OneDrive, like all services, has its good points and its bad points. But some of those good points really make it worth your attention. Especially if you use other Microsoft products and services.
Here are our top reasons to use OneDrive.
1. 15GB of free storage for everyone
Dropbox is one of the first names anyone will think of when you start talking cloud storage. Without question, Dropbox is one of the kings of the space. But it also offers a mere 2GB of storage for free. OneDrive has over 7x that amount buy giving everyone that uses it 15GB.
In this case, more is definitely better. And if you want even more it's very well priced. $1.99 or $3.99 a month for 100GB or 200GB respectively, while $6.99 gets you 1TB and a whole lot more with an Office 365 subscription.
2. It's not just limited to Windows 10
Sure, you use Windows 10, but you might also carry an iPhone or an Android phone in your pocket. Or an iPad in your bag. Microsoft is the most platform agnostic of the big hitters along with Dropbox. Want to use iCloud Drive on your non-iOS mobile devices? Ha! Google Drive support on Windows 10 Mobile? We'll believe it when we see it.
The convenience of a cloud storage service is diminished as soon as it isn't available on the devices you want to buy. That isn't a problem with OneDrive. With apps for Windows Phone, iOS, Android, Mac OS X, Xbox 360 and Xbox One, OneDrive is available in more places than the competition right now.
3. OneDrive and Office 365 work in harmony
15GB free is great but if you subscribe to Office 365 you'll get much more than that. Part of the package is a 1TB allowance for as long as you're a subscriber. Even the heaviest of Office users may struggle to fill that but it's good news for anything else you might want to house there, like music, for example.
OneDrive is also integrated with Microsoft Office so whether you're using the desktop apps, mobile apps or the web apps, all your documents will be in sync, all of the time. Throw in sharing and collaborating tools and you're left with a handy companion to the most powerful desktop publishing suite on the planet.
4. Get your Groove on
Microsoft enabled OneDrive streaming of your own music when Groove was known as Xbox Music. Instead of having to keep all your music files on each Windows 10 device you own, you upload it to OneDrive and stream it through the Groove Music app. It's not perfect, sure, but it gives you cloud based access to your personal collection and doesn't require a Groove Music Pass, either.
For a full guide on how to make all this happen, check out the link below.
5. You just need a Microsoft Account
This may sound trivial, but for some the idea of yet another account to sign up for is a daunting prospect. It's another company to give your details to, for one. If you're using Windows 10 you really should already have a Microsoft Account. Instead of having to sign up for Dropbox, or get a Google Account, or an Apple ID, you already have everything you need to use OneDrive.
And if you're going to be handing over money for a paid subscription, too, it's one less company to give your credit card information to. Microsoft will use your payment details for every service it offers, including things like the Xbox. One company holding that information could be more satisfactory to you than multiple. Not to mention having a Microsoft Account also opens up access to things like Office Online and Xbox Live.
So, those are just 5 of our top reasons to use OneDrive with Windows 10. If you've anything to add or even counter, drop us a line in the comments below.
