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Dropbox vs ownCloud comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Dropbox
Ranking in Content Collaboration Platforms
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
88
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Storage (5th)
ownCloud
Ranking in Content Collaboration Platforms
20th
Average Rating
10.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Content Collaboration Platforms category, the mindshare of Dropbox is 9.6%, down from 13.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ownCloud is 1.0%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Content Collaboration Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

Anton Krivonosov - PeerSpot reviewer
An easy-to-use solution that can be used to store files in the cloud and share them with different people
Dropbox is a cloud-based solution. Dropbox is a nice solution to use if you have nothing to hide or aren't afraid that others will view some secrets because you don't know how the company protects them. If you store normal files you don't care much about, you can use Dropbox. Overall, I rate Dropbox a nine out of ten.
SC
Self-hosted file sync tool used to deploy custom web UIs.
I think it’s probably the best self-hosted file sync tool on the market. It’s a full web application platform, an indispensable tool for a business of any size that needs to deploy any kind of custom web UI. If you build an ownCloud app, you’ve got authentication, storage, security, caching, and database layers already fully baked for you. You just need to build your UI and custom logic. Your app doesn’t even need to interact with files, sync, or interact with other ownCloud features. Any web UI can be included without ownCloud. It can even be a portal to web interfaces of other applications within a business using the external app to display external sites within ownCloud. This is the case as long as that site allows itself to be displayed within a frame.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable feature of this solution is the ability to access files and documents from any device, anywhere."
"Dropbox allows me to organize files well. I can name files in such a way as to lead students to the right destination."
"Dropbox's most valuable features are ease of use and performance."
"We haven't had any issues at all with the solution."
"Dropbox has a simple interface, and it's pretty straightforward."
"Its usability is valuable. It is easy to use."
"The small business version gave us ample capacity."
"The main feature that I found the most valuable is the ability to link the documents such that they are automatically taken to a page where you can review them."
"I think it’s probably the best self-hosted file sync tool on the market."
 

Cons

"The free storage amount should be increased."
"Dropbox could make the installation and the log of what has changed in a file easier. Showing logs could be more accessible."
"File version control can be improved. It generates a lot of conflicts when people are working on the same file. Its integration with other solutions can be improved in terms of user experience. Integration is there, and it has connectors for Excel, Word, and other solutions, but it is not very friendly. There should be a better user experience."
"I see that if you use a mobile device that does not allow you to properly configure the email part with Dropbox, then you cannot access it."
"We are moving to Microsoft Teams. Instead of Dropbox, we will be using Microsoft Teams that has the advantage of saving the versions. It supports file versioning so that you can always go back to the previous version if you want to. If somebody has made a change in one of the files and you don't know what changes have been made, you can always go back to the previous version. This feature led us to migrate to Microsoft Teams. With Dropbox, there is no option for simultaneous work. This feature is there in Google Files. In Microsoft Teams, you can invite team members to collaborate. That is the reason why I prefer Microsoft Teams over Dropbox. It should also have more integration with other solutions."
"The tool must be better protected."
"The price is expensive for individual users."
"While generally user-friendly, there is room for improvement in the user interface, especially with the introduction of new integrations and features."
"Even with fast disks, it still takes a fair bit of time to write most schema changes to multi-GB tables."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I believe I pay around $5 per month for the license."
"The amount of free space they provide is sufficient for me. However, if you want more space I don't believe is very expensive."
"We are using the free version of Dropbox which has approximately two gigabytes of data capacity."
"The solution does not come with a licensing cost."
"We must pay when we upsize to a larger space."
"I am using the free solution, which provides me with 2GBs of storage, and for me, it's sufficient."
"You pay as you go, which is a good thing. There is a monthly fee, and you can also pay annually. This flexibility makes the subscription easier and affordable for some of us. I prefer yearly pricing, which is also slightly cheaper than monthly pricing."
"We are using the unlicensed free version of Dropbox."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
60%
Computer Software Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
4%
University
4%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Dropbox?
For me, the biggest thing is version history. I can easily go back and view older versions.
What needs improvement with Dropbox?
Dropbox needs to improve its integration with Google platforms, including Google Sheets, Google Docs, and Google Slides, which facilitate easier collaboration. I would also like to see features rel...
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Comparisons

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Sample Customers

Vita Coco, BCBGMAXAZRIA Group, Centric Project, Kayak, FourSquare, Asana, Huge Adversting , USA Gymnastics, Appen, Valliant, Radio Lab
CERN, Joy Global, Sciebo, Bauhaus, datto
Find out what your peers are saying about Dropbox, Microsoft, Google and others in Content Collaboration Platforms. Updated: December 2024.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.