Dropbox alternatives: where to go and how to leave without losing anything
Six destinations, one per reason for leaving, and an eight-step plan to get your files out.
The short answer: pCloud if you want to pull your Dropbox in without downloading it and pay once, OneDrive if you already pay for Microsoft 365 ($99.99 a year for 1 TB on Personal), Sync.com for several terabytes at a clear price, Proton Drive for a free tier with docs and sheets built in, Koofr to copy cloud to cloud, Filen to pay for exactly the space you use. If your company runs on Google Workspace, Google now has a native Dropbox migration tool too. Two things before you pick. Export your Paper docs one by one first, because no migration tool carries them. And cancel just before your renewal date: Dropbox rarely refunds. We compared all six destinations and checked their pricing and import options in 2026.
Our ranking is editorial: a sponsored spot is always labeled on its card, and no affiliate link changes a rating.
Why people leave Dropbox, and why the exit needs a plan
The Dropbox folder is still easy to live with. People leave for other reasons: a free tier that got tight, big jumps between plans, Mac changes that broke old setups, and an exit with more traps than you'd expect. These six come up again and again in forums and in Dropbox's own help center.
2 GB and three devices on the free plan
Basic gives you 2 GB and syncs on three devices at a time. Link a fourth and Dropbox asks you to unlink one. The website doesn't count, but a laptop, a phone and a tablet already hit the cap. Plenty of people leave right there instead of paying.
Nothing between 2 GB and 2 TB
Plus costs $9.99 a month for 2 TB and one person. Standard is $15 per user a month, Advanced $24. If you have 300 GB of files, you still pay for 2 TB. That gap is what sends people to pay-as-you-grow services like Filen or one-time plans like pCloud's.
On a Mac, the folder lives where macOS says
With the macOS File Provider integration, Dropbox keeps its folder in ~/Library/CloudStorage. You can no longer put it on an external drive, which hurts photographers and video editors. Symlinks to outside folders stopped syncing, and a Dropbox employee on the official forum advises against them.
Products shut down in 2025
Dropbox closed Dropbox Passwords, Vault and Capture in 2025. If you used them, you've already moved part of your data elsewhere. That's often when people ask whether their files should stay put too.
Hard-to-reach support, few refunds
Public reviews of Dropbox are harsh: 1.3 out of 5 across more than 1,600 reviews, 78% of them one star. The complaints repeat: no way to reach a person, and no pro-rata refund when you downgrade. Dropbox's help center agrees on the second point: payments are generally non-refundable.
An exit full of small traps
Paper docs don't download like files. The website zip refuses folders over 250 GB or over 10,000 files. Shared links don't follow you. Version history stays behind. None of it is a disaster if you know in advance, which is what the second half of this guide is for.
You're leaving because… go with…
The right Dropbox alternative depends on what's pushing you out. One line usually fits you better than the rest. Each card jumps to the full write-up below. If your company runs on Google Workspace, skip the cards: a super admin can pull Dropbox in from the Admin console under Data, then Data migration. To compare drives without the migration angle, see our ranking of cloud file sharing tools.
2 TB for $499 once, plus a direct import from Dropbox.
You already pay for Word and ExcelOneDrive1 TB included in Microsoft 365 Personal, $99.99 a year.
You have several terabytesSync.com5 TB on Solo for $21 a month billed yearly, first year.
You want a useful free tierProton Drive5 GB free with Docs and Sheets, more than double Dropbox Basic.
You don't want to download everythingKoofrConnect your Dropbox and copy cloud to cloud.
You only need a few hundred GBFilenStackable tiers from 200 GiB for €1.99 a month.
