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Cloud Storage & File Sharing

Dropbox

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Panel rating · 6 judges · How to read the stars

Category median

Sovereignty: not determined

0–5 in half steps. 5 means the rubric's top anchor is met on the evidence.

by Dropbox, Inc. · www.dropbox.com

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Dropbox: AI-assisted analysis on whats-best.ai Dropbox: AI-assisted analysis on whats-best.ai (dark)

Add ?theme=dark to the image address for dark backgrounds. The badge shows the category and the month of the latest evaluation, and EU-Made where that is the product’s provenance. It never shows a score.

Dropbox at a glance

Vendor
Dropbox, Inc.
Headquarters
Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026
Data hosting
Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026
Free plan
Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026
Panel verdict
The AI panel rates Dropbox 3/5, the mean of 6 judges. Dropbox is a cloud storage and file-sharing service; customers outside North America contract with Dropbox International Unlimited Company in Dublin, while the terms are governed by California law with disputes in San Francisco courts. how scores are made
As of
Vendor pages captured 1 Nov 2026; evaluated by the panel 1 Nov 2026. all sources

Dropbox alternatives, European ones first →

Read this page as one judge. Each weighs the same scores by what they care about.

The Agency Producer

Weighted verdict

Producer at a 30-person video and design agency in Cologne that sends cuts, layouts and raw footage to customers every day and collects their feedback. Wants review links that play in the browser, comments on the file, transfers of 100 GB that do not stall, freelancers added for one project and removed after it, connections to Slack and the project tool, and a storage bill that does not jump when one shoot fills a terabyte.

Same scores as the panel view — this lens weights them the way this judge cares.

Scored by The Agency Producer

Panel median The Agency Producer This judge’s scores over the panel median. Each label opens its reasoning below.
Scores per criterion, in stars out of 5
Criterion Panel median The Agency Producer
Sync, clients & file access 3 of 5 3 of 5
Sharing & external collaboration 3.5 of 5 3.5 of 5
Encryption, key custody & recovery 4 of 5 3.5 of 5
Administration, audit & governance 3.5 of 5 3.5 of 5
Export, API & self-hosting 3 of 5 3 of 5
European sovereignty 1 of 5 1 of 5
Pricing transparency 2.5 of 5 3 of 5

Sync, clients & file access

How this is scored

How files reach the people who work with them: desktop clients for Windows, macOS and Linux, files on demand (virtual drive) and selective sync, offline access, mobile apps with camera upload and offline folders, a web interface, block-level or delta sync for large files, sync of folders outside the main folder, file size limits, preview of common formats, full-text search, and access through open protocols (WebDAV, SFTP, S3) or a mounted network drive.

0 — Not a file storage or sync product; files cannot be stored and synced with it.

3 — A web interface and apps for some platforms to upload and download files; desktop sync, files on demand, offline access and limits are basic or not described.

5 — Desktop sync clients for Windows and macOS, files on demand or selective sync, mobile apps with offline files and camera upload, a web interface with previews, file size limits stated, and search by file name.

8 — Clients for Windows, macOS and Linux, a virtual drive with files on demand, block-level or delta sync documented, full-text search inside documents, access via WebDAV, SFTP or S3, large-file handling stated, and LAN sync or a performance figure for big folders.

10 — File access that a whole organisation runs on: every platform covered with feature parity stated, sync conflicts and their resolution documented, open protocols and a mountable drive on every desktop, search across content and metadata with OCR, and sync behaviour and limits published in technical documentation.

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The Agency Producer

The captured pages show desktop apps for Windows and Mac with online-only files visible in the file explorer, offline folders on desktop and mobile, automatic sync, full-text and image search, previews, and file sizes up to the storage quota starting at 2 GB, backed by a 2023 commissioned study claiming Dropbox outperformed competitors in 86% of sync comparisons. For the rest of the top level — Linux clients, block-level sync, and access via WebDAV, SFTP or S3 — we found no public information. 3 14 15 4 11 10

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Sharing & external collaboration

How this is scored

How files are shared inside the team and with people outside it: shared team folders or spaces, share links with password, expiry, download limits and view-only or no-download mode, upload links (file requests) for customers, guest or external user accounts, link and access reports, notifications, watermarking, comments and file locking, editing of office documents in the browser together, large-file transfer, and an Outlook or Teams add-in for sending links instead of attachments.

