Which One is Better? Difference Between OneDrive & Google Drive
You want to know which platform, OneNote or Google Drive, is best for storing and managing the information. Here, I am going to compare OneNote vs Google Drive and help you to decide which one is best for you. In this, I will explain the difference between these two in detail and present use cases for the programs.
OneNote is a Microsoft digital notebook to store, organize, and share information. Google Drive is a cloud storage service by Google to store and manage your files. Both programs serve different purposes, but they are very popular platforms for storing organizations’ information.
OneNote Vs Google Drive – Key Differences
| Functions | Microsoft OneNote | Google Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Digital Notebook for creating and organizing notes. | Cloud Storage service to store and manage your files. |
| Support note-taking | Provide note-taking features like typing, handwriting, drawing images, and audio recordings. | You have to use Google Docs for note-taking and save the notes in the Google Drive. |
| Structure | Notebook >> Section >> Page | Folder >> Subfolder >> File |
| Collaboration Features | You can share your notebooks, but provide basic collaboration features | Offer real-time collaboration, comments, and editing across Google tools. |
| Default Storage Space | Store notes and attachments, but require OneDrive assistance | It is created to store files, like documents, images, videos, etc., in a cloud platform. |
| Offline Accessibility | It is a desktop app, so you can easily use it offline. | Partial offline availability, as it is mainly a web-based app. |
| Ideal for | It is best for students, researchers, and professionals who organize notes and ideas. | Teams and businesses that need centralized file storage and collaboration. |
From these differences, you can see that OneNote is more focused on storing your information, whereas Google Drive stores the files.
Feature Comparison Between OneNote and Google Drive
From the above, you know how different OneNote and Google Drive are from each other. But to make the decision, you have to understand both in detail. So, in this, I am going to explain both platforms in detail.
Note-Taking Application
OneNote is a digital notebook where you can easily write and manage your information. It contains structured notes with notebooks, sections, and pages. Using it is very easy, as a user can type their notes, draw diagrams, add images, and record audio. This feature is useful for students, researchers, and professionals who require a detailed note-taking tool.
Google Drive, on the other hand, does not contain built-in note-taking functions. Rather, you rely on Google Docs to create notes. Google Docs provides basic note creation, formatting, and commenting functions. It uses a folder structure to store the files.
File Storage and Management
For file storage, Google Drive is the best because it is a cloud storage platform. In this, you can save and organize many types of files like documents, images, videos, PDFs, etc. The files are organized in folders that you can access from any device.
OneNote stores notes and attachments in notebooks. However, it does not offer a cloud storage platform. So, OneNote relies on OneDrive to store the notebooks.
Teamwork and Collaboration
For collaboration, Google Drive is the best candidate. In this, you can share files or folders or files with others and perform real-time collaboration with Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. This way, remote teams can easily work on collaborative projects.
OneNote also includes collaboration via shared notebooks. Here, multiple users can view and edit the notes at the same time, but the collaboration features are not as advanced as those of Google Drive.
Integration with Other Applications
OneNote and Google Drive are both closely integrated with their respective suite. For example, OneNote is included in Microsoft 365 with other apps.
Google Drive is integrated with Google Workspace and its apps to help you quickly create documents, collaborate with teammates, and manage files in a single cloud environment.
With the features, they are also different in price and storage. I explained this below.
OneNote vs Google Drive Price Comparison
As OneNote and Google Drive are both integrated with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. Their pricing structure is the same as their respective suite.
| Plans | Google Drive (One) | OneNote (Microsoft 365) |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Free 15 GB | Free 5 GB |
| Basic Plan | $1.99 for 100 GB | $1.99 for 100 GB |
| Standard Plan | $2.99 for 200 GB | —– |
| Premium Plan | $9.99 for 2 TB | $6.99 for 1 TB |
| Family Plan | $9.99 for 2 TB, which are shared | $9.99 for 6 TB |
Business or Enterprise Plans
- Google Drive (Google Workspace)
- Business Starter: $6 per user per month for 30 GB storage.
- Business Standard: $12 per user per month for 2 TB storage.
- Business Plus: $18 per user per month for 5 TB storage
- OneNote (Microsoft 365)
- Business Basic: $6 per user per month for 1 TB storage and web apps.
