Is Dropbox still the best for cloud storage?

[MrGIS]

Just curious to hear people's thoughts. I haven't found any recent posts discussing Dropbox vs google drive vs box vs sky-whatever its called etc...

I back up all my photos and videos , now at 21gb, so I subscribe to Dropbox 100gb.

If I pay yearly it will cost $100 for that amount, basically twice as much as most other services, I wonder if its still worth that premium price? (Other than the fact that I'd have to upload everything to a new cloud service if I switch)

Would love to hear other people's thoughts about Dropbox or other services they've bused.

Thanks!

Nothing comes close to being as good in my opinion..

 

[madmaxmedia]

Dropbox integration in many iOS apps is a big deal for me.

I have 8 or 9 GB on my free account, use it to sync and back up working files, not photos or high storage stuff.

 

[dagdagdag234]

I think dropbox's weakness for my use is w photos and videos. It's a little sluggish and hard to organize. I've tried services that deal exclusively in photos and videos like smugmug but really I want one stop shopping for all my cloud needs:, docs, photos and videos. Does anyone have an opinion as to whether box or sky drive or google or sugar sync do better w photos and videos than Dropbox?

 

[iLuvMyMacToo]

Is it true though, that Dropbox are authorised to use anything you store there for their own use or is that just a bad rumour? I recall reading something along these lines somewhere a while ago and so have been cautious of using it ever since.

 

[maflynn]

Dropbox integration in many iOS apps is a big deal for me.

I have 8 or 9 GB on my free account, use it to sync and back up working files, not photos or high storage stuff.

I'm up to 9GB myself and I agree the integration of iOS apps is a strong incentive to keep using it.

I think dropbox's weakness for my use is w photos and videos. It's a little sluggish and hard to organize. I've tried services that deal exclusively in photos and videos like smugmug but really I want one stop shopping for all my cloud needs:, docs, photos and videos. Does anyone have an opinion as to whether box or sky drive or google or sugar sync do better w photos and videos than Dropbox?

Really sluggish - that's the opposite effect I've noticed. I found skydrive to be slow, but not dropbox. Perhaps you're using it more intensively then I am.

Is it true though, that Dropbox are authorised to use anything you store there for their own use or is that just a bad rumour? I recall reading something along these lines somewhere a while ago and so have been cautious of using it ever since.

Right from their terms of service

Your Stuff & Your Privacy
By using our Services you provide us with information, files, and folders that you submit to Dropbox (together, “your stuff”). You retain full ownership to your stuff. We don’t claim any ownership to any of it. These Terms do not grant us any rights to your stuff or intellectual property except for the limited rights that are needed to run the Services, as explained below.

Given that (though I didn't read through the entire page), they will not use your stuff. Google does and other services but it appears dropbox does not

 

[iLuvMyMacToo]

Thanks for the clarification maflynn

 

[2012Tony2012]

NO, Dropbox is NOT the "best" universally, because it's subjective to a user and relative to individuals.

However, Dropbox is the best to many users and many other users use something else which they believe is the best for them.

Dropbox is also probably the most popular, but that doesn't mean it's the best for everyone.

Make up your own mind what's best for yourself.

 

[dagdagdag234]

I thought that's what we were discussing.

Our opinions.

I asked for everyone's subjective opinion because its not very practical or time efficient to try out all of them.

Also, does anyone think the popularity/stability of the company is a consideration when choosing?

I would be a little hesitant to upload an enormous amount of data only to find out the company folds in 6 months.

I guess most of the choices we've discussed have been in business for awhile.

 

[TheGraphicMac]

I switched to Copy a few months ago and haven't looked back. Works the same as Dropbox for the most part, and adds some nice features that Dropbox doesn't – like the ability to store files on the Copy servers and NOT have them sync to every device you use Copy on.

I'm up to 260GB of free space already using the referral system. Once you sign up and get the app installed, you can start using your own referral links to up the amount of free space.

They do of course have paid options as well.

 

[onekerato]

Sync: Dropbox for documents and BitTorrent sync for media

Dropbox and Copy.com are similar: they sync your data to the cloud & across your devices. Dropbox has the edge in terms of access to data. For example, many iOS and Android apps are able to connect to your dropbox account so you can save/work off your dropbox folders. Dropbox makes your data available on the go. The ability to share folders, access your data via the dropbox.com website are all very valuable, especially for documents.

But, I think if you just want to sync large amounts of media (video, music, photos) across your devices, then Dropbox has a huge flaw: it must send that all that data up to the cloud also. That's usually a waste of bandwidth unless you intend to access the media via dropbox.com

I use BitTorrent Sync (free) for syncing folders across Macs & Windows computers. I use it for sync over local wifi, but it also works across the internet. It works very well so far for large files. BitTorrent Sync also just released free iOS and Android apps. When you think about it, BitTorrent sync is pretty clever technology

I recommend Dropbox for documents and BitTorrent sync for media. That way, you don't need much space on Dropbox.