Dropbox alternatives, one by one
For each tool: why move there, who it fits, its limit, how to bring your Dropbox over, and what it costs. Prices are what each vendor showed in 2026, in its own currency: US dollars for most, euros for Koofr and Filen. Check the final amount at checkout.
pCloud: direct import and a one-time price
Our top pickWhy move to pCloud. It's the easiest way out. pCloud's Backups section imports from third-party services: connect your Dropbox (or Dropbox Business) account and pCloud copies the files on its side. Nothing goes through your computer or your home connection. And you can pay once: 2 TB for life costs $499, against $9.99 a month for the same space on Dropbox Plus. That's about four years of Plus.
Who it's for. Individuals and freelancers with 500 GB to 2 TB of photos, video or archives who are tired of subscriptions. Mac users leaving Dropbox like its lighter client and LAN sync.
Who it's not for. Teams that share folders all day with fine-grained permissions. Lifetime plans are built for one person.
The catch. The import is one-off and started by hand: files added to Dropbox after the copy don't follow. User reports on sync are mixed, rock solid for some, silently stalling now and then for others. Keep an eye on sync status for the first few weeks.
How to move. Backups, then Third-party, then Dropbox. Run it once your Dropbox is tidy, and again right before you cancel to catch the last files.
- Lifetime
- 500 GB $219, 2 TB $499, 10 TB $1,499
- Dropbox import
- yes, cloud to cloud
- Best for
- individuals, freelancers
- Catch
- one-off import, no ongoing sync
OneDrive: the obvious move if you live in Office
For Microsoft 365 usersWhy move to OneDrive. If you already pay for Microsoft 365, you have 1 TB of storage sitting there. Personal is $99.99 a year (or $9.99 a month). Family covers up to six people for $129.99 a year ($12.99 a month). Compare that with $9.99 a month for Dropbox Plus and Office on top.
Who it's for. Households and solo pros who live in Word, Excel and Outlook. For companies, Microsoft ships an official Dropbox migration tool, Migration Manager, run from the Microsoft 365 admin center.
Who it's not for. Anyone who doesn't want Office. The storage comes bundled with the suite.
The catch. Migration Manager moves only the latest version of each file. It doesn't recreate external sharing links and skips Paper docs. Rename a folder mid-migration and it copies everything twice.
How to move. For a company: admin center, Migration Manager, sign in with a Dropbox admin account, scan, pick paths, map identities, migrate. On your own: sync Dropbox locally with the desktop app, then drop the folder into OneDrive.
- Personal
- 1 TB, $99.99/yr or $9.99/mo
- Family
- up to 6 people, $129.99/yr
- Company tool
- Migration Manager
- Catch
- no versions or external links moved
Sync.com: lots of space, clear pricing
Big volumesWhy move to Sync.com. For volume. Personal gives you 1 TB for $9 a month billed yearly in year one ($108), Solo 5 TB for $21 a month billed yearly. A 30-day trial lets you check the app before paying.
Who it's for. Creators and freelancers with several terabytes who want one predictable bill per terabyte.
Who it's not for. Anyone looking at the year-two price. The intro rate lasts one year: Personal then renews at $12 a month billed yearly ($16 monthly), Solo at $28 ($32 monthly).
The catch. Sync.com doesn't mention any import from Dropbox, so everything goes through your computer.
How to move. Download with the Dropbox desktop app, then upload with the Sync app. Use the trial to move one test folder before you switch everything.
- Personal
- 1 TB, $9/mo billed yearly, year 1
- Solo
- 5 TB, $21/mo billed yearly, year 1
- Trial
- 30 days
- Catch
- higher price from year two
Proton Drive: a free tier that actually helps
Best free tierWhy move to Proton Drive. The free plan gives you 5 GB, more than double Dropbox Basic, with a document editor (Docs) and spreadsheets (Sheets). Drive Plus goes to 200 GB for $4.99 a month, Unlimited to 500 GB for $12.99.
Who it's for. People who fit in a few hundred gigabytes and want their services under one roof. One former Dropbox user on a forum says he moved everything into Proton Unlimited.
Who it's not for. Anyone with several terabytes: past 500 GB you need Duo (2 TB, $19.99) or Family (3 TB, $29.99).