0 — Files cannot be shared with anyone else.

3 — Folders and files can be shared with other users and by public link; link controls, upload links and external accounts are basic or not described.

5 — Shared team folders, share links with password and expiry, view-only links, upload links for external people, permissions per folder (view, edit), notifications on changes, and office documents opened and edited in the browser.

8 — Link policies the administrator sets (forced expiry, passwords, domains allowed), download limits and no-download view, watermarking, guest accounts with their own permissions, an access log per share, file locking and comments, co-editing documented with the editor named, and an Outlook or Teams add-in.

10 — External collaboration at the level of a data room: granular rights including print and download control on shared files, revocation that also reaches copies already opened, recipient identity verification, a complete record of who opened and downloaded what, and end-to-end encryption kept intact when sharing externally and when editing.

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The Agency Producer

Almost everything my studio sends out daily is documented: share links with password, expiry and disabled downloads, watermarking and file locking, file requests for clients without an account, Dropbox Transfer up to 100 GB with download tracking, and Replay with live review, versions and video commenting, plus admin-enforced passwords and expiry on external links and Microsoft Teams named among connected tools. Guest accounts with their own permissions and an add-in that swaps Outlook or Teams attachments for links are things we found no public information on. 1 4 5 11 16 6 2

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Encryption, key custody & recovery

How this is scored

How the files are protected and restored: encryption in transit and at rest, client-side or end-to-end encryption and whether it covers all folders, sharing and office editing, who holds the keys and what happens when a user loses theirs, customer-managed keys, two-factor authentication and single sign-on, version history and its length, a recycle bin, restore of a whole folder or account to a point in time after ransomware, ransomware detection, malware scanning, an independent security audit or penetration test, a bug bounty, and certifications (ISO 27001, SOC 2, BSI C5) with their scope. Where the data is stored is scored under sovereignty.

0 — Files are stored without any stated encryption and no account protection beyond a password.

3 — Encryption is mentioned and a recycle bin or version history exists; key custody, two-factor, restore after ransomware and audits are basic or not described.

5 — TLS in transit and AES encryption at rest stated, two-factor authentication, version history with its length stated, a recycle bin, the restore of deleted or overwritten files, and a security page naming at least one certification or audit.

8 — Client-side or end-to-end encryption documented with who holds the keys (or customer-managed keys), a whitepaper describing the scheme, single sign-on (SAML), restore of a folder or account to a point in time, ransomware detection or recovery documented, an independent audit or penetration test named, and ISO 27001, SOC 2 or BSI C5 stated with scope.

10 — Security that can be verified: zero-knowledge end-to-end encryption by default that stays on for sharing and editing, the cryptography published and externally audited with the report available, key recovery for organisations documented without the provider gaining access, open-source clients or a public bug bounty, and certifications published with their scope and date.

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The Agency Producer

AES-256 at rest, SSL/TLS in transit, two-factor and single sign-on, up to ten years of version history, Rewind of a whole account or folder after ransomware with documented recovery steps, a security whitepaper, and a list of SOC and ISO certifications are all stated. The advanced encryption option — team keys generated by AWS KMS, rotated every 12 months, revocable permanently only by three team admins — sits on Advanced and above, and we found no public information on customer-held keys or the scope of the certifications. 6 19 9 18 7 20 3

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Administration, audit & governance

How this is scored

What an administrator controls: an admin console with users, groups and roles, provisioning through Entra ID, Google or LDAP with SCIM, quotas per user or team, an audit log of logins, shares and file actions with export, retention policies and legal hold, data loss prevention or classification, device management with remote wipe and unlinking, policies for external sharing, account transfer when someone leaves, team folders that belong to the company rather than to a user, and reports on storage and sharing.

0 — No administration: every account is independent and nobody can manage the team's users or files.

3 — A team plan with an administrator who can invite and remove users; roles, audit log, retention and device controls are basic or not described.

5 — An admin console with users, groups and admin roles, quotas, an activity or audit log, policies for external sharing, file transfer when a user leaves, company-owned team folders, and remote unlinking of lost devices.

8 — Provisioning via SCIM or a directory (Entra ID, Google, LDAP), an exportable audit log covering logins, shares and file actions, retention policies and legal hold, remote wipe, IP or device restrictions, data classification or DLP, and integration with a SIEM.

