With the advent of the 21st Century, the world has seen a lot of changes, mainly in the technological field.
Although the industry is getting increasingly software-oriented, it is important to know that the hardware industry has made great advancements too.
One of the greatest options is storage options. Many of us have seen that picture where a group of men hauls a huge almirah-sized box with a 5 MB storage device.
But with the advent of nano-technology, following the creation of micro-transistors, all of this has changed.
Enter the cloud. The cloud is a virtual storage system which securely transfers all your data, whether they are photos, videos, documents, etc., to a system that is not the user’s device.
Then the user can access this data from any other device, anytime and anywhere.
The only condition is that the person needs to have an active and sufficient internet connection. This inspired many tech giants to come up with their cloud systems.
Two of the most prominent cloud storage systems are Dropbox and OneDrive.
Key Takeaways
- Dropbox and OneDrive are cloud storage services that store and share files online.
- The main difference is their integration – Dropbox is designed to work with various devices and platforms. At the same time, OneDrive is tightly integrated with Microsoft Office and other Microsoft products.
- The choice between the two depends on the user’s specific needs and preferred platform, as well as their budget and technical expertise.
Dropbox vs OneDrive
Dropbox is primarily a file-sharing and collaboration tool that allows users to store and share files with others, offering a range of features such as file syncing and collaboration tools. OneDrive is a file storage and synchronization service in the Microsoft Office suite.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Dropbox | OneDrive |
|---|---|---|
| Security | Dropbox has become more security-oriented over time. | OneDrive is supposedly less secure than DropBox. |
| Office 365 Integration | Dropbox is not integrated with the Office 365 suite. | OneDrive is integrated with the Office 365 suite. |
| Encryption | Dropbox encrypts the whole data together. | OneDrive encrypts each data individually. |
| OS Integration | Dropbox has no seamless integration with iOS, Android, etc. However, it is compatible with all of them. | OneDrive has seamless integration with Windows and is well-compatible with all other operating systems. |
| Price | Dropbox is priced higher than OneDrive. | OneDrive is relatively cheaper than Dropbox. |
What is Dropbox?
Dropbox is one of the oldest and very popular cloud storage systems. This company was created in 2007 and is currently headquartered in San Francisco.
Initially, Dropbox was created by MIT students Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi.
Seed accelerator Y Combinator also funded this startup. The company had seen promising results and was even one of the most valuable startups in the world, with a total worth of $10 billion.
In just 4 years in operation, Dropbox had acquired 200 million active users.
It was evident that the consumers of the tech world did not prefer to carry around storage devices with them, and also, having a cloud storage platform gave them the liberty to free up space on their local devices, which they could use for other purposes.
The modus operandi of Dropbox in a computer was such that there would be a specific folder in the computer that would be the Dropbox folder.
The user can drop all the content they want to be backed up in this folder, and Dropbox will then synchronize it with all the other devices where the person is logged into Dropbox with the same account.
Dropbox is now available for all platforms, although it has had a deal with Microsoft and had Dropbox present in Windows by default.
The main competitor of Dropbox is Google Drive, which has now surpassed its user base.
What is OneDrive?
OneDrive is a cloud storage facility provided by the tech giant Microsoft Corporation. OneDrive was founded in the same year as Dropbox, back in 2007.
Back then, it was known as Skydrive. It was initially launched as a part of the web version of the Microsoft Office service.
The main purpose of launching this cloud service was to sync all the documents, presentations, spreadsheets, workspaces, etc., in the cloud so that one does not lose progress or access to their work, regardless of device or location.
The only condition is that the device needs to be connected to the internet.
Initially, OneDrive will offer the user 5GB of free space. All one needs to do to access this space is to have a Microsoft account.
After that, a few plan options provide 100GB, 1TB, and 6TB storage. One can purchase this additional storage separately or with OneDrive subscriptions.
One of the main benefits of having a OneDrive subscription is that one can edit one document from anywhere, even if Microsoft Office is not installed on the device, as one can edit them directly from the browser.
Main Differences Between Dropbox and OneDrive
- The main difference between Dropbox and OneDrive is that Dropbox aims for secure storage, while OneDrive aims at backing up office and business-related documents and making them editable anywhere.
- Dropbox is not integrated with Office 365, while OneDrive is.
- Dropbox encrypts all the data together, while OneDrive encrypts it individually.
- Dropbox has no seamless integration with any OS, while OneDrive integrates seamlessly with Windows.
- Dropbox has higher-priced packages than OneDrive.
Last Updated : 11 June, 2023
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Sandeep Bhandari holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computers from Thapar University (2006). He has 20 years of experience in the technology field. He has a keen interest in various technical fields, including database systems, computer networks, and programming. You can read more about him on his bio page.
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