The catch. No direct import from Dropbox. Everything goes through your computer, which takes a while on a slow line.
How to move. Proton's own guide: download from Dropbox, upload with the Proton Drive desktop app (it resumes after a drop, the browser doesn't), then unzip if needed.
- Free
- 5 GB
- Drive Plus
- 200 GB, $4.99/mo
- Professional
- 1 TB per user, $9.99/mo
- Catch
- no direct import
Koofr: copy cloud to cloud, no download
No-download transferWhy move to Koofr. Koofr connects to your Dropbox account. Once linked, you pick folders in the web app and choose Copy or Move to Koofr. The transfer runs server to server. Pricing is in euros: 100 GB for €2, 1 TB for €10, 2.5 TB for €20 a month.
Who it's for. Anyone on a slow connection or with a laptop too small to hold their whole Dropbox, who likes the idea of a European host.
Who it's not for. Anyone hoping to keep Dropbox synced on their computer through Koofr. The Koofr desktop client doesn't sync external clouds.
The catch. Connections to other clouds need a paid plan, with a cap on linked accounts per provider (3, 6 or 10 depending on the plan). Paid plans are billed yearly only.
How to move. Get a paid plan, link Dropbox, copy folder by folder starting with what matters most, then compare file counts on both sides.
- Free
- 10 GB
- Paid
- 1 TB, €10/mo, billed yearly
- Dropbox import
- yes, cloud to cloud
- Catch
- connections on paid plans only
Filen: pay for exactly what you store
Tight budgetWhy move to Filen. To pay for the space you actually use. Monthly tiers run from 200 GiB for €1.99 to 500 GiB for €3.99, 2 TiB for €8.99 and 10 TiB for €39.99. Tiers stack on one account, so you add one when you grow.
Who it's for. Someone with a few hundred gigabytes who finds paying for 2 TB on Dropbox silly. Forum users describe the app as snappy.
Who it's not for. A company that needs central admin and a migration tool for its teams.
The catch. It's a small vendor next to Dropbox or Microsoft, and there's no Dropbox import.
How to move. Sync Dropbox locally with the desktop app, then drop the folder into the Filen app.
- 200 GiB
- €1.99/mo
- 2 TiB
- €8.99/mo
- Best for
- small volume, tight budget
- Catch
- no Dropbox import
The 6 alternatives at a glance
Our default pick: pCloud for an individual who wants out without downloading anything, OneDrive if you already pay for Microsoft 365. For scale, 2 TB costs $9.99 a month on Dropbox, €8.99 a month on Filen and $499 once on pCloud. The right column says how your Dropbox gets there.
| Entry price | How your Dropbox gets there | |
|---|---|---|
| DropboxWhere you start | Basic 2 GB free; Plus 2 TB, $9.99/mo | web zip capped at 250 GB and 10,000 files; Paper exported separately |
| pCloudPay once | 500 GB lifetime, $219 | direct import from Dropbox (Backups) |
| OneDriveWith Office | Personal 1 TB, $99.99/yr | Migration Manager for companies, desktop app otherwise |
| Sync.comBig volumes | 1 TB, $9/mo billed yearly, year 1 | download then upload; 30-day trial |
| Proton DriveFree tier | 5 GB free; 200 GB, $4.99/mo | download then upload with the desktop app |
| KoofrCloud to cloud | 10 GB free; 100 GB, €2/mo billed yearly | direct copy from Dropbox (paid plan) |
| FilenPay per tier | 200 GiB, €1.99/mo | download then upload with the app |
Prices shown by each vendor in 2026, in its own currency, subject to change. Koofr and Filen bill in euros.
Leaving Dropbox in eight steps
Budget a week for a personal account, more for a team. Order matters: steps 2 to 4 happen while your subscription is still running.
