Let’s imagine a scenario. You’ve recently adopted Dropbox Business to manage files and have asked your team to adapt to it quickly. However, when you start working with the platform, you soon realize you’re facing issues like files not being able to sync, loss of data, and no access trail to documents — all crucial aspects that can be the undoing of any business.
If you’re a Dropbox user, you know that these issues are not uncommon with the product. Dropbox may be a popular solution that is often synonymous with “file storage and sharing” for many people, but it’s not without its faults. Know this: there are other, quite possibly better, solutions on the market (solutions that are free and don’t have the same issues as Dropbox).
If you want to make the switch and see what the alternatives have to offer, please read on! This article will introduce you to the top (free) Dropbox competitors, as well as their key features, user reviews, support options, pricing, and more.
Top Free Dropbox Alternatives and Competitors
- SecureDocSharing
- Mega
- Sync.com
Why Make the Switch?
Security issues
Based on the SSL/TLS encryption and web authentication features Dropbox boasts about, one might think that its security systems are up to the mark. Well, that’s far from the truth. For one, Dropbox is infamous for being lenient with user privacy. It’s in their terms and conditions that you will share files at your own risk — and they’ve used this dialogue to stay away from user complaints when, in 2012, user email IDs and passwords leaked, and in the later years, when they released an update that allowed them to delete the personal files of users.
Limited usage
To begin with, Dropbox’s free version only includes 2 GB of free storage. In comparison, Mega provides 20 GB, Sync.com provides 5 GB, iceDrive provides 10 GB, and pCloud provides 10 GB of free storage. With SecureDocSharing, you can share unlimited files for free. Aside from that, with Dropbox Business, you can only access your files on a limited number of devices, and can only share files of certain sizes.
Expensive option by comparison
We may be discussing free plans in this article, but each of these softwares has certain features that can only be accessed through the paid plans. When we look at paid plans, Dropbox ranks higher in pricing, too. For example, Dropbox’s paid plan is $12 for 1000 GB, but its top competitors Mega, Sync.com, iceDrive, and pCloud charge $10 for 1000 GB, $8 for 2000 GB, $5 for 1000 GB, and $10 for 2000 GB, respectively. SecureDocSharing is entirely free, and you can share unlimited documents without any fee.
Free Dropbox Business Alternatives to Consider
SecureDocSharing
After much market research and competitor analysis, PandaDoc, the parent company of SecureDocSharing, came up with a product to make the process of file sharing extremely easy. PandaDoc’s main aim was to provide a quick, secure, and free service that gets the job done without causing any hiccups along the way — and judging by the way the software operates, they’ve ticked all the boxes.
Key features
1 – Encrypted and secure file sharing
Document confidentiality is of the utmost importance — especially in a business setting, and SecureDocSharing understands that. This is why all your files are encrypted before you share a link with anyone.
Additionally, the platform has other security measures, such as password protection, access management, user identification (through email ID), customizable expiration dates, the ability to allow or disallow downloads, document analytics, and more.
2 – Friendly User Interface (UI)
Let’s be real: we all love software that comes with great features, but we love it a little less if it has a terrible user interface. Lucky for us, SecureDocSharing has totally avoided the latter column (it’s truly been gifted with the best of both worlds) — that’s to say, it not only has exceptional features, but it also has a happy-go-lucky and friendly interface.
For one, you only need to drag and drop documents (the software will upload them for you). Plus, it’s fast — you don’t need to wait for a long time to get document links. Additionally, all features of the document are clearly listed in simple language, which allows users to understand and use the features with ease. The platform gets additional brownie points for being so simple to navigate.
3 – Document analytics
Ever wished to see how your recipients interact with your document? Well, SecureDocSharing is one of the rare file-sharing services that provide the added perk of document analytics. That’s to say, you get to know how your recipients interact with the document, how many times they open it, where they stall, how long they view it, when they receive it, and much more!
User reviews
Although the software hasn’t been professionally reviewed as yet, the general user reviews have been predominantly positive.
Pricing
The product is entirely free. If you wish to e-sign your documents, automate your document workflow, and collaborate in real time, then you will need to sign up for PandaDoc’s 14-day free trial.
Support options
The “contact us” page is always live on the website if users wish to get in touch with the SecureDocSharing team.
Mega
Mega, also known as MEGA Encrypted Global Access, is a software that was developed in 2013, and is currently operational in over eighteen languages. Per the latest reports available (published in 2019), the platform is said to have over 230 million loyal users, and they have stored a total of over 107 billion files.
Key features
1 – Extremely secure
One of the platform’s defining features is that it has end-to-end encryption, which is something that products like Dropbox, or even Google Drive, don’t have. (These products are also more expensive by comparison, but that’s a story for another day).
At the present moment, the platform also allows other security features, such as two-factor authentication, expiration dates on links, and data recovery measures. The only downside is that its code is open source (the product was built using PHP, JavaScript, and C++ languages), and this means that its code is freely available to the public.
2 – Easy to collaborate
While Mega doesn’t have many collaboration tools (for example, it doesn’t have third-party app integrations with platforms like Salesforce, Windows 365, Slack, Zoom, etc.), the features it does have for collaboration work pretty well.
