Comparison

Dropbox vs Google Cloud

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Dropbox

Securely store, sync, and share your files and photos across all your devices. Easily upload, access, and send documents, videos, and more from anywhere, even offline. Offers robust backup and recovery features for peace of mind.

Highlights
  • Automatic photo and video upload
  • Offline file access
  • Large file sharing via links
  • Document scanning to PDF
  • Version history and file recovery
  • Cross-device synchronization
Read full description

Dropbox lets you upload, save, and transfer photos and files to the cloud. Backup and sync your pictures, videos, documents, and other files to cloud storage and access them from any device, anywhere. With advanced sharing features, it’s easy to share and send photos or files to family, friends, and co-workers. Features: • Automatically upload videos and photos from your camera roll to cloud photo storage - all in the background - for easy video sharing and photo sharing. • Access any file in your account - even offline - and preview over 175 different file types with no special software required. • Easily send large files by copying and pasting a link you can give to anyone, even if they don’t have a Dropbox account. • Scan documents, receipts, IDs, photos, and more using your mobile device and transform them into high-quality PDFs, so you can view and send anywhere. • Sync folders on your PC or Mac to Dropbox with computer backup, and recover older versions or restore deleted files with version history and file recovery. Sign up now for your free Dropbox Plus trial. You’ll get 2 TB (2,000 GB) of storage space - that’s enough room to save files from all your linked devices. And with Dropbox Rewind, you can roll back any file, folder, or your entire account, up to 30 days. Before starting a trial or completing payment, you’ll see the plan price. This amount will be charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase and on renewal and will vary by plan and country. Dropbox subscriptions renew monthly or yearly, depending on your plan. Your account will be charged for renewal 24 hours before the end of your current billing period. To avoid auto-renewal, turn it off within at least 24 hours before your subscription renews. You can turn off auto-renewal anytime from your Apple ID account settings. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions by going to your account settings on the App Store after purchase. Dropbox is a secure cloud solutions leader trusted by Fortune 500 companies for their most sensitive data. Over 14 million paid users choose Dropbox because they know they can count on a company that’s also dedicated to their security and privacy—no matter what they do or where they are. Let Dropbox be your all-in-one file storage, file organizer, file transfer, and file sharing solution for all your devices. We’d love to hear from you! Join the Dropbox community: https://www.dropboxforum.com Terms of Service: https://www.dropbox.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.dropbox.com/privacy

About

Google Cloud

Manage your Google Cloud services on your iPhone or iPad. Monitor billing, status, and critical issues. Create custom dashboards, access Cloud Shell, and SSH into VMs for direct control.

Highlights
  • Cloud service management
  • Billing and status monitoring
  • Customizable dashboards
  • Compute Engine/App Engine monitoring
  • SSH access to VMs
  • Cloud Shell access
  • Incident and error response
Read full description

The app helps you manage your services running on Google Cloud directly from your Apple iPhone or iPad: • Stay connected to the cloud and check billing, status, and critical issues. • Create your own custom dashboard to produce an overview of your Google Cloud services. • Monitor the state of your Compute Engine and App Engine resources with the ability to SSH into your VMs. • Access to Cloud Shell to perform any Google Cloud (gcloud) operation. • View and respond to incidents, errors, and logging. We plan to ship new features regularly and continually improve your user experience. Please give us your feedback in the app by tapping the menu button in the upper-left corner, selecting Help & Feedback, and then Send feedback.

Screenshots

Dropbox4 screens
Google Cloud4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Dropbox at 4.8 against Google Cloud's 3.4. Dropbox also leads on ratings volume (900K vs 100) and review sentiment (48% vs 29%). Google Cloud's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 11). On price, update cadence, ads and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Dropbox sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Google Cloud asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Dropbox holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dropbox has 900K ratings behind it against 100, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 48% of Dropbox's written reviews are positive against 29% of Google Cloud's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dropbox ships an update every 2 weeks, Google Cloud weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Dropbox versus Google Cloud: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDropboxGoogle Cloud
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (900K ratings) — better3.4 (100 ratings)
Positive reviews47.6% of reviews — better29.4% of reviews
Number of ratings900K — better100
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#5 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size228 MB118 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperDropbox, Inc.Google

Customer experience

Dropbox

All ratings900,290 ratings
Positive95.5%
Neutral1.7%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews2,055 reviews
Positive47.6%
Neutral6.3%
Negative46.1%

