5 Best Dropbox Alternatives (Handpicked Collection)

Dropbox was hacked in 2012 leading to data breach of 60 million account details.

The storage space offered by it is 2GB for individual accounts which is too less compared to others in the same niche.

The collaboration tools, security features, application integration, pricing, file sharing, file recovery, etc are some of the points which make us look into alternatives for Dropbox.

Ready to dive in?

1. Google Drive

‘Google’ is the first thing we think of when we want to search for anything.

Google Drive is a cloud from Google to save various things and often looked upon as the first alternative to the Dropbox.

Dropbox offers storage space of 2GB which is expandable up to 19 GB if you refer it to your friends.

Whereas Google Drive offers 15GB storage space which includes the backup of all data from all applications like Docs, Sheets, Photos, Gmail, Slides, etc.

Similar to Dropbox, Google also awards you with 100GB free storage if the user manages to get to level 4 in local guides in Google Maps.

Dropbox offers different packages for individuals and teams. For individuals, its basic package starts at $9.99 per month for 2TB, and for teams, it is $12.50/user/month, for 5TB billed annually.

Google Drive offers 100GB for as low as $1.99 per month and 1TB for $9.99 per month.

Google Drive offers you to choose the package you want ranging from 100GB to 30TB.

Price-wise Google Drive is much cheaper compared to Dropbox.

Both Dropbox and Google Drive slightly differ in the way they copy data on the cloud.

Dropbox uses block-level file copying technique which sometimes leads to more loading speed in the beginning but after that, any changes that you make are only updated, automatically increasing your speed.

Google Drive differs in this respect but due to strong servers, it goes unnoticed.

So as far as the speed is considered, it is up to you. Both are great speed wise.

Dropbox uses LAN sync, which is particularly helpful to small or medium-sized organizations. It synchronizes all the files across all the devices, loads them on the cloud, and makes it available with a zapping speed.

Whereas Google drive users have to upload it first to drive and later download it to another device for putting it to use. To avoid this you can share the document or file and set restrictions on who can use it, edit it or comment on it.

The best part is that you can work offline on the documents and when you are back online again the documents are uploaded to Google Drive.

Whenever you receive a document you can either choose to download it or directly save it to Drive by clicking on the ‘Drive icon’ to upload it to drive.

You can even add a chrome extension to the browser that allows you to save the document, files, photos instantly to the drive.

Well, when we try to compare both on the basis of speed then Dropbox certainly has an edge over Google Drive.

This is so because of the block-level file copying and Lan Sync technique used by it.

Block-level copying does take time to load the files in the first instance but after that, every update is quickly stored in by copying only the bits which have changed.

Lan Sync makes it possible to share data across multiple devices across the organization without the need to download them.

This the area where Google Drive lacks behind Dropbox.

What kind of data or files do you store on the cloud platforms? Is it really important to you?

You might be thinking that this is a very bland question.

But this is the question that we need to ask ourselves before we choose the alternatives to backup the data.

If the data is too crucial, we need it to be secure, isn’t it?

So who is better when we compare both on the basis of the security features?

Google Drive and Dropbox both use two-factor authentication support.

Both encrypt the data while transferring it to their servers and both generate the keys to decrypt it when you wish to download it.

So what’s the difference?

Well, Google uses two keys to encrypt data, unlike Dropbox which uses a single key.

It goes a step further by encrypting the data in the internal transfer process across its own servers.

So, security-wise Google Drive is certainly a better option rather than Dropbox.

Well, what do you prefer amongst the two- controlling your data or allowing algorithms to guess it properly for you?

Dropbox gives the remote control in your hands and you have to choose which files you need to see first.

Whereas Google Drive uses algorithms to know what you need.

Memories not only occupy our minds, but they also occupy the space on our devices.

This is the reason why we need to backup photos and videos on the cloud.

Both Dropbox and Google Drive do it effectively but the only difference is that Google Drive goes a step further and automatically creates an album of pictures it sees multiple times. Google does it by using face recognition software.

As far as file sharing and collaboration are considered, both are great.

Both offer to share files with passwords and allow users to set a time limit for the user to access the files.

The only difference is that Dropbox allows the users to create a copy of the file meant for limited access whereas Drive does not allow it.

The transition of making someone owner of the files is easy in case of Dropbox rather than Drive.

Often accidental deletion of data does take place and to combat it both, Dropbox and Google Drive can restore the deleted files.

Dropbox stores the deleted files for a certain number of days based on the package you have opted for whereas there is no such restriction in the case of Google Drive.

The deleted files remain in the Trash folder and the G-suite administrator can recover the files up to 25 days in case of Google Drive.

2. OneDrive

OneDrive was launched in the year 2007 by Microsoft to compete with Dropbox and Google Drive.

If you regularly use Excel, PowerPoint, Word then OneDrive can be a better option for you.

This is because of the fact that it easily synchronizes the data used in these apps.

