Google Photos VS. OneDrive Comparison [2026 Updated]

Quick Search:

• User Case
• Is OneDrive the Same As Google Photos
• Google Photos VS. OneDrive: Features, Pricing & Which Is Better
• Do I Need Google Photos if I Have OneDrive?
• How to Transfer Photos from Google Photos to OneDrive (and Vice Versa)?
• Conclusion
• FAQs

User Case

Is OneDrive the Same As Google Photos

When having lots of photos on our phones, we usually upload them to our computers or cloud drives for backup. Two popular options are OneDrive and Google Photos. But is OneDrive the same as Google Photos? The short answer is no.

While both services let you store and back up photos, they are fundamentally different. Google Photos is a dedicated photo management tool with AI-powered search and automatic tagging. OneDrive, on the other hand, is a general cloud storage platform integrated with Microsoft Office, focusing more on file syncing across devices. Some users see OneDrive as an alternative to Google Photos for photo management, but the two differ greatly in features and user experience.

Then, which one is better for photo storage, Google Photos or OneDrive? Today in this article, we will analyze both services in terms of pricing, security, supported file formats, photo management tools, and ecosystem compatibility to help you determine whether OneDrive can truly serve as a substitute for Google Photos—or if they serve different purposes entirely.

Overview of Google Photos

Being a separate app after spinning off from Google Drive in 2015, Google Photos is a service from Google Inc. for photo sharing and storage that cannot recognize other file formats except image and video formats.

With a large user base, Google Photos has been one of the most popular photo storage services. About 28 billion photos and videos will be uploaded to Google Photos each week by 2020. However, Google Photos canceled its unlimited storage space for compressed imageson June 1, 2021, which means that users have to pay for more storage space if they want to continue to save pictures on Google Photos.

Overview of OneDrive

OneDrive (Windows Live SkyDrive), also known as Microsoft OneDrive, is a network drive and cloud-based service from Microsoft. This service can be used to store photos, videos, documents, etc. Recently, OneDrive released a photo editing feature comparable to Google Photos. 

Google Photos VS. OneDrive: Features, Pricing & Which Is Better

From the overview of Google Photos and OneDrive, we can learn that Google Photos is a digital asset management service focusing on images and videos. While OneDrive is a cloud service that can store all types of files, including photos.

Google Photos currently offers 15GB of free space for users, which is shared with Google Drive and Gmail. Once it reaches the 15GB limit, you will need to purchase Google One service to increase the storage capacity.

In contrast, OneDrive provides you with 5GB of free storage. After reaching the limit, you’ll need to upgrade your account and choose different plans according to your situation. Currently, Microsoft 365 is the most cost-effective one compared to other OneDrive plans.

Anyway, both Google Photos and OneDrive have their own advantages and features. So, which one is better for your photos management? Google Photos or OneDrive? Please refer to the following comparisons such as pricing, security, supported file formats, and image management.

• Price
• Security
• File Formats
• Photo Management

Google Photos vs OneDrive: Price

Since Google Photos ended free unlimited storage in June 2021, its free tier now offers 15GB shared across Google Photos, Drive, and Gmail. For casual users who aren't professional or hobbyist photographers, 15GB is generally sufficient.

If you need more space, Google One plans include: 100GB for $1.99/month (Basic), 200GB with Google AI Plus (Gemini APP)for $7.99/month, with options for 2 TB Premium for $9.99/month, 5TB with Google AI Pro (Gemini APP) for $19.99/month and 30TB with Google AI Ultra (Gemini APP) for $249.99/month.

In comparison, OneDrive offers 5GB of free storage. Once you hit the limit, you can pay $1.99/month for 100GB, $9.99/month for 1TB, $19.99/month for 6TB,or subscribe to Microsoft 365 Personal or Family. The Family plan supports up to 6 people and gives each user an additional 1TB of storage. Plus, Microsoft 365 plans can be shared with family or friends — a feature where Google Photos cannot compete.

Plan	Google One	OneDrive
Free tier	15GB (shared with Gmail & Drive)	5GB
100GB	$1.99/month	$1.99/month
200GB	$7.99/month (with Google AI Plus / Gemini app)	Not available
1TB	Not available	$9.99/month (Microsoft 365 Personal)
2TB	$9.99/month (Premium)	Not available individually (included in Family plan)
5TB	$19.99/month (with Google AI Pro / Gemini app)	Not available
6TB	Not available	$19.99/month (Microsoft 365 Family, 1TB × 6 users)
30TB	$249.99/month (with Google AI Ultra / Gemini app)	Not available

👉Which Offers Cheaper Photo Storage, OneDrive or Google Photos?

