Dropbox and Google Drive are one of the most effective file storage platforms that can sync files between a folder on your devices.

Free storage

Both Dropbox and Google Drive offer free initial storage space of 2GB and 15GB respectively. Since Dropbox’s initial free storage is of just 2GB they offer a number of ways to increase your free storage. Basic (free) accounts can earn an additional 500MB of storage space for each friend or family member referred to the service, up to 16GB.

Premium storage

  • Dropbox is considered to have a very simple pricing structure for its premium storage offerings.
  • For those who require even more space, it also offers 20TB and 30TB packages, costing $200 and $300 a month respectively.
  • Google Drive and Dropbox both have their own advantages when it comes to pricing. If 100GB of space is filled, Google Drive offers a $2 monthly option for extra storage.
  • However, Dropbox’s business package offers unlimited storage space for $75 a month, which is far more and less.

File Syncing

  • In comparison, Google Drive’s syncing supports multiple devices and operating systems, though doesn’t support Linux natively.

Outside support

  • Google Drive can quickly save and store Gmail attachments, twin stored images with Google Photos, and makes collaboration easier through Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.
  • Dropbox has some service integrations of its own. Personal users can enjoy a partnership with Microsoft that sees Office documents openable and editable from within Dropbox itself, making collaboration easier. Dropbox Business users uses integrated PDF viewing and sharing with real-time messaging through slack. Its DBX platform also helps integrate with services like Autodesk and Okta.
  • As strong as Dropbox’s additional service support is, though, it can’t quite match Google Drive.

Security and privacy

In a world of post-Snow-den revelations and regular hacks of major organizations, making sure your remote data and your privacy are protected is a major consideration for many cloud storage customers.

  • For its part, Dropbox encrypts your data to a 128-bit AES standard while files are in motion, and then to a 256-bit AES standard when at rest. It also offers two-factor authentication for de-crypting files, to prevent unauthorized users from gaining access to them. Version rollback even lets you replace updated files for differing periods of time depending on your package, offering some measure of protection against ransomware.
  • Google Drive offers comparable security features, though uses 256-bit AES encryption with files in transit and 128-bit AES encryption when at rest. It also supports two-factor authentication.

Electronic Frontier Foundation

  • EFF is one area where Dropbox does show a slight advantage over its competitor - in privacy. While both protect their user’s information in many respects, Dropbox is one of only a few companies awarded a five-star privacy rating by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).
  • Google was given four stars, though it fell behind Dropbox in that it does not stand up to national security letter (NSL) gag orders, which prevent companies from informing their customers that their data has been requisitioned by authorities.

With its more manageable subscription packages and greater free storage, Google Drive possesses better account value, and its web client has more features, greater file type support and also a better search tool than Dropbox. However, Dropbox’s more flexible and streamlined desktop and mobile client apps, extensive third-party app support, and greater platform compatibility make it ideal for basic file sharing across multiple devices.