# Folder vs Dropbox

Dropbox stores your files on Dropbox. Folder keeps them on Folder, free with 5 GB, or in your own Cloudflare R2, with every version kept and share links.

Both put a folder in Finder. They differ in where the files live, what is free, and how long a deleted file can come back.

- Pick Folder: You work on a Mac, you want every version of every file kept, or you want the files in your own Cloudflare.
- Pick Dropbox: You work on Windows, Linux or Android, or with a team that is already on Dropbox.

|  | Dropbox | Folder, on Folder | Folder, in your Cloudflare |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Where files live | Dropbox's servers | Our storage, in the EU | Your own R2 buckets; the files never pass through us |
| Free | 2 GB on Basic | 5 GB | Cloudflare's bill, usually $0 |
| A deleted file comes back | 30 days on Plus, 180 on Standard | Every overwrite and delete kept | Every overwrite and delete kept |
| A link with a password | On team plans | Not yet | Yes |
| Runs on | Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, Android, the web | Mac and the web; the iPhone app is not in the App Store yet | Mac and the web; the iPhone app is not in the App Store yet |

Dropbox's plans as listed on [dropbox.com/plans](https://www.dropbox.com/plans) in October 2026.

## Using Both

Folder works beside Dropbox. Add a project inside Dropbox to Folder as a folder [on this Mac](/docs/on-this-mac), and Leave Build Folders Out of Sync and Backups, on from the start, keeps its `node_modules` and build folders out of Dropbox and Time Machine.

## Moving From Dropbox

1. Get Folder for Mac and sign in with Apple. Folder appears in Finder's sidebar.
2. Drag the folders you want to move from Dropbox onto Folder in the sidebar. They upload, and show up at folder.dev.
3. Keep Dropbox for what you share with a Dropbox team. A project that stays in Dropbox can be added On This Mac, so its build folders stop syncing.

Source: https://folder.dev/vs/dropbox