DrivePop Review
Update as of February 15, 2015: DrivePop no longer offers lifetime subscriptions and is powered by LiveDrive.
DrivePop is a little known gem that hit the market in 2013, making it one of the newer cloud storage services in the industry. We will admit that there are obvious overall pros and cons to this. The pros: you can generally expect a service loaded with features at an incredible value since these smaller companies need an edge to compete with the big boys. The cons: you don’t know what level of service and security you will receive. However, DrivePop is a true exception to this rule. Rob Boirun is CEO of DrivePop and he flaunts over a decade of experience in the storage industry. DrivePop is a great service mainly because of Mr. Boirun’s vision, experience and determination of truly valuing his customers. He understood what customers want, created a company that is already a tier one storage service and will likely be fighting for the title of best cloud storage provider within the near future. This service has it all – features, usability and impeccable security making it a very good choice for any individual or entity looking for a storage solution.
Features
DrivePop wants to stand out as a first-class service and they have done so by offering one of the best features list we have ever seen. We would like to point out that anyone who is reading this review should immediately start with DrivePop. Why? Well for starters, they offer a free account for 14 days. While other companies such as JustCloud and ZipCloud have free trial offers as well, those cloud storage providers limit you severely on what features you can use (such as offering only a few MB, not GB, of storage space), which essentially instantly forces you to upgrade to a paid account. This is not the case with DrivePop. Mr. Boirun is clearly extremely confident in his service (and rightly so). The free trial comes with 512GB of storage space and ALL of the features found on an upgraded plan. Some of the main features offered are:
- Up to 2TB of storage space
- Unlimited bandwidth (read below)
- Unlimited transfers
- File versioning (up to 30 versions)
- Scheduling & synching
- LIFETIME archival backup
- LIFETIME license
- PC & Mac compatible
- Online control panel
- Mobile access (iOS, Android, Windows 8)
We would also like to elaborate on a few of these features. For starters, many storage companies, even the large ones, will throttle your bandwidth. This slows you down considerably which can be significantly frustrating. DrivePop does not throttle you at all so if you are planning on doing some serious storage, DrivePop is your choice. DrivePop also just recently upgraded their file versioning to 30 versions (from 10). Additionally, you can stream your media files from anywhere and DrivePop is one of the only services that does not limit you on anything (bandwidth, file size, all file formats, etc.) – no fine print.
Ease of Use
DrivePop offers a very user friendly experience overall. From installation to storing your files in the cloud, everything has been set up to be either a one click or few clicks process. For example, the installation process can be completed within 3 simple steps and takes roughly 30 seconds to finish. The storage process is even easier as that can be done at literally the click of the mouse. Further, DrivePop is powered by Zoolz, who creates customized dashboards and control panels for cloud storage services. As shown below, the dashboard is very easy on the eyes and is easier to navigate than almost any other service. Both beginners and professionals will enjoy the DrivePop experience. Restoring your files and selecting your data to store in the cloud is set up for even the most novice user. In fact, the DrivePop dashboard is our personal preference over the rest of the competition. One more thing we should mention: the initial storage process can take some time but after that you can expect superior speeds.
DrivePop Dashboard
Pricing
DrivePop offers a range of pricing options since they offer an array of cloud storage plans. Their most basic package, known as the ‘512GB Breifcase’ plan, costs $9.99/month. This may seem a bit high when you can find other services who start at $3/month however you must take into account what you are getting. DrivePop offers more on their basic package than most other storage providers offer on even their most advanced package. Don’t believe us? Take a look yourself. The ‘1TB Briefcase’ plan will run you $14.99/month while the ‘2TB Briefcase’ plan costs $19.99/month. If you are looking for archival backup, you are probably looking into the ‘Cryostow Lifetime Archival Backup’ plan. This can run you anywhere from $34.99 to $149.99 per year. Overall, DrivePop offers one of the best value propositions on the market however it is still a bit more expensive for individuals looking for a basic storage plan.
Security
Since many potential customers are weary of new storage companies on a whole, DrivePop went all out in regard to their security measures. Almost all financial institutions, such as your bank, offer 128-bit encryption. This was not good enough for Mr. Boirun and consequently he chose to offer military grade 256-bit encryption to his customers. No one is viewing your data, not even the US government.
Customer Support
We have made numerous declarations of our fondness of live chat. As a new company, we were certainly not expecting to see this offered. Yet low and behold, we were shocked to see that DrivePop offers live chat. We should also state that Mr. Boirun himself answers many of the live chat inquiries. He is as knowledgeable as it gets. His background is cloud storage technology. Moreover, you can contact DrivePop via their online e-mail form or by phone. We would like to note though that the support is not 24/7. That said, you can also contact DrivePop on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and even Skype.
Summary
The amount of features, security and overall flexibility that DrivePop offers should not be ignored. Mr. Boirun has shown true innovation as his service provides several features that no other storage service offers. Additionally, you will receive friendly and helpful customer support from a dedicated staff of IT professionals. While DrivePop is not yet a marquee name, we believe it will become a leader in the cloud storage space in the not so distant future.
