I tried going self-hosted but Google Drive is just too convenient

A network-attached storage (NAS) is supposed to give you an alternative to cloud storage — one that’s safer, more private, and free from monthly subscriptions. A lot of home users may still consider those strange black boxes nerd territory, but Synology wanted to make the transition easier for Google Drive users. Its own alternative, deceptively named Synology Drive, is made to offer Google Drive-like storage.

While it sounds compelling in theory and is genuinely useful in many cases, Synology’s solution didn’t feel quite there when I switched over. Google has mastered the art of making things seamless — something I sorely missed on my NAS.

Here’s how it went for me when I switched to Synology Drive — and why my fondness for Google Drive grew even more.

Synology Drive has got it all

This wasn’t the first time I tried going all-in with Synology Drive. When I first got my NAS a few years ago, I gave it a shot and came out impressed. The interface still looks quite similar to Google Drive — from the side menu and right-click options to the columned layout and shortcuts at the top. It’s clearly designed to feel familiar to anyone coming from Google Drive.

But Synology didn’t stop there — it built its own office suite to complement Drive. You get a Docs alternative, one for Slides, and one for Sheets. Of these, I use the document editor the most because that makes up most of my everyday work. I wrote a few pieces in it, and the experience was alright — it handles basic formatting well and has most of what you’d expect from Google Docs.

Synology Office even lets you share access with others — both on your local network and publicly if remote access is enabled using QuickConnect. Your collaborators can leave comments, and everyone can see each other’s cursor live. Sounds familiar, right? Synology really did try to mirror Google’s suite.

It’s got AI too — but at what cost

We often talk about how good Google and OpenAI’s AI tools have gotten. But Synology has also been quietly building its own platform to integrate AI into its mail and office apps. However, if you expected it to be as seamless as Gemini in Google Drive, you’d be mistaken. It inherits the DIY nature of setting up a NAS.

Synology doesn’t have its own large language model — the foundation of tools like Gemini. Instead, it offers Synology AI Console in beta, where you can set up AI using supported models like Gemini, OpenAI, and others. You have to get an API key (often paid) to set up your own AI server that integrates into Synology Office. I used Gemini since the Gemini 2.0 Flash API doesn’t require a paid plan for a limited number of free tokens.

I managed to set it up — the AI worked surprisingly well inside the docs app, helping with summaries, grammar, tables, and whatnot. But the process is too involved and technical for most people, especially someone getting their first NAS.

And these AI features haven’t come to Synology Drive yet. So, you can’t ask questions about your files like you can with Gemini in Google Drive.

Google Drive is the benchmark for convenience

I don’t say this lightly — Google Drive is the best cloud storage service for everyday users. It now comes with Gemini, which helps with everything. You can ask it to summarize folders, read your files, convert plain text into tables, find sources — all of it. And the best part? You don’t have to lift a finger to enable Gemini in Drive — or any Google app.

I can’t believe I’d one day call Google force-feeding AI a good thing. At least I don’t have to mess with API keys to get basic AI tools. I also don’t have to deal with slow upload speeds on my home network or the risks of messing with router port forwarding that could expose my data. My modest home internet with a small router just can’t match Google’s enterprise-grade servers, making large file transfers painfully slow on the NAS.

On the other hand, Synology Drive looked like Google Drive when it launched — but it hasn’t had a visual update in nearly four years. It feels stuck in time, while Google has given Drive a fresh, modern look that feels like a product from 2025. And I certainly don’t want to be stuck in the past.

Another drawback with Synology Office is its proprietary file extension. It can open .docx files, but only after converting them, which sometimes messes things up. And this format makes sharing harder, especially when someone needs to download a copy.

Also, Google Drive has far, far, far more third-party integrations. For instance, a simple issue I hit was that Grammarly didn’t work when editing in Synology Office.

Synology Drive has its shining moment

Like Google Drive (yeah, again), Synology Drive has a desktop client that syncs folders both ways, so changes reflect across devices, or you can back up files to your NAS. It’s been fantastic for keeping my stuff backed up, especially my Downloads folder, which is overflowing with random, years-old but important files.

My Synology NAS is still the main place where I store everything long-term. It’s also where I back up full-quality family photos using Synology Photos. But that’s where files go after I’m done using them — for archival or future reference. For everything else, including my active projects, Google Drive is the place. It’s my default for everything — no other service comes even remotely close.