Honest cloud storage cost comparison for teams. Real pricing, hidden costs, and which platform saves your business the most money.
All prices per user per month, billed annually unless noted.
Personal: $11.99–$19.99/mo (1 user)
Business Starter: $15/user/mo (3+ users)
Business: $22.50/user/mo
Business Plus: $26.50/user/mo
Personal (Google One): $1.99–$9.99/mo
Business Starter: $6/user/mo (30GB)
Business Standard: $12/user/mo (2TB pooled)
Business Plus: $18/user/mo
Personal 100GB: $1.99/mo
Microsoft 365 Personal: $6.99/mo (1TB)
Business Basic: $6/user/mo (1TB + Office web)
Business Standard: $12.50/user/mo (1TB + full Office)
For solo users, freelancers, or small personal storage needs.
| Plan | Storage | Monthly (annual) | Per GB Cost | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Drive (Free) | 15 GB | $0 | Free | Light use + Gmail |
| OneDrive Free | 5 GB | $0 | Free | Windows users only |
| Dropbox Free | 2 GB | $0 | Free | Barely enough for anything |
| Google One 100GB | 100 GB | $1.99 | $0.02/GB | Best personal value |
| OneDrive 100GB | 100 GB | $1.99 | $0.02/GB | Tied with Google |
| Google One 200GB | 200 GB | $2.99 | $0.015/GB | Families with Google accounts |
| Google One 2TB | 2 TB | $9.99 | $0.005/GB | Power users with large storage needs |
| Microsoft 365 Personal | 1 TB | $6.99 | $0.007/GB | Office apps + storage bundle |
| Dropbox Plus | 2 TB | $11.99 | $0.006/GB | Only if you need Dropbox-specific features |
| Dropbox Essentials | 3 TB | $19.99 | $0.007/GB | Solo power users needing advanced sharing |
| Platform / Plan | Price/user/mo | Storage per User | Includes Office Apps? | Notable Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Workspace Business Starter | $6.00 | 30 GB pooled | Web-only (Docs/Sheets/Slides) | Gmail, Meet (100 participants), shared drives |
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic | $6.00 | 1 TB | Web-only (Word/Excel/PowerPoint) | Teams, Exchange email, SharePoint, 1TB OneDrive |
| Dropbox Business Starter | $15.00 | 5 TB shared pool (3+ users) | No | Smart Sync, unlimited device access, Paper |
| Google Workspace Business Standard | $12.00 | 2 TB pooled | Web-only | Meet recording, noise cancellation, shared drives, vaulting |
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard | $12.50 | 1 TB | Full desktop apps | Teams, full Office desktop, Bookings, webinars |
| Dropbox Business | $22.50 | Unlimited | No | Unlimited storage, advanced admin, SSO |
| Dropbox Business Plus | $26.50 | Unlimited | No | Unlimited storage, audit logs, eSign, priority support |
| Google Workspace Business Plus | $18.00 | 5 TB pooled | Web-only | eDiscovery, advanced audit logs, Meet attendance |
| Microsoft 365 Business Premium | $22.00 | 1 TB | Full desktop apps | Intune, Azure AD P1, Advanced Threat Protection |
Annual costs per team size, comparing entry-level business plans. Using most common plan per platform.
| Team Size | Dropbox Starter ($15/user/mo) | Google Workspace Starter ($6/user/mo) | Microsoft 365 Basic ($6/user/mo) | Dropbox Premium vs Google Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 people | $900/yr | $360/yr | $360/yr | You pay $540 extra per year |
| 10 people | $1,800/yr | $720/yr | $720/yr | You pay $1,080 extra per year |
| 25 people | $4,500/yr | $1,800/yr | $1,800/yr | You pay $2,700 extra per year |
| 50 people | $9,000/yr | $3,600/yr | $3,600/yr | You pay $5,400 extra per year |
| 100 people | $18,000/yr | $7,200/yr | $7,200/yr | You pay $10,800 extra per year |
| Team Size | Dropbox Business ($22.50/user/mo) | Google Workspace Standard ($12/user/mo) | Microsoft 365 Standard ($12.50/user/mo) | Annual Savings vs Dropbox |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 people | $2,700/yr | $1,440/yr | $1,500/yr | $1,200–1,260/yr |
| 25 people | $6,750/yr | $3,600/yr | $3,750/yr | $3,000–3,150/yr |
| 50 people | $13,500/yr | $7,200/yr | $7,500/yr | $6,000–6,300/yr |
Run a free SaaS audit to see if you're paying for Dropbox when Google Drive or OneDrive is already included in another subscription.
