Google Reveals Cheaper Storage For Google Photos, Drive And Gmail

Google has begun offering a new, considerably less expensive entry-level tier for its Google One subscription service.

Updated September 15 with news that Google has confirmed the availability of Google One Lite in more countries outside India

Updated September 14 with a reminder that there’s an even cheaper way of purchasing Google One Lite. This story was originally published on September 12

According to a report from The Indian Express, some Google users in India are being offered a new Google One “Lite” subscription tier for ₹59 (around 0.70 USD) per month—less than half the monthly cost of the current “Basic” 100GB option.

The new Lite tier, currently on offer with a one-month free trial, provides up to 30GB of cloud storage for Google Photos, Google Drive, and Gmail, doubling the initial 15 GB users get free just for signing up.

Unlike Google One’s existing paid tiers, the new Lite subscription can’t be shared with other users—not that 30GB of storage would be enough to be worth sharing with friends and family anyway.

The new Google One Lite tier was first spotted back in July when a previous report found references to it in the code of the Google Photos Android app. It appears that Google has now started rolling this option out, albeit only in India so far.

Is The New Google One Lite Tier Good Value?

A storage allowance of just 30GB doesn’t seem like a lot. By contrast, Apple’s entry-level iCloud+ plan comes with 50GB of storage for the equivalent of $0.89 monthly (in India) and, unlike Google One Lite, includes family sharing, making it more flexible and cheaper per Gigabyte than Google’s offering. However, iCloud users start with only 5GB of free storage, forcing them onto a paid plan sooner than Google One Lite.

Looking at it from another angle, and once again using converted Indian pricing, Google is asking for $0.70 monthly for an extra 15GB of storage, whereas Apple charges $0.89 per month to increase your storage by 45GB, making Apple’s 50GB iCloud+ plan seem like the more enticing offer.

Note that Google has yet to announce the Google One Lite tier, and the offer is currently only available to a small group of people in India. So, most “free tier” Google One users will still see the 100GB option as the cheapest available paid option.

It’s not yet known whether Google plans to make the Google One Lite tier available to markets outside India. If Google’s trial goes well, I can see no real reason why not, but it would be nice to see at least a little more storage included in the price.

September 14 Update: Even Cheaper Option Available

Users in India who have been offered the Google One Lite plan note that an even cheaper way to buy it is by purchasing an annual subscription. Priced at ₹589, this yearly subscription offers twelve months of storage for the price of ten, a savings of just over 16 percent. This offer falls in line with Google’s other annual subscription plans, all of which offer the same savings over the year—apart from the curious omission of Google One AI Premium, which remains available only on a monthly billing cycle.

That said, I still see many potential Google One Lite customers going for the monthly option as it offers the lowest initial payment, and Google is clearly aiming it at the most cost-conscious users. Also note, that Google is expected to bring some Pixel 9 exclusive features to older smartphones soon, possibly enabling people to save money by hanging on to their current handsets a little longer.

September 15 Update: Availability In More Countries Confirmed

Google has now confirmed that it is making the new low-cost Google One Lite tier available in more countries outside India. As reported by Android Authority, Google has also opened Google One Lite to a “limited number” of users in Brazil, Mexico and Indonesia. According to the report, selected users in these three countries should also have access to the same 30GB storage tier, although no local pricing information has yet been made available. Unsurprisingly, Google is also remaining tight-lipped on any future plans to launch Google One Lite in other territories. I suspect this decision will be made after evaluating customer response in the locations where the service is currently being tested.

Note that the same storage-only approach applies in all countries, meaning subscribers to the Google One Lite plan will miss out on perks such as Family Sharing and Google Store discounts unless they upgrade to a higher tier—which is, no doubt, the long-term goal of introducing the Lite plan in the first place.

Follow @paul_monckton on Instagram.