Top Free Alternatives to Dropbox

Stop paying expensive subscriptions for Workspace & Notes tools. Discover the best free and open-source replacements for Dropbox.

Why switch from Dropbox?

Dropbox provides minimal storage for free and scanning of your files. Self-hosting your file storage using open-source tools ensures absolute privacy and allows you to use your own hard drives with no storage quotas.

Nextcloud

Free / Open Source
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A safe home for all your data. Community-driven self-hosted productivity suite.

Key Features

  • File sync and share
  • Collaborative document editing
  • Calendar & contacts integration
  • End-to-end encryption

Pros

  • + Complete suite (replaces Dropbox, Google Calendar, and Office)
  • + Massive plugin/app marketplace
  • + Strong mobile apps

Cons

  • - Can be slow on cheap VPS servers
  • - Requires maintenance to keep database and PHP optimized

Filestash

Free / Open Source
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A file manager that let you manage your data anywhere it is located

Key Features

  • 100% data control
  • Self-hostable
  • No vendor lock-in
  • Community-driven

Pros

  • + Ownership of your data
  • + Flexible and customisable
  • + Cost-effective

Cons

  • - Requires server setup
  • - Smaller commercial support

Owncloud

Free / Open Source
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A personal cloud which runs on your own server

Key Features

  • 100% data control
  • Self-hostable
  • No vendor lock-in
  • Community-driven

Pros

  • + Ownership of your data
  • + Flexible and customisable
  • + Cost-effective

Cons

  • - Requires server setup
  • - Smaller commercial support

Spacedrive

Free / Open Source
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Cross-platform file manager, powered by a virtual distributed filesystem (VDFS) written in Rust

Key Features

  • 100% data control
  • Self-hostable
  • No vendor lock-in
  • Community-driven

Pros

  • + Ownership of your data
  • + Flexible and customisable
  • + Cost-effective

Cons

  • - Requires server setup
  • - Smaller commercial support