Unleashing the Power of Cloud Backups: The Pros and Cons of Google One for NAS Enthusiasts

The Goldilocks of Data Storage: A Tale of Two Subscriptions

I grew up in the physical media era, where every document and file I owned was stored on a device I could physically hold in my hands. Stacks of floppy disks, tower racks full of CDs, external hard disks, and dozens of USB sticks and SD cards – I’ve had them all, carried them all, and saved my data on them all.

As the years progressed, I shifted towards the cloud. The convenience of accessing everything from anywhere without having to physically carry it was life-changing, especially with the arrival of Dropbox. I could work on my pharmacology thesis and hospital study cases from the university’s computer and then continue writing from my laptop at home. It was a fantastic convenience.

But I also knew to keep a local copy of everything, as I was still very skeptical of technology and lived in a country where the average connection speed was still 2Mbps in 2020, and where electricity blackouts were a way of life, so I had to have backups everywhere and local access to everything.

Why I’ve Chosen a Dual Strategy

The immutable reality is that tech breaks, so my current data and streaming strategy is still that same two-fold approach many decades later: local and cloud-based. But things have evolved a lot since the late 2000s. I’ve had a Synology NAS for a few years, and I’ve been subscribed to Google One for a couple of years. I’m a convert to both. Why pay for two storage solutions? Well, peace of mind and versatility. And, as much as I applaud my colleague Rob for completely cutting the cord and going full-steam with his self-built NAS, I am still a creature of convenience and fear. I’d rather pay a bit more for a convenient and ready-made NAS and I still don’t trust tech enough to keep my data in one place and on one medium.

Step 1: A Synology NAS for All My Storage Needs

Now that we get to the real crux of the issue: money. Obviously, all of this isn’t cheap, but I think I’ve hit the sweet spot between power and features, all without requiring too much of my personal time for maintenance or upkeep.

My Setup

I’ve married a midrange NAS with the cheapest Google One subscription, using the strengths of each to combat the weaknesses of the other. Let’s break down the NAS cost first. The DS220+ was priced at $299 when I got it in 2021, and the 8TB drives cost me $85 each. That’s $469 total over four years so far, and still going strong. Right now, if you want something newer and similar, you can grab the Synology DS223 for $249 on Amazon and a pair of 8TB Seagate Barracuda HDDs for $109.99 each (better prices can be found sometimes). Of course, you have to add up a few dozen hours to get everything set up, but we’ll chalk that off as the geek tax.

On the upside, having this large NAS storage has helped me save by opting for the cheapest 128GB iMac M1 and MacBook M4 configurations when I bought my computers. I didn’t have to pay the Apple extra storage tax on top of the expensive Apple Mac tax; I just went for the lowest storage option, knowing I could offload the biggest files to my 8TB drives in a wink.

My Google One Plan

For cloud storage, I’m sticking to the 100GB Google One plan for as long as I can, and that means paying $19.99 every year. If I were to backup all my current NAS files to Google, I would need the $249.99 5TB yearly One plan, which equals the price of a brand-new diskless DS223. The NAS was a one-time purchase, while the Google One subscription would have to be paid yearly – oof! Of course, that’s not an option I’m ever considering. I’m happy sticking with the storage-saver Photos uploads and only using Google for the most important documents to keep my cheap Google One tier, leaving the rest to my NAS.

The Verdict

Overall, this is the strategy I would recommend to almost everyone because it’s a perfect balance. Opt for a midrange (although admittedly still expensive) NAS that churns continuously in the background, knowing you also have fast access to your most important files through a cheap, low-tier Google One subscription. The biggest files, high-resolution photos and videos, and less important data live on the NAS, while the cloud acts as your main access point for the smaller, daily-use files.

For most users, it makes no sense to pay for a more expensive Google One sub if you already bought a NAS with large multi-terabyte storage drives, nor does it make sense to get a super high-end NAS if you have a Google One subscription. Use your money wisely, but do what you need to protect your data.