, Sheets and Slides files can be edited together in the browser. Individuals add storage through Google One plans, while businesses get pooled storage, shared drives and admin controls through Google Workspace.

- **Category:** File Storage & Sync
- **Made by:** Google
- **Website:** https://workspace.google.com/products/drive/
- **Runs on:** Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 9, 2026

## Pricing

Google Drive has a free plan. Paid plans start at $1.99 per month for 100 GB (US App Store price).

- **Pricing model:** Free plan
- **Free plan:** 15 GB of storage with every Google account, shared across Google Drive, Gmail and Google Photos.
- **Free trial:** Google Workspace business plans can be tried at no cost for 14 days.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 15 GB | $0 | Included with every Google account. The 15 GB is shared across Drive, Gmail and Google Photos. |
| Basic (100 GB) | $1.99 per month (price on the US App Store listing) | 100 GB across Drive, Gmail and Google Photos, with the option to share storage with up to 5 other people. |
| 200 GB | $2.99 per month (price on the US App Store listing) | 200 GB of storage, listed as an in-app purchase on the Google Drive listing in the US App Store. |
| Google AI Plus (400 GB) | $4.99 per month (price on Google's US Gemini plans page) | Google AI Plus at its smaller storage level: 400 GB with twice the Gemini app limits of a free account and Gemini in Gmail. |
| Google AI Plus (2 TB) | $9.99 per month (price on the US App Store listing) | The same Google AI Plus plan with 2 TB of storage. Google's help page says Plus is sold with either 400 GB or 2 TB. |
| Google AI Pro (5 TB) | $19.99 per month (price on Google's US Gemini plans page) | 5 TB of storage with four times the Gemini app limits of a free account, Gemini in Gmail and Docs, and YouTube Premium Lite. |

Read from https://apps.apple.com/us/app/google-drive/id507874739 on Oct 9, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Google Drive before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **Save up to 16% with annual billing** (Annual discount): Google One's plans page offers a monthly or annual toggle and states a saving of up to 16% on annual billing. Workspace lists a 16% saving for a one-year commitment. Source: https://one.google.com/about/plans
- **Free Workspace edition for verified nonprofits** (Nonprofit): Google Workspace for Nonprofits costs $0 per user with 100 TB shared across all users. Business Standard is discounted to $3.50 per user / month on a one-year commitment. Source: https://www.google.com/nonprofits/offerings/workspace/
- **Free Workspace edition for qualifying schools** (Education): Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals is available at no cost to qualifying institutions and includes 100 TB of pooled storage shared by the organization. Source: https://edu.google.com/intl/ALL_us/workspace-for-education/editions/compare-editions/
- **Lower price shown to buyers in India** (By country): On 9 October 2026 Google One's plans page showed Basic (100 GB) at ₹130 a month to a reader in India. A copy of the US page from 5 October lists that plan at $1.99 a month. Source: https://one.google.com/about/plans

## Price history

- Noticed Oct 9, 2026 (a correction of this listing, not a change by the vendor): **Google AI Pro (5 TB)**, new: $19.99 per month. Our listing left this plan out. The copy of Google One's US plans page from October 4, which the listing already cited, shows it at this price, so nothing changed on Google's side. Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20261004021435/https://one.google.com/about/plans
- Noticed Oct 9, 2026 (a correction of this listing, not a change by the vendor): **Google AI Plus (400 GB)**, new: $4.99 per month. Our listing carried only the 2 TB level of Google AI Plus at $9.99. Google's help page says Plus is sold with 400 GB or 2 TB, and its US Gemini plans page prices the 400 GB level. Source: https://gemini.google/us/subscriptions/?hl=en

## App Store prices by country

"100 GB", as each country's App Store showed it on Oct 9, 2026. These are the app's prices, not the website's.

| Country | Price | In US dollars |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | $1.99 | |
| United Kingdom | £1.79 | about $2.36 (19% more) |
| Germany | 1,99 € | about $2.23 (12% more) |
| Canada | $2.49 | about $1.75 (12% less) |
| Australia | $2.99 | about $2.08 (about the same) |
| India | ₹ 149 | about $1.54 (23% less) |
| Brazil | R$ 9,99 | about $1.99 (about the same) |
| Mexico | $39.00 | about $2.17 (9% more) |
| Turkey | ₺84,99 | about $1.73 (13% less) |
| Indonesia | Rp 32ribu | about $1.79 (10% less) |
| Philippines | ₱ 119.00 | about $1.89 (5% less) |
| South Africa | R34.99 | about $2.10 (6% more) |

