Apple iCloud vs. Dropbox

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Apple iCloud
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
Apple iCloud is a document management software offering from Apple. It includes features such as access to music, photos, calendars, contacts, and documents, and it is built into every new iOS device.
$0.99
per month
Dropbox
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
Dropbox is a cloud storage solution, equipped with features that help users to save time, improve productivity, and collaborate with others. Users can edit PDFs, share videos, sign documents, and collaborate with stakeholders without leaving Dropbox.
$9.99
per month
Pricing
Apple iCloudDropbox
Editions & Modules
50GB
$0.99
per month
200GB
$2.99
per month
2TB
$9.99
per month
Plus
$9.99
per month
Essentials
$18
per month
Business
$20
per month per user
Business Plus
$26
per month per user
Basic
Free
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Apple iCloudDropbox
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Apple iCloudDropbox
Features
Apple iCloudDropbox
File Sharing & Management
Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Product A and Product B
Apple iCloud
8.4
Ratings
0% below category average
Dropbox
7.8
Ratings
7% below category average
Versioning8.70 Ratings7.50 Ratings
Video files9.30 Ratings7.80 Ratings
Audio files9.30 Ratings7.90 Ratings
Document collaboration7.10 Ratings7.70 Ratings
Access control7.70 Ratings7.80 Ratings
File search8.60 Ratings7.60 Ratings
Device sync8.60 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Cloud Storage Security & Administration
Comparison of Cloud Storage Security & Administration features of Product A and Product B
Apple iCloud
7.5
Ratings
15% below category average
Dropbox
7.9
Ratings
9% below category average
User and role management6.90 Ratings7.90 Ratings
File organization8.20 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Device management7.30 Ratings7.90 Ratings
Cloud Storage Platform
Comparison of Cloud Storage Platform features of Product A and Product B
Apple iCloud
7.1
Ratings
18% below category average
Dropbox
8.0
Ratings
6% below category average
Performance7.20 Ratings7.40 Ratings
Reliability8.10 Ratings8.30 Ratings
Storage Reports6.20 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Apple iCloudDropbox
Small Businesses
SugarSync
SugarSync
Score 5.8 out of 10
SugarSync
SugarSync
Score 5.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Druva Security Cloud
Druva Security Cloud
Score 9.7 out of 10
Druva Security Cloud
Druva Security Cloud
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
Druva Security Cloud
Druva Security Cloud
Score 9.7 out of 10
Druva Security Cloud
Druva Security Cloud
Score 9.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Apple iCloudDropbox
Likelihood to Recommend
9.2
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(0 ratings)
6.7
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.5
(0 ratings)
7.5
(0 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
6.7
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.2
(0 ratings)
6.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.5
(0 ratings)
7.4
(0 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
7.5
(0 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
6.4
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
6.6
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Apple iCloudDropbox
Likelihood to Recommend
iCloud is also great to keep access to photos synced across devices. Ex: I can snap a photo at a job site and have access to that photo on my desktop when I return to my office. I can then drop the photo into a document that is stored in iCloud and have instant access to that document on my iPad at a client's office later in the day. Seamless transitions make life much easier.
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Dropbox is great for everyone. Data on a hard drive is no longer secure. Learned the hard way when a hard drive fried. It's great for families, students, artists, entrepreneurs, consultants, small businesses, startups, graphic designers, and photographers. Did I leave anyone out?
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Pros
  • Syncing files, appointments, Notes and contacts. If I'm away from home, and set an appointment using my phone, that appointment automatically updates real time to my home laptop and vice-versa.
  • It stores files (e.g photos) nicely
  • Once it's set up, it's fairly easy to use.
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  • Ensures documents are up to date, even with multiple users accessing the same documents.
  • I love that if a team member accidentally deletes a file, I can find it and restore it.
  • I like that I can edit from the web or have the app downloaded.
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Cons
  • Customization - iCloud is great at the stuff it does well. But it lacks features that some competitors (in Google Drive or Dropbox) do really well. API support for third-party apps is really great for some other people.
  • Remote use - Managing or accessing information from iCloud while not on one of your logged-in apple devices can sometimes be an issue. From a work computer for example. It doable, but the experience is much less user-friendly.
  • Ability to edit documents on the cloud similar to google docs or some other competitors
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  • I’d like to be able to hover over an image/document and have it expand/enlarge without actually opening it
  • I’d love to see a carousel that lets me thumb through more quickly
  • I’m almost always in thumbnail view. I’d like to see them re-organize automatically when something is moved or deleted instead of leaving an empty space.
  • AI options for photo editing.
  • Easier pdf markups
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Likelihood to Renew
