When you hear the term cloud storage, most likely, Dropbox comes to your mind. Despite people looking for Dropbox alternatives, this cloud service has been around for more than we care to admit.
However, its age and experience don’t mean it’s the greatest online storage provider. In fact, the service has quite a few downsides that have to do with security, performance, lackluster free plan, and much more.
And if you’re in the market for a new cloud storage provider, we got you covered. Dropbox may not satisfy your needs but we have a few alternatives we would like to present later on.
For now, let’s see what is it that makes people not want to use Dropbox and what you should look out for if you’re interested in it.
Best Dropbox Alternatives at a Glance
If you’re in a hurry, here’s a brief overview of the top 4 Dropbox alternatives in 2024:
- pCloud – the BEST and safest Dropbox alternative
- NordLocker – amazing online storage with zero-knowledge encryption
- Icedrive – affordable plans with up to 10 TB of storage
- MEGA – excellent free Dropbox alternative with 20 GB of storage
Why You Should Look for Dropbox Alternatives?
With more than 500 million users, it is perhaps the largest cloud service alongside Google. Unfortunately, not every user is completely satisfied with it, making it clear why some of them want an alternative to Dropbox.
Here’s what we generally dislike about this provider:
Privacy (Or Lack Thereof)
You wouldn’t expect Dropbox to drop the ball in terms of user privacy. However, if you check its privacy policy, you’ll see that it’s a lot more intrusive than you think it is. At least it’s transparent, so we value honesty.
Nevertheless, the company will be able to access your files on its cloud storage to make sure you don’t violate any of its policies. Also, Dropbox collaborates with Amazon, Google, and other third-party companies with whom it shares your information – very bad news.
What about data centers? Well, as you can expect, Dropbox has data centers only in the US, which is where its headquarters are located. The United States isn’t known for its focus on user privacy, as is Switzerland, for example, where pCloud is based.
pCloud, the best alternative to Dropbox
If the authorities request the company to hand out any data, it will surely do so, and it has what to hand out given its logging practices. Moreover, the reason to search for Dropbox alternatives is its alleged involvement in the PRISM project (online surveillance).
With Edward Snowden leaking this information to the public, Dropbox quickly denied its credibility. Albeit, users who know a bit more about the service still remain skeptical over whether or not they should trust the company.
A part of that skepticism can be attributed to the data breach that transpired back in 2012. This was a significant blow to Dropbox’s security measures, as hackers managed to steal over 68 million passwords in a cyberattack.
So far, nothing similar happened to Dropbox but once again, a bit of awareness won’t hurt.
No Zero-Knowledge Encryption
The company claims to use 256-bit AES encryption to secure your files, which is great. This, however, doesn’t mean that Dropbox itself cannot access your files. As said, it can, and it will, which isn’t something we’re happy about.
Zero-knowledge encryption is something that the service lacks and is probably never going to get because of its privacy policy. Namely, zero-knowledge encryption is here to encrypt and secure your files additionally so that only YOU can access and preview them.
Once it’s applied, even the cloud service provider won’t be able to decrypt your files. Something like this can be found on NordLocker and pCloud (as a bonus feature). If Dropbox employs something like this, it means that it can’t access your files and collect relevant information.
For that reason, we don’t think Dropbox is going to include it. And, if you ask me, I would gladly encrypt my important business data rather than have Dropbox snooping around it!
Not the Best Performance
Despite claiming to have blazing-fast servers and great speeds, our tests showed otherwise. This is another reason why more and more people are looking for an alternative to Dropbox. This isn’t the slowest cloud storage by any means. However, you should know that it’s also not the fastest.
Namely, it has servers only in the US, which, if you’re located far away, can be a problem. More distant servers usually mean slower speeds, which makes upload and download times a lot longer.
Our tests showed that it’s a lot slower than some competitors like pCloud and NordLocker. And, sadly, it’s also a lot more expensive.
Very Expensive Prices
Now that I mentioned it, Dropbox offers flexible subscription plans with all of them having high prices. Even the cheapest 2 TB plan will cost you $120 a year or $10 monthly, which is on par with Google Drive.
