Filen vs Google Drive Comparison

• 100 GiB, Starter for 1 year: €11.99 billed yearly
• 200 GiB, Pro I for 1 year: €19.99 billed yearly
• 500 GiB, Pro II for 1 year: €39.99 billed yearly
• 2 TiB, Pro III for 1 year: €89.99 billed yearly
• 10 TiB, Pro X for 1 year: €399.99 billed yearly

• 100 GB, Basic 100 GB monthly: $1.99 a month
• 100 GB, Basic 100 GB for 1 year: $19.99 billed yearly
• 2 TB, Google AI Plus 2 TB monthly: $9.99 a month
• 2 TB, Google AI Plus 2 TB for 1 year: $99.99 billed yearly
• 5 TB, Google AI Pro 5 TB monthly: $19.99 a month
• 5 TB, Google AI Pro 5 TB for 1 year: $199.99 billed yearly

Filen says files are encrypted on your device with AES-256-GCM, each file with its own key, and that file names, folder names and file metadata are encrypted with a key derived from your password. The web app at app.filen.io receives its encryption code from Filen each time it loads and keeps your keys in the browser's local storage. Filen still sees your email address, IP address, how much storage you use and payment references.

Google encrypts files in transit and on its disks with AES-256, using keys managed by its own key management service, so its systems can decrypt them. File names, descriptions, owners and activity logs are encrypted on disk the same way. Client-side encryption, which Google cannot decrypt, exists only in some paid Workspace editions for organizations and has to be switched on by an admin; personal Google accounts cannot use it. Decryption happens on Google's servers, so the web, desktop and mobile apps work the same way.

Filen Cloud Dienste UG (haftungsbeschränkt) is registered at the District Court of Recklinghausen, Germany, and its terms are governed by German law. Filen says all its servers are its own hardware in colocation data centers in Germany; payment data passes through PayPal, Stripe and Coinbase, which also process it in the US.

Google's terms name Google LLC of Mountain View, California, and are governed by California law unless local law requires otherwise. The privacy policy names Google Ireland Limited among the Google companies that provide consumer services in the EU. Google keeps servers around the world, and files may be processed outside your country.

A small German company represented by Jan Lenczyk, officially founded in May 2021. Filen says it has no outside investors and grew on sales of its earlier lifetime plans; its roadmap lists a planned change of legal form from UG to GmbH.

Google LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., whose shares trade on Nasdaq. Google Drive launched on 24 April 2012.

Up to 100 versions per file, kept for as long as the file itself exists; versions count toward your storage and can be turned off. Deleted files stay in the trash for up to 30 days.

An earlier version of a non-Google file may be deleted after 30 days or once there are 100 newer versions, unless you mark it Keep forever. Google Docs, Sheets and Slides keep their own version history. Files in the Trash are deleted after 30 days.