Dropbox, launched in 2008, has been the cloud storage space leader for many years, but the increasing prices, syncing restrictions, and multiple data breaches have caused its users to look for its alternatives.
Now many amazing cloud storage services are available such as pCloud, which are a lot more secure and reliable than Dropbox and at the same time, very affordable too.
In this article, we?ll see some of the best alternatives to Dropbox, which are the perfect mix of affordable pricing, best security, and reliability.
1. pCloud
Used by over 10 million users, pCloud is one of the most secure and easy-to-use cloud storage services designed for everyone. They are based in Switzerland because they want to give their users the best level of privacy they can.
Unlike Dropbox, pCloud gives 10 GB of free cloud storage.
You can use pCloud storage for your important documents, photos, videos, music, and other files that most of the other cloud storage providers don?t support.
They have all the features you are familiar with like, download link sharing, folder sharing, giving special permissions to people you share with, setting passwords and expiration dates and even more.
pCloud also put no restrictions on the uploading size so you can upload any type of file regardless of its size. There is no upload or download limit either, and you can enjoy very high speeds.
Security is something for which pCloud is particularly famous. pCloud offers top-level cloud encryption with its Crypto service designed to secure the most sensitive information on any device of yours. All the data locked by pCloud Crypto can only be unlocked by the unique key which the account owner has, and no one else can even touch the secure data, not event they.
pCloud Crypto only costs $4.99 per month, $47.88 annually, and $125 one-time payment if you go with the lifetime plan.
pCloud features
- File management tools available to search and filter the files and folders
- TLS/SSL encryption to securely transfer the data to pCloud servers
- Automatic sync of all the files and folders across desktop and mobile devices for a seamless transition
- Zero-knowledge privacy
- Client-side encryption to keep the data secure in case your device gets stolen
- Previous versions of data available with pCloud Rewind which keeps everything for 30 days in case you remove anything accidentally
- App for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android
Finally, if we talk about the plans of pCloud, you have the freedom to choose between two different storage types ? 500 GB and 2 TB ? with either the annual or lifetime subscription.
- Premium 500 GB: In this plan, you will get 500 GB storage, 500 GB download link traffic and this plan will cost you $3.99/month or $47.88 (with a discount of 20%) if you chose to pay annually. If you take advantage of the one-time payment option, it will cost you $175 only.
- Premium Plus 2 TB: This plan offers 2 TB or 2000 GB with the same amount of download link traffic. This plan will cost you $7.99/month, while only $95.88 (with a 20% discount) if you pay annually. The one-time payment option costs only $350 for 2 TB.
There?s also a family plan which allows access for up to 5 users, 2 TB data with lifetime storage at $500. This plan is best if you want to share your pCloud access with your family members without buying a separate account for everyone.
And don?t worry the company is profitable and has no plans of slowing down its growth anytime soon.
2. Google Drive
Google Drive is one of the most popular cloud storage service offered by Google. It comes with 15 GB of free storage, which you can extend to 30 TB with the paid plans.
Google Drive dashboard is very intuitive, and to share your files with others; you can generate shareable links with permission to view, edit, or comment in the documents. And the free Google Drive storage space is divided between the cloud storage, Gmail, and Google photos.
Google Drive features
- Supports everything from images, videos, music, and documents
- Access to apps ? Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides
- Automatically sync data ? photos, contacts, messages, and more in Android phones.
- Free high-resolution backup for all the images and videos
- Apps for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android.
If you need more than 15 GB with Google Drive, you can sign up for any of the paid plans which start from?
- 100 GB at $1.99/month
- 200 GB at $2.99/month
- 2 TB at $9.99/month
- 10 TB at $99.99/month
- 20 TB at $199.99/month
You can also invite up to 5 of your family members and allocate their own space to store personal files and folders.
3. Tresorit
Tresorit uses end-to-end encrypted file storage and is one of the most secure cloud storage providers available in the market.
The Tresorit?s automatic and built-in end-to-end encryption protects all the confidential documents and guarantees that only you can access them. Unlike Dropbox and Google Drive, Tresorit uses a Zero-knowledge system with which not even Tresorit employees can see your data.
Tresorit features
- Ultra-secure with Zero-knowledge privacy
- You can use it to send any file of up to 5 GB for free
- As Tresorit is a Swiss company, you can be sure of the privacy and data protection
- Fully GDPR, and HIPAA compliant and stores data in Azure data centers in the EU, Switzerland, and the US
- Remote wipe option to delete all the synced data on any device in case of device loss or theft
- Many file sharing and collaboration tools to share files securely and manage everything
Tresorit is on the costlier side as it plans starts from $12.50/month for 200 GB space. The 2000 GB storage plan costs $30/month and can be used on up to 10 devices.
Plans for teams start at $25/user/month and 1 TB storage space with access to 2 users. Before signing up for any plan, you can try the Tresorit cloud storage for 14-days with its free trial.
4. OneDrive
OneDrive cloud storage is offered by Microsoft and comes with 5 GB of free storage space (which is a lot more than 2 GB of Dropbox).
If you use Microsoft Office, then you can enjoy 1 TB of storage space for free, which is included with every Microsoft Office plan.