You also have the option of going for 3 TB, which bumps up the price to a whopping $216 a year! Not to mention that this plan doesn’t include shared link controls, so you can’t password-protect your links – once again, a punch to the belly in terms of security.
The good thing is that the company offers the option of having unlimited storage space. But can you imagine how much that would cost? Most likely, significantly more than even the most expensive Business plan.
And, as you will see on its site, the plans aren’t the most feature-rich compared to its competitors.
Low-Storage Free Plan
Almost all the alternatives listed below offer a free plan, as does Dropbox. My gripe with this plan is its skimpiness if that’s the word. I mean, you get a measly 2 GB of storage which won’t be enough even for storing documents, let alone music, audio, video, and photos.
Sure, Dropbox gives you the ability to back up files from your PC, but once again, with 2 GB of storage, you can barely back up anything.
The Best Alternatives to Dropbox: Our Top 4 Choices
Now that you know why you might want to look for Dropbox alternatives, let’s see what those alternatives actually are. We prepared 4 much better options, so take a look below.
1. pCloud
In our pCloud review, we stated that this is the best cloud storage on the market. So it’s not surprising that it’s the best alternative to Dropbox.
It manages to merge affordable pricing with great and reliable performance. Let’s start with its privacy and security, as this is Dropbox’s main weakness.
pCloud is based in Switzerland, with data centers in Europe and the US. Being from Switzerland, it’s not subjected to any data-retention laws, so it doesn’t need to access your information and share it with the authorities – and it doesn’t do so.
Moreover, pCloud copies your files to 3 servers. In case one of them stops working for some reason, the other two servers are intact, making your files accessible, without the possibility of losing them.
pCloud also offers zero-knowledge encryption as a bonus feature, which Dropbox lacks even in the most expensive plans. Moreover, it’s much faster than Dropbox, resulting in better upload and download speeds on all devices.
We should point out that pCloud is very easy to use and supports all devices you can think of. Even mobile devices are on the list, where pCloud allows for one-tap transfers and sharing. Speaking of which, pCloud lets you password-protect shareable links even in the free plan.
Whereas, Dropbox gives you this possibility only in the cheapest Business plan that costs more than $16 a month! Now that I mentioned the free plan, even in this case, pCloud gives you up to 10 GB and access to all of the premium features, making it far superior.
Price-wise, you can expect this Dropbox alternative to be much cheaper. It’s known for its Lifetime plan of 500 GB and 2 TB. They require you to pay once after which, you’ll get 99 years of pCloud subscription for under $210 and $410 respectively.
It’s pretty clear now why pCloud is the best alternative to Dropbox. Make sure you check out the pCloud test and review for a full analysis.
2. NordLocker
NordLocker is a phenomenal Dropbox alternative with encrypted cloud storage you can enjoy for cheap. You see, NordLocker lacks typical cloud storage features like file versioning and third-party integrations. However, it’s extremely secure, thanks to zero-knowledge encryption.
Dropbox doesn’t encrypt your data end-to-end, making it already inferior. Moreover, NordLocker’s interface is very simple to use, regardless of whether you’re using it on your mobile phone, desktop PC; or in the web version. The service allows for easy file sharing and backups.
You can use password-protected links or download/upload files without any limits. Another perk is NordLocker’s performance, which is stable, although not the best. Nord Security, which is behind this cloud storage, is known for minimal logging and keeping your privacy intact.
NordLocker offers secure vaults where you can store your stuff and share the entire vaults with other users of this cloud storage. Furthermore, we like NordLocker’s dedication to affordability, as it’s easily among the cheapest cloud storage options on this list.
You can get a 2 TB plan at under $6 a month and a 500 GB plan at under $3 a month. Dropbox limits you to 2 GB of storage in the free plan but NordLocker bumps it up to 3 GB, which is 50% more. Not to mention end-to-end encryption is available for free as well, making the service far more generous.
