Dropbox

What it is

Dropbox stores files and makes them available everywhere, which is a solved problem, and then adds the parts businesses actually struggle with: sending files too large for email, sharing something with a client without giving them an account, and knowing who has access to what.

Business plans add team folders, sharing management with password protection, transfers up to 100 GB, and on Advanced end-to-end encryption, advanced key management, SSO, compliance tracking and ransomware detection.

Who it's for (and who it isn't)

It fits businesses that move large files with people outside the company: studios, agencies, photographers, anyone whose deliverable is too big to email. It also fits teams who want file storage separate from their email provider, deliberately.

It is a weaker fit if you already pay for Google Workspace or an equivalent, where storage and sharing are included and a second file service duplicates cost and splits your files across two places. That split is worse than either option alone, because nobody remembers which system holds what.

Pricing

Dropbox is freemium. Basic is free with 2 GB, which is a demonstration rather than a working amount. Plus is EUR 9.99 per month with 2 TB for a single user, PDF editing, signatures and file transfer up to 50 GB. Standard starts at EUR 12 per user per month with 3 TB for the team, team folders, sharing management, password protection and transfers up to 100 GB. Advanced starts at EUR 18 per user per month with 15 TB for teams of 3 or more, adding end-to-end encryption, advanced key management, SSO, compliance tracking and ransomware detection. Prices as shown here were quoted in euros.

Compare the total against what your existing suite already includes before buying, since duplicate storage is the most common waste in this category.

Set it up

Official guide: How to use Dropbox

1. Go to dropbox.com and select "Sign up". Enter your email address, your first and last name and a password, check the box to agree to the Dropbox terms, and select "Continue with 2 GB Dropbox Basic Plan". Basic is the free plan. Pick your user preferences to finish. Your free Dropbox account is now ready.
2. Log in to dropbox.com. Click "New folder" below the search bar. Under "Name", type the name of a client or project. Choose "Only you" and click "Create". You now see the new folder in your file list.
3. Click "Upload" below the search bar, choose "File", select a file from your computer and click "Open". Your file is now in your Dropbox.
4. Hover over the file, click the more options icon, click "Move", and pick the folder you made. The folder now holds your first file.
5. Hover over the folder and click "Share", then "Copy link". Click "Manage" and select "Link for viewing", so people can look at the file but not change it. Click "Copy link" again. Share the link only with the people it is meant for. Your view-only link is now copied.
6. Open a private browsing window (one where you are not logged in to Dropbox) and paste the link. People without a Dropbox account can preview what you shared, so you now see what your client will see.

When this works, you have a folder with your first file in it and a view-only link you can paste into an email to a client, who can preview it without a Dropbox account.

On Standard (from EUR 12 per user/mo): starting at 3 TB for the team with team folders (shared folders for a whole team) and file transfer up to 100 GB, which is for sending large files. On Plus (EUR 9.99/mo): 2 TB for a single user, PDF editing, signatures and file transfer up to 50 GB, which is for sending large files.

Strengths and limitations

The strength is reliability and sharing with outsiders. Sending a 20 GB folder to a client who does not use your tools is a genuinely awkward problem, and this solves it without instructions.

The limitations are overlap and cost per terabyte. Most businesses already have storage in their email suite, so this is often a second bill for the same job. The free tier at 2 GB is not usable for work. And the security features that make it defensible for sensitive client material, end-to-end encryption and compliance tracking, sit on Advanced at EUR 18 per user per month with a three-user minimum.