Every Google Drive user may be familiar with the free 15GB storage. It's a lot of space to commend Google for, and stash your large files. But over the years, it runs out. It's expected, considering that you're sharing the space across Gmail, Docs, and other services. A Google One subscription ensures that you can use those services as normal when the space finishes. Here's how it works.
What is Google One?
Google One is a cloud service that's separate from Google Drive. It gives you extra storage from 100GB to 2TB and additional services for a fee. It's your go-to option when your Drive space is running low. The perks you'll get include the ability to share your storage with five other people, and an enhanced Workspace experience. There used to be a VPN service, but it's shutting down this year.
Google One plans provide monthly or annual payment options. You'll find them below with their prices:
- Basic (100GB): $1.99 per month or $19.99 per year (saves you 16%).
- Premium (2TB): $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year (saves you 16%).
- Gemini AI Premium (2TB): $19.99 per month. Comes with a free two-month trial and storage expansion options up to 30TB.
Besides the aforementioned plans, Google used to offer a Standard 200GB plan for $2.99 per month and $29.99 per year. But it's now hidden from free plan users. You'll need to sign up for a different Google One plan. Then visit your Google One settings and upgrade or downgrade your storage to the 200GB option.
Which Google One plan fits you?
All Google One plans offer mouthwatering perks, but they may be overkill for someone who just needs a little bit of extra space. We've created a table to compare what each one offers. We've excluded the Standard 200GB plan as Google has reserved it as an upgrade or downgrade option for now.
| Plan | Storage | Price | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 100GB | $1.99/month $19.99/year | 100GB storage for Google apps & services, Share storage with up to five people. |
| Premium | 2TB | $9.99/month $99.99/year | 2TB storage for Google apps & services, Share storage with up to five people, Longer group video calls, call recording & noise cancellation, Live-streaming of Google Meet calls, Create multiple booking pages. |
| AI Premium | 2TB | $19.99/month | Premium plan features + Gemini Advanced abilities across Google apps & services |
Ideally, the basic Google One plan fits anyone who needs more space for emails, photos, and documents. Also, when you don't care for powerful AI tools. You can always use the free version of Gemini, ChatGPT, and other models.
AI premium best suits you when you heavily rely on AI for heavy writing, code analysis, and plenty of space. Currently, I'm using the free trial as my storage is running out and I want to test how well the Gemini app does with heavy writing projects. Plus, it's billed monthly. If you find that you don't need the advanced features or extra storage after a month or two, you can easily cancel your subscription without having to commit to a full year.
The con with Google One plan cancellations or expirations is that you'll lose the extra storage purchased and get downgraded to the free 15GB plan. It's basically useless because you'll be over quota, and all services will halt. You can't send emails, use Drive, or do anything else until you clean up the storage or get a new plan. After two years, Google will wipe any data that surpasses the 15GB if you take no action.
2TB is even a lot of space and will take a long while before you actually fill it up. Plus, anything can happen between that time. You may need to switch to a different cloud storage platform. It's best to start small with a basic tiered plan, and switch to a higher one when you feel that you need more out of Google One.
