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Cloud storage software · head to head

Dropbox vs Google Drive

Sebastiaan Smits Editor Sebastiaan Smits · Published October 19, 2026 · Updated October 19, 2026

Dropbox is the stand-alone file product: longer restore windows on its team plans and storage priced without an office suite attached. Google Drive wins for most small organizations because it arrives inside Workspace with email, meetings and documents, and its free tier is far larger. Pick Dropbox when storage and recovery are the point, Drive when Drive is one part of a bundle.

Side by side

DropboxGoogle Drive
What it isThe original sync folder, now with AI search and signingStorage and live co-editing inside Google Workspace
Best forMixed-device teams sharing large foldersTeams living in Gmail and Google Docs
HeadquartersUnited StatesUnited States
Pricing modelPer user / monthPer user / month
PricingFree Basic at 2 GB, Plus for individuals at 9.99 euros a month for 2 TB, and team plans from 12 euros per user monthly (Standard) and 18 euros (Advanced).15 GB free per Google account; Workspace Starter lists 30 GB pooled per person, Standard 2 TB and Plus 5 TB per user, with Enterprise quoted.
Free optionFree planFree plan
List price
as listed on October 19, 2026		Plus 9.99 euros per month for one person with 2 TB; Standard 12 euros per user per month on yearly billing (14.50 monthly), from 3 TB for the team; Advanced 18 euros per user per month; Basic free with 2 GBGoogle Workspace Starter 6.80 euros, Standard 13.60 euros and Plus 21.10 euros per user per month (euro price list), with 30 GB pooled, 2 TB and 5 TB per user; 15 GB free per Google Account
Place in our cloud storage software ranking#7 of 13#8 of 13
Websitedropbox.comworkspace.google.com

Both are reviewed in full in Best Cloud Storage Software in 2026. Position in that ranking can be paid for; the wording of a review or of this comparison cannot. Placement disclosure.

Which one to choose

Choose Dropbox if

files are the main thing you buy, you want 180 days or a year of restore history on a team plan, and you do not need an office suite from the same vendor.

Dropbox, #7 in the ranking · Visit Dropbox →

Choose Google Drive if

you already work in Gmail, Docs and Meet or want to, and prefer one per-user bill that includes pooled storage, business email and administration.

Google Drive, #8 in the ranking · Visit Google Drive →

Where they differ

Cost of plain storage

Dropbox lists Plus at 9.99 euros a month for one person with 2 TB, and its Standard team plan at 12 euros per user a month on yearly billing (14.50 monthly) starting at 3 TB for the team. Google's euro price list shows Workspace Standard at 13.60 euros per user a month for 2 TB per user. If the need is capacity alone, Dropbox is cheaper per terabyte, though Google's price includes other applications.

Edge: Dropbox

What the free account gives

Dropbox Basic is free with 2 GB to store and share files. A Google Account comes with up to 15 GB at no charge, but Google's help page says that space is shared across Drive, Gmail and Google Photos. Even after allowing for that sharing, Google offers several times more room, which matters for freelancers and tiny teams testing a service before they pay anything.

Edge: Google Drive

Restoring deleted or changed files

Dropbox lists 30 days of restore history on Plus, 180 days on Standard and a year on Advanced. Google's help page says an older Drive version might be permanently deleted after 30 days or when 100 newer versions exist, though you can pin a version to keep it. For a business that discovers a damaged file months later, Dropbox's team tiers give a more predictable safety net.

Edge: Dropbox

The suite around the storage

Google Workspace Starter, at 6.80 euros per user a month on the euro price list, lists 30 GB pooled storage per person, business email on your own domain, Gemini in Gmail, video meetings for 100 participants and security controls. Dropbox sells storage, PDF editing, signatures and sharing tools on the same price line, but no email or meetings. A company that needs the whole bundle pays less with Google.

Edge: Google Drive

Security tiers

Dropbox Advanced, at 18 euros per user a month for three people or more, adds tiered admin, end-to-end encryption, advanced key management, compliance tracking and single sign-on. Google lists eDiscovery, Vault and endpoint management on Plus at 21.10 euros, and data loss prevention and context-aware access on Enterprise. The controls overlap but are packaged differently, so the better one depends on which list you need.

Edge: even

Tally: Dropbox 2, Google Drive 2, even 1.

When neither fits

A team that wants client-side encryption by default should look at Proton Drive or Tresorit. An organization that wants to host files itself should look at Nextcloud.

See Microsoft OneDrive, Proton Drive and Nextcloud among the 13 products in Best Cloud Storage Software in 2026.

Questions and answers

Does Google Drive or Dropbox give more free storage?

Google. A Google Account has up to 15 GB at no charge, shared across Drive, Gmail and Photos, while Dropbox Basic is free with 2 GB. Both are small next to a paid plan, and Dropbox's free plan carries fewer features than its team tiers.

How long can I restore files on Dropbox?

It depends on the plan. Dropbox lists 30 days on Plus, 180 days on Standard and one year on Advanced. Its sync page says earlier versions are kept for up to 30 days, or as many as 180 days on team plans, so check the plan page for current figures.

Is there a file size limit on Google Drive?

Yes, 5 TB for most files. Google's help page says that all other files, apart from specific types such as Google Vids, can be up to 5 TB. Dropbox lists transfers of up to 50 GB on Plus and 100 GB on Standard and Advanced.

Can I use Google Drive on Linux?

Only in a browser. Google's system requirements page says Drive for desktop runs on Windows 10 and later and macOS Ventura 13.0 or higher, and that for Linux you can use Google Drive on the web instead.

Sources

Prices, plan limits and product facts on this page were checked against the vendors' own pages on October 19, 2026. Vendors change both without notice, so treat the figures as of that date.