FILE STORAGE

Private alternatives to Google Drive and Dropbox

If the goal is simply “my files should sync everywhere with almost no maintenance”, managed storage is hard to beat. Self-hosting becomes attractive when control over storage location, capacity or integration matters enough to justify running the service.

Google Drive

Google currently includes up to 15 GB shared across Drive, Gmail and Photos for a standard account, with larger quotas available through Google One. The provider handles infrastructure and scaling.

Dropbox

Dropbox offers managed sync and storage plans with device access, file recovery and sharing features. Current plan sizes and prices change over time, so compare the live plan page rather than relying on an old article.

Nextcloud

Nextcloud can provide browser access, desktop/mobile sync, shared folders and collaboration features on storage you control. You can run it yourself or use a managed Nextcloud provider.

What changes when you self-host?

You choose the disks and quotas, but you also take on updates, backups, HTTPS, remote access and recovery. If the server fails while you are away from home, there is no provider operations team unless you hired one.

Do not compare raw storage prices only

A self-hosted terabyte and a managed terabyte are not equivalent products. One includes infrastructure operations, while the other gives you more control over the system.