Google Photos (via Google One) offers cheaper photo storage for most users.

• At the entry level (100GB), both cost the same: $1.99/month.
• For users needing around 200GB, Google One is the only option since OneDrive jumps directly to 1TB at $9.99/month.
• For 2TB, Google One charges $9.99 /month,while OneDrive requires a $19.99/month Family plan (6TB total).

If you need less than 1TB of storage, Google One is cheaper. If you need to share storage with a large family (up to 6 people), OneDrive's Microsoft 365 Family plan offers more total storage (6TB) for $19.99/month.

Google Photos vs OneDrive: Security

Security is not only important in our real life but also in the Internet. When we store important data in clouds, the primary consideration is whether it can keep the data from being leaked or from being attacked by malicious viruses/hackers.

Security Feature	Google Photos	OneDrive
Transmission protocol	HTTPS with SSL/TLS encryption	HTTPS with SSL/TLS encryption
Access control	Blocks suspicious logins & malicious links	Sends alerts Built-in fingerprint protection (Windows 10/11)
Two-factor authentication	Yes (two-step verification)	Yes
Private/sensitive storage	Not available	Personal Vault (auto-lock after 3 minutes)
Shared content protection	Disallows crawling of certain URLs unless shared	Expiration links & password options

👉Which is More Secure for Photos, OneDrive or Google Photos?

Both Google Photos and OneDrive are secure and capable of protecting your files from leaks and unauthorized access. OneDrive offers additional features like Personal Vault and fingerprint protection, while Google Photos excels in automated threat detection and encrypted transmission.

Google Photos vs OneDrive: File Formats

Since Google Photos is a spin-off of Google Drive, the supported file formats are mainly images and videos. The image formats it supports include JPG, PNG, GIF, and some RAW files, while video formats include MP4, MOV, and AVI. However, it does not support document, archive, or spreadsheet formats.

In comparison, OneDrive supports a much wider range of file formats. In addition to common image formats like JPG, PNG, GIF, and EPS, it also handles PDF files, Microsoft Office documents (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), text files, and even ZIP archives. This makes OneDrive a more versatile choice for users who need to store various types of files beyond photos and videos.

Cloud	Photos	Videos
Google Photos	.jpg, .heic, .heif, .png, .webp, .gif, .avif, and most RAW files.	.mpg, .mod, .mmv, .tod, .wmv, .asf, .avi, .divx, .mov, .m4v, .3gp, .3g2, .mp4, .m2t, .m2ts, .mts, and .mkv files.
OneDrive	bmp, emf, eps, gif, jpg, jpeg, png, psd, svg, tif, tiff, wmf	3g2, 3gp, 3gpp, asf, avi, m2ts, m4a, m4v, mkv, mov, mp3, mp4, mp4v, mts, ts, wav, webm, wma, wmv

Microsoft Photos vs Google Photos: Photo Management

Many users are torn between Google Photos and OneDrive, wondering how each service manages photos and which one suits them better. In this section, we analyze their photo management features, including editing, sharing, and freeing uplocal device space, to help make the right choice. 

Photo Editing

Both services allow users to sort and delete photos, but only Google Photos offers a full suite of online editing tools. With Google Photos, you can easily crop, filter, tag, adjust, and even apply AI-powered suggestions. Every editing button is well-placed and easy to access.

In contrast, OneDrive offers only basic cropping and adjustment options (crop, adjustment, filter, markup). Thus, if you have a high demand to edit your photos, Google Photos is more reliable.

Photo Sharing

Both Google Photos and OneDrive allow sharing of individual photos or entire albums.

• Google Photos: You can enable Live Albums to automatically add new photos that meet specific criteria to an album, then share the album with others.
• OneDrive: You need to send a share link. Only those who receive the link can view your photos.

Free Up Local Space

One of the main benefits of using cloud storage is freeing up space on your mobile device. Too much local data can slow down your phone.

Both services can transfer photos from your device to the cloud. However, when it comes to deleting duplicate local files, Google Photos offers a one-click feature "Free up space on this device" to remove local duplicates, while OneDrive requires you to delete them one by one.

Do I Need Google Photos if I Have OneDrive?

The answer depends on how youwant tomanage your photos. If you already have OneDrive, you may not need Google Photos when:

• You primarily store photos as files rather than managing them as a visual library.
• You are already invested in the Microsoft ecosystem (Windows, Office, Outlook).
• You only need basic backup and sharing features.
• You prefer having one cloud service for all file types, including documents and archives.