Take stock of what you're moving
Day 1Write down your Dropbox size, the file count of your biggest folders, your Paper docs, the folders others share with you and your public links. Also list everything that writes to Dropbox on its own: a Make scenario, an n8n workflow, a scanning app, a phone backup. If you automate with Dropbox, our Dropbox n8n integration page helps you spot what will need rewiring.
- Time
- one hour
- Risk if rushed
- an automation writing into the void
Export Paper docs one by one
FirstPaper docs now live in Dropbox as .paper files, but they aren't real files: nothing else opens them. Open each doc, hit the "•••" menu, Export, and pick .docx, .md or .pdf. Bulk export only exists on the old version of Paper. If you have dozens, rclone exports them as HTML or Markdown in one command.
Microsoft Migration Manager doesn't move .paper files, so at a company this step stays manual.
- Formats
- .docx, .md, .pdf
- Trap
- no bulk export on new Paper
Save the old versions you need
Before cancelingVersion history doesn't travel: migration tools copy only the latest version. Basic and Plus keep 30 days of history. If a contract or a bookkeeping file has a version you care about, restore it and save it separately. Upgrading won't help: extended history isn't applied to past edits.
- History
- 30 days on Basic and Plus
- Deleted files
- 30 days (Plus), 180 (Standard), 1 year (Advanced)
List your shared links and folders
Before cancelingNo tool rebuilds your public links, so clients and coworkers will land on an error page. Open the shared links page in Dropbox and note the ones that matter. For folders shared with other people, write down who has access: you'll reshare at the new place. At a company, Migration Manager reshares only if you map identities, and never with outside people.
- Where
- the shared links page
- Rebuilt automatically
- never
Copy: cloud to cloud, or through your computer
Days 2 to 5Three routes. Cloud to cloud with pCloud or Koofr: nothing goes through your connection. An admin tool at a company: Migration Manager to OneDrive, SharePoint or Teams, or Google Workspace's data migration to Drive, which handles up to 150 users or team folders at once and picks up later changes. Your computer for every other destination.
If it goes through your computer, skip the website zip: it refuses folders over 250 GB or over 10,000 files, subfolders included. Use the desktop app and make the folder available offline. For big volumes, rclone copies straight from one cloud to another; turn on its batch upload mode or Dropbox's API rate limits will slow you down.
- Web zip
- under 250 GB and 10,000 files
- Google Workspace
- 150 users at once
Check what's missing
Day 5Compare file counts and sizes of the big folders on both sides. With rclone, "rclone check" lists the differences between Dropbox and the destination. Open a dozen heavy files at random (videos, archives): an interrupted transfer sometimes leaves a truncated file with the right name.
- Tool
- rclone check
- Open
- a dozen heavy files
Reshare and tell people
Day 6Recreate shared folders and the links that matter at the new place, then send the new addresses to the people who need them. Rewire your automations. At a company, don't rename anything during the migration: Migration Manager would copy it all again. A rerun only copies changes.
- Tell
- clients, coworkers, accountant
- Rewire
- scenarios and apps
Cancel at the right moment, keep Basic for a while
Day 7You cancel online and it takes effect at the end of the billing cycle, so cancel a few days before renewal, not the day after. Payments are generally non-refundable; only EU, UK and Turkey customers can get one back by canceling within 14 days. Bought through Apple or Google? The refund request goes to them. Don't file a chargeback: Dropbox downgrades the account and locks a team.
Your account then drops to Basic. Nothing is deleted right away, but sync stops above 2 GB. Keep that free account a few weeks to double-check, and sign in at least once a year: Dropbox deletes Basic accounts inactive for 12 months.
- Refunds
- EU, UK, Turkey within 14 days
- After
- Basic 2 GB, sync stops above
Is your tool missing from this page? Email us: hello@hackceleration.com
What makes a Dropbox exit go wrong
The failed moves people describe in forums almost never come from the new tool. They come from six things forgotten on the Dropbox side. If you'd rather compare drives without the migration angle, see our ranking of cloud file sharing tools.
