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Dropbox vs Panzura CloudFS comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 12, 2025

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 Cloud Storage
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
90
Ranking in other categories
Content Collaboration Platforms (1st)
Panzura CloudFS
Ranking in Cloud Storage
13th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
File System Software (4th), NAS (11th), Cloud Storage Gateways (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Cloud Storage category, the mindshare of Dropbox is 4.9%, down from 6.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Panzura CloudFS is 5.7%, up from 5.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud Storage
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Andy Knauf - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable file management and disaster recovery with minimal overwrites
For me, it is the stability aspect. It is a lot more stable now than it ever has been, but just keeping that stability is important. Previously, a new update would come out, and there might be something wrong with it, or it may not sync up as well as it should, or it may cause something to lose access to the server. We have had some problems in the past, but in the last couple of years, we have not had any issues like we had early on. There could be a slightly better dashboard or a better pane of glass. When something goes wrong somewhere, there should be a little bit better alerting with issues before they become a big problem.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of Dropbox is its user-friendliness. You can drag and drop files you want to store easily. Additionally, the speed of the solution is great if you have a fast connection."
"I think Dropbox is a good option for Windows users because it's easy to use in Windows and a user can access all other products and software."
"Dropbox allows me to organize files well. I can name files in such a way as to lead students to the right destination."
"Many people can use the Dropbox service and edit the data, it is simple to use."
"It is straightforward and works seamlessly."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is user-friendly."
"Setting up DropBox is straightforward, and one person can do it in less than five minutes."
"The features that I find most valuable are the ability to sync across devices, easily access/share files and organize them among myself and my team."
"Its most valuable features are the collaboration, the file snapshots, and the data protection the solution provides."
"What I appreciate most about Panzura CloudFS is that it really solves the problem we had when we moved all our server workloads to Azure, reducing our on-prem data center footprint sizably."
"The main thing in Panzura is that there are three key components: PanFS, NAS, and collaboration. These are strong features, and a big benefit is that you can access everything from anywhere."
"Panzura has not increased its data storage costs."
"It is a very solid product. We keep all of our older files on their system. It is easy to restore if a file gets deleted. We have good disaster recovery. It is very reliable and very quick, and we do not have files that get overwritten because it locks the file."
"What I appreciate most about Panzura CloudFS is that it really solves the problem we had when we moved all our server workloads to Azure, reducing our on-prem data center footprint sizably. We don't have to maintain a huge on-prem storage array, which is nice. It just works, and we haven't had any issues this whole time."
"Primarily, it is the way Panzura CloudFS handles the file locks and the way these filers, along with the authoritative copy of all our data, which is about 27 terabytes located in an AWS bucket in the cloud, operate."
"The core function of Panzura CloudFS, with its synchronizing of files across multiple servers, provides us with a much more efficient workflow for our production staff."
 

Cons

"They can do the scanning of viruses, and they can also do malware detection when they do the synchronization."
"I see that if you use a mobile device that does not allow you to properly configure the email part with Dropbox, then you cannot access it."
"Improve the ease of use. Sometimes, occasional users struggle to login again and access documents."
"One area of improvement would be to allow multiple users to edit a file simultaneously and see edits in real time, similar to OneDrive."
"The product could always offer more storage."
"Dropbox could make the installation and the log of what has changed in a file easier. Showing logs could be more accessible."
"Currently, it permits up to five users, but for larger families, it would be beneficial to have a more flexible offering."
"The price for storage space is a little expensive."
"It has not reduced the data storage cost."
"Master Snapshot feature is the only exceptional feature, but the rest of the features are similar to other storage solutions."
"There are a few file types that do not work well with Panzura CloudFS."
"It should be easy for people not on the network to connect and access their files."
"There are a few file types that do not work well with Panzura CloudFS. Specifically, the GIS data formats, such as a geo database, have been found better kept outside of Panzura CloudFS."
"One area for improvement regarding Panzura CloudFS is moving away from on-prem or local Active Directory. We're exploring a transition to Azure AD or Entra ID, aiming to keep the product functional without heavy reliance on the local Active Directory."
"It would be nice if Panzura offered data in increments instead of 25 terabytes per license."
"Previously, a new update would come out, and there might be something wrong with it, or it may not sync up as well as it should, or it may cause something to lose access to the server."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is expensive."
"We are using the unlicensed free version of Dropbox."
"A basic version of Dropbox is available for free with a paid subscription from Microsoft."
"The solution is paid for annually."
"We pay for the license yearly."
"My company makes monthly payments towards the licensing charges associated with the product. I think it's a reasonably priced product."
"The pricing for non-corporations is expensive. They have raised their prices and have low storage capacity."
"I am using the free solution, which provides me with 2GBs of storage, and for me, it's sufficient."
"The pricing seems high on certain products and features, such as the audit feature of Panzura Data Services. They should consider more attractive pricing for companies of our size. The renewals are yearly, but the pricing is a little high for us."
"It's competitive. I don't know what competitors are charging, but they have been very transparent, which is nice, and we've negotiated to avoid percentage increases."
"It is not bad. It is like everything else. Pricing has gone up quite over the last couple of years, but everybody's pricing has gone up. For what they deliver, it is right in line with what everybody else has."
"The solution's pricing is on the expensive side."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
66%
Computer Software Company
4%
Financial Services Firm
3%
University
3%
Computer Software Company
16%
Construction Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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.
What needs improvement with Dropbox?
I would like to have a document flow. Sharing documents with other people in the same division or department and being able to work without downloading the file would be ideal. Working online would...
What are the products that Panzura provides?
Panzura offers four main products: CloudFS, data services, smart apps, and global services. They call this "all-in-one solution" and it's for end-to-end cloud data management. Why is it called that...
What kind of industries does Panzura serve?
Hello, I think businesses from all industries that have their data on a cloud can benefit from Panzura. Especially if you have offices in various locations or your employees are working from home a...
Why was Panzura acquired? Is the acquisition going to cause a change?
I think Panzura may change in a positive direction now that it's been bought by Profile Capital. That's a very big investment company for technology businesses and I think it's an opportunity for ...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
Panzura Freedom
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Vita Coco, BCBGMAXAZRIA Group, Centric Project, Kayak, FourSquare, Asana, Huge Adversting , USA Gymnastics, Appen, Valliant, Radio Lab
Petrofac, Komatsu, HCA Healthcare, Vanguard, Disney, Pokemon, US Department of Justice, Gensler, Fluor, AFRY, Milwaukee Tool, Navy Federal Credit Union, TechTarget
Find out what your peers are saying about Dropbox vs. Panzura CloudFS and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,963 professionals have used our research since 2012.