Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

drive-cli VS Insync

Compare drive-cli VS Insync and see what are their differences

drive-cli logo drive-cli

Google Drive client for the commandline

Insync logo Insync

Meet the Insync team that made it possible for users to do more with Google Drive storage on your devices.
  • drive-cli Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-01
  • Insync Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-18

drive-cli features and specs

  • Open Source
    Drive-cli is open source, allowing developers to inspect, modify, and contribute to the codebase.
  • Lightweight
    Drive-cli is a lightweight tool with no unnecessary features, making it efficient for users who need a simple command-line interface for Google Drive operations.
  • Platform Independence
    As a command-line tool, drive-cli can be used on any platform, including Linux, macOS, and Windows, as long as Go is supported.
  • Version Control-like Features
    Drive-cli provides git-like operations, including pulling, pushing, and diff, to manage files in Google Drive efficiently.
  • Customizable and Flexible
    Users can customize their workflow with various flags and options, providing flexibility to automate tasks or integrate with scripts.

Possible disadvantages of drive-cli

  • Requires Technical Knowledge
    Non-technical users may find it challenging to use, as it requires familiarity with the command line and configuration of Google APIs.
  • Limited Official Support
    Being an open-source project, there might be limited official support and documentation, which can be an issue for users needing help.
  • Basic User Interface
    As a CLI tool, it lacks a graphical user interface, which can be a downside for users who prefer GUI-based interactions.
  • Ongoing Maintenance
    Depending on the activity of contributors and maintainers, there may be delays in updates and bug fixes.
  • Dependency on Google Drive API
    Functionality is dependent on Google Drive API, which may change, potentially causing disruptions or requiring updates to the tool.

Insync features and specs

  • Multi-account support
    Insync allows users to sync files across multiple Google Drive and OneDrive accounts, which is useful for people managing personal and professional accounts separately.
  • Cross-platform compatibility
    The software is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux, ensuring that users can access their synced files regardless of the operating system they use.
  • Selective Sync
    Insync offers selective sync options, allowing users to choose specific files or folders to sync, saving bandwidth and storage space.
  • User-friendly interface
    The application features an easy-to-navigate interface, making setup and file management straightforward for users of varying technical skills.
  • Additional cloud storage integrations
    Besides Google Drive and OneDrive, Insync supports other cloud storage services, providing more flexibility and consolidation for file management.

Possible disadvantages of Insync

  • Cost
    Unlike native Google Drive and OneDrive clients, Insync is not free and requires a one-time purchase per account or a subscription, which might be a drawback for budget-conscious users.
  • Occasional sync issues
    Some users have reported intermittent issues with file synchronization, such as delays or conflicts, though these seem to be relatively uncommon.
  • Limited customer support
    Customer support is not available 24/7, and response times can be slow, which could be frustrating for users needing urgent assistance.
  • Resource usage
    The application can be resource-intensive, particularly for users running older hardware or dealing with large volumes of files.

drive-cli videos

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Insync videos

Selectively Sync Google Drive Files on Linux using Insync

More videos:

  • Review - InSync - Year in Review 2018 | Highlights of the Year | APPSeCONNECT
  • Review - InSync: Best of 2015 - The Year in Review

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to drive-cli and Insync)
Cloud Storage
41 41%
59% 59
Web Service Automation
44 44%
56% 56
Encrypted Cloud Storage
100 100%
0% 0
Project Management
24 24%
76% 76

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare drive-cli and Insync

drive-cli Reviews

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Insync Reviews

  1. It will duplicate all your backups

    I have a PC which I have reformatted twice. In both occasions I backed up all my files which I then proceeded to restore. Upon re-installing and re-configuring Insync, I made the mistake of believing it would actually do its job and check and compare the local files and folders with the online ones, you know, as one would expect… or maybe I’m stupid and I just don’t get how syncing software should work. In any case, of course it did NOT check and compare anything because why would it? No Sir, it just went and uploaded EVERYTHING again to Google Drive so now I have duplicated files and folders all over the place because of course I do. It has been almost a year to the day since I first wrote to Insync about this, of course I received a very kind reply that was good for absolutely nothing, which I now clearly see because the exact same thing has happened again.

    Moral of the story: If it’s mission-critical, find another software of be ready to spend hours hoping to fix Insync’s poorly executed solution. And don’t expect them to do anything at all to fix the issue, EVER.


15 Best Rclone Alternatives 2022
Insync is a platform said to have syncing superpowers. The tool supports cloud selective sync, local selective sync, one-way sync, and more. With all these, you can create the perfect syncing workflow.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, drive-cli seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 6 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

drive-cli mentions (6)

  • 10 years since Google said to “hang tight” about Linux support for Google Drive
    I just want to collect the major options for Google Drive on Linux in a single comment, since a few options are scattered around: Insync works well, and it's 50% off for a couple more days: https://www.insynchq.com/ Not affiliated, but $15 is not a lot to pay, as opposed to waiting for something that probably won't happen. Rclone has support for Google Drive, and it's open source: https://rclone.org/ There's a... - Source: Hacker News / about 3 years ago
  • Has anyone used rclone to get their Google Photos?
    Run this command to download (into your home directory): $ mkdir -p ~/.local/bin $ cd ~/.local/bin $ wget -c "https://github.com/odeke-em/drive/releases/download/v0.4.0/drive_linux" -O "drive-google" $ chmod a+x ./drive-google. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Has anyone used rclone to get their Google Photos?
    I personally use this project https://github.com/odeke-em/drive for syncing to/from google-drive. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Any Google Drive sync that works for accessing another computer's local files?
    I think the dolphin file manager has Google drive access built in. But it requires the kio-gdrive package to be installed. If I am not mistaken it also does not do a sync to the local file system, it just allows for more convenient access. But this might be more like something, you are looking for: https://github.com/odeke-em/drive but I haven't tried this one out myself. Source: about 3 years ago
  • I tried to move entirely to Linux supporting programs before I migrate from Windows. Here's how it went
    If you want a free google drive client for Linux this project should work ( I used it to sync my google drive files while in school) https://github.com/odeke-em/drive. Source: over 3 years ago
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Insync mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Insync yet. Tracking of Insync recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing drive-cli and Insync, you can also consider the following products

overGrive - Complete Google Drive desktop client for Linux

odrive - odrive aggregates all cloud storage. Access, sync, share, and encrypt everything in one place. Integrations to 20+ storage services, desktop sync, Linux support, placeholder files, zero-knowledge-encryption, web client, advanced sharing, and more!

Rclone - rsync for cloud storage.

GoodSync - GoodSync provides highly reliable file backup and synchronization for both individuals and businesses.

Syncdocs - Syncdocs syncs folders between all your PCs and Google Docs.

ExpanDrive - ExpanDrive is a fast network drive and browser for cloud storage.