DropBox vs OneDrive vs MEGA vs Google Drive

For the past 24 hrs, I’ve done an experiment with 4 different cloud storage services. After uploading the same package of 25,000 files of varying sizes and types to each service, here are my results.

Note: My internet download speed is 55 Mbps, upload speed is 10.5 Mbps, and it is very stable.

  

MEGA – 50gb free 

MEGA offers the most free cloud storage space of all free cloud storage services. It is also the clear winner in performance, but only in certain conditions: if you are uploading large files; if subfolders in your upload batch contain less than 100 files per folder; and if you dont need integration with Microsoft Office or Google Apps.

If you upload a folder to MEGA which contains more than 100 files, additional files over the 100 file limit will be completely disregarded and you will not even get an error message. You would only know they are missing by manually checking the contents of your folders. If you absolutely need to put more than 100 files in a folder of their own, the only workaround for this is to manually select the batch of photos on your computer, then drop them into the folder you’ve created in your MEGA account.

Mega allows you to view all types of photos within your account, but not video.

If you are uploading large files, MEGA’s upload speed is far superior to OneNote, DropBox, and Google Drive.

DropBox – 2gb free 

DropBox offers the least free storage space of all free cloud storage services. If you manage to get plenty of free bonus space with the purchase of a phone (as I did), or by any other means, it is a competitive free cloud storage service. The upload speeds in DropBox are reasonable, and it allows you to view all types of photo and most types of video files from within the webservice.

DropBox’s batch upload limit is 3,000 files, but it did not limit the amount of files in folders during uploads as MEGA did.

There were a few errors while uploading files (less than 10 out of 25,000). DropBox did not offer an option to “Retry” the uploads, and it was difficult to pinpoint which files were unable to upload because of errors.

Google Drive – 15gb free  

Google Drive offers the absolute SLOWEST upload speeds of all the free cloud storage services I’ve ever used, especially for large files. While it lacks in speed, it had very few upload errors (3 file upload errors out of 25,000), and it offered a “retry” option for the failed uploads. Using the “retry upload” option fixed the upload errors, so it would not be dishonest to say that it uploaded 25,000 files with no errors.

Google Drive allows you to view all photo types and most video types from within the webservice.

I dont think Google Drive has a batch limit, but the entire upload froze when I tried to upload 25,000 files at once. I uploaded 15,000 at once with no issues, albeit very slowly, then the rest after that. Google Drive did not limit the amount of files in folders during uploads as MEGA did.

Google Drive also offers integration with various Google Apps including Gmail.

OneDrive – 15gb free  

OneDrive’s upload speeds are only second to MEGA. There were very few upload errors (less than 5 upload errors out of 25,000). OneDrive did not offer a “retry upload” option for failed uploads, but it did offer a helpful notification explaining which specific files were unable to upload.

OneDrive allows you to view all photo types and most video types from within the webservice.

OneDrive’s batch upload limit is 1000 files, but it did not limit the amount of files in folders during uploads as MEGA did.

OneDrive also offers integration with Microsoft Office apps including Microsoft email services, Microsoft Word, and OneNote.

Summary 

My favourite cloud storage service to use on a day to day basis is MEGA, even considering its limitations. While it does allow previewing photos from within the webservice, you cannot watch videos. Its password recovery system is nonexistant even if you have access to the email account used to create the account, and a subfolder with more than 100 files in it will not upload properly.

I appreciate MEGA above other cloud services primarily for its far quicker upload speeds and much larger free storage space, making it especially useful for large files such as movies, music collections, and eBook collections. I have used MEGA since the day it was released, but I do have plenty of experience with these other services considering I was using all of them before MEGA even existed.

The other three services are equal to me (assuming you can get your hands on free extra space for DropBox). Having said that, since I use other Microsoft products on a daily basis, OneDrive does have its uses and I do appreciate its quick upload speeds, few errors, and integration with other Microsoft products.

All four of these services have excellent apps for android phones/tablets, but MEGA’s and DropBox’s apps are the “quickest” or “snappiest” to use. Google Drive’s and OneDrive’s android apps feel a bit clunky in comparison.

MEGA and OneDrive offer the most detailed file descriptions of the four services, displaying file size, date created, date uploaded, file types, and folder content information. DropBox offers the least detailed file descriptions.

Of these four services, I’d recommend DropBox if you intend to use a cloud storage locker to host images for a webpage.