Google Cloud

All ratings100 ratings
Positive54.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative36.0%
Written reviews245 reviews
Positive29.4%
Neutral15.9%
Negative54.7%

User reviews

Dropbox

From 900K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Reliable cloud storage
  • 🔒 Secure file sharing
  • 📁 Convenient file management
  • 💻 Cross-device accessibility
  • 📸 Automatic photo backups

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy app updates
  • 🔍 Confusing file navigation
  • ⚠️ Unreliable upload/sync
  • 💰 Expensive paid plans
  • 🔋 High battery drain

Google Cloud

From 100 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Quick access to cloud resources on mobile
  • 👍 Good UI/UX design with Material Design
  • 🔐 Useful SSH functionality for VM management
  • 📊 Helpful for quick monitoring and status checks
  • ⚡ Cloud Shell access for command-line operations

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Cloud Shell frequently disconnects
  • ❌ Missing critical features (Cloud Run, Cloud Tasks, Cloud Build)
  • 🔒 Persistent permission errors and access issues
  • 💸 Confusing billing display and hidden charges
  • 📉 Limited dashboard and monitoring capabilities

Bugs and requests

Dropbox

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Freezing on login screen
  • Duplicate file uploads
  • Incorrect file timestamps
  • Incompatibility with iOS updates
  • Disappearing recent files

Requested features

5 requests
  • Select all option for uploads
  • Background upload support
  • Integrated media player
  • Increased free storage
  • Flexible paid plan options

Google Cloud

Reported bugs

24 issues
  • Cloud Shell stuck on 'preparing to connect' screen
  • Cloud Shell disconnects when switching apps
  • SSH authentication failures
  • App crashes when viewing error console details
  • Logs page continuously refreshing
Show 19 more
  • Cannot view saved dashboards from web
  • Saved queries not displaying correctly
  • Permission errors blocking access to projects
  • Billing section shows incorrect date ranges
  • Incident notifications not working
  • Device registration process failing
  • Cloud Shell input issues with special keys (Ctrl+A, Ctrl+E)
  • Cannot select or copy text in Cloud Shell
  • SSH return key not working properly in some contexts
  • App crashes after updates
  • 2-factor authentication sign-in broken
  • Incidents marked resolved still show as new
  • Logs missing with applied filters
  • App crashes when viewing log entry details in dark mode
  • External keyboard support broken on iPad
  • Notification permissions not requested on iOS
  • Cannot change logged-in account
  • Project switching broken
  • Scrolling issues in logs and traces

Requested features

20 requests
  • Cloud Run service support
  • Cloud Tasks management
  • Cloud Build integration
  • Custom dashboard access from mobile
  • Dark mode for iPad
Show 15 more
  • Cloud Shell full-screen mode
  • Better keyboard support for external keyboards
  • Account switching capability
  • Notification management improvements
  • GKE (Google Kubernetes Engine) support
  • Cloud Functions monitoring
  • Datalab integration
  • API quota viewing
  • Cloud Storage bucket upload/replace functionality
  • Instance group management
  • HTTP Load Balancing controls
  • Password protection for app
  • Font size adjustment in console
  • Improved SSH/terminal UX
  • BigQuery support

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Dropbox

Subscriptions9
  • Dropbox Simple - Monthly1 Month trial$6.991 Month
  • Dropbox Plus - Monthly$11.991 Month
  • Dropbox Plus - Monthly1 Month trial$11.991 Month
Show 6 more
  • Dropbox Plus - Monthly14 Days trial$11.991 Month
  • Dropbox Professional - Monthly$19.991 Month
  • Dropbox Professional - Monthly1 Month trial$19.991 Month
  • Dropbox Family - Monthly1 Month trial$19.991 Month
  • Dropbox Plus - Annual2 variants$119.991 Year
  • Dropbox Plus - Annual1 Month trial$119.991 Year
None

Google Cloud

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Dropbox free?
Dropbox is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Google Cloud free?
Google Cloud is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Dropbox or Google Cloud?
Dropbox is rated higher. Dropbox averages 4.8 out of 5 from 900K ratings, while Google Cloud averages 3.4 from 100 ratings.
Do Dropbox or Google Cloud have ads?
Neither Dropbox nor Google Cloud shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Dropbox or Google Cloud?
Dropbox ships an update every 2 weeks, and Google Cloud weekly. Most recently, Dropbox was updated on September 24, 2026 and Google Cloud on September 17, 2026.

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