Dropbox is extremely popular as a free cloud storage service, and is a great option if you have no free space left on your laptop or computer.
But not everyone is a massive Dropbox fan, as there is limited space for free users and inability to sync files. So, if you’re looking to use another app that isn’t Dropbox, what ones should you consider?
We’re going to look through the most used alternatives to Dropbox you can currently download.
Apps like Dropbox – Our favourite alternatives
When it comes to secure file-sharing between different devices, Dropbox is one of the first apps that most people look to download.
Though it’s fairly easy for Apple users to move things between their phone and laptop using Airdrop, not everyone has this luxury, and it doesn’t really give the ability to share files with others whilst they stay in the same place.
This is the reason why Dropbox has proven to be so popular – you can keep all of your files in one place and give multiple people access to them.
However, there are other cloud storage solutions that can be used as Dropbox alternatives that are equally as good and allow you to upload files, protect sensitive data and potentially even allow unlimited data transfer.
If you’re looking for a free cloud storage space solution, here’s some of the best Dropbox alternatives.
Sync.com
If you want something that’s very similar to Dropbox, then you may want to check out Sync. They are both cloud storage services, and the two are much more alike than they are different.
The key difference between the two, and one of the main reasons why some users are looking to move away from using Dropbox, is that sync has a much higher focus on privacy and keeping your data safe – something of utmost importance for both personal and professional use.
The reason why some folks have made the leap from Dropbox to Sync is that the newer platform doesn’t actually have any access to the files in your storage.
If you read the Dropbox T & C’s in detail, you can actually read that the platform will have full access to all of your files.
This is a massive red flag to many, and why Sync and other alternatives have risen in popularity.
This is a good thing for most, but it does mean that you can’t integrate many different apps with your Sync account like you can with other cloud storage services.
So whilst the privacy is increased, this may have an impact on the usability and functionality of your day to day use.
There’s also no file size cap on a Sync account too, which is another big plus for those that are often transferring large files between accounts.
The free account on Sync has a higher size limit in comparison to Dropbox too, so if you’re trying not to spend any cash, then Sync may prove useful.
So whilst it’s below Dropbox in terms of the amount of features it has, there are a few reasons why you may want to consider switching to Sync instead.
Google Drive
Honestly for the vast majority of people, you may not need an entirely separate account fro your standard Gmail to get access to solid cloud storage.
Google Drive should be more than enough for the average person to share files and comments with their friends and colleagues without much issue.
There are a couple of reasons why Google Drive stands out as a great alternative to Dropbox. The first one is that it has one of the higher limits to storage if you’re planning to stick with a free account.
It offers up to 15GB of storage, whereas the majority of competitors out there only offer 5 or 10 GB of storage, which may not be enough for people that have a lot of files to consider.
The second reason why I recommend that people consider using Google Drive instead of finding something new is that it has a lot of different integration options with other apps.
Obviously you can easily integrate Drive with all of the other Google apps like Word and Excel, but it’s also very easy to use with Slack, Zipbooks and a whole host of other applications that many businesses use too.
The main downside that most people find with Drive is that the UX isn’t quite as nice in comparison to other newer apps, especially when you have multiple people editing the same files at the same time.
So whilst there are a lot of good things about Drive, not everyone will be a fan of the platform either.
Box
Another alternative to Dropbox that was born and increased in popularity due to its superior privacy and security features is Box – they don’t get access to your files when you’re using them, which will be a relief for many businesses.
Box is designed with larger teams in mind as opposed to being used for personal reasons, as the app has a 100GB storage limit that can be utilised by people in tandem.
This means that if you’re looking for something to use within a small company, Box may stand out as being the most viable option.
Though it can take users a while to get used to the layout of Box, it’s actually quite easy once you get used to it, as it has a very similar layout and functionality to Dropbox.
You do also get a lot of integrations with Box too, as well as easy ways to enable and restrict certain files from some users on the platform. However, one thing that some may not like about box is the low 250MB file size limit.
All in all Box is a good option. It’s available at a fairly reasonable price for customers, though it’s really only going to appeal to businesses and corporate use as opposed to individuals.
Conclusion
Though Dropbox may not have had that much competition for a few years, there’s now a range of different alternatives that you can choose from – they vary from almost exactly the same functions all the way to apps that just take similar aspects of the Dropbox experience.
They can be good alternatives for iOS users that often find themselves losing their Airdrop photos.
Though the truth is that Dropbox is still pretty popular and a good way for you to give people access to certain files on your device without much hassle.
