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Azure Data Lake Storage vs Dropbox comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 17, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Azure Data Lake Storage
Ranking in Cloud Storage
10th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Dropbox
Ranking in Cloud Storage
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
90
Ranking in other categories
Content Collaboration Platforms (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Cloud Storage category, the mindshare of Azure Data Lake Storage is 1.0%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dropbox is 5.1%, down from 5.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud Storage
 

Featured Reviews

Chetan Jayatheertha - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides valuable features such as access keys, container strings, lifecycle management, audit logs, and the soft delete option
Data Lake Storage provides valuable features such as access keys, container strings, lifecycle management, audit logs, and the soft delete option. These features help in cost-saving and provide an excellent mechanism for backing up data. Furthermore, Data Lake Storage can interact with any other Azure resources, providing seamless integration and connectivity.
Edgar  Paez - PeerSpot reviewer
Work from anywhere and backup easily while being practical
I recommend Dropbox, yet not for all of the features it has. I am a basic user. In a personal mode, we have about 100 employees, and maybe 20 of them use Dropbox as a personal backup system. ShareFile is more secure than Dropbox. Five years ago, ShareFile was qualified as having better security control, access privilege management, and version control recovery, among many features that we were using for private documentation. Overall, I would rate Dropbox an eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The tool offers a big storage layer. The security aspect is quite good. In Azure, there's an option for soft deletes and policy management. This allows us to store only the most up-to-date data while everything else can be policy-managed. This makes handling and management easier."
"The solution's most valuable feature is its simplicity of configuration and setup."
"I also like its speed. It's basically built on Azure Blob Storage, which was already fast. But Azure Data Lake Storage adds the hierarchical structure for even better performance."
"The solution is worth the money because it allows you to gain insights into your business and implement forecasting solutions to predict future trends."
"We can implement one framework and utilize it for multiple use cases."
"The tool's most valuable feature is security access policies."
"Microsoft is quite good when it comes to integration. They have multiple connectors available and different ingestion and integration processes available."
"Data Lake Storage provides valuable features such as access keys, container strings, lifecycle management, audit logs, and the soft delete option."
"The search functionality and the ability to preview images are quite good."
"It offers convenience. It can connect with all devices that you own."
"The scalability is great for us."
"I use the product to open files."
"Dropbox offers 24-hour support, both through chat and limited hour calls."
"Setting up DropBox is straightforward, and one person can do it in less than five minutes."
"Many people can use the Dropbox service and edit the data, it is simple to use."
"We haven't had any issues at all with the solution."
 

Cons

"The documentation could be more user-friendly with better tutorials."
"The high price of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"If tools like Azure Data Lake Storage are enabled within the tool named Azure Storage Explorer, then it would be of tremendous help, but it can be really tricky."
"Improvement is needed in the migration process from Lakehouse to Enterprise Data Lake (EDL). Currently, migration is only one-way possible, and it would be beneficial if this aspect could be improved."
"The version was a bit outdated compared to the newer Microsoft Data Fabric offerings."
"Some terminology is not easy to understand when using some interfaces."
"Improvement is needed in the migration process from Lakehouse to Enterprise Data Lake (EDL)."
"Simple migrations from one data lake to another take too much time and could be improved."
"The interface could have bigger buttons."
"The product must provide users with the ability to edit and modify documents."
"While generally user-friendly, there is room for improvement in the user interface, especially with the introduction of new integrations and features."
"I would like to see more storage included and more lessons on how to optimize it."
"There is a potential improvement regarding storage capacity and offering more than its current four gigabytes."
"One area of improvement would be to allow multiple users to edit a file simultaneously and see edits in real time, similar to OneDrive."
"I cannot edit a document at the same time as another user."
"The product's high price is an area of concern where improvements are required."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"From one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the product price as five."
"The tool's licensing model is pay-as-you-go. Regarding pricing, there's always competition between Azure Data Lake Storage and AWS. They're quite similar, but to attract more customers, Azure Data Lake Storage could consider adjusting its pricing to be more competitive with AWS. This might make Azure Data Lake Storage a more appealing option for users."
"It costs just a few dollars per terabyte per month."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."
"Compared to other options we've explored, I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"It's a pay-as-you-go model. Your charges are based on the amount of data you store."
"Pricing is tricky because it depends on the solution you're building and the type of Data Lake storage you use—hot or cold."
"One of the most affordable products from the vendor"
"Given the price and limitations, there are more competitive options available."
"The pricing varies depending on the version, and the one we currently utilize is the business version."
"A basic version of Dropbox is available for free with a paid subscription from Microsoft."
"I use the free version of the solution."
"I need to pay towards the licensing costs attached to the solution. The solution is expensive."
"The solution allows one only a certain amount of free storage, but he must pay for a subscription, perhaps on a six-month basis, if he wishes to maintain this."
"The solution is purchased on a subscription basis, and there are purchasing options. If you purchase annually there is a discount."
"I was using the free version of the product."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Educational Organization
53%
Computer Software Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Construction Company
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Azure Data Lake Storage?
The tool's most valuable feature is security access policies.
What needs improvement with Azure Data Lake Storage?
The speed of support response needs to improve, especially for critical, high-priority issues. Having a quick SLA response time is crucial.
What do you like most about Dropbox?
For me, the biggest thing is version history. I can easily go back and view older versions.
What needs improvement with Dropbox?
One area of improvement would be to allow multiple users to edit a file simultaneously and see edits in real time, similar to OneDrive. In Dropbox, once a file is opened on one system, it locks the...
 

Comparisons

No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Vita Coco, BCBGMAXAZRIA Group, Centric Project, Kayak, FourSquare, Asana, Huge Adversting , USA Gymnastics, Appen, Valliant, Radio Lab
Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Data Lake Storage vs. Dropbox and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
859,129 professionals have used our research since 2012.