## Key features

- **Drive for desktop:** A desktop app for Windows and macOS keeps Drive files up to date on the computer. Google's help center says there is no desktop version for Linux and points to the web app instead.
- **Editing Docs, Office files and PDFs:** Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, Microsoft Office files and PDFs can be edited and organized in place, and Google says more than 100 other file types can be opened.
- **Sharing permissions:** Files are shared with edit, comment or view permissions. Owners can also block certain actions. Setting an expiration date on someone's access is limited to eligible work or school accounts.
- **Shared drives:** Team-owned spaces for storing and managing files together. Google marks shared drives as a premium feature of some Workspace Business and Enterprise plans.
- **Gemini in Drive:** AI Overviews return cited answers from stored files, and Ask Gemini draws on Drive, Gmail, Calendar and Chat. On Workspace, Gemini in Drive starts at the Standard plan.
- **Security and admin controls:** Ransomware detection in Drive for desktop, client-side encryption, Vault and data loss prevention policies are offered on some Workspace Business and Enterprise plans.

## Good for

- People who already use Gmail, Google Docs and Google Photos
- Teams that co-edit documents, spreadsheets and slides in the browser
- Organizations standardizing on Google Workspace

## Worth knowing

- The free 15 GB is shared with Gmail and Google Photos, so mail and photo backups count against it.
- There is no Drive for desktop app for Linux; Google directs Linux users to Drive on the web.
- Shared drives, client-side encryption and third-party app integrations are premium features of some Workspace Business and Enterprise plans.
- Business plans are sold separately through Google Workspace, with pooled storage of 30 GB per user on Starter and 2 TB per user on Standard.

## What people say

- **App Store rating of the iPhone and iPad app:** 4.8 out of 5 from 7,843,574 ratings in the United States, read Oct 7, 2026. This is the store's rating of the app, not a score from ToolGPA. Source: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id507874739

Often praised:

- Reviewers say they reach the same files from an iPhone, a Mac and a Windows computer, and from whichever machine they happen to sign in on. (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id507874739)
- Commenters describe other apps and their own small projects using Drive as the place to keep or sync files. (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49839657, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49982906, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49745759)

Often criticised:

- Commenters are wary of keeping important files with Google, saying a problem with the account can lock them out with nobody to contact, which they say of Google accounts in general. (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49962154, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49920156, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49755530)

Based on 10 App Store reviews, seven of them more than three years old, and about 15 Hacker News comments from September and October 2026, most of which mention it in passing. These are themes summarised from public reviews and discussions, not ToolGPA's own verdict.

## Works with

Slack, Zoom, Salesforce, Atlassian, SAP, Gmail

**Tags:** File sync, File sharing, Real-time collaboration, AI features, AI search, Public API

## Alternatives

- [Dropbox](https://toolgpa.com/tools/dropbox): Cloud storage and file sync with transfer and signing tools. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/dropbox-vs-google-drive)
- [Microsoft OneDrive](https://toolgpa.com/tools/microsoft-onedrive): Microsoft's cloud storage, bundled with Microsoft 365 plans. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/google-drive-vs-microsoft-onedrive)
- [iCloud](https://toolgpa.com/tools/icloud): Apple's storage and sync service for photos, files and backups. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/google-drive-vs-icloud)
- [Box](https://toolgpa.com/tools/box): Business content storage with e-signatures, workflows and AI. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/box-vs-google-drive)
- [Proton Drive](https://toolgpa.com/tools/proton-drive): End-to-end encrypted cloud storage from the maker of Proton Mail. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/google-drive-vs-proton-drive)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 9, 2026:

- https://apps.apple.com/us/app/google-drive/id507874739
- https://apps.apple.com/us/app/google-one/id1451784328
- https://workspace.google.com/products/drive/
- https://one.google.com/about/plans
- https://web.archive.org/web/20261004021435/https://one.google.com/about/plans
- https://web.archive.org/web/20261005091113/https://one.google.com/about/plans
- https://gemini.google/us/subscriptions/?hl=en
- https://support.google.com/googleone/answer/16548195?hl=en
- https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2494822?hl=en
- https://workspace.google.com/pricing
- https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2375082?hl=en
- https://developers.google.com/workspace/drive/api/guides/about-sdk
- https://www.google.com/nonprofits/offerings/workspace/
- https://edu.google.com/intl/ALL_us/workspace-for-education/editions/compare-editions/

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/google-drive
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).