While Dropbox continues to lead cloud storage and file syncing with 175 million users, other services are offering similar features for less money.
Although Dropbox has hosted its first developer conference, conjuring images of a future without hard drives and announcing its plans for cloud domination, some users are still not happy.
Although people are more or less satisfied with the service, the real complaint of many users is Dropbox's prices. It's too expensive, they say.
While there are plenty of other cloud storage services, some of Dropbox's biggest competitors are Google Drive, Microsoft's SkyDrive, Apple's iCloud, Copy, SpiderOak, SugarSync, and Box.
If we compare the prices, it is observed that those users looking to get the maximum storage for free should look at Google Drive or Copy. On the other hand, users who want to pay the least amount of 100 GB per month will need to consider Microsoft's SkyDrive, Google Drive, or Copy (however, users cannot store all types of documents on Google Drive). For users who want to buy a lot of space for less money, Copy seems to have the best deal.
Although some Dropbox services are more expensive than those offered by competitors, many of them are actually within the same price range. For example, 100 GB on Dropbox costs $8.25 per month, on SpiderOak $10 per month, and on SugarSync $9.99 per month.
Here's a breakdown of the numbers:
dropbox
- 2 GB free
- 100 GB $8.25 per month
- 200 GB $16.60 per month
- 500 GB $41.60 per month
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These prices are based on paying for the entire year, if users want to pay monthly the price goes up a couple of dollars per month.
Google Drive
- 15 GB free
- 100 GB $4.99 per month
- 200 GB $9.99 per month
- 400 GB $19.99 per month
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Although these services cost half as much as Dropbox, they do not have all the features of Dropbox, such as photo storage and sharing.
Microsoft's SkyDrive
- 7 GB free
- 50 GB $2.08 per month
- 100 GB $4.20 per month
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Apple's iCloud
- 5 GB free
- 25 GB $3.30 per month
- 55 GB $8.30 per month
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Apple only allows users to store backups, documents, and mail for free. Purchased music, movies, apps, books, TV shows, and photo gallery cannot be included in free storage space.
Copy
- 15 GB free
- 250 GB $9.99 per month
- 500 GB $14.99 per month
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SpiderOak
- 2 GB free
- 100 GB $10 per month
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If users want to add more space, it costs an additional $10 per month per 100 GB.
SugarSync
- 5 GB free
- 60 GB $7.49 per month
- 100 GB $9.99 per month
- 250 GB for $24.99 per month
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Box
- 5GB free
- 25 GB $9.99 per month
- 50 GB $19.99 per month
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