Cloud file storage and sharing · Comparison
Dropbox vs pCloud
2 products compared side by side: what you pay for with each one first, then the five access facts, entry prices, recorded plan limits and the bottom line of each review. The evidence note under the table says how each product was checked.
Side by side
| Metric | Dropbox | pCloud |
|---|---|---|
| What you're paying for | Easy to adoptTeam storage built for sharing with clients: link passwords, expiry dates, download blocking and 180-day recovery on the entry team plan. | Worth the priceLow-cost team storage with client-side encryption included and a choice of EU or US data region at sign-up. |
| Overall score | 7.6Best | 5.8 |
| Free option | Free plan | Free plan |
| Card to start | –Not measured | –Not measured |
| Getting access | Self-serve | Self-serve |
| Starter priceCheapest paid plan | $15/user/mo | $7.99/user/mo |
| Pricing model | Per seat | Per seat |
| Pricing page | Public prices | Public prices |
| Billing unit | Per license per month; storage pooled for the team | Per user per month, 3 users minimum; storage pooled |
| Free option | Dropbox Basic, 2 GB; free trial of Standard and Advanced (30 days per the plans page) | Free plan, 2 GB (up to 10 GB); 30-day Business trial |
| Reference scenario (10 users, 2 TB, annual) | $150/mo on Standard ($15 × 10), computed | $79.90/mo on Business ($7.99 × 10), computed |
| Month-to-month price | $18 per user on Standard ($18 / $30 for Standard and Advanced) | $9.99 per user on Business ($14.98 on Business Pro for new accounts) |
| Storage on the scenario plan | 3 TB plus 1 TB per additional active license, pooled (12 TB for 10) | 1 TB per user, pooled with custom quotas (10 TB for 10) |
| Restore deleted files | 180 days on Standard, 1 year on Advanced | 180 days per the Business page; the help center lists 30 or 365 days |
| Password and expiring links | Standard and up | Premium users per the help center; Business not stated |
| SOC 2 / ISO 27001 | SOC 2 report and ISO 27001 certificate cover Standard and up | ISO 27001; no SOC 2 stated |
| HIPAA BAA | Standard and up; US admins sign it in the Admin Console | Not stated |
| EU data storage | By support request: 10+ licenses, annual billing, billing address outside the current region | EU (Luxembourg) or US (Dallas), chosen at sign-up |
| SSO | Advanced and up ($24) | Not stated |
| Admin activity log | Audit logs with file event tracking on Advanced; Standard admins see 180 days of activity | Activity logs per user and team |
| Bottom line | From its public pages, Dropbox Standard is a complete sharing plan for teams: link controls, file requests, 180-day recovery and a HIPAA BAA at $15 per user. SSO and audit logs need Advanced, and Enterprise and extra storage are priced outside the plans page. | From its public pages, pCloud Business is low-cost encrypted storage with an EU or US region and a shared pool. Its admin and compliance list is shorter than the others here, and a few help center details differ from the Business page. |
Evidence: Dropbox: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; pCloud: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run. Prices in USD as listed, excluding tax. "–" means not recorded.
When to pick each
In the words of each review, with the date its facts were checked.
From our pCloud review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick pCloud when
- You want encrypted storage at about half the per-user price ($7.99 against $15).
- Pick Dropbox when
- You need link passwords, a HIPAA BAA and a SOC 2 report on the entry team plan.
Entry price
Baseline: each product's cheapest paid plan, per month. Included usage differs, so read the line under each price.
- DropboxStandard$15/user/moBilled yearly; $18 billed monthly; no minimum team size
- 3 TB for the first license plus 1 TB per additional active license, shared
- Password-protected and expiring links, download blocking, viewer history
- 180 days to restore deleted files and versions
- Admin console, team sharing controls, HIPAA BAA
- pCloudLowest priceBusiness$7.99/user/moBilled annually; $9.99 monthly; 3 users minimum
- 1 TB per user, pooled, with custom quotas
- pCloud Encryption (client-side) included
- Teams, access levels and activity logs
- 180 days of file versioning, branded links
Prices as listed on each pricing page, in USD per month, excluding tax. Observed: Dropbox 2026-10-16, pCloud 2026-10-16.
Which one fits
- If you need to start today without a sales call
- DropboxSelf-serve sign-up; the highest score of the 2 self-serve products here (7.6/10).
- Lowest starter price
- pCloud$7.99/user/mo for the Business (billed annually) plan.
- Highest overall score
- Dropbox7.6/10 (Good). The review shows the score breakdown and the run behind it.
Picked by fixed rules from the table above, not by hand. How we score
Full reviews
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