OneDrive features
- You can access your files from any device ? mobile, tablet, or computer
- With offline access, you can work even without an active internet connection and access your important files
- All data is protected with SSL encryption
- You can share your files or folders via a link, email, text, or Facebook
- Use the phone to scan and store paper documents, receipts, business cards, or whiteboard notes
- Available for Mac, Windows, Android, iOS, and Xbox One as well
OneDrive also has features like multi-factor authentication, built-in compliance standards, ransomware detection & recovery capabilities for business accounts.
The OneDrive has four different pricing plans:
- OneDrive Basic with 5 GB free storage
- OneDrive 100 GB plan at $1.99/month for 100 GB storage
- Office 365 Personal at $6.99/month or $69.99/year with 1 TB storage
- Office 365 Home with 6 TB total storage (1 TB each for 6 users) at $9.99/month or $99.99/year
Advanced security features such as personal vault, expiring sharing links, and ransomware detection are included with all the Office 365 plans. This plan also includes all the productivity tools ? multi-page scan, offline folders, and increased sharing limit.
5. Sync.com
Sync is a cloud storage service based in Canada that offers 5 GB of free cloud storage for every user. It is also famous for its end-to-end encryption, which ensures that your data is safe, secure, and 100% private.
The Sync infrastructure is enterprise-grade with data replicated across multiple data centre locations to provide automatic failover and a 99.99% uptime. Sync is fully GDPR compliant and operates within the laws of the USA, EU/UK, and Canada.
Sync features
- 100% private cloud storage with end-to-end encryption
- All files are backed up automatically and synced across all devices for better usability
- You can share or send a file of any size to anyone even if they don?t have a Sync account
- Premium plans include priority support by Sync in-house team
- App for Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android, and the web
Sync has multiple pricing plans for individuals and teams.
- Personal Free plan comes with 5 GB of free storage and 30-day file history and recovery
- Personal Mini plan costs $60 per year and offers 200 GB of storage with 60-day file history and recovery
- Lastly, the Solo basic plan costs $96 per year and includes 2 TB of storage with 180-day file history and recovery
You can also go with individual or team plans if you need more storage of up to 4 TB at $15 per month.
6. Mega
Based in Auckland, Mega is a cloud storage service that offers 15 GB of free storage space.
Mega is considered very secure due to its end-to-end encryption and zero-knowledge service. On top of this, you can also use private encryption to protect your files and folders so that only you can read them.
Mega features
- Easy to use dashboard
- Encrypted link sharing to share the files and folders securely
- Two-factor authentication and TLS protocol is used to ensure data is safe on every device
- Fully GDPR compliant
- Chat feature to send encrypted messages to other users
- Priority 24/7 support for all the pro users of Mega
- Available for Windows, macOS, Linus, and web browsers
Mega cloud storage has multiple plans targeted toward different types of users.
- Free plan with 15 GB storage with the option to earn more free storage
- Pro Lite plan with 200 GB storage and 1 TB transfer at $5.69/month
- Pro II plan with 1000 GB storage and 2 TB transfer at $11.38/month
- Pro III with 4000 GB storage and 8 TB transfer at $22.78/month
- Pro IV with 8000 GB storage and 16 TB transfer at $29.78/month
The transfer storage is the amount of data you can transfer between your devices in a month. Other than the transfer storage limit, all plans include the same features.
Mega Pro I plan is popular but offers less cloud storage compared to the 2 TB plan of pCloud, which costs only $7.99/month and has more security features.
In the free plan of Mega, you can get up to 50 GB of free storage, but 35 GB or 50 GB is credited to every account for a limited period of six months only. And if you use the storage space to store important files, you could lose all your data when the free quota is removed. So the extra storage space is overall not a nice addition by Mega.
7. Box
Box cloud storage is mainly designed for businesses and organizations. It offers 10 GB of free storage space and a lot more features compared to Dropbox.
With Box, businesses can take advantage of robust and secure collaboration tools to share and manage all the content. The infrastructure of Box is very well protected with multi-layered encryption, redundant data centers, and 24/7/365 monitoring.
Box features
- 10 GB free storage for every user
- Secure sharing of files and confidential documents with the option of password-protected links
- Document watermarking to prevent the leaks
- Box sync lets you access your data even if you?re offline
- Admin console to manage everything ? users, permissions, and settings
- Compliant with all security standards ? GDPR, HIPAA, and FINRA
- Apps available for every device type
Box also has integrations with Microsoft, IBM, Google Apps, Salesforce, and more so you can use all the apps directly in Box on any device.
There are multiple plans offered by Box for individuals, businesses, and enterprise suites. The Individual plan comes with two plans ? 10 GB free and 100 GB at $10/month.
Business plans start at $4.75/month for 100 GB and $14.25/month for unlimited storage. All the business plans have granular access and controls, desktop and mobile access, version history, and user management options.
Conclusion
Dropbox, with high pricing and limited free storage, is no longer the best option for cloud storage.
And if you are looking for Dropbox alternatives to get more space, then go with pCloud, which offers 10 GB of free cloud storage, which you can extend to extra 10 GB by inviting your friends or family members.
Unlike Dropbox, pCloud, and Google Drive, don?t put any limitations, and you can access all the features easily within the limit of free storage.
