Most businesses prefer to use cloud storage rather than on-site server storage because it’s easier. Cloud storage is also very secure, so you’re not sacrificing security when switching from on-site storage. Dropbox is one of the most popular and secure cloud storage software available. It has two main plans, Dropbox Personal vs Business.
You can access Dropbox from any of your devices, mobile, PC, and Web. Dropbox also syncs automatically across your devices. Here’s a comprehensive guide to determining the best Dropbox plan for you or your business.
Dropbox Personal Plans and Pricing
The personal Dropbox plan is a file sharing and cloud storage plan for individuals. To get started with a personal account, all you have to do is go to the website and sign up.
Dropbox personal has three plans, basic (free), plus, and family.
Dropbox Basic
This is the Dropbox free plan; once you sign up for Dropbox, you will have access to it. You have 2GB of storage space at your disposal. If you are serious about migrating from device storage to cloud storage, this plan will not suffice.
You can only sign up with three devices, but since you only have 2GB of storage space, the chances of you using all three are slim.
Dropbox Plus
Although the basic plan is a single-user plan, Dropbox Plus has advantages that make it superior to the basic plan. You have access to 2TB of storage, which is ten times the storage space of the basic plan. Also, you can transfer up to a file size of 2GB at once.
This plan prioritizes your security by giving you access to enable 2FA with 256-bit and SSL/TLS encryption. Moreover, it ensures that no one can access your document except the person you sent it to.
So, if you’d like to safely backup and transfer files, dropbox is a great option. However, it costs $9.99 per month when billed annually.
Dropbox Family
You can use the dropbox family plan to share files with your family. The entire family has access to 2TB of storage and a maximum of 6 users. It includes all of the features of the Dropbox Plus plan and additional features such as Family Room and Centralized Billing.
The family room is a group chat for the family where you can share files and exchange information about the files you’re storing or sharing. The centralized billing means anyone can pay for the subscription. This plan costs $16.99/ month.
READ MORE: WeTransfer vs Dropbox: Which Do I Need?
Dropbox Business Plans and Pricing
Like the personal plan, the business plan has three categories: Professional, Standard, and Advanced. With proper cloud storage like Dropbox Business, you don’t have to worry about losing important information once you sync your files to back up to the cloud automatically.
It also has enough APIs that make it easy to connect dropbox to your business to almost any productivity and collaboration software.
Dropbox Professional
This plan is perfect if you run a one-person business. It has all the features of the personal plan and some premium features. For example, you can recover files as old as 180 days (six months). You can also see your history as far back as 180 days and transfer files as heavy as 100GB. Your total storage space is 3TB.
Another cool feature is the file customization feature by naming the files or organizing them into a folder. In addition, you can lock files, brand files, and watermark documents. This plan costs $16.58 per month.
Dropbox Standard
The significant difference between Dropbox Professional and Standard is the number of users; you need to be a team of at least three persons to have access to it. You also can’t use passwords for files or put files in a vault which is very reasonable since you’re sharing files with a team. It has 5TB of storage, and it costs $12.50 per user monthly.
Unlike the professional plan, you don’t have access to viewer history, but you have access to other features the professional plan doesn’t cover. This includes admin consoles, unlimited API access, 1 billion calls per month to data transfer partners, company-managed groups, and phone support during business hours.
It comes with an account transfer tool that allows you to transfer accounts from one user to another. This tool is handy for every organization; when you recruit for a position, the new employee can access the former employee’s business files once the account has been transferred.
Dropbox Advanced
This is the most expensive plan, with premium features exclusive to it. For example, it has unlimited storage space, tiered admin roles, user sign-in, SSO integrations, invite enforcement, and audit file logs with file event tracking, to name a few features (you can find out when each file was used and what they were used for).
It costs $20 per user per month if billed annually and $25 if billed monthly. There’s also a customized enterprise plan; you’ll need to contact the sales team to customize the features you want and get pricing.
Dropbox Personal vs Business Plans: Pros and Cons
Dropbox Personal Pros
- It’s affordable, and its features are great for personal use.
- It’s safe and secure with security measures like 2FA, dropbox passwords, and a vault.
Cons
- Email and live chat support only
- Limited control over files; no file lock or advanced security like SSO.
- You can’t control what people do with your shared link.
- Shorter file history and recovery period
Dropbox Business Plans Pros
- Larger storage space
- Phone support plus live chat and email
- Longer file recovery period and history
- Advanced file security
- More control over file use and user access with the admin console, roles, and shared link controls.
- Document watermarking and branded sharing.
Dropbox Cons
- More expensive
Bottom line: Dropbox Personal or Dropbox Business?
Dropbox personal plans are sufficient for your everyday use. It also has a family plan that allows you to share files with your close friends and family.
The Business plan has more storage, and it’s more suited to your business needs with advanced security and support. So, if you want to switch to cloud storage for your business, choose the business plan.
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