Audit My SaaS Stack — Free| Feature | Dropbox | Google Drive | OneDrive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business storage (entry) | 5TB shared (3 users, $15/user) | 30GB/user ($6/user) | 1TB/user ($6/user) |
| Desktop sync client | ✓ Best-in-class | ✓ Good | ✓ Good (Windows native) |
| Mobile app | ✓ Excellent | ✓ Excellent | ✓ Excellent |
| Office-compatible docs | ~ Opens/edits Office files | ✓ Google Docs (web) | ✓ Full Office apps (Standard+) |
| Collaboration / real-time editing | ~ Dropbox Paper only | ✓ Excellent (Docs/Sheets) | ✓ Good (Office + Teams) |
| Email included | ✗ None | ✓ Gmail (all plans) | ✓ Exchange/Outlook (all plans) |
| Video conferencing | ✗ None (Dropbox Capture only) | ✓ Google Meet (all plans) | ✓ Microsoft Teams (all plans) |
| Smart Sync (online-only files) | ✓ Yes (all business plans) | ✓ Stream files option | ✓ Files On-Demand |
| Version history | 180 days (Starter) / Unlimited (Business+) | 30 days (Starter) / 180 days (Standard+) | 30 days (Basic) / 1 year (Standard+) |
| External sharing | ✓ Excellent | ✓ Excellent | ✓ Good |
| API / Developer access | ✓ Good | ✓ Excellent | ✓ Excellent |
| Offline access | ✓ Excellent | ✓ Good | ✓ Good (native Windows) |
| Admin controls | ✓ Very good | ✓ Excellent | ✓ Excellent |
| SSO / SAML | Business plan only ($22.50/user) | Included all business plans | Included all business plans |
| Price (per user/month) | $15–26.50 | $6–18 | $6–22 |
Gmail + Meet + Docs + Drive in one $6/user plan. No reason to pay $15/user for Dropbox. Already on Microsoft? Use OneDrive included in M365 Basic ($6/user).
Seamless integration with Gmail, Google Meet, Calendar, Docs. Best collaboration experience for teams that live in Google products. Far cheaper than Dropbox.
If your team runs Word, Excel, PowerPoint — M365 Basic ($6/user) includes 1TB OneDrive plus Office Web. M365 Standard ($12.50) adds full desktop Office apps.
OneDrive integrates natively into Windows. IT admins get deep Intune/AAD integration at Business Premium ($22/user). No extra sync client or training needed.
Google Drive works identically on macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android. No OS-specific advantages or limitations. Best for teams with mixed hardware.
Dropbox makes sense only if you need: (1) best-in-class desktop sync with Smart Sync, OR (2) Dropbox Paper for internal docs, OR (3) existing deep Dropbox API integrations. Otherwise, Google/OneDrive are better value.
PricePulse tracks 90+ SaaS tools including Dropbox, Google Workspace, and Microsoft 365. Get Slack alerts when prices change — before your renewal.
Set Up Renewal Reminders — FreeYes, significantly. Dropbox Business Starter costs $15/user/month while Google Workspace Business Starter costs $6/user/month. For a 10-person team, that's $1,800/yr vs $720/yr — Dropbox costs 2.5× more, and doesn't include email or productivity apps.
Google Drive (Google One) and OneDrive tie at $1.99/month for 100GB. Dropbox's cheapest paid plan is $11.99/month for 2TB — there's no low-storage personal option. For 1TB+ storage, Microsoft 365 Personal at $6.99/month includes full Office apps and 1TB OneDrive, beating Dropbox on value.
Yes. Every Microsoft 365 Business plan includes 1TB OneDrive per user. If you already pay for Microsoft 365 Business Basic ($6/user/month) or higher, you have 1TB cloud storage per employee included — adding Dropbox would be completely redundant.
Yes. Dropbox raised business plan prices approximately 20–25% in 2024. Business Starter went from $12.50 → $15/user/month. This was part of a broader pricing restructure that also cut some legacy features from lower-tier plans. Additional increases are likely as Dropbox continues restructuring its business model.
In most cases, no. Dropbox has the best desktop sync client (especially on macOS), excellent external sharing, and good API support. But these advantages rarely justify 2–4× higher costs when Google Drive and OneDrive offer comparable functionality bundled with email, calendars, and office apps. The only strong Dropbox use case is deep integration with existing Dropbox-specific workflows or tools.
Yes, both platforms offer migration tools. Google Workspace has Drive Migration for bulk imports. Microsoft 365 offers the SharePoint Migration Manager with Dropbox connector. Most teams complete migration in 1–5 days depending on data volume.
All three offer AES-256 encryption at rest and TLS in transit. For enterprise compliance (HIPAA, GDPR, FedRAMP), Microsoft 365 Business Premium has the most extensive compliance certifications. Google Workspace also offers strong compliance. Dropbox has basic compliance on Business and Business Plus tiers but generally lags Microsoft and Google on enterprise compliance certifications.
PricePulse monitors Dropbox, Google Workspace, and OneDrive pricing in real time. Get Slack alerts the moment prices change — so you can renegotiate or switch before renewing.
Get Free Price Alerts