Dropbox vs. Lightning Tools Lightning Conductor vs. Notion

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
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
Lightning Tools Lightning Conductor
Score 9.0 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
The Lightning Conductor is a content aggregation tool for Microsoft SharePoint Online and Microsoft Teams. Users can build rich, modern content reports based upon SharePoint lists, SharePoint Search, Microsoft Graph or Microsoft 365 Groups. Content can be aggregated from lists and libraries, and other applications such as Planner, To Do, OneDrive, and Teams.
$2,200
per year per installation
Notion
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Notion aims to present users with an all-in-one workspace — for notes, tasks, wikis, and databases, from Notion Labs in San Francisco.
$5
per month per user
Pricing
DropboxLightning Tools Lightning ConductorNotion
Editions & Modules
Plus
$9.99
per month
Essentials
$18
per month
Business
$20
per month per user
Business Plus
$26
per month per user
Basic
Free
Lightning Conductor WSP
From 1950
per year One WFE
Lightning Conductor Enterprise Edition
POA
per year Four or more WFE
Lightning Conductor Online
From 2200
per year per installation
Lightning Conductor Plus (Includes Data Viewer)
From 2500
per year per installation
Lightning Conductor Online Enterprise Edition (>10,000 users)
POA
per year per installation
Free
$0
Plus
$12
per month per user
Business
$24
per month per user
Enterprise
Custom Pricing
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
DropboxLightning Tools Lightning ConductorNotion
Free Trial
NoYesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsPrices stated are minimum per installation for "stock" products. $2.20 per user/year on top of base price. Enterprise editions can be amended to suit business needs if deemed necessary, additional costs incurred and TBD. All packages include free technical support. Free upgrades available to latest versions of tool as they are released. (online version)A discount is offered for annual billing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
DropboxLightning Tools Lightning ConductorNotion
Considered Multiple Products
Dropbox
Chose Dropbox
While Google excels in collaboration (Workspace rather than Drive), Dropbox offers better sync performance, cross-platform compatibility, native mobile apps, and efficient OS file system integration. I keep all my files on Dropbox, while other platforms vary by the company I …
Chose Dropbox
Google Drive is an excellent free product, but Dropbox is the best choice when you want to up your game and professionalism. It also offers functionality and integrations that Google Drive does not.
Chose Dropbox
Affordability is the most important to me as a small business owner. I used Brandfolder for almost 2 years but it got too expensive. Dropbox gives me the basic tools and capabilities I need to share and save files without worry.
Chose Dropbox
Because we use Dropbox mainly for housing project media I'll use that as the frame of reference: Frame.io is made for media production from start to finish so I have to say that in many ways it outshines Dropbox as a media transfer, edit, and review tool. I have not utilized …
Chose Dropbox
I know Dropbox as the industry standard for cloud files for pretty much all professional media fields.
Chose Dropbox
Compared to OneDrive, Dropbox is easier to use, has a more professional interface, and makes it easier to share files.

Compared to WeTransfer, Dropbox feels more secure. I'm not sure how accurate this is in reality, but the UI makes it feel this way, I think.
Chose Dropbox
Well known and widely-used with partners, so it makes it easy to integrate and onboard external partnerships. Learning curve is low, and most are already familiar with Dropbox and how to use it.
Lightning Tools Lightning Conductor

