Dropbox Business vs. Google Chat

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Dropbox Business
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Dropbox Business expands on the company's cloud storage service by providing additional features, such as lost file recovery for an extended period, integration with popular office suites (e.g. Office 365), the Dropbox Paper collaboration extension, two-factor authentication (2FA) and single sign-on (SSO), tiered administrator controls and granular permission sharing, remote device wipe, API, and other features of use to larger groups and businesses.
$15
per month
Google Chat
Score 7.8 out of 10
N/A
Google Chat, formerly Hangouts Chat, is a collaboration tool competing with Slack, designed to make it easy for teams to be able to get their work done in one place. From direct messages to group conversations, Chat helps teams collaborate, and with dedicated, virtual rooms to house projects over time — plus threaded conversations — Chat helps users track progress and follow up tasks. Chat currently supports 28 languages and each room can support up to 8,000 members.N/A
Pricing
Dropbox BusinessGoogle Chat
Editions & Modules
Standard
$15
per user/per month
Advanced
$25
per user/per month
Enterprise
Contact sales team
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Dropbox BusinessGoogle Chat
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Dropbox BusinessGoogle Chat
Features
Dropbox BusinessGoogle Chat
File Sharing & Management
Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Product A and Product B
Dropbox Business
8.9
129 Ratings
7% above category average
Google Chat
8.7
26 Ratings
8% above category average
Versioning8.9101 Ratings8.817 Ratings
Video files9.2112 Ratings7.723 Ratings
Audio files9.1105 Ratings7.922 Ratings
Document collaboration8.2119 Ratings8.321 Ratings
Access control8.5125 Ratings9.318 Ratings
File search9.1125 Ratings00 Ratings
Device sync8.9122 Ratings9.624 Ratings
Advanced security features00 Ratings9.519 Ratings
Integrates with Google Drive00 Ratings8.115 Ratings
Cloud Storage Security & Administration
Comparison of Cloud Storage Security & Administration features of Product A and Product B
Dropbox Business
9.0
128 Ratings
4% above category average
Google Chat
-
Ratings
User and role management9.2113 Ratings00 Ratings
File organization9.2125 Ratings00 Ratings
Device management8.8107 Ratings00 Ratings
Cloud Storage Platform
Comparison of Cloud Storage Platform features of Product A and Product B
Dropbox Business
8.9
125 Ratings
3% above category average
Google Chat
-
Ratings
Performance9.0125 Ratings00 Ratings
Reliability9.0125 Ratings00 Ratings
Storage Reports8.691 Ratings00 Ratings
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Dropbox Business
-
Ratings
Google Chat
8.4
26 Ratings
8% above category average
Task Management00 Ratings8.014 Ratings
Gantt Charts00 Ratings8.39 Ratings
Scheduling00 Ratings8.716 Ratings
Workflow Automation00 Ratings7.512 Ratings
Mobile Access00 Ratings9.225 Ratings
Search00 Ratings9.223 Ratings
Visual planning tools00 Ratings7.613 Ratings
Communication
Comparison of Communication features of Product A and Product B
Dropbox Business
-
Ratings
Google Chat
8.9
26 Ratings
11% above category average
Chat00 Ratings9.826 Ratings
Notifications00 Ratings9.326 Ratings
Discussions00 Ratings8.824 Ratings
Surveys00 Ratings9.317 Ratings
Internal knowledgebase00 Ratings9.015 Ratings
Integrates with GoToMeeting00 Ratings8.07 Ratings
Integrates with Gmail and Google Hangouts00 Ratings8.215 Ratings
Integrates with Outlook00 Ratings9.06 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Dropbox BusinessGoogle Chat
Small Businesses
SugarSync
SugarSync
Score 4.1 out of 10
Stackby
Stackby
Score 8.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Druva Security Cloud
Druva Security Cloud
Score 9.4 out of 10
Troop Messenger
Troop Messenger
Score 9.8 out of 10
Enterprises
Druva Security Cloud
Druva Security Cloud
Score 9.4 out of 10
HCL Connections
HCL Connections
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Dropbox BusinessGoogle Chat
Likelihood to Recommend
8.5
(130 ratings)
9.2
(26 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
5.0
(4 ratings)
8.0
(2 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(19 ratings)
9.0
(9 ratings)
Availability
8.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.0
(15 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.4
(27 ratings)
7.3
(3 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
5.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Dropbox BusinessGoogle Chat
Likelihood to Recommend
Dropbox
Everywhere as aforementioned it is well suited ... The largest and most appropriate... A business can never ever have too many locations of its data stored. This option allows my company to have our data stored in one location and everyone works it in real time whereas the updates go in "Real time" no matter who is working that file. This is the most awesome trick of the entire program not to mention that I can see everything that Bobbiesue is working on out west at the same time pull another activity report to see if indeed Peggy logged in for work from home at 2p yesterday as she stated she did. Its a check and balance for small businesses such as ours that runs on the honor system for telework employees. At this time, there just is not any less appropriate!
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Google
It is a easy and quick way to chat and send instant message using the Google account, even send files, emojis, create groups. I have used it to communicate even with external people with a personal gmail account and is great to stay in touch with all around. I recommend it for anyone who wants to stay communicated using a google account.
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Pros
Dropbox
  • It enables us to share documents and workflow to all employees for whom access is allowed regardless of where in the world they may be located.
