📘 Drive's version history is buried for a reason

Tired of hunting for File → Version history every time you want a past version?

Google Drive keeps versions, but they're buried behind a menu, capped at 30 days or 100 revisions, and impossible to diff visually. Keeply puts every save on a project timeline with side-by-side visual diff — and it's free forever for personal use.

Free forever for personal use · Team $25/mo flat (coming soon).

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Version history you have to dig for — and that quietly expires

Google Drive stores file revisions, but by default keeps them only for 30 days or 100 revisions, whichever comes first. You can manually mark individual revisions as "Keep forever" — if you remember, one file at a time. Opening that history means File → Version history → See version history, then clicking each revision to preview. There is no side-by-side diff — only a full-document preview of the picked version. For Workspace Business plans at $12–$18 per user per month, that is a lot of clicks and a lot of money for a feature most teams outgrow.

Source: Google Drive Help — file versions and revision retention

Feature comparison

Based on public product information as of April 2026. Keeply rows reflect shipping v1.0.10.

Feature Google Drive
(Personal / Workspace)		 Keeply
(recommended)
Pricing model $12–$18/user/mo (Workspace Business) Free forever · Team $25/mo flat (coming soon) · $599 Perpetual Founding Member (limited 500)
Where version history lives Buried in File → Version history menu Front and centre on the project timeline
Retention by default 30 days or 100 revisions (whichever first) Unlimited — every save kept forever
Visual file diff No — preview only, one version at a time Side-by-side diff for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, images
Offline version tracking No — requires online sync Versions tracked locally, works fully offline
Where files live Google's cloud Your local disk, NAS, USB, Gitea, or GitHub
Non-Google file formats Treated as opaque blobs in history 38 binary formats auto-detected, visual diff where it matters
Version descriptions None on standard files (Docs only) Add a note every time you save — any file type
Per-project focus Mixed into one giant My Drive One timeline per project folder
Vendor lock-in risk Docs/Sheets/Slides are Google-proprietary Files stay as regular files you can open anywhere

Why people switch

How to switch to Keeply

  1. 1

    Sync your Drive folder to local

    Install Google Drive for Desktop and let it mirror your working folders locally. Keeply needs real files on your disk to track versions — not web-only documents.

  2. 2

    Install Keeply and open the local Drive folder

    Download Keeply, open the synced project folder, click Start protecting. Every save from now on goes on the timeline with a description you write.

  3. 3

    Export your Google Docs to real file formats

    For Docs/Sheets/Slides you want to version properly, File → Download as .docx / .xlsx / .pptx. Keeply's visual diff works on these real files, not on Google's proprietary formats.

  4. 4

    Add a backup location you control

    In Keeply, add a NAS, USB drive, or GitHub repo as a backup target. Now your version history lives on storage you own — Google outages and retention caps don't reach it.

Frequently asked questions

Can I keep using Google Drive for sharing and still use Keeply? ▼
Yes, they solve different problems. Drive shares files with collaborators in real time; Keeply tracks the version history of your working files locally. Sync Drive to your desktop, point Keeply at the synced folder, and both run in parallel. Drive handles sharing, Keeply handles the history you actually need to retrieve.
Does Keeply work with Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides? ▼
Only after you download them to real file formats (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx). Google's native Docs format lives only on Google's servers and Keeply never sees it. For documents you care about keeping long-term, File → Download regularly — Keeply then versions those files with full visual diff support.
Why is Drive's version history considered limited? ▼
Three reasons. Retention defaults to 30 days or 100 revisions, whichever hits first. There is no side-by-side diff — only a preview of each picked version. And on non-Google file types the history is a list of opaque snapshots without descriptions. Keeply addresses all three: unlimited retention, real visual diff, and required save notes.
Do I have to stop paying for Workspace? ▼
Not at all. Keep Workspace for email, shared drives, and Meet — those are worth the money. Use Keeply's free tier to replace the version history part specifically. You stop paying per seat for a version feature you outgrow in a month, without losing any of the collaboration value Workspace provides.
What about working offline? ▼
Keeply works fully offline — versions get tracked to your local disk the instant you save, regardless of internet. When you reconnect, any configured backup locations (NAS, GitHub, Gitea) sync automatically. Drive, by contrast, needs a live connection to read or write version history, which breaks the moment you board a plane.
Where are my versions actually stored? ▼
On your own storage. Keeply writes version data to a hidden folder inside your project on your local drive, then optionally mirrors it to any backup location you pick: office NAS (SMB), USB drive, self-hosted Gitea, or a private GitHub repo (up to three destinations). Keeply runs no server that holds your project data. Cancel anytime; files and history stay with you.

Ready to stop fighting your tools?

Free download for Windows and macOS. Thirty-second setup. No account required — just install and open your project folder.

Free Download See Founding Member pricing