Best Online Free File Sharing and Storage Tools: SkyDrive vs Google Drive vs iCloud vs Dropbox

Best Online Free File Sharing and Storage Tools: SkyDrive vs Google Drive vs iCloud vs Dropbox

If you are looking to use cloud tools to share and store your files and folders online for free, you have options of Microsoft SkyDrive, Google Drive, Apple iCloud and Dropbox. These are the big names of Cloud Platform for providing you the free storage space for your files on the cloud. You can store, share and modify your files and folder online on cloud using these free cloud tools. Microsoft SkyDrive, Google Drive, Apple iCloud and Dropbox are the best free online sharing and storage cloud tools available for you. Microsoft SkyDrive provides you 7GB free storage, Google Drive and Apple iCloud provides you 5GB free online storage while Dropbox provides you 2GB free online storage. If you want to use more space, then you would have to go for premium membership with these services which is also not very costly. We will also have a look upon the cost offered by these online tools for sharing and storing your files online.

1. Microsoft SkyDrive (7GB)

For starters, SkyDrive gives users 7GB of storage for documents, photos, videos, and whatever else. SkyDrive also offers much better prices per year for additional space: 20GB for $10, 50GB for $25, and 100GB for $50. Compare that to $100 for Apple’s 50GB of storage, SkyDrive’s online backups, and its compatibility with iPad, iPhone, and Macs, suddenly it’s not much of a conversation. Of course, if you’re Apple all the way then iCloud may win on convenience alone. But if you have some Windows or Android products in your collection, SkyDrive’s flexibility is a definite asset as iCloud is only compatible with Apple devices.

2. Google Drive (5GB)

Google Drive is another popular cloud storage option and users of the free service are treated to 5GB as the standard. If that’s not enough you can sign up for 25GB for $2.49 per month (approx. $30 yearly) or 100GB for $4.99 (approx. $60 yearly). Google Drive may not be more affordable than SkyDrive or as good at back ups as iCloud, but it does have the advantage of supporting up to 16 terabytes of storage for users who need unwieldly amounts of data.

3. Apple iCloud (5GB)

Apple iCloud offers you 5GB free space. After this you’ll have to upgrade your account. You will get 10GB for $20, 20GB for $40, and 50GB for $100. These offerings aren’t straightforward, however, and there are a few additional details around the service. The extra storage doesn’t include the free 5GB in the total so you’d actually be getting 15GB, 25GB, and 55GB. The yearly fee also has free, unlimited backups for apps, books, purchased music (not available in all countries), TV shows (US-only), and movies. Actual storage space is used for photos, videos, settings (wallpaper, mail, contacts, etc), app data and organization, messages, and ringtones.

4. Dropbox (2GB)

Another strong contender is Dropbox. The platform agnostic service offers 2GB of free space, assuming you don’t earn more space through referrals, the platform offers a “Pro” option. Users can obtain 100GB for $100 per year ($10 monthly), 200GB for $200 ($20 monthly), and 500GB for $500 ($50 monthly). The advantage with Dropbox is you can access a lot more space, but if you’re only after 100GB, then SkyDrive is still your best option.