Dropbox Pricing, Features, Reviews & Comparison of Alternatives

Pros
Where can I begin, except for the fact that Dropbox has a powerful engine? From my experience, I am impressed by the energy this software has. I work in media production, so capacity and performance are primary factors in how we store content. Dropbox sees to it that our heaviest files are taken care of. I often transfer computer animations as well, which requires a lofty amount of memory to carry certain files. With that, this software is able to store and load the pages that contain each modeled/rigged subject with ease.

Cons
I would only suggest that the import/export functions were at more of an ease in terms of loading. They often require additional steps to just get a file through. Anything as simple as import to browse would fulfill my only concern.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Dropbox is a web based service that gives you a free space with an option of additional storage for a reasonable monthly fee. As a musician, it is essential to protect and share your music. I am able to upload files onto my Dropbox storage and send direct access to anyone I choose from all over the globe. Media files are typically large, so there is a huge benefit to have the ability to purchase additional data at any time. I feel safe knowing that my files are protected in the Dropbox cloud, especially in the event of a computer or program crash.

Cons
The Dropbox file compression will degrade the media quality to a noticeable extent when clicking a direct play link. The compression isnt as noticeable on downloaded media files.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 9/10

Pros
The nice part about Dropbox is that it is pretty easy to use and has a free option if you are looking to use it for personal use. The software is easy to switch between mobile and desktop and has a pretty basic way to organize documents, pictures, etc in folders. It is also easy to share the docs/folders with a link or make them public, if needed. We utilize this software to share documents across multiple companies for different projects and house the different versions of the documents in a single place.

Cons
Security updates are lacking when compared to alternatives like Box. We need to keep a very specific set of security functionality for our documents in the higher education industry and Dropbox is not meeting the needs of our industry any longer; therefore, we have to be selective on what documents we are using the software for now. I am sure that Dropbox will update their security functions soon, but in the meantime, we have to be selective on what we use it for. Would be nice if you could organize documents in a different way to make it more efficient to find what you are looking for, as well as comments. I do like that you can see which version of a doc you are looking at right way; however, it is still a pretty old school mentality for organization and collaboration vs all of the other software out there now. This is a good repository to house documents (if it meets your security standards) but doesn't meet the ever changing needs of a robust collaboration tool that we needed it for.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 5/10

Pros
Dropbox is truly designed for two things, syncing files b/w multiple devices and sharing those files with other Dropbox users. It does those two things extremely well. Dropbox has fantastic conflict resolution features - automatically creating a "conflicted copy" of a file whenever a potential conflict is detected (i.e. a file is being edited by two people at the same time). Dropbox also has plugins for Microsoft Office that allow for multiple people to edit a file simultaneously without creating conflicts. In addition, Dropbox provides a "smart sync" feature, allowing for files to be seen on the computer locally, but not stored locally until opened up. This allows a user to access all of his/her Dropbox files without using up disk space (though it does require an active internet connection).

Cons
For the price, Dropbox for Business is very limited compared to alternatives. Both Google's G Suite and Microsoft Office 365 cost comparable or less, and includes not just file syncing capabilities but an entire office suite. Dropbox's business practices are also somewhat suspect, as they have continually increase the price/month while reducing the features set. Often times, you can restore these missing features for an increased amount/month.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 7/10

Pros
There aren't many negative things to say about Dropbox. They dominate this corner of the market, and it shows. Businesses nowadays are all about integration and automation. Virtually all other noteworthy software integrates directly with Dropbox, making automation a breeze. Dropbox's integration with MS Office 365 Online now makes it possible to make edits to MS Word and Excel documents right from Dropbox. "Dropbox Transfer" allows you to share or transfer a large number of documents with others, right from Dropbox. And if you subscribe to the "Professional" level, you can "rewind" changes and deletions to folders and documents for 180 days.

Cons
Not really a Con, just wishful thinking on my part: Dropbox integrates with Adobe Sign, which is great. However, right now, there is no integration to Adobe Document Cloud, which would allow a user to do more with PDFs right from Dropbox. But it looks like they are headed in that direction soon. Also, I'm not crazy about the "per user" pricing structure, but that is how most services charge nowadays. I do wish that the "rewind" feature was available for the Business and Enterprise levels.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10