Copying the .paper files as is
A Paper doc copied elsewhere won't open. Export each doc to .docx or .md before you leave: it's the one thing you can lose for good.
Zipping the whole account from the website
Past 250 GB or 10,000 files, the download fails with "Tried to pack too many files". Split it into batches, or use the desktop app.
Forgetting public links
pCloud, Koofr and Migration Manager don't recreate shared links. A quote or portfolio link you sent last year will show an error. List them before canceling.
Canceling the day after renewal
Cancellation runs to the end of the cycle and Dropbox doesn't prorate. Outside the EU, UK and Turkey, a year paid yesterday is gone.
Leaving a full Basic account idle
After the downgrade, an account over 2 GB stops syncing, and staying over for long can lead to deletions. A Basic account idle for 12 months is closed and can't be reopened.
Switching on a Mac without checking the folder location
If you're leaving because Dropbox won't sit on your external drive, check that the new tool allows it before paying. Mac users leaving in forums mostly name pCloud, Syncthing or iCloud Drive.
- Paper docs exported to .docx, .md or .pdf
- Size and file count of big folders written down
- Important versions restored and saved separately
- Public links and shared folders listed
- Copy done with the desktop app or cloud to cloud, not the web zip
- Differences checked (rclone check or file counts)
- Automations pointed at the new destination
- Canceled a few days before renewal
- Basic account kept and signed into during the check period
Dropbox alternatives: frequently asked questions
What is the best free alternative to Dropbox?
Koofr gives you 10 GB free and Proton Drive 5 GB with Docs and Sheets, against 2 GB on Dropbox Basic. Box also has a free Individual plan with 10 GB, but it caps each file at 250 MB. If you stay on Basic for a while, remember the website doesn't count toward the three-device cap: browse from dropbox.com instead of unlinking a device.
How do I move from Dropbox to OneDrive?
At a company, use Migration Manager in the Microsoft 365 admin center. You need a Migration Administrator, SharePoint Admin or Global Admin role, plus a Dropbox admin account. It copies member and team folders, but only the latest version of each file, with no external links and no Paper docs. On your own, sync Dropbox locally and move the folder into OneDrive.
Can I migrate Dropbox to Google Drive without downloading everything?
Yes, with a Google Workspace business account. A super admin starts it in the Admin console under Data, then Data migration. It copies files, folders and permissions from Dropbox business accounts, up to 150 users or team folders at a time, then syncs later changes. Our guide to switching from Google Drive covers the reverse trip.
What happens to my files if I stop paying for Dropbox?
They stay in your account, which drops to Basic at the end of the paid cycle. Above 2 GB (plus any referral bonus space), you can't add anything and sync stops. Staying over the limit for long can lead to deletions, and a Basic account with no sign-in for 12 months gets closed.
How do I cancel Dropbox and get a refund?
Go to Manage account, then Cancel plan: your plan runs until the end of the cycle. Payments are generally non-refundable. The exception is the EU, the UK and Turkey, where canceling Plus, Family, Professional or Essentials within 14 days can get you a refund. If you paid through the App Store or Google Play, ask them.
How do I export all my Dropbox Paper docs?
On the new Paper, one doc at a time: "•••" menu, Export, as .docx, .md or .pdf. Bulk export only exists on the old Paper, or for a team admin who turns Paper off. For dozens of docs, rclone pulls them as HTML or Markdown.
Is there a Dropbox alternative with no subscription?
pCloud sells lifetime plans: 500 GB for $219, 2 TB for $499 and 10 TB for $1,499. At $9.99 a month for Dropbox Plus, 2 TB for life pays for itself in about four years. The other route forum users mention is Syncthing, which syncs your own devices with no server and no subscription.
I only use Dropbox to send big files. What should I use?
Dropbox Plus lets you send files up to 50 GB, but paying for 2 TB just to send files is steep. A dedicated transfer service is often enough: our guide to WeTransfer alternatives compares them.
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