No answer on this topic

Notion
Chose Notion
Notion goes beyond file storage, which are what the two selected above primarily offer. Also I have used Notion for personal use cases and projects and have found it to have a really amazing user experience and UI. Microsoft products tend to fail at having a good UX. Also, …
Chose Notion
Shared Notion board makes collaboration easy and allows everyone to see whats going on and assign tasks. Overall, it has more customizability, easier to manage, and has a better experience for navigation.
Features
DropboxLightning Tools Lightning ConductorNotion
File Sharing & Management
Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Product A and Product B
Dropbox
8.4
1350 Ratings
1% above category average
Lightning Tools Lightning Conductor
-
Ratings
Notion
8.1
76 Ratings
1% above category average
Versioning8.51123 Ratings00 Ratings7.657 Ratings
Video files8.11102 Ratings00 Ratings7.649 Ratings
Audio files8.6998 Ratings00 Ratings7.343 Ratings
Document collaboration8.41171 Ratings00 Ratings8.571 Ratings
Access control8.91248 Ratings00 Ratings8.271 Ratings
File search7.91293 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
Device sync8.11242 Ratings00 Ratings9.253 Ratings
Advanced security features00 Ratings00 Ratings7.251 Ratings
Integrates with Google Drive00 Ratings00 Ratings9.213 Ratings
Cloud Storage Security & Administration
Comparison of Cloud Storage Security & Administration features of Product A and Product B
Dropbox
8.8
1279 Ratings
2% above category average
Lightning Tools Lightning Conductor
-
Ratings
Notion
-
Ratings
User and role management8.81140 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
File organization8.81260 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
Device management8.91121 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
Cloud Storage Platform
Comparison of Cloud Storage Platform features of Product A and Product B
Dropbox
8.8
1269 Ratings
2% above category average
Lightning Tools Lightning Conductor
-
Ratings
Notion
-
Ratings
Performance8.51258 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
Reliability9.11265 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
Storage Reports8.7965 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Dropbox
-
Ratings
Lightning Tools Lightning Conductor
8.6
2 Ratings
10% above category average
Notion
7.3
79 Ratings
6% below category average
Task Management00 Ratings8.82 Ratings8.174 Ratings
Search00 Ratings8.42 Ratings8.075 Ratings
Gantt Charts00 Ratings00 Ratings6.846 Ratings
Scheduling00 Ratings00 Ratings6.957 Ratings
Workflow Automation00 Ratings00 Ratings6.455 Ratings
Mobile Access00 Ratings00 Ratings7.372 Ratings
Visual planning tools00 Ratings00 Ratings7.868 Ratings
Communication
Comparison of Communication features of Product A and Product B
Dropbox
-
Ratings
Lightning Tools Lightning Conductor
-
Ratings
Notion
7.8
76 Ratings
3% below category average
Chat00 Ratings00 Ratings6.229 Ratings
Notifications00 Ratings00 Ratings7.568 Ratings
Discussions00 Ratings00 Ratings7.349 Ratings
Surveys00 Ratings00 Ratings6.720 Ratings
Internal knowledgebase00 Ratings00 Ratings8.869 Ratings
Integrates with Gmail and Google Hangouts00 Ratings00 Ratings8.98 Ratings
Integrates with Outlook00 Ratings00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Best Alternatives
DropboxLightning Tools Lightning ConductorNotion
Small Businesses
SugarSync
SugarSync
Score 4.0 out of 10
Stackby
Stackby
Score 8.9 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
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
HCL Connections
HCL Connections
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
DropboxLightning Tools Lightning ConductorNotion
Likelihood to Recommend
8.6
(1348 ratings)
9.0
(4 ratings)
8.6
(85 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.2
(41 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
8.1
(496 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
8.4
(55 ratings)
Availability
6.8
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
6.0
(8 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
6.6
(38 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
8.2
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.5
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
6.4
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
6.6
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
DropboxLightning Tools Lightning ConductorNotion
Likelihood to Recommend
Dropbox
Dropbox is well suited for sending File Requests to clients to upload documents, and for me to send File Transfers to clients with documents for them to download. I can create separate files for each client, and also create files within files, which is very convenient and useful for my business purposes. In Dropbox I can also see all of the File Requests that I have sent and it shows me how many times they've accessed it and how many files they uploaded. I can also see all of the File Transfers that I have made and whether how many times the client has accessed it and how many documents were downloaded. It also sends me notifications if the clients haven't downloaded their files yet so I can remind them. Dropbox Sign has been very easy to use, and I have already stated what could be changed with it
Read full review
Lightning Tools
Having experience of SharePoint On Premise and also SharePoint Online, there isn't an out of the box app/webpart that enables you to 'roll up content' from a variety of source's (in my case SP Lists, but there are many other data sources it works with) across site collections with an easy to use and intuitive interface which is what Lightning tools excels at.
Read full review
Notion Labs, Inc
If you want a customizable solution that can be adapted for just about any scenario, I recommend using Notion. If you need a solution that's easy to share with people outside your organization, Notion is great and allows individual or team permission-setting. If you want a turnkey solution, Notion might not be the best since it requires a fair bit of set-up. There are templates that can be purchased to handle this, but I haven't found them very helpful.
Read full review
Pros
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
Lightning Tools
  • Aggregate documents across SharePoint site & libraries
