With big names like Microsoft and Google joined the cloud storage market, the choice of right cloud backup provider is increasingly difficult. That's where we come in. There are some key differences between SkyDrive, Google Drive, DropBox, SugarSync and other cloud storage services that can guide you in one way or another.
SkyDrive. As with Google Drive, DropBox, SkyDrive installs a designated folder on your hard drive where you can drag and drop files and specific folders. Once you have copied a file in SkyDrive folder, the file will be instantly available on the web and on all other computers that have installed SkyDrive. Their offer is limited to 25 GB of free space, and their usual storage allocation is 7 GB. A handy feature that sets this service outside of Google is that you can access files from a hard drive PC with SkyDrive even if the files you need has not been added to the SkyDrive folder. However, this feature will only work if the computer you need to access is turned on and connected to the Internet. So if your computer crashes, you're out of luck. SkyDrive is intended to be used as a solution for store-as-you-go, which means that most people will add folders to be stored as they need to use them. This leaves the rest of your files in danger in case of accident or theft. Learn more about what we had to say about SkyDrive here.
Google Drive. The Google Drive folder can be used as SkyDrive, drag and drop the files you want to access remotely. Google gives you 5 GB of free storage when you sign up. People who are regular users of Google Docs will enjoy formats and online document viewing sharing features players, because they are almost identical as Google Doc. However, the service does not have the remote access feature and unlike other full cloud storage services, not the total online backup capabilities, leaving most of your files to the thank you computer problems. As SkyDrive, Google Drive is designed for storing files on the road so you can work on them later. Most users will not think to copy old photographs and documents in the designated folder because unlike other cloud storage services like SugarSync, Google Drive will backup your entire computer during installation.
DropBox. DropBox, the pioneer of using a special folder for drag and drop your files, you also give 5 GB of free storage when you sign up. Prices for plans paid DropBox is a bit stronger than their new competition. And again, the service is not used to back up your entire computer, unlike other cloud storage providers that are the same, if not better, at a price. In fact, DropBox placed last in our cloud storage comparator because of its lack of full backup.
SugarSync. This service is a different kind of cloud storage. With SugarSync, which also presents 5 GB of free storage, you can synchronize a folder on the web and on your computer without having to move files in a folder named like other services require. You can synchronize multiple files together as well, so any change to a folder on a computer, appears in another folder on another computer. More importantly, however, is that SugarSync is designed to double as your backup service complete online. During installation, you are supposed to back up your entire computer, so that each file is secure, ready for access and can be restored by computer emergency.
JustCloud, ZipCloud and MyPCBackup. This family of services gives you unlimited storage for a computer, so that each of your files will be safe, no matter how much you have. They also feature a sync folder, which is similar to DropBox from, SkyDrive and model designated folder in Google Drive. Dragging a file in that folder will update and synchronize the files on all your computers and the web. Read each of these services here.
Consult our comparison chart cloud storage to watch full price and features.