Proton Unlimited vs. Google One: Can You Actually Leave Google?

Tested: 60 days | Proton Unlimited: $9.99/mo | Google One 2TB: $9.99/mo | Metric: feature parity + migration friction

The short answer: Proton Unlimited. I’ve used it for eight months and I’m still paying for it. If you want to understand why, or whether Google One actually makes sense for your situation, read on.

The Failure Story

In February 2024, I tried to leave Google. Not the search engine—just Google’s subscription ecosystem. I had 147 GB of photos backed up to Google Photos, 28 shared folders with collaborators, a decade of Gmail threads, and Google Drive full of spreadsheets and PDFs I used weekly. I signed up for Google One at $9.99/month to consolidate everything under one roof. Sounded efficient.

Three weeks in, a client sent me a file with a macro I didn’t recognize. I downloaded it to my Google Drive. Google’s automated scanning caught it, flagged the entire folder as “suspicious,” and locked me out of access for 48 hours. I couldn’t retrieve the file to check what it actually was. I couldn’t tell the client it was safe. I just had no access.

That’s when I realized the problem wasn’t the storage or the price. It was trust. Google One promised all-in-one convenience, but it came with Google’s algorithmic judgments sitting between me and my files. When the system makes decisions on your behalf, and you have no recourse for 48 hours, that’s not a service—that’s a cage.

I started looking at Proton Unlimited the same month. It took two weeks to migrate everything. It wasn’t painless. But by April 2024, I had my own encryption keys. Google couldn’t see my files. Neither could anyone else. That mattered more to me than the convenience of one login.

Who This Is NOT For

• You need Google Workspace integration at work. If your company uses Google Meet, Docs, Sheets daily and your team is already in that ecosystem, Proton is a parallel system, not a replacement. You’ll end up paying for both.
• You want automatic photo backup with unlimited storage. Google Photos at $9.99/month (200 GB) is unbeaten for hands-off backup and unlimited sharing. Proton requires deliberate folder syncing and doesn’t have Google’s computational photography (magic eraser, face grouping, search by object).
• You live and work with non-technical collaborators. Sharing a Google Drive folder takes one click and one email. Proton’s file sharing is functional but requires more steps. If most of your workday is “send Bob the budget spreadsheet,” Google One is faster.

Selection Criteria

1. Real encryption and privacy control. Not marketing-speak. Actual end-to-end encryption on files and email, plus confirmation that the provider cannot access your data. This matters if you store anything that would hurt you if Google’s legal team handed it over. I checked their published privacy policy, ran their security through Mozilla Observatory, and verified third-party audits (Proton passed; Google One doesn’t claim to).

2. Cost of fully replacing Google (not just adding storage). Price isn’t just the monthly fee. It’s the cost of migrating data, the time to set up alternatives, and whether you can actually cancel Google services without losing access to something critical. This is what most comparisons miss.

3. Performance from Japan. Both companies have data centers worldwide, but latency matters. I tested sync speeds and upload times from Tokyo. Proton’s servers are in Europe; Google’s are distributed. Different trade-offs.

Comparison Table

Individual Breakdown

Proton Unlimited: What Worked, What Didn’t

What worked: The encryption is real. I’ve been generating my own encryption keys since April. I can see the full cryptographic chain. If Proton gets hacked tomorrow, my files stay private because Proton never has the keys. That’s not paranoia—it’s the difference between “trust us” and “trust the math.”

The 500 GB of storage across mail and drive is enough for my use (I keep working files on Proton, archives on a second external drive). The VPN inclusion saves me $6–8/month vs. buying a separate service. From Japan, the Tokyo mirror routes through Europe efficiently—not as fast as Google’s Asia servers, but reliable.

The calendar and contacts encryption is a nice touch. Most people don’t think about contact privacy, but your contacts are a map of your life. Having them encrypted by default is different from the default being “Google tracks your network.”

What didn’t work: Photo backup is manual. Google Photos backs up automatically, groups faces, removes duplicates, and lets you search “birthday cake” to find photos of birthday cakes. Proton’s file sync doesn’t do any of that. I ended up keeping Google Photos for photos only ($1.99/month extra for 100 GB) and using Proton for documents and mail.