  • Filtering for owner/person responsible & due dates
  • Ease of end-user filtering on columns
  • Color-coding & other formatting
Read full review
Notion Labs, Inc
  • I love that you can create nested pages, allowing for separate sections to organize information as needed.
  • I appreciate the convenience of effortlessly uploading images to any section.
  • I appreciate that when adding links, you can embed them so the website displays directly on the page.
Read full review
Cons
Dropbox
  • Admid Control Can feels little basic it can be improve by easy access quick tabs for important button.
  • Smart sync behaviour can be little confusing it can be improve by displaying more futuristic way
  • Pricing and storage facility can be improve for really more demanding for a tool can be imporve.
Read full review
Lightning Tools
  • Mobile Friendly
  • Calendar/Gantt views
  • Complex/Custom Logic
Read full review
Notion Labs, Inc
  • I use Notion on my personal tablet, and unlike on the computer, I have a lot of difficulty editing backgrounds, GIFs, and page dividers. It's not as user-friendly, and often the elements end up cut off or misaligned, which is frustrating.
  • While the current calendar feature is helpful, I'd love to see more customization options. The Google Calendar style isn't always ideal, especially for tasks without specific times or for ongoing projects that require daily maintenance.
  • It would be fantastic to have more flexibility in customizing Notion pages. For example, I'd love to create planners with the freedom to add illustration boxes, stickers, or GIFs without being restricted to a fixed layout.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
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
Lightning Tools
No answers on this topic
Notion Labs, Inc
We're too settled in the ecosystem and we have no major complaints with it. No reason to move unless you have a burning pain point
Read full review
Usability
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
Lightning Tools
No answers on this topic
Notion Labs, Inc
Very easy to use (I learned how to use everything on my own) and I was able to set up an entire ecosystem without any courses or other tools. I often say that Notion is like Lego for adults, because there we can use all the available tools to create a multitude of things, from funnels to projects with calculated deadlines and tags.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Dropbox
I really recommend the product for the Dropbox availability is a great having very very less downtimes, they errors are less I have been faced yet, due to connectivity sometimes we are getting errors. Only sometimes the limitations of some features show some errors.
Read full review
Lightning Tools
No answers on this topic
Notion Labs, Inc
No answers on this topic
Performance
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
Lightning Tools
No answers on this topic
Notion Labs, Inc
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
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
Lightning Tools
The Lightning Tools support team responds quickly, and team members are very friendly and helpful.
Read full review
Notion Labs, Inc
No answers on this topic
In-Person Training
Dropbox
The person for corporate product dealing and knowledge of the product explore and better and secure use are properly handover to us. Also provide full software and tool training from the basic to the pro level with each and every possible explanation. Provide many sessions regarding every doubt. Also Guide better suitable options for our business to migrate and integrate for the expansion in all places employee smoothly.
Read full review
Lightning Tools
No answers on this topic
Notion Labs, Inc
No answers on this topic
Online Training
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
Lightning Tools
No answers on this topic
Notion Labs, Inc
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
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
Lightning Tools
No answers on this topic
Notion Labs, Inc
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Dropbox
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.
Read full review
Lightning Tools
I haven't found another product to compare this one to. Only in SharePoint Online which has a similar App 'Highlight Webpart' ... it's far too complicated to set up and requires learning yet another language and exporting and importing via PowerShell to get any real results that would be useful.
Read full review
Notion Labs, Inc
The company uses both Notion and Trello within the company. Notion is more for North America employees while Trello is used between Operation team overseas and in North America. Sometimes it's a preference of how the tools look like for project management. I would say both Notion and Trello are nice tools and serves our needs.
Read full review
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Dropbox
I would recommend to this product directly to the sales team of Dropbox for the best deal provide to my referred person and provide the best service to them.
Read full review
Lightning Tools
No answers on this topic
Notion Labs, Inc
No answers on this topic
Scalability
Dropbox
It's easy to integrate with the systems of Windows and Linux, easy to have web versions accessible, which provide the web login credentials. Also, it can be installed for individuals for the best autosync features.
Read full review
Lightning Tools
No answers on this topic
Notion Labs, Inc
No answers on this topic
Professional Services
Dropbox
Their services are highly rated for moving massive, complex data sets from legacy on-premise servers to the cloud with minimal downtime.
Read full review
Lightning Tools
No answers on this topic
Notion Labs, Inc
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
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
Lightning Tools
  • Policies easier to portray
Read full review
Notion Labs, Inc
  • It has streamlined our processes across various teams to all work from a signle source of truth
  • Maintaining this source of truth is a full time job
  • It has reduced our overall tool set by completely eliminating two other softwares we were paying for
Read full review
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.

