Dropbox vs ownCloud

The most important differences between Dropbox and ownCloud

Compare Dropbox vs ownCloud

Read below a full Dropbox comparison with ownCloud and learn how ownCloud enables you to securely share files and folders within your organization. Dropbox is a public file sharing solution from the United States. Compared to Dropbox, ownCloud is open-source which offers the advantage that security flaws in the code can be easily found by a large community of open-source users. Learn more about the differences between Dropbox Business and ownCloud:

ownCloud secure cloud solution for enterprise file sharing

Dropbox Business 

Open source

Q

GDPR compliance

R

License

AGPLv3, commercial license

Proprietary license

Deployment 

On-premises, Hybrid, Cloud

Cloud only

Server location

Your datacenter or hosted in Germany

Global

Storage

Unlimited for on-premises

3T or more, depends on plan

Maximum file size

Unlimited

Depends on plan

Custom theming

Q

Desktop App 

Windows, Mac OS, Linux

Windows, Mac OS, Linux

Web App

R

Mobile Apps

iOS, Android 

iOS, Android 

Virtual File System 

R

Document editing 

Collabora online, ONLYOFFICE, Microsoft Office Online Server

Documents stored on Dropbox

Email integration 

Outlook-, Thunderbird-, Mailbox.org-plugin

Outlook-, Gmail-plugin

Guest accounts

Q

Sharing policies for groups

R

Activities & comments

R

LDAP integration

R

Multi-factor authentication 

R

Storage encryption

R

External storage integration

R

FTP-Server Integration

Q

Command-line interface

R

Virus protection

R

File firewall

R

Ransomware protection 

R

To the best of our knowledge, we updated this list in December 2023. Should we have overlooked or forgotten anything, do not hesitate to contact us.

The best choice for enterprise file sync and share: ownCloud

Backed by a global community and a large ecosystem

More than 200 million people worldwide use ownCloud. The ownCloud file platform has already been installed over 200,000 times. ownCloud is a large open-source project with a globally active network of users and a transparent ecosystem. On GitHub, over 7,200 people have starred the project and the ownCloud core alone has nearly 500 active contributors. If you have a question, it is pretty likely that someone already has the answer. This makes ownCloud the definitive file platform for professionals with advanced requirements. For those who prefer a turn-key solution, ownCloud provides ownCloud.online, a SaaS ownCloud hosted single-tenancy in a secure EU datacenter.

File sharing that integrates with the tools you already use

ownCloud takes a best-of-breed approach to improving team productivity and collaboration. ownCloud integrates well with many software solutions whether open-source or proprietary, allowing enterprises to seamlessly embed file sharing into their existing cloud stack. From document editing with ONLYOFFICE, Collabora Online or Microsoft Office Online Server, to various groupware options like Kopano and Open Exchange, to Moodle as a learning management system – ownCloud is a seamless and straightforward choice anywhere that files are edited and shared, be that on-premises, in the cloud or in a hybrid setup. 

+10 years experience in enterprise file sync & share

The open-source project ownCloud was launched in 2010 and the company ownCloud was founded in 2011. Since that day, it has grown into a 75-member team that is committed to providing individual solutions, personalized customer support, customized deployments and customer-centric feature development for file sharing to our clients. With ownCloud you get continuity, reliability and +10 years experience in enterprise file sync and share.

Content collaboration that scales

ownCloud is made for teams of any size with built-in scalability: From a home installation on the Raspberry Pi to the largest ownCloud Enterprise instance with 200,000 users. ownCloud is rooted in the open source community and is designed for business-use. The file sharing software scales according to any requirements, is reliable, convenient and secure and thus has no need to shy away from comparison.

Users love ownCloud

ownCloud has an average rating of 4.2 on Capterra

4.2

ownCloud has an average rating of 4.1 on G2

4.1

ownCloud has an average rating of 4.5 on Gartner Peer Insights

4.7

Trusted by 200 million users worldwide

ownCloud customer CERN
ownCloud customer ETH Zürich
ownCloud customer Daimler
ownCloud customer European Commission
ownCloud customer DB Mobility Networks Logistics
ownCloud customer Fujitsu

Want to learn more?

Experience ownCloud in action and ask our knowledgable presales team any question for your proof of concept.

OwnCloud is very easy to use, very simple file system with simple interface and its design of file manager is also very good. It has good filtering options and comes with good admin controls. It follows strict security mechanisms/practices, as the web attacks are increasing gradually.

Software Developer, Manufacturing Industry

Gartner Peer Insights, February 2020