It's so seamless that I can't imagine another product doing a better job synchronizing all of my devices. I simply do not think about it at all. Everything happens behind the scenes and I'm confident that Apple keeps my data safe and secure. I'm a happy customer as far as this is concerned. I have not had a bad experience with this service.
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Even though it has its shortcomings, Dropbox is an exceptionally useful product for simple file sharing. It’s intelligent design and user-friendly interface have continued to facilitate project completion. However, as we expand, we will probably look to other solutions for storage and sharing as we undertake larger and more intensely collaborative projects
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Usability
While it may be great to use with other Apple products, I find it's an absolutist-style workflow to be debilitating and to lead to many problems. When you sign into the cloud, it completely takes over your device in many ways that you don't notice at first until there is a problem.
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It works extremely well, and we have never had any issues with connecting or sharing files. It's very easy to use, and any team member can share, add, and delete files to a virtual drive. This is extremely helpful, and it's an amazing tool to use, ensuring everyone can connect and work together effectively.
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Performance
Occasionally, large files that haven't yet been synced require a few minutes to pull down but I've rarely noticed delays. It does a good job of keeping data cached on my local machines while updating them with changes from other machines transparently.
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Dropbox is really useful, you can access any file from anywhere and you can upload and even edit files online, but, sometimes it can be slow. Downloading, uploading, and syncing is a bit slow, it can take several minutes. Furthermore, the search engine for large amounts of data can be slow too and it is not powerful.
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Support Rating
I never used Apple iCloud support, but have never needed to do so. It has become more of a personal issue with computers in my organization, where the business solution has been with Dropbox. I do have to admit when my Mac went down, having things on Apple iCloud did help to get things restored. However, since I had more than one photo file for my Business and Personal data, I was not able to recover my Business Photos. Apple iCloud should have been able to do this.
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They immediately responded like in an example that I gave where one of our staff members accidentally deleted the whole Special Hope Network Dropbox, we immediately contacted Dropbox they walked us through the steps of how to retrieve the information and luckily enough we were able to retrieve the entire Dropbox and we have had back and forth with Dropbox on what to do when an employee leaves how to remove them how to add another employee.
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Online Training
No answers on this topic
I did not personally take any training for Dropbox so I am self taught but I know when our Vice President selected Dropbox, he personally did do some training modules on it and I'm assuming it was very easy and simple to understand since he now acts like he is a pro at it!
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Implementation Rating
No answers on this topic
I needed to stay current in improving my daily operations. Dropbox
was suggested to me by a former colleague two-years ago and I've been using it just fine ever since.
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Alternatives Considered
As I have mentioned, the seamless integration across Apple's ecosystem is what keeps us using this product. However, the robust value of the Microsoft 365 Business Premium suite and functionality of their AI companion - Copilot - makes it superior at an organization level. The same could be said for Google AI (Gemini) as well as their cloud services like Drive.
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I prefer the layout and visual aspect of Dropbox as it mirrors my files on my computer. I feel that I am more organized, and it's easier to find my files in Dropbox than it was with Google Drive.
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Scalability
No answers on this topic
bc i think box.com is better and more affordable
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Return on Investment
  • The ability to access saved content across devices no matter where I am located reduces missed opportunities to share and collaborate.
  • The version history has allowed my team to re-visit previous renditions when errors occur - saving valuable time determining the root cause.
  • The cloud reduces the number of physical documents one must remember when traveling for work.
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  • I access my Dropbox account from anywhere—any computer, my smartphone —is very accessible while still secure.
  • I would like it to be more editable with existing projects. This could be just me.
  • I would like it to integrate better with other systems, such as email and Office.
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ScreenShots

Dropbox Screenshots

Screenshot of the action bar, that sits across the browser page can be used to record the screen, edit PDFs, upload files, create folders, get signatures, or send and track documents.Screenshot of Dropbox Replay, that lets collaborators leave frame-accurate feedback and markups directly on project files.Screenshot of Dropbox Capture, which can be used to take screen recordings, screenshots, and GIFs with one click and share them with a link.Screenshot of the interface where Dropbox lets users upload, edit, send, and sign PDFs in one place.