- Business Standard: $12.50 per user per month for 1 TB storage and desktop apps.
- Business Premium: $22 per user per month for advanced security and Intune.
So, the pricing and storage depend on which plans of Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 you are using. Using Google Drive and OneNote has its own pros and cons.
Advantages and Disadvantages of OneNote and Google Drive
OneNote
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| You can type, draw, or paste images anywhere without any page breaks. | As you can click and type anywhere, the pages quickly become cluttered and unorganized if you don’t properly managed it. |
| It is much easier to arrange your thoughts visually. | OneNote does not have professional desktop publishing features like mail merge, precise margin control, etc. |
| OneNote provides a simple structure. Notebook >> Section >> Page | If you are editing the same page on two different devices at the sme time. It creates Misplaced Sections or duplicate pages. Because it is unable to merge the changes. |
| You can tag items as Important, Question, or Remember for later, for easy search across the notebook. | If you are using hundreds of high-resolution images and long audio recordings. It will be slow to load and become laggy. |
| It allows you to sync your meeting details directly from the Outlook calendar to the notebook. | Exporting OneNote data to other note-taking apps is difficult because it is a Microsoft app. |
| You can lock a specific section with a password to keep your information private. | You will get only 5 GB of free space, which is less than Google Drive. |
| It has an Auto Save function, which automatically saves your notes to the cloud whenever you make any changes. | Users cannot save a single OneNote page as a standalone file in your desktop. |
| It is mostly available for free on all devices. All schools get the premium version for free as part of Microsoft 365. | You cannot share a single section or page. You have to share the entire Notebook. |
Google Drive
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Multiple users can work on the same Google files without any issue. | Google Drive is linked with your Google account. If you lose access to your Gmail, you may also lose your documents, photos, and backups. |
| You can set the permission of the files as Viewer, Commenter, or Editor. | It has an offline mode, but it is hard to set up, and you need the Google Chrome browser |
| It is a web-based program that you can install on any software. | Uploading and downloading large files in Google Drive is slower than in other services. |
| Google Drive offers you 15 GB of free storage space. | Those files that are shared by others do not stay in your folder structure by default. There is a separate Shared folder that can become a disorganized list very quickly. |
| It integrates with AI to summarize your long documents, draft emails based on your files, and find specific data. | The 15 GB free storage is shared with other Google apps. So, there are chances of the storage becoming full. |
| You can easily view and edit the files without the internet. | If two users are editing non google Filee at the same time. It creates a duplicate file when merging after the changes. |
| Google Drive scans your shared files for any viruses and malware before you download them. | It lacks advanced features in Microsoft Word or Excel. So, you will get basic formatting. |
OneNote or Google Drive: Which One Do You Choose?
After learning the difference between features in detail, and the pros and cons. It is your choice which one you want. Both have their own purpose with their own features. So, if you have trouble making your decisions. Read this section.
When is OneNote chosen?
Use Microsoft OneDrive when you need to organize your information, capture ideas, and manage detailed notes. It perfectly works as a digital notebook that you can structure like Notebooks, sections, and pages. For students, researchers, project managers, and professionals, this tool would be the best for you.
When is Google Drive used?
If your primary goal is to store, manage, and share files in a cloud platform. Google Drive is perfect. Here you can perform real-time collaboration, use Google apps like Docs, Sheets, and Slides. This is the best for teams, businesses, and remote collaboration.
Other than that, some users use both OneNote and Google Drive. OneNote can be used to organize your meeting notes, research materials, and ideas, whereas Google Drive can be used to store your project documents, presentation spreadsheets, and other shared files. Users who use both programs often have to move their notebooks to Google Drive for better collaboration and management.
Bonus Tip: Migrate OneNote to Google Drive
When it comes to moving your OneNote to Google Drive. You can use the SysTools OneDrive to Google Drive Migration Tool. Manuals can cause you problems like data formatting and be time-consuming. So, professionals use this specialized software.
Concluding Words
In this blog, I have explained OneNote vs Google Drive with features, pricing, and storage. Also, I have included the pros and cons of them. To help you, I have also explained which one to choose, or you can use both. Additionally, I also suggest a bonus tip when you have to move your OneNote notebooks to Google Drive.