NetDrive vs Google Drive for Desktop — When One Cloud Isn't Enough
Comparing NetDrive and Google Drive for desktop for people who use several clouds. Provider coverage, mount types, and where Google's own client is the better fit.
An operations lead keeps client contracts in Google Drive, build artifacts in an Amazon S3 bucket, and a partner’s handoff folder on a WebDAV server. Google’s own desktop client handles the first one well. The other two still mean a browser tab or a second tool. This comparison is for people in that spot, and it says plainly where Google Drive for desktop is the better choice.
One tool for Drive, S3, and more
NetDrive lets Google Drive, OneDrive, S3, SFTP, WebDAV and more appear as native drives on Windows and macOS — no syncing, no full downloads.
- Mount Google Drive next to S3, Dropbox, OneDrive, and WebDAV
- Choose network, read-only, local-disk, or removable drive type
- Windows 8–11 and macOS 14 or later
Free trial. Lifetime and subscription plans available.
What Each Tool Is Built For
Google Drive for desktop is Google’s official client for Google’s own storage. If everything you work with lives in Google Drive or Google Workspace, it is purpose-built for that, and it is maintained by the same company as the service. Its features, including its choices for how files are stored on your computer, are documented in Google’s Drive help center.
NetDrive is a cloud-mount tool. Its job is to make many different storage services appear as native drives in Windows Explorer or macOS Finder. Google Drive is one of many storage types it supports, so the case for it starts when a single vendor’s client stops covering what you use.
Provider Coverage
This is the real dividing line. Google’s client connects to Google Drive. NetDrive covers Google Drive and Shared Drives, OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, Dropbox, Dropbox Business, Box, pCloud, Mega, Yandex Disk, SharePoint, Amazon S3 and S3-compatible services such as Wasabi and MinIO, plus Backblaze B2, Google Cloud Storage, Azure Blob Storage, Azure File Storage, OpenStack Swift, Tencent Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, WebDAV, FTP, and SFTP.
If you mount three providers, they all sit in one drive manager, and the same sign-in and mount workflow applies to each. That consistency is the practical benefit: a teammate learns one tool, not one per vendor.
Mount Types and Control
NetDrive lets you pick a mount type per drive:
| Mount type | Typical use |
|---|---|
| Network drive | Everyday browsing and saving |
| Read-only drive | Reference archives, reviewers, contractors |
| Local disk | Apps that refuse to save to a network location |
| Removable drive | Software that expects a USB-style volume |
Read-only mounting is useful for a finished project folder: the files stay reachable, and an accidental overwrite is rejected. NetDrive also lets you choose asynchronous or synchronous uploads per drive, set a bandwidth limit, and choose a cache size (see Cache Size Options and Bandwidth Limit).
Where Google Drive for Desktop Is the Better Fit
A fair comparison has to include these cases:
- You only use Google Drive. A single-vendor client has nothing to gain from a multi-provider tool.
- You want Google’s own features and support path. When something is wrong with Drive itself, the vendor’s client and support are the shortest route.
- You need offline access. NetDrive does not support an offline mode. If you must work without a connection, check how your chosen client handles it before committing.
- You need client-side encryption. NetDrive does not offer it either.
Where NetDrive Earns Its Place
- Mixed storage. Drive, S3, and WebDAV in one window, each with its own drive letter or volume.
- Team distribution. An administrator can publish drives to members through Team Drive, and Windows deployments can use an MSI installer.
- Files from many sources in one Save dialog. Because each cloud is a drive, any application can open and save to it.
NetDrive and Google’s client can also run on the same machine, so trying NetDrive for the non-Google parts of a workflow does not mean removing the Google client.
Trying It on Your Own Workflow
NetDrive has a 7-day trial. Connect your real Google Drive, add the second provider you actually use, and test the things that matter to you: opening a large file, saving from your editor, and listing a big folder. Measure on your own network rather than relying on anyone’s marketing, ours included. If Google Drive is the only thing you mount and the Google client already works, there may be nothing to switch.
Wrap-up
Pick Google Drive for desktop when Google is your only storage. Add NetDrive when your files are spread across several services and you want them all to behave like ordinary drives. To get started, read Mount Google Drive on Windows 11 or Mount Amazon S3 on Windows.
— Tayson, NetDrive