What is Google One?

Getting a notification that you’re running low on storage is annoying at the best of times. If you’re not keen to delete any holiday snaps, Gmail threads or pictures of your pets, a Google One subscription could be the answer. 

Here’s everything you need to know about Google’s iCloud Plus alternative, including what it is, what plans are available and how much it costs to use the service. 

What is Google One? 

Google One is a premium cloud storage service from Google. 

Customers can use Google One to upload and organise documents, files, photos and videos in full resolution and to increase the default 15GB of Drive, Docs, Sheets and Gmail storage that comes with a free Google account. 

What is included in a Google One subscription? 

There are three tiers available at varying prices. You can choose from Basic, Standard and Premium depending on how much storage you need and which features you would like to be included. 

The basic Google One plan includes 100GB of cloud storage, which can be split amongst up to six people including yourself. The plan also includes access to a range of Google Photos editing tools, including the Magic Eraser, Portrait Blur, Portrait Light and HDR, to name a few. This tier also comes with a VPN to disguise your IP address, while Google will scour the dark web and notify you if your personal info has been leaked. 

Next up is the Standard tier. This plan includes all of the above, along with an increased 200GB of storage and the option to get 3% back in store credit when you shop at the Google Store. 

Finally, there’s the Premium tier. This tier includes all of the above, but with a hefty 2TB of storage and 10% back in store credit when shopping at the Google Store. Premium subscribers also get Nest Aware and Fitbit Premium thrown in for free. These two services would typically cost you £6 and £7.99 a month each, respectively. 

Google One Basic is priced at £1.59/month, while Google One Standard will cost you £2.49/month. Google One Premium is the most expensive tier at £7.99/month, though all three tiers carry discounted prices for the first three months of your subscription.

What’s the difference between Google One and Google Drive? 

Google One is a set of subscription-based cloud storage plans that expand upon the limited amount of storage that comes free with a Google account, while Google Drive is the place all your files are stored. 

Google explains the difference as follows: 

“Google Drive is a storage service. Google One is a subscription plan that gives you more storage to use across Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos. Plus, with Google One, you get extra benefits and can share your membership with your family.

“How you use Google Drive doesn’t change, so you don’t have to worry about losing or transferring anything”. 

Is Google One worth it? 

For Google Drive and Docs frequenters and Android smartphone users, Google One is an easy way to increase the storage available to you at an additional cost. 

The best way to determine whether you’ll get the most out of Google One is to look at your current Google Drive usage. If you’ve almost run out of storage with your free 15GB, you’ll likely appreciate the additional space Google One offers for your photos, files and documents. 

iOS and Mac users, meanwhile, will probably get more use out of Apple’s iCloud Plus expanded storage plans, which also comes with security-focussed perks like Private Relay and Hide My Email.