Dropbox vs ownCloud comparison

Dropbox and ownCloud are both solutions in the Content Collaboration Platforms category. Dropbox is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.5, while ownCloud is ranked #20. Dropbox holds a 7.7% mindshare in CCP, compared to ownCloud’s 0.7% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of Dropbox users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of ownCloud users who would recommend it.

Dropbox

Read 90 Dropbox reviews

2,159 Views
1,530 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

ownCloud

Read 1 ownCloud review

122 Views
81 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Dropbox

ownCloud

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Dropbox and ownCloud based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Dropbox, Microsoft, Google and others in Content Collaboration Platforms.

To learn more, read our detailed Content Collaboration Platforms Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Content Collaboration Platforms

April 2025

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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

Dropbox

Ranking in Content Collaboration Platforms

1st

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Storage (5th)

ownCloud

Ranking in Content Collaboration Platforms

20th

Average Rating

10.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Content Collaboration Platforms category, the mindshare of Dropbox is 7.7%, down from 12.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ownCloud is 0.7%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Content Collaboration Platforms

Featured Reviews

Edgar Paez

Measurement Manager at A3E Ingenieros

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.

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Stephen Colebrook

Solutions Architect at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Self-hosted file sync tool used to deploy custom web UIs.

I think it’s probably the best self-hosted file sync tool on the market. It’s a full web application platform, an indispensable tool for a business of any size that needs to deploy any kind of custom web UI. If you build an ownCloud app, you’ve got authentication, storage, security, caching, and database layers already fully baked for you. You just need to build your UI and custom logic. Your app doesn’t even need to interact with files, sync, or interact with other ownCloud features. Any web UI can be included without ownCloud. It can even be a portal to web interfaces of other applications within a business using the external app to display external sites within ownCloud. This is the case as long as that site allows itself to be displayed within a frame.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The scalability is great for us."

"Reliability is the most valuable feature."

"I can edit my files online, and I like the comments option."

"The initial setup is extremely easy."

"A valuable feature is that it stores my files and photos. I'm satisfied with this product."

"Dropbox is a very easy-to-use site that allows me to save files to the cloud for retrieval from almost any device (laptop, iPhone, iPad, etc...)."

"The way the tool is designed and using the tool itself is quite transparent."

"The various methods for accessing files, such as through mobile apps, online synchronization, and on a PC, are highly valuable."

More Dropbox pros

"I think it’s probably the best self-hosted file sync tool on the market."

Cons

"File version control can be improved. It generates a lot of conflicts when people are working on the same file. Its integration with other solutions can be improved in terms of user experience. Integration is there, and it has connectors for Excel, Word, and other solutions, but it is not very friendly. There should be a better user experience."

"Dropbox could improve by increasing its storage."

"They can maybe provide a bit more free space. By default, they give you 2 Gigabytes. The storage space could be a bit more."

"Dropbox could probably be improved around the integrated security, but those options are probably available. I don't have much of a view on improvements, based on the relatively few occasions that I use it."

"Sometimes, it takes a while to start Dropbox services and files are not synced."

"It is difficult to set up. I'd rate the solution maybe a six or seven out of ten."

"The pricing could be better and so could the amount of storage space. I feel like for the price, they don't offer very much storage space, especially when compared to competitors like Google."

"The arrangement of documents can be simplified. Personally, I am used to it, but for a new user, it might be a little confusing. It can maybe have a feature to allow people to collaborate or work on the same document at the same time. I'm just using it to load and access information, and I haven't faced many challenges. However, I have seen that the whole system or laptop slows down a bit when I am synchronizing files to Dropbox. I don't know if it is because of my system. It might be good if they can enhance the synchronization process so that we can specify that synchronization should be done after 30 minutes. In addition, synchronization should only be done for the documents that have been uploaded."

More Dropbox cons

"Even with fast disks, it still takes a fair bit of time to write most schema changes to multi-GB tables."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I need to pay towards the licensing costs attached to the solution. The solution is expensive."

"I was using the free version of the product."

"The solution is purchased on a subscription basis, and there are purchasing options. If you purchase annually there is a discount."

"The pricing for non-corporations is expensive. They have raised their prices and have low storage capacity."

"We pay for the license yearly."

"The pricing varies depending on the version, and the one we currently utilize is the business version."

"I am on a monthly subscription for the solution and I am somewhat satisfied with the pricing. However, the price could a bit better."

"You pay as you go, which is a good thing. There is a monthly fee, and you can also pay annually. This flexibility makes the subscription easier and affordable for some of us. I prefer yearly pricing, which is also slightly cheaper than monthly pricing."

More Dropbox pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

67%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

University

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Dropbox?

For me, the biggest thing is version history. I can easily go back and view older versions.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dropbox?

We are using the free version of Dropbox.

See all answers

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...

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Comparisons

ShareFile vs Dropbox

Compared 17% of the time

LucidLink vs Dropbox

Compared 14% of the time

SharePoint vs Dropbox

Compared 13% of the time

Google Workspace vs Dropbox

Compared 10% of the time

Microsoft OneDrive vs Dropbox

Compared 10% of the time

More Dropbox Competitors

No data available

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Dropbox

May 2025

Download Dropbox product report

Buyer's Guide

Content Collaboration Platforms

April 2025

Download ownCloud product report

Overview

Dropbox is utilized for storing and sharing files, synchronizing documents across multiple devices, and ensuring data backups for both personal and professional use.

Users rely on Dropbox for collaborating on projects, managing personal storage, and exchanging files. It is often used for file version control, meeting notes, and as a central storage unit. Dropbox provides seamless data access across desktops, laptops, mobiles, and the cloud. It is valued for its accessibility, synchronization, strong security, user-friendly interface, robust sharing capabilities, Microsoft Office integration, efficient performance, and reliable storage. It supports multiple users, real-time editing, offers backup options, and has free usage tiers. Dropbox manages large files, maintains version history, and allows external sharing without extra costs. However, there are areas for improvement in security and privacy, pricing, storage capacity, and tool integration. Users experience synchronization issues, limited collaboration features, and a need for better real-time editing. Improvements are also desired in mobile access, search functionality, and setup complexity, alongside better performance and scalability.

What are Dropbox's most important features?

Easy accessibility from any device
Seamless synchronization
Strong security
User-friendly interface
Robust sharing capabilities
Integration with Microsoft Office
Efficient performance
Reliable storage
Real-time editing support
Backup options and free usage tiers

What are the benefits or ROI to look for in reviews?

Seamless data access across devices
Enhanced collaboration on projects
Strong security measures
Efficient document management
Real-time editing for teamwork
Cost efficiency with free tiers
Reliability in storage and backups

Dropbox is implemented diversely across industries, including legal, healthcare, and media. Legal firms use it for secure document storage and sharing. Healthcare professionals rely on it for maintaining patient records while ensuring compliance with privacy laws. Media companies utilize Dropbox for collaborative projects and managing large multimedia files efficiently.

Dropbox

Software suite that provides a location-independent storage area for data (cloud storage). ownCloud can be installed on a private server at no additional cost.

ownCloud

Sample Customers

Vita Coco, BCBGMAXAZRIA Group, Centric Project, Kayak, FourSquare, Asana, Huge Adversting , USA Gymnastics, Appen, Valliant, Radio Lab

CERN, Joy Global, Sciebo, Bauhaus, datto

Buyer's Guide

Content Collaboration Platforms

April 2025

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Find out what your peers are saying about Dropbox, Microsoft, Google and others in Content Collaboration Platforms. Updated: April 2025.

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We monitor all Content Collaboration Platforms reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.