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Filmara or Google Drive for a film lab?
By Owen Fisher · Google Drive's plans checked on 14 October 2026
Google Drive is the better pick if you only need a shared folder, or your lab already runs on Google Workspace. Filmara is built for a lab's whole day. Orders come in from your Shopify shop. A whole order's scans go out in one send, under your lab's name. Customers ask about a photo right on it.
When Google Drive is the better choice
- You only need a shared folder, with the files handed over and nothing more.
- Your lab already runs on Google Workspace, with its email and documents there. Your scans can sit next to them.
- You want lots of room for little money. In the US, Google AI Pro holds 5 TB for $19.99 a month. That's five times what Filmara's Studio holds.
A lab's day, side by side
An order comes in from your shop
Filmara
It waits under Rolls with the customer filled in, straight from your Shopify shop. Nothing to retype.
Google Drive
Google Drive is a place for files, so you make a folder for each order yourself.
A three-roll order is scanned
Filmara
Drop all three folders at once. Each one becomes its own roll, and the customer gets one email.
Google Drive
You upload the folders, share them, and send the customer the link.
Your customer opens it
Filmara
Each roll on its own page with your lab's name and logo, and full-size downloads. No account and no app.
Google Drive
A Google Drive page. If you share it with anyone who has the link, it opens without signing in to a Google account.
They ask about frame 14
Filmara
They point at the spot on the photo and ask. You answer once, on the photo, with a saved reply for the questions you get a lot. You can turn questions off.
Google Drive
If you share a file so people can comment, they can leave comments on it in Drive.
A busy Saturday
Filmara
Your scanner computer can send finished rolls by itself, matched to their order. Your dashboard shows what went out and who opened it.
Google Drive
Google Drive for desktop syncs a folder on your scanner computer to Drive. You still share each roll and email the customer yourself.
They come back with their next roll
Filmara
Their page has every roll you've sent them, so the new one sits with the last. Every page stays up for as long as you're on Filmara.
Google Drive
Each roll is another folder to share. A Drive link keeps working until you change who can open it. Work and school accounts can set an end date for people you add by name.
Storage and price
Every Google account comes with up to 15 GB free. Google Workspace Business Standard gives each person 2 TB, twice what Filmara's Studio holds. On a personal Google account, Google AI Pro holds 5 TB for $19.99 a month in the US. Filmara plans differ only by how many rolls you send and how much they hold. Every plan has every feature and starts with 30 days free.
| Filmara | Price |
|---|---|
| StudioUp to 250 rolls a month, and keeps about 2,500 rolls (1 TB of scans). Every feature. | $49 a month |
| Lab ProUp to 1,250 rolls a month, and keeps about 7,500 rolls (3 TB of scans). Every feature. | $129 a month |
| Lab ScaleAny number of rolls, and keeps about 25,000 rolls (10 TB of scans). Every feature. | $349 a month |
| Google Drive | Price |
|---|---|
| Business Starter30 GB a person, shared across the team. | $8.40 a person a month, or $7 if you sign up for a year |
| Business Standard2 TB a person, shared across the team. | $16.80 a person a month, or $14 if you sign up for a year |
| Business Plus5 TB a person, shared across the team. | $26.40 a person a month, or $22 if you sign up for a year |
Google Drive: Google Workspace US prices, from Google's own help pages. Google shows local prices, so yours may differ. Checked on 14 October 2026 at knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/getting-started/editions/business-editions. Filmara prices are in US dollars, and checkout shows any tax. See Filmara's pricing.
Questions
Is Google Drive good for sending film scans?
It's good at storing and sharing files. The rest is up to you: a folder for each order, an email to each customer, and keeping track of their questions. Filmara does that part.
Does Filmara give as much storage as Google Drive?
Not for the money. In the US, Google AI Pro holds 5 TB for $19.99 a month. Workspace Business Standard gives each person 2 TB. Both are from Google's own pages on 14 October 2026. Filmara's Studio holds 1 TB, Lab Pro 3 TB and Lab Scale 10 TB. What you pay Filmara for is the lab's day: orders, sending, your name on every page and questions on the photo.
Do my customers need a Google account?
Not if you share the link with anyone who has it. On Filmara, customers open their roll from the email, with no account or app, and download the full-size scans.
Can I keep Google Drive while I try Filmara?
Yes. Try Filmara with a few customers and keep Google Drive for the rest. You can send three test rolls to yourself first, with no card.
Which shops does Filmara connect to?
Shopify, today. If you take orders another way, you can still send rolls by typing in the customer's email.
Can I take my rolls with me if I leave?
Yes. Export every roll in one click, whenever you like.
Try it on your next roll
Send a roll to yourself and see what your customer gets. No card needed for that.
Read next
Google Drive is a trademark of its owner. Filmara isn't connected to Google Drive.