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Key Takeaways:
Top Dropbox Alternatives
Sync.com — Overall best alternative to Dropbox
pCloud — Dropbox alternative with pCloud Crypto for privacy
Icedrive — Best option with five-year plans
Google Drive — Best alternative for ease of use
Microsoft OneDrive — Best option for Microsoft 365 users
MEGA — Best alternative with 20GB of free storage
IDrive — Best Dropbox alternative with cloud backup
Box — Best of the Dropbox alternatives for business users
Tresorit — Best option with advanced folder structure
Nextcloud — Best open-source Dropbox alternative
Facts & Expert Analysis From the Article:
Sync.com is the best overall cloud storage: We recommend Sync.com for its user-friendly interface, robust security, and reliable file syncing capabilities. Users can share, store, and collaborate on various files affordably without compromising their security and privacy.
pCloud’s privacy and speeds: pCloud is a fast cloud storage service that also excels in privacy, as it uses pCloud Crypto to offer zero-knowledge encryption.
Box’s business features: Features like robust collaboration tools, compliance certifications, and granular permission controls make Box one of the best Dropbox alternatives for businesses.
The Best Alternative to Dropbox
Dropbox is a cloud-based file management software for storing documents, videos, and images online. It is among the best cloud storage providers for file sharing, file syncing, and document collaboration. Launched in 2008, it’s also one of the oldest cloud storage platforms. Despite its great file sharing, sync, and collaboration features, Dropbox has some flaws — and you might want to consider Dropbox alternatives.
With over 700 million registered users, Dropbox is one of the most utilized cloud storage platforms globally. However, despite its popularity, it scores low on some features. Plus, its free plan gives users only 2GB of storage, and this limited free storage space might not fit a business cloud storage setup.
Dropbox also scores low on privacy as it still lacks end-to-end encryption. These two major flaws are some of the reasons why you might consider other cloud storage providers.
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Learn more about our editorial team and our research process.
07/14/2021 Cloudwards updated the list by removing Amazon Drive and Koofr, and adding iCloud. Updated list format and brought each provider’s features up to date.
06/25/2022 Updated Sync.com’s plans and pricing.
07/31/2022 Article updated to reflect an increase in IDrive’s free plan to 10GB of storage.
05/23/2023 Updated to remove IDrive’s discontinued free plan and add its new free 30-day trial.
12/07/2023 Updated MEGA’s price offerings.
02/26/2024 We updated IDrive’s plans and pricing.
03/13/2024 Facts checked
We rewrote this article to change and update information on the Dropbox alternative recommendations, as well as provide an easier-to-read format.
Updates
Best Dropbox Alternatives Comparison
Dropbox Pros and Cons: Why Should You Consider an Alternative?
Dropbox integrates with Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and other platforms, allowing users to work with their favorite tools and improve productivity. It also has “spaces” where you can share files, create project plans, and log meetings. You can also sync files across different devices, which allows users to collaborate on different documents.
Pros:
Office 365 & Google Workspace integration
Smart storage via Smart Sync
Block-level transfer
Business plans
However, its lack of end-to-end encryption, among other limitations, has been a concern for many. These are some of the reasons why you may consider alternatives to Dropbox:
Cons:
Free accounts offer versioning for 30 days only
Doesn’t offer phone support for low-tier plans
Has limited storage on the free plan
Has limits on upload file sizes
Only offers selective sync
Read our Dropbox Review if you want to learn more about this cloud storage, and our Dropbox Business Review if you’re interested in enterprise plans.
What Makes the Best Dropbox Alternatives?
A Dropbox alternative will be a cloud storage service that allows you to save, sync, and share files on the cloud across different devices, as well as offer file versioning and collaboration features.
Additionally, a secure Dropbox alternative that scores high on privacy is one that uses zero-knowledge encryption. This means that only you have access to your encryption key. Ease of use is subjective. However, the UI shouldn’t be cluttered, and users should be able to easily execute different tasks by clicking a few buttons. If you encounter an issue or want clarification, contacting customer support should also be straightforward.
Dropbox Competitors: Top Alternative to Dropbox Services
Features:
Dedicated Sync
Sync Any Folder
File Link Sharing
Versioning
30 days on basic & low-tier plans, 180 days on medium-tier plans & 365 days on high-tier plans
30 days on free plan, 180 or 365 days on paid plans
Up to 15 days on free plan & up to 30 days on paid plans
Up to 180 days
Google Workspace
Limited (add-ons)
Limited (add-ons)
Limited (add-ons)
Limited (add-ons)
Microsoft 365
Native integration
Add-on
Add-on
Add-on
Native Collaboration
Limited
2FA Authentication
Zero-Knowledge Encryption
* *
Monthly Pricing (2TB)
$9.99
$8
$8.33
$4.92 for 1TB
Free Data
2GB
5GB
10GB
10GB
*Paid accounts only
Sync.com is the best Dropbox alternative and best cloud storage overall when factoring in price, features, security, and privacy.
More details about Sync.com:
Pricing: $8 per month (one-year plan) for 2TB
Free Plan: 5GB
Website: sync.com
Pros:
Zero-knowledge for privacy
365-day file versioning
Competitive pricing
Cons:
User interface could be better
Sync.com tops our list of the best Dropbox alternatives. Sync.com offers a free plan with 5GB of storage and 30-day file versioning. You can upload files, share links through email, enjoy real-time backup and sync, and set granular permissions on the free plan.
For operating systems, Sync.com’s apps are available on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. It’s also possible to access Sync.com directly from the web. You can learn everything you need about it from our Sync.com review.
Sync.com: Security and Privacy
Privacy is one of the reasons why Sync.com ranks high among Dropbox alternatives. Sync.com uses zero-knowledge encryption, meaning that no one but you can read your data as the encryption key isn’t stored on the platform. Unlike Dropbox, Sync.com is on our list of the best zero-knowledge cloud platforms, making it excellent for storing sensitive data.
Sync.com is also big on secure storage by utilizing TLS/SSL encryption to protect data in transit and AES 256-bit encryption for data at rest on its servers.
Sync.com Pricing Plans
Another benefit to Sync.com is that it also offers better storage and pricing plans than Dropbox. The Sync.com free plan comes with 5GB of storage, more than double that of Dropbox’s free offer.
Both Sync.com and Dropbox have individual and business plans. Sync.com offers the Solo Basic 2TB plan at $8 per month, while Dropbox’s Plus plan is $9.99 per month for 2TB of storage. See our Dropbox vs Sync.com comparison if you want to learn more about how the two compare.
More plans
Pro Teams Unlimited
Price per user
Unlimited GB pCloud offers lifetime storage plans and an integrated media player.
More details about pCloud:
Pricing: $8.33 for 2TB
Free plan: 10GB
Website: pcloud.com
Pros:
Zero-knowledge encryption
Integrated media player
Generous free plan
Cons:
Extra fees for pCloud Crypto
Limited integrations
pCloud is loved for its zero-knowledge privacy and client-side encryption. With pCloud, you can manage digital assets, share files, enjoy versioning, and collaborate with team members. This platform is a good choice if you’re an artist or someone who shares many audio and video files, as it has a dedicated media player.
You can access pCloud through its dedicated desktop apps on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Additionally, you can download the Android and iOS apps. The web version is also available for those who don’t want to download apps. We cover more about it in our pCloud review.
pCloud: Security and Privacy
pCloud uses AES 256-bit encryption to secure your data while on its servers and TLS while it’s in transit. You can choose to store files in the United States (Dallas and Texas) or in the European Union (Luxembourg).
For encrypted cloud storage, you can also opt for extra security by subscribing to pCloud Encryption. This encrypts and password-protects all your important files. The subscription provides access to the pCloud Crypto folder, a feature that ensures all your data is protected by zero-knowledge encryption, which is lacking in Dropbox.
According to pCloud’s privacy policy, it collects data on how you use their products…
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