European alternatives to Dropbox
Dropbox is the service that made 'drop a file in a folder and watch it appear on all your devices' feel normal. It launched back in 2007, it's polished, and for the most part it just works. The catch: it's a US company that keeps your files on US servers – and over the years the experience has quietly grown more bloated and more expensive than the tidy little sync folder people fell for.
Company information about Dropbox
- Company
- Dropbox Inc.
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, United States
- Founded
- 2007
- Data jurisdiction
- United States
- Ownership
- Publicly traded
- GDPR
- No
- Open source
- No
- Infrastructure
- Mixed infrastructure
Why people switch away from Dropbox
It answers to US law
Dropbox is headquartered in California, which puts it squarely under the US CLOUD Act – American authorities can compel access to your data wherever in the world it happens to sit.
It can read your files
Dropbox isn't zero-knowledge. Files aren't end-to-end encrypted by default, so the company – and anyone who can legally lean on it – is technically able to see what you upload.
A history of major breaches
A 2012 breach exposed roughly 68 million account credentials, and stolen employee sign-in details led to a further breach in 2022 – a track record worth weighing before trusting it with sensitive files.
Everyday annoyances
- The free plan is barely a plan. 2 GB free and a three-device limit. One phone's camera roll fills that, and then you're staring at an upgrade screen.
- Prices that quietly climb. Plans have crept up over the years, and the cheapest paid tier hands you a mountain of storage you may never touch – there's not much in between.
- The app got heavy. What started as a lightweight sync folder now ships with background processes, pop-ups, and updates that get your laptop fan going.
- Feature creep. Passwords, Backup, Transfer, document signing – Dropbox keeps bolting on extras and nudging you to try them, when all you wanted was a folder that syncs.
- Endless upsell nudges. Banners, notifications, and 'you're running low on space' reminders are just part of daily life in the app.
Looking for a curated recommendation? Read our full guide → Best Dropbox alternatives
European alternatives to Dropbox
Spanish zero-knowledge cloud storage founded in Valencia in 2020. Open-source, end-to-end encrypted, ISO 27001:2022 certified. Audited by Securitum in 2025. 1M+ users, EU data centres via OVHcloud, post-quantum encryption. Also offers VPN and antivirus.
End-to-end encrypted cloud storage from a small German team, with all servers in Germany. Zero-knowledge AES-256 encryption, open-source apps, and one of the most generous free tiers in the category at 10GB - a genuinely private alternative to Dropbox and Google Drive.
Send up to 50 GB for free with no account, no ads, and end-to-end encryption. Run by Infomaniak on its own renewable-powered Swiss data centres – the standout WeTransfer replacement.
Swiss cloud storage from an ethical hosting company. 100% renewable energy, full data sovereignty, no investor pressure.
End-to-end encrypted cloud storage from Proton AG in Geneva. Zero-knowledge architecture means even Proton cannot access your files. Own servers in Switzerland and Germany, ISO 27001 certified. Part of the Proton ecosystem alongside Mail, VPN, and Pass.
Swiss cloud storage with an optional client-side encryption layer. Lifetime plans available, EU data region.
Zero-knowledge encrypted cloud storage built by a Welsh team. Client-side Twofish encryption, a slick drive-style interface, and a generous 10GB free tier - a British alternative to Dropbox and Google Drive that can't read your files.
Send or share big files up to 20 GB for free from a Czech provider, with optional end-to-end encryption and password protection. GDPR-compliant and EU-hosted.
Send large files via link or email from a French provider, with password protection and expiry controls. GDPR-compliant with data hosted in the EU.
A free, no-frills large-file transfer tool operated by KPN, the Netherlands' incumbent telecom, running on Dutch infrastructure under EU data-protection law.
Send files of any size with no hard limit, aimed at creative professionals. French-built and GDPR-compliant, with a clean, ad-light experience.
Send files with end-to-end, zero-knowledge encryption – the servers can't read what you send, even if compelled. A secure Swiss alternative for one-off transfers.
End-to-end encrypted cloud storage. Swiss-based with zero-knowledge architecture.
Send large files with no account required, with fast transfers and European data-centre hosting. GDPR-compliant, with EU-only routing options for businesses.
The simple, no-account way to send big files. Dutch-founded and now Italian-owned, with data kept under EU jurisdiction – an alternative to Dropbox Transfer.
Want more options? Browse all European File sharing & collaboration alternatives →
People also replace
Box 
Google Drive 
OneDrive 
iCloud Start somewhere.
Switching everything overnight is not realistic. Start where it matters most: your email, your cloud storage, your business tools. Replace one thing at a time.
The European Alternative already exists.
Pick Europe.
Why avoid United States-owned services?
CLOUD Act
Forces US companies to hand over data stored anywhere in the world upon government request, including data on European servers.
FISA Section 702
Authorises mass surveillance of non-US persons using data held by US tech platforms, without a warrant or notification.
GDPR vs US law conflict
EU courts have repeatedly found that US surveillance law conflicts with European fundamental rights. Schrems I and II both invalidated EU-US data transfer agreements.