 

[iPhonesandMacs]

I use copy primarily because I have 405 GB from referrals. Its a lot easier to get more free space with copy than dropbox. You get 5GB for each referral for copy vs. 250 Mb or whatever it is for dropbox.

 

[rayzabee]

Not the best

Dropbox is good when you want to store something and view it offline.
There's Mega (Made by Kim Dot Com) where you can get like 50 gb of free storage. Hope it helps

 

[opinio]

I've used DropBox for 5 or so years now with a 100GB account. Works perfect. Integration across 5 Macs is also excellent. You can draft a doc on this computer, or draft the same doc on that computer.

 

[drewyboy]

Box.com

Box hands down. I got sick of the crappy permissions that dropbox had, but it doesn't seem like their going anywhere. They're stuck in this niche.

Box offer 10GB off the bat, I've got 50gb free for signing in with iOS about a year ago (some promo they had). Box is continually expanding with plugins and partners. Major corporations are using them, just look at their homepage. They just snagged the VP from MS. They're working on making a play into document editing in the cloud.

Point being, Box isn't going anywhere anytime soon since they have corporation customers and are expanding into consumer market. Dropbox is stuck in consumer and lives and dies by the consumer. Box has bucko bucks coming in from corporations. The CEO of Box is smart, quick, intelligent, and doesn't take crap. I remember reading an article about Dropbox's CEO and watching an interview... the guy doesn't seem to know what he's doing. Seems like a founder that doesn't make a good CEO.

Needless to say, I'm hooked on Box and I'm just sick of everyone saying dropbox just because that's what your friend is using or told you to use. Use the better, and I think corporation customers usually are a good sign that they've done their due diligence in selecting the better.

 

[adamneer]

I can say nearly for sure that Google Drive has the absolute WORST app stability and their upload service is insanely slow, especially for a company that basically owns 90% of the internet. I'd say its about 50/50 that I have to quit and reopen the Mac app before it will sync my files, and then, it will take forever for the upload. The iPhone app is relatively useless as well, since they make it very difficult to find the "open in" menu option that most other apps put front and center. And the most ridiculous thing is (and I get that this is most likely due to conflicting interests) that you can't upload mp3s to your Drive and expect to play them from the mobile app, and since Apple's built in music app doesn't allow importing from other apps, you really have no way to use GDrive as a cloud music service.

Dropbox on the other hand, seems to have figured out pretty much all these issues, and gives me no trouble whatsoever.

 

[rhett7660]

Still love me some dropbox. I have 22 gigs of space. No complaints at all.

 

[Hookemfins]

Does anyone have an opinion as to whether box or sky drive or google or sugar sync do better w photos and videos than Dropbox?

Sugar Sync I find is not sluggish at all. Since you organize on your computer and sync, easy organization.

 

[blueroom]

I have a Synology NAS, I use Synology's Cloud Station.

 

[kurzz]

I still use Dropbox after all these years (2). So many apps and software integrate with Dropbox now that I'm even more dependant on it. With them opening their API this year, it's going to be more pervasive on the web (button to save directly to your dropbox).

 

[spat2]

I have Dropbox and it auto uploads my photos. I can not find a way to set up Box to do that. Is there something I am missing? I do like how easy it is to set up albums and separate folders on Copy.

 

[maflynn]

I have a Synology NAS, I use Synology's Cloud Station.

Qnap has a similar product though I don't think its as robust at the moment. Its still in beta AFAIK. This is promising if it works within my needs. I'm up to 9GB on dropbox but if I can have unlimited (as limited to my NAS), then it will be much more useful.

 

[GGJstudios]

Qnap has a similar product though I don't think its as robust at the moment. Its still in beta AFAIK. This is promising if it works within my needs. I'm up to 9GB on dropbox but if I can have unlimited (as limited to my NAS), then it will be much more useful.

Here's a tip to bump you to 10GB, if you haven't already done it. If you install the Mailbox app on your iOS device and link it to your Dropbox account, you get an extra 1GB free. You can delete the app later, but keep the 1GB free space increase.

Get 1GB extra Dropbox space just for using Mailbox

 

[phoenixsan]

Dropbox seems to me....

an excelent cloud solution. Ease to install and configure. I use it in my classes to share assignements and material with students....

Also use it for personal use. Saves me more than one time, when USB based drives gone temperamental.....

If in some moment I reach the critical mass for use iCloud, maybe I move.....

 

[SpeedFleX]

I have a Synology NAS, I use Synology's Cloud Station.

Me too, a 1812+ soon I will be hitting 10 TB storage.

But I use Bittorrent Sync for the cloud part plus it syncs important folders to a friends synology just incase my house burns down. (or his)

 

[maflynn]

Here's a tip to bump you to 10GB, if you haven't already done it. If you install the Mailbox app on your iOS device and link it to your Dropbox account, you get an extra 1GB free. You can delete the app later, but keep the 1GB free space increase.

Get 1GB extra Dropbox space just for using Mailbox

Thanks but that's how I got to the 9GB level