I have been testing and looking at a lot of interesting Google Drive clients lately and wanted to share some of the ones I have found. It takes quite a bit of time to do the full reviews so consider this the previews of some of the reviews I am working on currently. While the desktop Google Drive client from Google is a very good desktop client there are times when you might need something different or a certain feature that the default Google Drive client just does not offer.

Insync

Insync is the Google Drive client that should be the official Google Drive client. Runs on Windows, Mac and Linux and unlike the official Google Drive client, allows you to have multiple accounts setup to sync and will convert Google Docs to Office docs. I have used Insync in the past when I was using Linux full time and was very impressed with it.

Insync currently offers a 15 day trial and sells for $29.99 USD.

Duplicati

Duplicati is not really a Google Drive client but a backup system that can use Google Drive as the offsite storage service. You can actually use the software to backup your data to more than just Google Drive but that is what I have been testing. It is a pretty impressive piece of backup software that will help you protect your data no matter where you decide to store it. It offers strong encryption to protect your files on your cloud storage service of choice plus it will run on Windows, Mac and Linux.

Duplicati is currently licensed under LGPL and is free to use.

StableBit CloudDrive

StableBit CloudDrive is also not really a Google Drive client but it can be used with Google Drive to create a virtual hard drive that is stored on Google Drive. It creates a virtual hard drive container that you mount on your desktop and can use just like a regular hard drive. It uses AES-256 encryption with your own encryption key to keep your stuff private. You can use several different cloud providers or multiple accounts to create any number of virtual hard drives that you can even manage with Windows Disk Management to create one drive. It is a currently in beta but is pretty impressive so far.

StableBit CloudDrive currently offers a 30 day trial and sells for $34.95 USD.

ExpanDrive

ExpanDrive is a client for Google Drive and many other services but it does not sync your files, instead it also creates a virtual hard drive that exists in the cloud. It is one of the most comprehensive cloud drive clients I have used and is great for accessing and managing your files on your cloud services. It currently is available for Windows and Mac.

ExpanDrive currently offers a 7 day trial and sells for $49.95 USD.

CloudMounter

This is Mac only but will mount your Google Drive, or several other services, like it is just another local drive on your Mac. It currently does not offer to encrypt your files on your cloud storage, but it does mention that they are working on it. I placed CloudMounter right after ExpanDrive because they are offering a discount of 50% off for users of Mountain Duck, WebDrive, ExpanDrive. I guess if you are not happy with one of those services you might as well save some money on CloudMounter.

CloudMounter currently offers a 7 day trial and sells for $29.99 USD.

WebDrive

WebDrive does what it says it does, turns your Google Drive, or several other cloud storage services, into a local hard drive. Much like many of the other desktop clients it makes it easy to connect and manage files on your cloud storage. I don’t see any extra support for encryption or privacy but if the official Google Drive client is not working for you WebDrive might be a good choice.

WebDrive currently offers a 20 day trial and sells for $39.95 USD.

odrive

I have tried odrive in the past but it has come along way since I last tried it. Google Drive is only one of the cloud storage services it supports, and if you have multiple cloud storage accounts including Google Drive you might really need an odrive subscription. The desktop client runs on Windows and Mac but they also offer a headless sync agent for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Perhaps the best feature is the progressive sync feature that only syncs the folders and data you use instead of syncing everything. Definitely give odrive a try if Google Drive is one of several cloud storage services you use.

odrive currently offers a limited free account. Premium full featured accounts are $8.25/month USD.

Air Explorer

Like many of the other Google Drive alternatives Air Explorer will allow you to access your Google Drive, but it also supports many other cloud storage services and allows you to merge all your cloud storage accounts into one. Air Explorer is only available for Windows and it does not integrate with Windows Explorer but offers its own interface. The price is certainly right to give Air Explorer a try and see if it meets your needs.

Air Explorer currently offers a limited free version and sells a Pro version for $19.00 USD.

CloudBuckit

Available for Windows only CloudBuckit allows you to access your Google Drive inside of their interface. Like Air Explorer it is not integrated into Windows Explorer. You can manage your files download them and upload new files. I am currently in the process of trying the software out and it really seems behind compared to some of the other services I mention above. The price is right for some, and if you want to manage your Google Drive and other services CloudBuckit might be right for you.

CloudBuckit currently offers a limited free version. A Pro version is coming soon for $7.99/month USD.

Cloud Xtender

Windows only but lets you mount your Google Drive as a separate drive in Windows. You can choose how the drive is synced or if it is remote storage only. You can also add trust no one level encryption so the files can only be decrypted with a key that only you know.

It is currently sells for $9.95 USD but they offer a free 30 day trial.

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Now you have an idea of what reviews will be coming on the site in the next little while as I process and try the software or service. It takes considerable time to try each out and learn the ins and outs of each piece of software and how it works. If I was to choose a winner from the above list of ten for my top alternative Google Drive client I think Insync would get my first choice right now. If you have multiple cloud storage accounts look at odrive and if you want most unique StableBit CloudDrive. One thing is for sure the cloud storage and Google Drive options are constantly growing and offering more choices for end users.

What would your favorite Google Drive desktop client be, besides the official one that is?