Proton Drive vs Dropbox: price and which to choose
Quick verdict
Proton Drive is end-to-end encrypted on every plan — Proton says not even it can access your files — with 5 GB free, plans for families and a VPN, Mail and Pass from Unlimited up. Dropbox Plus is 2 TB for one person, built for syncing and sharing: 30-day file recovery, 50 GB transfers, PDF editing and signatures. Dropbox keeps end-to-end encryption for its business plans.
Option A
$12.99/moProton Unlimited
Official price before tax: $12.99
Price checked
Also has a free plan: Proton Free
Proton Drive price and plans
Option B
We compare plans with a similar purpose, whose features may differ; prices before sales tax; prices for other plans and periods are in the reviews.
Feature comparison
| Criterion | Proton Drive | Dropbox Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Encryption | End-to-end, every plan | End-to-end on Advanced (business) |
| Free | 5 GB | 2 GB |
| Paid storage | 200 GB – 3 TB | 2 TB (Plus) |
| People | 1, 2 or up to 6 | 1 (Plus) |
| File history | 10 years (Drive Plus) | 30 days |
Proton is a privacy company; Drive is one part of its suite. Dropbox is a file-sync service first, with work tools on top.
If you don’t want to read further
Privacy first, sharing with a family, a VPN in the same bill — Proton Drive. 2 TB for one person with big transfers and PDF tools — Dropbox Plus.
What really sets them apart
In each row, the last sentence matters most — what the difference means for you.
Encryption?
Proton Drive
End-to-end on every plan, including Free.
Dropbox Plus
End-to-end encryption is on the Advanced business plan.
For private files on a personal plan, Proton Drive.
Free storage?
Proton Drive
5 GB, with a document and spreadsheet editor.
Dropbox Plus
2 GB on Basic.
More free space on Proton.
Sharing with others?
Proton Drive
Duo for 2 users (2 TB) and Family for up to 6 (3 TB).
Dropbox Plus
Plus is for one person; Dropbox’s help center also describes a Family plan with 2 TB shared by up to six, not listed on the main US plans page.
For a family, Proton’s plans are the ones on the main pricing page.
Recovering old files?
Proton Drive
10 years of previous file versions on Drive Plus.
Dropbox Plus
Restore deleted files for 30 days on Plus.
For long version history, Proton Drive Plus.
What else is included?
Proton Drive
Proton VPN, Mail, Calendar and Pass from Unlimited.
Dropbox Plus
Transfers up to 50 GB, PDF editing and signatures, AI tools for your files.
Privacy suite — Proton; work tools — Dropbox.
Where they don’t differ, even though it seems they should
This part is often more useful than the list of differences — it saves money for anyone who was about to pay for an imaginary advantage.
Yearly saving
Both are cheaper per month when billed yearly.
A free tier
Proton Free and Dropbox Basic both let you start without paying.
Which one fits whom
| Your situation | What to choose | On what condition |
|---|---|---|
| You want private, encrypted files | Proton Drive | End-to-end on every plan. |
| A family of up to six | Proton Family | 3 TB for up to 6 users. |
| You send huge files | Dropbox Plus | Transfers up to 50 GB. |
| You want a VPN too | Proton Unlimited | VPN, Mail, Calendar and Pass. |
- Proton’s lowest monthly prices are for yearly billing, paid every 12 months.
- Proton Drive Plus is storage only — the VPN starts with Unlimited.
- Dropbox Plus is for one person; the Family plan is described only in Dropbox’s help center.
- Proton’s paid plans have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Where the facts come from
Sources: proton.me and dropbox.com for the US. Prices are in the price blocks on each service’s page.
Facts in the text checked: .
FAQ: Proton Drive or Dropbox Plus
Other comparisons
The same products against other competitors, and other comparisons in the “Cloud storage” category.
Where their scores differ
Only criteria we’ve checked for both services and where the scores differ. Equal criteria and criteria without data aren’t shown here, because they add nothing to the decision.
If what matters most is — encryption: Proton Drive Proton Unlimited
Proton Drive Proton Unlimited: zero-knowledge — the provider has no keys (5,0/5) · Dropbox Plus: the provider manages the keys (2,0/5)
If what matters most is — version history: Proton Drive Proton Unlimited
Proton Drive Proton Unlimited: 10 years (5,0/5) · Dropbox Plus: 30 days (3,0/5)
If what matters most is — amount of storage: Dropbox Plus
Proton Drive Proton Unlimited: 500 GB (3,0/5) · Dropbox Plus: 2 TB (4,0/5)
If what matters most is — app rating: Dropbox Plus
Proton Drive Proton Unlimited: 4,1 out of 5 (4,1/5) · Dropbox Plus: 4,8 out of 5 (4,8/5)
The scores and their weights are the same as in the reviews of both services. How we calculate
Comparison text updated: