Our favorite Dropbox alternative is IDrive because it’s secure, offers top-notch backup services, and comes at an affordable price. Save 25% on a one-year subscription or 50% on the first year of a two-year subscription.
Dropbox has been a reliable way for teams to upload and share files for over a decade. The company states that it has over 700 million registered users, including National Geographic, Lonely Planet, and Servcorp. While the brand is definitely on our list of the top cloud storage software services, it’s far from the only choice.
The research team at Quick Sprout spent hours scouring the web, testing services, and analyzing reviews to find the top Dropbox alternatives and competitors.
The 5 Best Cloud Storage Services
IDrive offers users a reliable, affordable, and super-efficient cloud storage service. Plus, it suits companies both large and small, providing them with a secure place to back up important files. Get the first-year promotion of 25% off a one-year subscription or 50% off the first year of a two-year subscription when you sign up with IDrive. You can also see our top list of the best cloud storage services here.
- IDrive – Best for backups
- Microsoft OneDrive – Best for home use
- Google Drive – Best free cloud storage service
- Apple iCloud – Most intuitive cloud storage service
- Dropbox – Best all-around cloud storage solution
IDrive – Best for Backups
Founded in 1995, IDrive has nearly 30 years of experience providing backup services. Impressively, IDrive has kept up with its competitors and continues to emerge as a leading player in the backup software space.
IDrive offers multiple-device backup, online file syncing, electronic and physical backup retrieval, a history of each file going back 30 versions, and 256-bit AES encryption for security.
We love that IDrive offers a range of plans to fit any company’s needs, including a free plan that gives users up to 10 GB of storage—and doesn’t require a credit card. Paid plans offer a lot more storage space and begin at $59.62 for the first year.
How IDrive Compares to Dropbox
IDrive is best for businesses that want a no-nonsense backup service, while Dropbox is ideal for brands of any size that want file sharing and document signing services in addition to cloud storage.
We evaluated these two brands according to three criteria: syncing, integrations, and scalability. IDrive does back up files on a semi-automatic basis—if you put them in the relevant Sync folder.
Dropbox, on the other hand, automatically backs up all the files on your computer once you install the Dropbox app and set up Dropbox Backup. Dropbox Backup is available on every paid Dropbox plan. It’ll also automatically back up any external hard drives that are plugged into your computer. If you like automatic syncing, you’ll prefer Dropbox. If you’d rather pick and choose what to sync, IDrive is for you.
Dropbox offers integrations with popular apps like Google Suite, Salesforce, Slack, Adobe, Microsoft Office, Zoom, AWS, Canva, and Autodesk. IDrive does not. If you don’t use any of those apps, that won’t be a problem.
Both services scale well, offering affordable rates for 5 TB of storage, although Dropbox claims it’ll give you as much space as you need at a rate of $24 per month. IDrive gets pricey when you get much past 5 TB.
Microsoft OneDrive – Best for Home Use
If you’re already a devoted PC user, you’re probably already using Microsoft OneDrive. This online backup service is ideal for families who want to share photos, files, and other documents seamlessly—and securely—across devices.
It’s less optimal for business use, but Microsoft OneDrive does offer business plans in addition to its personal plans. Plus, OneDrive has a free plan that gives you up to 5 GB of cloud storage space. Its additional plans are all affordable, too, with business plans beginning at $5 per month.
How Microsoft OneDrive Compares to Dropbox
When it comes to syncing capabilities, integrations, and scalability, Microsoft OneDrive and Dropbox are pretty even. Both come with automatic syncing, along with syncing of external hard drives when they’re plugged in. Both also let you upload photos and videos straight from a plugged-in camera.
Microsoft OneDrive and Dropbox both come with a robust suite of integrations, including Microsoft Office, Salesforce, DocuSign, Trello, Zoom, Google Suite, and Slack.
In addition, both services come with impressive scalability. Microsoft OneDrive lets business users utilize up to 25 TB of storage, but it takes a bit of hoop-jumping to get there. Dropbox scales with you as much as you need it to.
Microsoft OneDrive can work for businesses, but the business plans and features can be trickier to navigate than those for Dropbox—there are multiple business tiers offering different groupings of features, and you have to read the fine print to get information on how much storage space you’ll get beyond 1 TB.
Google Drive – Best Free Cloud Storage Service
You’re probably already familiar with Google Drive if you have a Google Workspace account of any kind. Google Drive is the cloud storage powerhouse that backs up everything you work with in Workspace, like files produced in Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Forms.
But Google Drive backs up more than just Google Workspace files. You can back up PDFs, Word documents, photos, and other files on your computer or mobile device. Google Drive’s best feature is its robust free plan, which gives users up to 15 GB of cloud storage space for free. The Business Standard plan, which comes with 2 TB of space for each user, begins at just $12 per user per month.
How Google Drive Compares to Dropbox
Google Drive and Dropbox exist on such a level playing field that it all comes down to preference. If you’re already familiar with Google Workspace, utilizing Google Drive to upload more files from your computer makes more sense than switching to Dropbox. But you can use either service and enjoy high-quality, high-capacity file sharing and storage capabilities.
When we analyzed Google Drive according to syncing capability, integrations, and scalability, we found that it matched up with Dropbox in just about every way. Like Dropbox, Google Drive comes with automatic syncing after an initial setup.
Google Drive offers many of the same integrations Dropbox does, including Asana, Adobe, Slack, Trello, and DocuSign. However, Google Drive also wastes space with many poorly rated, obscure integrations that you’ll probably never use, and it doesn’t come with a Canva integration.
All in all, both Google Drive and Dropbox work well for individuals or large companies. It all depends on what you prefer—and Google Drive does have an edge in its free plan, which offers 15 GB compared with the Dropbox free plan’s 2 GB limit.
Apple iCloud – Most Intuitive Cloud Storage Service
For Apple users, iCloud is the built-in cloud storage solution that keeps music, notes, videos, files, and photos safely stored in the cloud. All Apple products come with iCloud storage of up to 5 GB.
With iCloud+, users can get up to 2 TB of storage. iCloud+ comes with HomeKit Secure Video capabilities, a Hide My Email function, and Family Sharing. iCloud+ is also rolling out a private web browsing feature called Private Relay.
Plans begin at $0.99 per month for 50 GB of storage.
How Apple iCloud Compares to Dropbox
iCloud is ideal for personal use, but it doesn’t stack up as a business solution. Like Dropbox, it comes with automatic syncing, along with automatic full backups when devices are connected to WiFi and power. However, iCloud doesn’t come with any integrations, and its scalability is limited to 2 TB per user. It’s ideal for freelancers, particularly those who work in photography, as its photo storage is phenomenal.
Apple does have a solution for small businesses, though. It’s a newer service called Apple Business Essentials, and it comes with automatic backups, management of third-party apps the business uses, and other IT essentials. Because it’s new, it’s hard to gauge how much people use or like this service.
In addition, Apple Business Essentials doesn’t come with any extra storage. Even its most expensive plan is limited to 2 TB, making it difficult for mid- to large-sized companies to use it. Individuals who already use Apple products, along with small businesses that are invested in the Apple ecosystem, will benefit the most from iCloud+ or Apple Business Essentials.
Source: quicksprout
Dropbox Alternatives and Competitors