Google Drive
Immich
| Feature | Google Drive | Immich |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $1.99/mo | Free / from $0/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.7 / 5 |
| Best For | individuals, students, small-teams, google-workspace-users | self-hosters, families, privacy-focused-users, photographers |
| Founded | 2012 | 2022 |
| Cloud Storage | ✓ | ✗ |
| File Sharing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Docs | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sheets | ✓ | ✗ |
| Slides | ✓ | ✗ |
| Collaboration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Search | ✓ | ✗ |
| Photo Backup | ✗ | ✓ |
| Facial Recognition | ✗ | ✓ |
| Smart Search | ✗ | ✓ |
| Shared Albums | ✗ | ✓ |
| Memories | ✗ | ✓ |
| Map View | ✗ | ✓ |
| Mobile Apps | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Google Drive Pros
- 15GB free storage
- Deep integration with Google apps
- Real-time collaboration
- Powerful search across all files
✗ Google Drive Cons
- Privacy concerns with Google scanning
- Desktop app can be confusing
- File organization gets messy at scale
✓ Immich Pros
- Full Google Photos replacement (self-hosted)
- AI face recognition and smart search
- Mobile apps with automatic background backup
- Shared albums and partner sharing
✗ Immich Cons
- Self-hosting only (no managed cloud option)
- Resource-intensive (especially ML features)
- Still in active development (breaking changes possible)
The Verdict
Google Drive is built for individuals and students, with a focus on cloud-storage and file-sharing. Immich targets self hosters and families and leads with photo-backup and facial-recognition.
Pricing is close: Immich starts at $0/mo versus $1.99/mo for Google Drive — not a deciding factor on its own.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.