Lightning Tools Lightning Conductor Screenshots

Screenshot of MODERN SHAREPOINT LIST ROLLUP
The Lightning Conductor is a SharePoint Content Aggregator that can be configured quickly by business users. The Lightning Conductor can be used to aggregate content from SharePoint Lists such as Tasks, Document Libraries, Contact Lists, and Custom Lists making it easy to view content in one place even if it is distributed across many sites and site collections. Key data can be highlighted using conditional formatting and data-bars as shown. Content from Search and Microsoft Graph can also be aggregated with the Lightning Conductor.Screenshot of CONTENT AGGREGATION WITHIN MICROSOFT TEAMS
The Lightning Conductor Web Part can be used within Microsoft SharePoint or Microsoft Teams. Even if content is stored within SharePoint sites, it is useful to have aggregated Documents, Tasks, Announcements, Calendars or Custom Lists from multiple sites displayed in a single handy view in Microsoft Teams. The Lightning Conductor can be added as a Teams Tab in any Microsoft Teams Channel.Screenshot of BUILDING REPORTS ON MICROSOFT GRAPH
The Lightning Conductor can be used (without code) to aggregate content from Microsoft Graph as well as Search and SharePoint Lists. This example displays Microsoft Planner Plans and Microsoft Planner Tasks where users can Add new Tasks, Assign Users to Planner Tasks, Delete Tasks, and Complete Tasks. The same can be performed on Microsoft To Do items and displayed within Modern SharePoint pages or Microsoft Teams Tabs. The Lighting Conductor can also contain multiple views of content, making it ideal to display all of your tasks from SharePoint Task lists, Microsoft To Do and Microsoft Planner in a single web part or Teams Tab.

*Microsoft Graph Reports are only available for SharePoint Online and not SharePoint 2019.Screenshot of BUILDING REPORTS ON MICROSOFT 365 GROUPS
Powered by Microsoft Graph, the Microsoft 365 Group Rollup Provider enables users to aggregate content by browsing and selecting Microsoft 365 Groups. Within Microsoft 365 Groups, you’ll be able to select entities such as Drive Items, Owners, Members, Planner Plans, Planner Tasks, Events, Posts,  Sites, Lists, and Calendars.

*Microsoft Graph Reports are only available for SharePoint Online and not SharePoint 2019.Screenshot of AGGREGATING USING SEARCH
When performance is critical, search can be used for rollups. The Lightning Conductor offers three data source configurations to get to content. Object Model (Real Time Aggregation from SharePoint Lists), Microsoft Graph (Aggregation from Graph Entities such as Planner, OneDrive, Outlook), and Search. The Search Data Source enables the aggregation of content from large SharePoint lists and libraries when performance is critical. Thousands of documents can be displayed in under a second using Search.Screenshot of HIGHLIGHTING KEY BUSINESS DATA WITHIN VIEWS
End users and Site Owners can highlight the data that is important to them, the data that they need to prioritize. Using conditional formatting, data bars, and icons, conditions can be configured to highlight the data that is most important. Icons and Data Bars can be any color or size desired. Examples include highlighting High Priority tasks, Showing data bars for the completion progress of Tasks, or indicating which tasks are assigned to any particular user.