Earlier OneDrive used to offer unlimited storage to its users but with the passage of time they offer 5GB Free and all other storages are chargeable.

But it is still good compared to 2GB offered by Dropbox.

Also, it offers special incentives and plans to students and business establishments.

It has different plans for the individuals and the business.

Just as we have Google Docs in the case of Google Drive, here we have One Note. Also, it has got a speech to text feature which makes it fast for the user to write something which is lengthy.

Using One Note it is easy to share and collaborate with others.

The user can instantly get access to OneDrive if he uses windows 10 as the operating system.

As far as security is concerned, OneDrive uses data encryption and two-factor authentication.

Apart from that, it has OneDrive personal vault which helps to keep important documents in one place with biometric passwords.

This feature along with the price, storage and add ons of Microsoft Office makes it a better option rather than Dropbox.

The best part about it which we personally like is the ‘search and discover’ feature. It lets you enter the text of the file for searching it and not the file name.

3. Box

The Box is cloud storage meant for businesses. It has got good collaborative features.

It offers 10 GB free with 250MB file upload for individual users but for business use, there is no free storage.

The starter package begins from 100 GB storage and for the most popular plan ‘business plus’ it is unlimited.

It is worth noting that there is a ceiling limit on uploading a single file size of 5 GB for the business plus plans.

What differentiates it from Dropbox is the sector/industry-wise solutions for cloud storage.

Depending on the needs of a specific line of business, it has added specific features.

It has seamless integrations with almost 1400+ apps and has Box notes to allow users to collaborate online.

One thing worth mentioning about Box is that it can transform the content using inbuilt AI tools.

For example, if you have some content in the written document format, then using Box AI skills you can easily convert it into an audio file.

One more feature which differentiates it from Dropbox is that it has Box relay which makes it easy for the teams to prepare workflow for repeatable tasks.

As far as security and collaboration are concerned, both Box and Dropbox are good.

4. Sync.com

Sync is popular for a variety of reasons. Firstly unlike others, it does not have any limitation on the file upload size.

Secondly, it has the best security with the zero-knowledge provider which clearly means that the whole control is in your hands. Only you can decrypt the data.

It has different pricing for individuals and the teams. You can get 200 GB for just $5 per month for a team of 100 members.

Apart from that, it offers 5GB for the free account and you can get additional storage of 1 GB by installing the mobile app or sharing the files.

An additional 20GB storage can be obtained just by referring it to your friends.

The best part about it is the file versioning feature. It allows you to restore the previous versions of the file without calculating it for calculating storage. Depending on the package you have opted for, you get a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year for this feature.

But it does not have good collaborative features like Dropbox. Possibly that is because of the security reasons which do not allow unauthorized access to the data.

5. pCloud

We all save data on the drive to save storage space on our devices but sometimes it isn’t possible to retrieve it from the drive due to a variety of reasons.

pCloud offers a solution to this problem. It offers a virtual drive in your device where you can store your crucial data and get it back fast. This feature is particularly useful if you don’t want to synchronize everything on your device.

It has a wide range of payment options. You can choose to pay a lifetime or monthly or year to year basis.

As you can see from the above image, for 500GB you need to pay just $175 for a lifetime or $350 if you want 2TB.

For anyone not wanting to opt for a lifetime subscription, they have annual plans.

The only hitch is that it does not allow the user to integrate with Google Docs.

As far as file sharing is considered, it allows users to set expiration dates for the links and also gives access to read or edit the document.

It has excellent features that allow users to limit their download or upload speeds, making the process speedy.

Security-wise it is great and offers a prize of $100000 for anyone who can breach it.

It uses block-level synchronization due to which the process of synchronizing the files that have already been edited becomes fast.

Although it uses zero-level encryption for the files you need to be a little careful in this regard.

This is so because it allows the user to choose files that are important and for other files you can use two-factor authentication.

pCloud is best known for cloud storage of music files and videos. It offers an option to play the music directly from the pCloud web.

It goes a step further, and you can convert the videos into a suitable format and download the same whenever required. The best part is unlike Dropbox, it does not have 10GB restriction on the data upload.

FINAL WORDS

When we were shortlisting the Dropbox alternatives, we could find as many as 45 alternatives to it but all are not worthy of mention.

While we were analyzing which one to present before you we found that some are overpriced, lack security features or aren’t appropriate considering the collaborative features. That is why we shortlisted and presented the best.

Depending on your budget and other needs you can shortlist the cloud storage from above or else make a combination of it.

According to us,

Sync is the best option if the security of data is your prime concern.

pCloud is the best if you want more storage space. 10GB is huge, isn’t it? So also, it is good for music fans.

Google Drive works best when you want collaborative features the most.

OneDrive is best if you are using MS Office applications and want to synchronize.

Box certainly has many amazing features and is best suited to business establishments.

Do let us know in the comments section which cloud storage do you use?

We hope it helps! Suggestions are welcome, as always!