Hard drive

3 Great Alternatives to Dropbox

Hard driveWhen it comes to sharing and syncing files, the most popular tool out there is arguably Dropbox. It’s a favorite among the folks here at Techerator and for good reason. Dropbox is easy to use and gives you a lot of flexibility.

But Dropbox isn’t the only file sharing/syncing program available on the web. There are other tools that are definitely worth a look. Let’s take peek at three of them.

SugarSync

Arguably the best alternative to Dropbox is SugarSync. It does everything that Dropbox does, and probably a little more too.

If you use a Windows computer or a Mac, you can install a client that will automatically sync files across all of your computers (well, as long as you have the client installed). You can selectively sync folders and even choose which ones you want to sync with other computers, and which ones you want to back up to SugarSync’s web interface. Using the web interface, you can create folders and upload or download files.

You’re not limited to the desktop or web, either. There are SugarSync clients for iOS devices, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, and Symbian.

You can get a free account which gives you 5 GB of storage. Or you can get 30, 60, 100, or 250 GB of storage for between $4.99 and $24.99 a month.

Uploading to SugarSync

Amazon Cloud Drive

Released in Spring 2011, Amazon Cloud Drive is something of a bare bones service. It’s purely storage; there’s no syncing. But as a storage solution it’s hard to beat.

You get a web interface (there’s no desktop or mobile client) that’s simple to use. Just log in, create a folder if you need one, and then upload your files. You can only upload files that are 2 GB or smaller, though. Once you’ve done that, you can access your files from anywhere using any web browser.

You get 5 GB of free storage, and you can get anywhere from 20 GB to 1,000 GB of storage for between $20 and $1,000 a year.

Amazon Cloud Drive

Ubuntu One

Part of the Ubuntu desktop for the last few releases, Ubuntu One lets you sync directories on your Ubuntu desktop with a web-based storage system. What’s that? Not an Ubuntu user? That’s OK. You can still upload you files using Ubuntu One’s web interface and access them on any computer.

Ubuntu One is easy to use and has a couple of interesting features. You can store your contacts and write and share notes online. You can also upload your music and stream it later. Ubuntu One provides 5 GB of storage free, or 20 GB for $2.99 a month. If you use an Android device, you can share and sync your files with the Ubuntu One Files app. On top of that, there’s a paid option that lets you upload and stream your music to your Android device or iPhone.

Ubuntu One web interface

Have a favorite alternative to Dropbox? If so,  share your pick by leaving a comment.

Photo credit: Szorstki

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Comments

13 responses to “3 Great Alternatives to Dropbox”

  1. Dustin Patterson Avatar
    Dustin Patterson

    With all of the Dropbox security news in the past few months, I’ve been considering an alternative solution to replace Dropbox.  But unfortunately, Dropbox has become so integrated into my daily computing and I haven’t really been sold on an alternative, I don’t want to switch at the moment.  Plus, through all of my referrals I’m now up to 16 GB on a free account and would have to pay for something like SugarSync.

    1. Evan Wondrasek Avatar
      Evan Wondrasek

      I wonder, years from now, if we’ll all be back to using flash drives again.

      1. Scott Nesbitt Avatar
        Scott Nesbitt

        Expect the ZipDrive will make a major comeback!

        1. Evan Wondrasek Avatar
          Evan Wondrasek

          I had one of those! One of the big purple Iomega things, kinda like this… https://www.nycomputerexchange.com/images/products/zip_drive.jpg

  2. Avatar
    Anonymous

    Spideroak is another decent Dropbox alternative (https://spideroak.com/). It doesn’t have quite the silky smooth integration that Dropbox has, but it does have the benefit of client-side encryption, meaning the company has no way of knowing what you’re storing.

  3. Evan Wondrasek Avatar
    Evan Wondrasek

    I haven’t used this, but another self-hosted alternative is AeroFS. http://www.aerofs.com/

    1. Evan Wondrasek Avatar
      Evan Wondrasek

      Welp, AeroFS is still invite only. Apparently our invitation chances increase if we use the same link when signing up, feel free to join mine here: http://www.aerofs.com/?ref=w9rvo

  4. Mathias Avatar
    Mathias

    Ever tried CloudMe?

    A really good alternative. And it is Europe based to!

  5. Fridtjof Avatar
    Fridtjof

    Dropbox lets you believe that the service is a safe backup of your data. The problem is that if your files somehow get lost from your computer, it can take weeks to get them back. Their system for recovering lost files yourself is surprisingly cumbersome. If you ask the staff for help, it can take weeks.

  6. Avatar
    Anonymous

    Is there a file storage system that keeps the files in Canada so the data can not be misused under the USA Patriot Act?

    1. Jesse Avatar
      Jesse

      I work for canadacloudsync.com – we offer a dropbox like file sync via our Canadian data center using Anchor.

  7. AK Avatar
    AK

    UbuntuOne? No sir, than you. It practically fried my computer.

  8. Maxx Well Avatar
    Maxx Well

    Besides Dropbox, here’s a tool named iTransfer for syncing iPhone with iPad.
    http://www.leawo.com/knowledge/how-to-sync-iphone-with-ipad.html

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