For one, you can easily share files with team members by adding them to your folder. The product is also freely available and can be accessed from anywhere around the globe, meaning that all team members, despite where they are currently located, can use it. Aside from that, users can also chat with each other (either via their browser or on the mobile app).
3 – Generous storage
If there’s one thing Mega does really well, it’s providing excellent storage options — for context here, you can get a whopping 20 GB storage for free with Mega. However, if you opt for the paid plan, you can get as much as 16 TB of storage — that’s the storage capability of almost 16 million floppy disks! (Kids, ask your parents what a floppy disk is…)
The platform is also coming up with its Mega S4 update that has object storage functionality, which will make purchasing storage that much cheaper. And — last but not least — there’s no cap on individual file size for uploads (aka, you can upload files even as large as 1 TB on the platform).
User reviews
TrustRadius gave Mega a score of 8.9/10.
Pricing
Mega has a free account, but if you wish to access the paid accounts, it’ll cost you $5.95/user/month to access the Pro Lite account, $11.92/user/month to access the Pro 1 account, $23.85/user/month to access the Pro 2 account, and $35.78/user/month to access the Pro 3 account.
Support options
You can get in touch with the Mega team by email, by visiting the help center, or through Mega support.
Sync.com
Sync.com is no underdog when it comes to file sharing and cloud storage space. Its platform has generally gained positive reviews from many users (names like Bitcatcha, Techradar, Tom’s Guide, Cloudwards, Wired, Zapier, Business News Daily, etc., have all given it glowing reviews). Besides, it’s got names like Trip Advisor, The New Yorker, and Legal Aid Society as part of its 2 million+ customer base. So, obviously, Sync.com must be doing something right.
Key features
1 – Security at the forefront
The best part of Sync (like other alternatives on the list) is that it really respects your privacy. All your data and files are encrypted end-to-end, which basically means that no one, not even Sync itself, can see your content without you giving them permission (however, you do need to agree to its terms of service, which states that you can’t upload any illegal or harmful data on their platform, which is good!).
Aside from just that, it provides other security measures, such as password protection, expiry dates on documents, user insights, the ability to revoke access, and notifications when someone accesses your files. To go one step forward, the platform also doesn’t have any third-party integrations, so as to not interfere with your privacy. Oh, and it’s also compliant with Canadian PIPEDA, PIPA, and FIPPA laws, and USA, EU/UK GDPR laws.
2 – Fit for multiple industries
While businesses belonging to any industry can access the platform, Sync.com specializes in catering to the education, healthcare, legal, government, and financial services sectors. For example, since Sync is HIPAA compliant, you can confidently store patient information, knowing that it won’t be compromised. In a similar way, people operating in the legal sector can securely store and share client information, and also save themselves from the risk of losing important information, as Sync always has a backup of data.
3 – Other features
Aside from the aforementioned features, Sync also:
- Allows teams to work remotely by giving offline access, providing enterprise-grade security, showing insights and changes in real-time, providing a centralized repository of data, and allowing documents to be shared with internal as well as external teams.
- Provides unlimited storage space, with no individual file sharing limit (however, if users want to opt for limited storage, they can do that, too, by going for the more affordable plans, such as Teams Standard, Solo Professional, Free, Solo Basic, etc.).
User reviews
Sync got a rating of 4.5/5 on Capterra.
Pricing
You can open a free account on Sync, which provides 5 GB worth of free storage. However, if you’d like to access advanced features and/or more storage space, then you can open paid accounts, too, which begin at $8 per month (for individuals), and $6 per month, per user (for teams).
Support options
Users can get in touch with the Sync team through email, or browse solutions at the help center.
A Quick Glance
| Product | Pros | Cons | Support Options | Pricing |
 Dropbox
|
Extremely easy to use; Trusted choice; Great third-party integrations | Security issues; Limited usage; Expensive by comparison | Help center; Email support | Paid plans begin at $12/month |
|
SecureDocSharing
|
Encrypted and secure file sharing; Friendly UI; Document analytics | Some features require you to sign up for PandaDoc package | Users can get in touch with the team using the “Contact Us” page | Free to use |
|
Mega
|
Extremely secure; Easy to collaborate; Generous storage space | No third-party integrations | Help center; Mega support; Email support | Free account available; Paid accounts begin at $5.95/user/month |
|
Sync.com
|
Highly secure; Fits multiple industries | No third-party integrations; Slow sync speed | Help Center; Email support | Free account available; Paid accounts begin at $8 (individuals) and $6 (teams) |
Which Is the Best Dropbox Business Alternative?
While we do agree that Dropbox Business is a popular solution, we also believe that its best years are behind it. When there are better solutions on the market today — ones that provide more storage, are available at a cheaper rate, and have a better UI — why stick with Dropbox?
If you’re ready to make the switch, we suggest you consider the alternatives mentioned in this article. However, if you had to make a pick between these three alternatives, then we’d recommend SecureDocSharing. Why, you ask? The reasons are laid out as follows:
- It has a friendly user interface
- The majority of its functions are free to use
- It provides advanced capabilities, like document analytics
- It’s a highly secure solution
- You only need to drag and drop documents
- It supports multiple file types
- It doesn’t come with a storage limit
All in all, it’s the one choice that outperforms others. If you wish to make the switch to SecureDocSharing, then sign up on the platform today.