But you might still want Google Photos for specific reasons like:

• You value AI-powered search (e.g., searching for "dog" or "beach" without manual tagging).
• You want powerful online editing tools, including filters, adjustments, and AI suggestions.
• You frequently need to free up phone space occupied by precious pictures with one click.
• You prefer a dedicated photo-centric interface over a general file storage layout.

How to Transfer Photos from Google Photos to OneDrive (and Vice Versa)?

After finishing the Google Photos vs. OneDrive comparison across pricing, security, file formats, photo management, and sharing capabilities, you may have reached a conclusion based on your own needs. Perhaps you prefer Google Photos for its powerful AI search and editing tools, or you lean toward OneDrive for its better value on large storage and family sharing.

But what if you want the best of both worlds? Or you have already stored years of memories in one service and now wish to switch to the other? Or just like the user case mentioned earlier, find your photos scattered across Google Photos, OneDrive, and even iCloud and now want to manage a single, unified photo library.

All those naturally raise a practical question: How do you transfer photos from Google Photos to OneDrive, or vice versa?

Manually downloading from Google Photos or OneDrive and re-uploading to another is possible, but it is slow and error-prone. For large libraries (tens of thousands of photos), this method becomes nearly impossible.

Recommended Solution: MultCloud

To solve this problem efficiently, a dedicated cloud-to-cloud transfer tool is highly recommended. MultCloud is a web-based service that allows you to transfer, sync, or directly copy files between different cloud drives including Google Photos and OneDrive without downloading and re-uploading.

Step 1: Sign up for a MultCloud account free and log in. Or, signing in directly with Google, Facebook, and Apple ID is also available.

Step 2: Click the Add Cloud tab on the left taskbar and add OneDrive and Google Photos respectively.

Step 3: After adding both clouds, head to Cloud Transfer on the left sidebar. Then select OneDrive as the source directory and Google Photos as the target directory.

Step 4: You can make settings of your transferring task by tapping the Options button on the left lower side. For example, you can tick Delete all source files after transfer is complete, or Keep the file modification data. Meanwhile, you can set up the transferring schedule by pressing Schedule as transferring daily, weekly, and monthly. 

Step 5: Click Transfer Now after setting everything well.

Conversely, if you want to move Google Photos to OneDrive, you can also use MultCloud, and the only change is to reselect the source and target directory.

Conclusion

Google Photos vs OneDrive, this article gives you a detailed comparison of pricing, security, photo management and other features. In a word, both are similar in basic features. Choosing one of them as your photo storage depends on your situation. If you have certain needs for photo editing, Google Photos is better.

If you want to transfer pictures from Google Photos to OneDrive, you can use MultCloud to achieve the goal easily. This professional service also allows you to transfer files across clouds without downloading and re-uploading. Additionally, if you prefer iCloud over Google Photos, you can easily transfer photos from Google to iCloud using MultCloud as well.

FAQs

Is Google Photos or OneDrive Better for Photographers?

Google Photos is better for photographers who need powerful AI search, auto-tagging, and online editing tools. OneDrive may appeal to those who already use Microsoft Office and need large storage (1TB+) with family sharing.

Should I Switch from Google Photos to OneDrive?

Switch if you need more than 15GB of free storage, want better value for 1TB+ plans, or need to share storage with up to 6 family members. Stay with Google Photos if you rely on AI search, automatic tagging, and online photo editing.

What Are the Disadvantages of Google Photos?

Compared with OneDrive, Google Photos comes with the following disadvantages:

• Only 15GB free storage (shared with Gmail and Drive)
• No support for documents or other non-media files
• No built-in Personal Vault for sensitive files
• Paid plans do not include Office apps (unlike Microsoft 365)

Will I Lose My Photos if I Stop Paying for Google Photos?

No, you won't lose your photos immediately if you stop paying for Google Photos. Google will not delete your photos right away. However, you will not be able to upload new photos or use Google Photos normally. However, if you are inactive across Google for at least two years, Google may delete your Google Account, its activity and data.

Do Photos Stay on Google Photos if Deleted from Phone?

Yes, if you have already backed them up. Deleting a photo from your phone will not remove it from Google Photos, as long as the backup was completed before deletion. To delete from both, you need to delete from Google Photos directly.

Can I Delete All Photos in Google Photos Without Deleting from My Phone?

Yes, you can delete all photos in Google Photos without deleting from your phone with the help of "Undo backup" feature in Google Photos, which was specifically designed for this purpose:

Open the Google Photos app on your phone.Tap on your profile picture or initials in the top-right corner. Select "Photos settings" > "Backup". Scroll down and tap "Undo backup for this device". Tap "Delete Google Photos backup" to complete the process.