Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage vs. Dropbox

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
Backblaze, headquartered in San Mateo, provides cloud storage and online backup, boasting trust with over an exabyte of data from customers in 175 countries. A backup service specialist, Backblaze describes their B2 cloud object storage service as S3 compatible and purpose built to provide simplicity, reliability, and affordability. B2 Cloud Storage is available at $0.005/GB/Month, with single-tier pricing.
$6
per month per TB
Dropbox
Score 8.5 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
Backblaze B2 Cloud StorageDropbox
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
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
Backblaze B2 Cloud StorageDropbox
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsTwo pricing models are available: consumption-based pay-as-you-go, and capacity-based storage bundles. Pay-as-you-go consumption-based cloud storage costs $6/TB per month, with your first 10GB free. Egress is free up to 3x of average monthly data stored, and unlimited to many leading content delivery network (CDN) and compute partners. Capacity-based storage, called B2 Reserve, is designed for companies looking for all-inclusive pricing on a single invoice. Storage bundles start at 20TB and can be purchased for one, two, or three years. Egress is always free.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Backblaze B2 Cloud StorageDropbox
Considered Both Products
Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage
Chose Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage
Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage is the best of the bunch. It's priced better than the more expensive cloud based solutions and more robust than the file storage sites like Dropbox or Google Drive.
Dropbox
Chose Dropbox
I think Dropbox is too expensive to be used as a high volume archive / backup
Chose Dropbox
Dropbox is my preferred software and data sync program. It excels in data storage, utility, price, and practicality. It’s universally accessible and has never caused any of my clients any issues. Automatic backup functions are limited, however, and could improve. Other than …
Chose Dropbox
Dropbox is the easiest and most straight forward of the bunch. I tried every similar service but always end up coming back to Dropbox
Features
Backblaze B2 Cloud StorageDropbox
File Sharing & Management
Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Product A and Product B
Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage
8.0
5 Ratings
4% below category average
Dropbox
7.9
1316 Ratings
5% below category average
Versioning8.25 Ratings7.91091 Ratings
Video files8.94 Ratings7.61073 Ratings
Audio files8.94 Ratings7.9971 Ratings
Document collaboration7.01 Ratings7.31145 Ratings
Access control8.24 Ratings8.21215 Ratings
File search5.13 Ratings8.01261 Ratings
Device sync10.02 Ratings8.31213 Ratings
Cloud Storage Security & Administration
Comparison of Cloud Storage Security & Administration features of Product A and Product B
Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage
8.1
5 Ratings
6% below category average
Dropbox
8.1
1246 Ratings
6% below category average
User and role management8.24 Ratings8.11111 Ratings
File organization6.14 Ratings8.21227 Ratings
Device management10.02 Ratings8.01092 Ratings
Cloud Storage Platform
Comparison of Cloud Storage Platform features of Product A and Product B
Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage
9.4
5 Ratings
9% above category average
Dropbox
8.1
1236 Ratings
6% below category average
Performance8.95 Ratings8.11225 Ratings
Reliability9.35 Ratings8.51232 Ratings
Storage Reports10.02 Ratings7.6937 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Backblaze B2 Cloud StorageDropbox
Small Businesses
SugarSync
SugarSync
Score 4.4 out of 10
SugarSync
SugarSync
Score 4.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Druva Security Cloud
Druva Security Cloud
Score 9.5 out of 10
Druva Security Cloud
Druva Security Cloud
Score 9.5 out of 10
Enterprises
Druva Security Cloud
Druva Security Cloud
Score 9.5 out of 10
Druva Security Cloud
Druva Security Cloud
Score 9.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Backblaze B2 Cloud StorageDropbox
Likelihood to Recommend
8.9
(6 ratings)
8.5
(1341 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(41 ratings)
Usability
8.9
(3 ratings)
8.1
(496 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
6.9
(3 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
6.1
(8 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
6.7
(38 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(2 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
7.6
(4 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
6.4
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
6.7
(4 ratings)
User Testimonials
Backblaze B2 Cloud StorageDropbox
Likelihood to Recommend
Backblaze
Providing the option of purchasing a much longer archive if desired or limiting the length of time in maintaining what's been saved is brilliant. It makes all the sense in the world. At the very least, unless the retention period is clearly mandated somehow, it causes a decision maker (especially a small business owner) to think strategically about what the storage needs truly are.
Read full review
Dropbox
It has been great for my real estate business as I have many files and need to keep them for a minimum of 5 years. I use it for business and personal files to stay organized. I don't care to use it for photo storage as I feel that it takes up too much space, and I prefer to keep them separate.
Read full review
Pros
Backblaze
  • Tight integration with OEM backup application
  • Among the lowest price per TB cloud backup provider
  • AWS S3 service integration
  • Optional services for initial seeding of large backup data sets
  • Optional services for physical backup retrieval to speed up recovery
Read full review
Dropbox
  • I can share projects I need feedback on.
  • I can make projects available to editors so that they can do their work.
  • Dropbox is a place where I can store files that I can access from anywhere, even if I don't have my laptop with me at the time.
  • I have an old friend who is an acting professor in Tokyo. He loves the dialogue that I write in my novels. He converts chapters into scenework for his acting students. They get very excited when there's new material!
Read full review
Cons
Backblaze
  • Deleting the data is not simpler and requires manual intervention
  • Integration with third party tools needs much improvement as there are very less tools that can be integrated.
  • Fewer data centres presently that restrict options to meet specific geographic redundancy or data sovereignty requirements.
Read full review
Dropbox
  • 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
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Backblaze
No answers on this topic
Dropbox
Dropbox is a user-friendly, easy tool which requires little to no skill and they offer a free version with a good amount of storage available. There are other file sharing tools available however at a cost. Dropbox free version I have used for years and it serves every purpose I need.
Read full review
Usability
Backblaze
Since Backblaze added S3 compatibility a few years ago, it's become the most perfect online backup solution.
I also like their transparency in describing their platform and the reports of hard drive reliability are very interesting.
The free egress is priceless, too.
Read full review
Dropbox
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.
Read full review
Performance
Backblaze
No answers on this topic
Dropbox
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.
Read full review
Support Rating
Backblaze
No answers on this topic
Dropbox
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.
Read full review
Online Training
Backblaze
No answers on this topic
Dropbox
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!
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Backblaze
No answers on this topic
Dropbox
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.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Backblaze
Backblaze is definitely the cheapest and most cost effective out of the 6 other services I've used in the past. For personal use, they are by and away the best service available. For business use, I believe they are a very strong contender to be the #3 guys behind AWS and Linode.
Read full review
Dropbox
For me, Dropbox is so much easier to use than Google Drive. I have both because I have a client who relies on me using Google, but each time I upload something, it gets lost in translation, and the document does not appear the same in Google. Frustrating. Love Dropbox!
Read full review
Scalability
Backblaze
No answers on this topic
Dropbox
bc i think box.com is better and more affordable
Read full review
Return on Investment
Backblaze
  • Difficult to quantify the peace of mind Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage services provides.
  • Based on the reported experiences of other Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage clients, recovery has been smooth. We have not yet had the need to use that function.
  • Because Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage's service has been seamless, I feel much more confident in their ability to deliver what they promise when we have the need to expand or enhance what we are purchasing from them.
Read full review
Dropbox
  • When it works (usually if a client already has Dropbox, so they don't get the solicitation to sign up), it works flawlessly.
  • I've had multiple clients not see the "continue with download only" at the bottom and email me to resend the media another way because they don't have a Dropbox account.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage Screenshots

Screenshot of Files are stored in BucketsScreenshot of B2 Cloud Storage Dashboard

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.