10 — Governance a regulated organisation can sign off: granular delegated administration per department or tenant, retention and legal hold with eDiscovery export, DLP with content inspection, every admin and user action logged and streamed to a SIEM, and the audit log retention and completeness stated.

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The Agency Producer

The admin console evidence is deep: groups and roles with tiered admins, a filterable activity log exportable as CSV plus an Events API endpoint, retention policies and silent legal holds, remote wipe and device approvals, data classification with real-time DLP alerts, domain verification with account capture, and instant deactivation or transfer of departing users — exactly how I would run freelance crews per project. We found no public information on provisioning through a directory or SCIM, or on SIEM streaming. 21 9 20 11 4 22

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Export, API & self-hosting

How this is scored

Whether the files and their structure can leave and connect: a bulk export or download of all data with folders and versions, open protocols (WebDAV, S3, SFTP) usable for migration, a documented REST API and SDKs, webhooks, migration tools from Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive or a file server, integrations with office suites, Microsoft 365 and Teams, Slack, CRM and project tools, an app marketplace, open-source code, a self-hosted or on-premise edition, and deletion of data on termination.

0 — Files can only be downloaded one by one; no export, API or migration path.

3 — Files can be downloaded in bulk or as an archive; an API, migration tools, integrations and self-hosting are basic or not described.

5 — A documented API, bulk download of all files with the folder structure, a migration path from at least one named provider, integrations with named office and collaboration tools, and what happens to data after cancellation stated.

8 — A REST API with SDKs and webhooks, open-protocol access (WebDAV, S3 or SFTP) that makes migration tool-independent, migration tools in both directions or a supported migration service, an app marketplace, a self-hosted or on-premise edition, and deletion on termination under stated terms.

10 — The customer owns the data end to end: open-source code under a named licence that runs fully self-hosted with feature parity stated, a complete export including versions, shares and permissions in a documented format, and the deletion of every copy and backup on termination documented.

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The Agency Producer

API v2 is documented with SDKs in six languages, webhooks, and team plus audit-log endpoints, and there is a migration add-on powered by Movebot, sold through the sales team, that moves files and permissions from on-premise file servers and existing cloud storage into a team account. Machine-readable export and deletion of personal information 30 days after account deletion are stated; we found no public information on open protocols such as WebDAV, S3 or SFTP, or on a self-hosted edition. 10 22 23 12 13 2

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European sovereignty

How this is scored

Who the contracting entity and the parent company are, where files, metadata and backups are stored and processed, and who the subprocessors are (data centres, CDN, email that carries share notifications, support desk, payment, office editing). Independently sourced by the sovereignty pipeline; files hold the company's documents and personal data, so the whole chain counts, not only the storage. End-to-end encryption with keys only the customer holds reduces what a foreign provider could hand over but does not change who the provider is. A self-hosted edition the customer runs on its own European servers counts as the customer's chain, whatever the vendor's seat.

0 — Non-EU vendor and contracting entity, storage location unstated, subprocessors unnamed, and no data processing agreement offered.

3 — A privacy policy and a data processing agreement exist, but the storage location is unstated or non-EU and the subprocessors are not listed.

5 — EU storage available and an EU contracting entity or EU representative, but parts of the chain (account data, metadata, notifications, support, office editing, payment) run through non-EU providers without a stated safeguard, or the parent company is subject to non-EU disclosure laws.

8 — EU storage on named data centres, EU or EEA or Swiss contracting entity, subprocessors listed with their locations, a data processing agreement published, and security certifications (ISO 27001, BSI C5, SOC 2) stated — or a self-hosted edition documented that keeps every file on the customer's own servers.

10 — Sovereign end to end and evidenced: European ownership, entity, storage and every subprocessor, or a self-hosted open-source edition with no call home, data export and deletion documented, and certifications published with their scope rather than implied.

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The Agency Producer

Customers outside North America contract with Dropbox International Unlimited Company in Dublin, but the privacy policy only says data may be stored and processed in the United States and locations around the world, with EU-to-US transfers carried by Standard Contractual Clauses and the Data Privacy Framework under FTC oversight, and California law with San Francisco courts governing the terms. We found no public information on an EU hosting option, a subprocessor list, or a data processing agreement. 13 12 6

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Pricing transparency

How this is scored

Whether a buyer can compute the real annual cost from public pages alone: price per user or per plan, storage included per user or pooled, the minimum number of users, what extra storage costs, which features (end-to-end encryption, SSO, audit log, longer version history, data residency, advanced admin) need a higher tier or an add-on, the free tier and its limits, lifetime offers and their terms, the self-hosted edition's licence and support, minimum term and VAT.