NordLocker has decent business plans to complement its personal plans. Alas, it’s limited to 2 TB of shared storage, which isn’t the best. Overall, though, NordLocker is remarkable if we exclude slower speeds and the lack of versioning.
3. Icedrive
If you want plenty of excellent storage plans for an affordable price, look no further than Icedrive. It’s one of THE best Dropbox alternatives in 2024, offering even the option to get zero-knowledge encryption and add more security to your files.
Moreover, Icedrive is extremely easy to use, offering apps for Windows, macOS, and Linux. We love Icedrive’s solid performance and Individual plans. Users can get from 1 TB to 10 TB of storage and enjoy client-side encryption in all plans.
Let’s not forget about its AWESOME 5-year deals, where the 10 TB plan costs $999, while still large 3 TB won’t cost you above $400. Icedrive isn’t better than Dropbox in terms of productivity and collaboration, although it’s still solid in this regard.
However, it’s perfect for storing and previewing photos and videos. Besides, it functions as a virtual drive on your computer, so transferring files is snappy and quick. Icedrive offers advanced file-sharing functions, such as expiry dates and password protection.
It comes with 180-day file versioning, allowing you to keep 10 versions of your documents. Another perk is that Icedrive has data centers in Germany, the UK, and the US. This allows for excellent performance for both European and American users.
Icedrive is safe and secure, with no data breaches akin to Dropbox. Overall, it’s not a mind-boggling provider and won’t blow you away like pCloud or NordLocker. But for the price, it’s actually pretty great, especially if you purchase a 5-year deal.
One thing to note is that all plans are covered with a 14-day money-back guarantee. Also, as a better Dropbox alternative, Icedrive has a free plan with 10 GB of cloud storage and 50 GB of bandwidth. It is, as you see, better than Dropbox as a free option.
4. Bonus FREE Cloud Storage – MEGA
If you’re using a free version of Dropbox, your storage is most likely full to the brim. In that case, you can check out MEGA, which is a great free online storage provider with 20 GB of space. To repeat – you get 20 GB of space for FREE. Do you understand better its presence in this list of alternatives to Dropbox?
Compared to pCloud and NordLocker, MEGA isn’t very fast and its security is a bit questionable, as the company had a rough history. However, nowadays, MEGA improved a lot, offering many data centers and 256-bit encryption for protecting your files.
We need to mention that it has zero-knowledge encryption. On top of everything we said, its free plan offers features like secure sharing and live chat. Sharing can be done via shareable links that you can protect with a password or add an expiration date.
Conversely, you can use its live chat feature to collaborate via text, video, or audio calls. This makes MEGA a good alternative to Dropbox, not only for storing but also for sharing files and efficiently communicating with your friends/coworkers.
MEGA comes in a web version that I personally prefer. However, you can download its apps for both desktop and mobile platforms if you find it more convenient. MEGA’s paid plans are, unfortunately, a bit more expensive, so we recommend it strictly as a free option.
And if you need more storage, going for pCloud, NordLocker, or Icedrive’s premium plans is a much smarter option. For the biggest storage, pCloud is the best, as it offers up to 10 TB in the most expensive individual plan.
Summary
Saying that Dropbox is a bad cloud service would be a lie – and we don’t do that around here. However, being one of the oldest products on the market, its experience and knowledge must be paid additionally. That’s the problem with older brands that always overprice themselves, more or less.
Dropbox can be a feature-rich cloud service buy only if you pay significantly more for it. Thus, compared to pCloud, NordLocker, and Icedrive, it’s not a viable option, considering that these three providers offer more for less money.
One of the best free Dropbox alternatives is MEGA, too. However, it’s a free option and isn’t as great as pCloud, NordLocker, and Icedrive. To digress, if you don’t want to buy Dropbox or you want to stop using it, transferring to one of these three options is your best bet.
We advise using pCloud first and foremost. But if you’d rather go with cheaper alternatives, consider Icedrive or NordLocker. Bear in mind that NordLocker offers end-to-end encryption, while Icedrive, like Dropbox, lacks this neat function but allows you to buy it additionally.