  • Dropbox Business provides a means to safely store our documents without having to have physical copies.
  • Dropbox also allows for easy organization of our documents in folders and such in the system.
Read full review
Google
  • When discussing about a specific project, I can quickly share google docs or sheets within the chat which helps my team to view the document in real time and they do not have to leave the conversation.
  • Scheduling a meeting with someone is very easy on Google Chat.
  • We have remote team members in different time zones and instead of waiting for emails we use Google Chat to quickly discuss anything.
Read full review
Cons
Dropbox
  • I deeply dislike the navigation. I find it very clunky and hard and not intuitive. A few years ago Dropbox redesigned its navigation and I'm frequently at a loss to figure out where to access the option I need.
  • It should be quicker and easier to figure out how to send a file. I wish I could do that from the drop-down menu in my taskbar under the Dropbox logo.
  • I wish I had the option under the same drop-down menu in my taskbar under the Dropbox logo to go to where the files are on my laptop, which I find much easier to navigate.
Read full review
Google
  • Google Hangouts Chat has a room for improvement in customizing the themes background.The themes are outdated and hard to change if you don't know the right key to change it.
  • It could be more user friendly if there will be no hidden features. Formatting messages is very likely to use and fun.
  • With conversations going on about everything all the time, it's easy to get pulled into far too many discussions but sometimes its hard to mention names because it shows many result even the users are not included on the chat room.
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Likelihood to Renew
Dropbox
Dropbox is very expensive and its price is not as competitive as it was. We are looking for an alternative that will enable as to subscribe more users at a more affordable cost. Also, we did not like Dropbox customer service, and felt that they should have found a way to compensate us for some of the damage they were responsible for when restoring our data.
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Google
The updates, support, general reviews on Google Chat are great everywhere. The development of the features is ongoing and this adds a great value to Google as a big company in the market. Other applications are limiting communication while Google Chat is allowing communication to grow. It is very easy to use it and teach others how to use Google Chat.
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Usability
Dropbox
Well-designed, smart, packed with functionality without being overwhelming—Dropbox knows what they are doing and they do it well. They know what users want from the service and they make sure that all the normal use cases are intuitive and at your fingertips. I have never had a hard time finding things with Dropbox and I think their usability is excellent.
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Google
As stated from the starting we found this application is well suited for a small audience and a group of people across the organization can be communicated easily with no additional hectic of doing any setup. When you have a Gmail account ready then you can easily access google chat and continue the communication. This tool is simple,secure and robust helping the global leading partner for their internal precise communication and handling the tasks in a great way
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Reliability and Availability
Dropbox
At least once a week the app crashes on my computer and causes files to stop syncing. It is an easy fix to re-open the app, however I have to notice the app stopped working to realize it needs to be reopened.
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Google
No answers on this topic
Performance
Dropbox
The Dropbox site and tools load in a reasonable amount of time. I don't feel like their site and app performance is any better or worse than any other paid product that I've seen offered by any other large company. Compared to a competing product like Google Drive, the performance is probably about the same.
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Google
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Dropbox
I give it a nine because I haven't ever had to use the support or help. I would give it a ten but since I've never had to use them, I can't really give a full review of how their support works. I've talked to market research teams from Dropbox about new features, but have not had to get any assistance with a problem yet.
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Google
I have not needed to contact the support folks for Google Hangouts Chat, so I can't speak to this with any accuracy. The online instructions are fairly clearly written, so it is fairly intuitive to start with. I did not feel the need to use the support people anyway.
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Implementation Rating
Dropbox
The implementation was actually very simple. Again, as stated previously, the most intriguing part of the entire exercise was the implementation of the directory structure for each account. Once you design and implement it for one, it becomes quite simple to replicate for each account you implement thereafter. You just really need to take time to ensure you implement the first perfectly and those that follow on will be likewise work efficiently and easily.
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Google
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Dropbox
Dropbox Business is dependable, adaptable, and cost-effective for our businesses. On the inside, it’s comparable to other file-sharing and storage. Also, file access and navigation are much faster. We use it to share documents and store data and files for our business purposes. And I’ve never been convinced of other tools’ integrity or dependability. Dropbox Business has good connectivity and is smooth to use.
Read full review
Google
Slack has a few more features than Google Chat. Slack, for a long time, had thread chats that grouped a thread of thoughts together, making the main chat group space a lot less cluttered. A while back, Google Chat implemented a similar thing in a different but similar way, making the group less crowded. They are catching up.
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Scalability
Dropbox
We've used this when we were 2 users and when we were 20. It did not make any difference. Even when we've had to scale down and fire 10 employees, it was still easy to salvage all the material and keep it organized within Dropbox.
Read full review
Google
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Dropbox
  • Improved risk mitigation - know our files are encrypted.
  • Expiring Shared Links are a must have.
  • Positive impact from Happy Customers. No more trying to send cumbersome encrypted emails that customers struggle with. Dropbox makes it easy for them to retrieve their files.
  • Collaboration makes it faster for us to complete plan documents with our customers.
Read full review
Google
  • In my work it allows us to report troubles that may cost loss of investment thru Google Hangouts Chat we were able to communicate on how to fix it.
  • I hope we can make it on our own choice of colors to heightened workers vibe
  • It is connected to your email
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ScreenShots