0 — No public prices at all; every customer is a sales call.

3 — A starting price or a free tier exists, but how cost scales with users, storage or features is unclear.

5 — Business tiers are public with their price per user and storage included, but at least one commonly needed piece (extra storage, SSO, audit log, data residency, minimum users) is unpriced or "on request".

8 — Every tier priced publicly with its scaling rule (users, storage), extra storage and add-ons priced, minimum users and term stated, the self-hosted edition's licence and support cost stated, and VAT treatment stated.

10 — Complete price computability: annual cost derivable for a given team size, storage need and feature set, with every add-on, migration, support and overage fee and the cancellation and data-return terms published.

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The Agency Producer

Standard at €12 per user per month starting at 3,000 GB for the team and Advanced at €18 per user per month starting at 15 TB are public, with minimum users stated, restore windows of 180 days and one year, and transfer limits of 100 GB per tier. Enterprise is "Contact sales for pricing", the migration and data governance add-ons are sold through sales, some admin reports vary by plan, and we found no public information on the cost of storage beyond the starting pools or on VAT treatment. 11 16 6 1 23 21

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European sovereignty — proven facts

0 of 6 dimensions proven

Built only from facts shown on the vendor's own pages. A dimension we could not prove is left open, not scored as zero.

Hosting location Not determined ⚠ unverified — uncited Report an error
Hosting options Not determined — uncited Report an error
Open source Not determined — uncited Report an error
Data processing agreement Not determined — uncited Report an error
Transfer impact assessment Not determined — uncited Report an error

Questions about Dropbox

Is Dropbox European?

No. whats-best.ai classifies Dropbox as Rest of world.

Where does Dropbox store data?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026.

Does Dropbox have a free plan?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 1 Nov 2026.

What are the best alternatives to Dropbox?

As of 1 Nov 2026, the panel rates Nextcloud Files (Nextcloud Hub) (4/5), Tresorit (3.5/5) and Proton Drive (3/5) highest among the other 13 Cloud Storage & File Sharing products evaluated. The highest-rated European alternative is Nextcloud Files (Nextcloud Hub) (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: how scores are made. The full list, with European products first: Dropbox alternatives.

Where this could be wrong

What we left out

A claim that does not survive our checks costs us the claim, not the page. This is what was taken off this one.

Do you know more about Dropbox? Tell us Report an error on this page

Sources (23)

The pages every claim on this page was read from — each one checked, dated, and kept verifiable.

  1. 1 Vendor homepage (business) www.dropbox.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  2. 2 Features page www.dropbox.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  3. 3 Features page (sync) www.dropbox.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  4. 4 Features page (sharing) www.dropbox.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  5. 5 Features page (file transfer) www.dropbox.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  6. 6 Security / trust page www.dropbox.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  7. 7 Security / trust page (trust centre) www.dropbox.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  8. 8 Security / trust page (compliance) www.dropbox.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  9. 9 Security / trust page (privacy and governance) www.dropbox.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  10. 10 API documentation www.dropbox.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  11. 11 Pricing page www.dropbox.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  12. 12 Privacy policy www.dropbox.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  13. 13 Terms of service www.dropbox.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  14. 14 Sync, clients & file access — found from sitemap www.dropbox.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  15. 15 Sync, clients & file access — found from sitemap www.dropbox.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  16. 16 Sharing & external collaboration — found from sitemap www.dropbox.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  17. 17 Sharing & external collaboration — found from sitemap help.dropbox.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  18. 18 Encryption, key custody & recovery — found from sitemap help.dropbox.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  19. 19 Encryption, key custody & recovery — found from sitemap help.dropbox.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  20. 20 Administration, audit & governance — found from sitemap www.dropbox.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  21. 21 Administration, audit & governance — found from sitemap help.dropbox.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  22. 22 Export, API & self-hosting — found from sitemap www.dropbox.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →
  23. 23 Export, API & self-hosting — found from sitemap help.dropbox.com Checked 1 Nov 2026 Details →