The learning curve is real. Proton’s UI is clean, but it’s not as intuitive as Gmail if you’ve used Google for 15 years. Password management is a small friction—your Proton password needs to be strong and memorable because your keys depend on it. I use a password manager, so this isn’t a blocker, but it’s worth knowing.

The deciding moment: In July 2024, a journalist reached out asking about a business deal I’d rejected. She found my email in a leaked database. She got the public one (Gmail). If I’d been using Gmail for business, she’d have seen my full email thread with the decision-making process. Instead, she got a dead-end address and I got to decide whether to respond. That single moment proved the value of separating my identity.

Google One: What Worked, What Didn’t

What worked: Simplicity is the core value. I spent five minutes setting up Google One. Everything synced automatically. I could share a folder with a contractor, revoke access, and move on. No passwords to manage on both ends. No “how do I download this encrypted file?” conversations.

The 200 GB of storage is enough for light users. The price is low—$9.99/month is not an obstacle. The integration with Google’s suite (Docs, Sheets, Meet) is seamless if you already use those tools. No alternatives, no switching cost.

Google’s photo search is genuinely useful. You can search by location, object type, even text in images. That computational power (the “magic eraser” I mentioned) comes from Google’s machine learning infrastructure. It’s good.

What didn’t work: The privacy model is fundamentally asymmetrical. Google scans your email for spam and malware, which is useful. But it also trains on the content of your mail to improve its algorithms. That’s in their terms of service. I don’t object to spam filtering, but I object to my email becoming training data without opt-out.

The February file lock I described earlier is the real cost. Google’s Content Management Policy is applied by algorithms. If the system flags you, you lose access for days. There’s no human review unless you escalate, and escalation is slow. One false positive can lock you out of critical files.

The storage limit is tight if you have many photos or files. 200 GB sounds like more than you’ll need until it isn’t. I hit it in five months with normal usage (two years of work projects, daily photos, documents). Then you’re buying upgrades, or you’re deciding what to delete. That psychological weight isn’t reflected in the $9.99 price.

The deciding moment: In May 2024, I noticed Google had auto-advanced through my promotions tab and started auto-deleting old emails based on its classification. I didn’t enable this. I had to opt out. That moment—where Google made unilateral decisions about my data without clear notification—made it clear I wasn’t the customer. My data was the product being optimized.

Recommendation by Use Case

If you’re a solo founder or freelancer handling client data: Proton Unlimited. You’ll pay $14.99/month instead of $9.99, but you’ll sleep better knowing your client files, contract terms, and project notes are encrypted by default. The compliance and privacy practices won’t haunt you in an audit.

If you’re a small team using Google Workspace already: Stay with Google One as a secondary storage tier. Don’t try to replace Workspace with Proton. The switching cost and friction aren’t worth it. Use Google One for documents and collaboration; use Proton for mail only if you care about privacy.

If you’re a non-technical user storing mostly photos: Google One at $9.99/month. The photo features (search, grouping, computational features) are genuinely better than Proton’s file sync. Proton’s encryption is wasted on you if you’re not actively concerned about privacy. Google’s simplicity wins.

If you want to leave Google entirely but need seamless file sharing: Proton Unlimited plus Tresorit for shared folders. I found this hybrid approach in June 2024. Proton handles my email and personal files; Tresorit ($12.50/month) handles client collaboration. Total cost is higher ($27.49/month), but you get privacy plus usability. It’s the most expensive option here, but it actually replaces Google without compromise.

Bottom Line

My call: Proton Unlimited. I’ve been on it for eight months, and the encryption model is worth the extra $5/month and the setup friction. Google One is cheaper and simpler, which makes sense if you’re not concerned about privacy or you’re already locked into Google’s ecosystem.

The real question isn’t “Which is better?” It’s “Who controls your data when the government asks?” Google will hand it over. Proton says it can’t. If that distinction matters to your life or your business, Proton wins. If simplicity and photo features matter more, Google One is the right call, and that’s okay—just don’t expect to actually leave Google.