Is iCloud a viable alternative to Dropbox? Any other alternatives?

Once a year I do some tests to see if the wife and I, with only our grocery list shared between us, can switch. And once a year I find out the answer is “no - and it isn’t any better than last year”.

iCloud is extremely slow. Updates in files can take 10 minutes or more to propagate, especially if two or more people have been editing them. If you’re the only one editing a file, on multiple devices, it’s still slow but much less so.

It also tries to be clever about what it syncs and when, with no options (that I’m aware of) to force it to simply fetch local copies of everything. This makes it unusable for files that you want to access in a terminal as the terminal is, for some reason, not part of the clever sync on demand system.

However, if you want to get fancy with sharing stuff with applications on iOS, such as, for example, an Obsidian file directory or some other set of markdown files to view and edit on the go, you’re pretty much forced to do it in iCloud as the Dropbox file provider on iOS is extremely unreliable and prone to locking up, even if you’re the only one editing the files. For this use case you’re pretty much condemned to iCloud.

I switched from Google Drive to iCloud in 2021. I haven’t looked back, but also, my use is neither heavy nor demanding. I just keep my documents in iCloud and otherwise use git for my heavy lifting professionally.

iCloud is opaque. It tells you if some file is syncing, or if it’s only in the cloud, but that’s really about it. There’s almost no level of control. If you want a revision history, that’s what Time Machine is for. Collaborate editing, API that apps to integrate into with, previewing without downloading, etc? Those are all not really options with iCloud.

But so far, it hasn’t lost any of my data and it is probably the most approachable option with an end-to-end encryption option (which I enable). Searching works well and even finds text in images and documents.

If you just need the basics and you’re all-in on Apple products, iCloud is great.

Not exactly the same feature set, but I’ve replaced Dropbox with Syncthing (open source) and it has been very reliable for my intended use (sync files across my devices).

I also run it on my home server for a central sync point. Don’t use it much on mobile, but works well enough if I do need a file. Not a good solution for sharing with others though.

Haven't tried Dropbox, but stay the hell away from iCloud Drive. It's about the same reliability as curlftpfs[1] but with the bonus feature that it's opaque and you have no idea what it's doing, whether it's failing, and why it's failing.

[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9224

Having worked with the file provider API, it’s not ideal. It will automatically prune downloaded files and you have no control over it. One Drive had to do a hack of storing the files you want to always keep in a different location and then have the file provider extension copy from that location rather than the cloud.

I switched from iCloud to Nextcloud, but Nextcloud will also be moving to a file provider extension, not for sure how it will work with their current sync client.

Ultimately I left macOS and don’t have any problems on Linux with Nextcloud.

I'll add to the pile of people suggesting syncthing. Works great across several PCs and phones for me. Mostly GNU/Linux and Android, a Windows machine or two, and I think I put it on one Mac that I don't use often. I also have it on my Steam Deck.

As some others also mentioned, syncing is not a true backup and you'll still want to make periodic copies to another drive/machine, probably at least one copy off-site. I just use rsync to a physical server at another location I have access to, but seems like many are recommending rclone for use with cloud storage.

I keep ALL of my data in Dropbox and basically treat all of my computers as one single computer.

I'm a little surprised how well this works given two things:

1) I use both macOS and Windows - I was especially worried about projects that take dependencies from package managers but haven't run into any conflicts here

2) I keep almost everything in local git repos inside dropbox. I was really worried I'd end up with fucked up repos if I end up working on one computer when it hasn't fully sync'd yet from the other one, but again, haven't run into any issues here

I really love this setup. It works amazingly well for me. But I'm also quite concerned that in the last years Dropbox keeps trying to get me to keep files in the cloud and not sync'd locally, and Apple now wants to push Dropbox to a new model which also prioritizes this. But worse, it's not backwards compatible, there's some types of file which will no longer sync and I don't actually know if I have any of them. And no LAN sync, which I suspect is part of why I've had no conflict issues with my setup.

Most of the incompatibilities/changed behavior seem like edge cases but the list is long and very scary for someone so dependent on dropbox: https://help.dropbox.com/installs/macos-support-for-expected...

So I guess I too am in the market for a dead simple "just do an amazing job of keeping this filesystem the same across devices" product.

It seems to be extremely rare, but do bear in mind that if Apple bans your account (Apple Id) you will lose access to your icloud files irrevocably.

See my previous posts on the matter for more info.

I was using OVHcloud before that but they "upgraded" their platform and it was awful.

Instead, I've been using MEGA for about 4 years now. Overall very stable, secure, solid apps (didn't try the iOS one yet though), and even switched to pay (~£5pm for 200GB).

https://mega.io/storage

OneDrive used to be great on Mac OS, but the recent change in API on the Mac OS side made it noticeably worse. These days it feels laggy and can have sync issues if you do file operations too fast.

For example, if I drop a file in the folder and immediately open it, it will often open as read only because it hasn’t synced yet. That is super annoying.

Worse, if you rename a series of files, sometimes he sync will get caught up and you’ll end up with two copies of one or more of the files - one with the original name, and one with the new name.

It’s a shame, because the old OneDrive Mac interface was sharp and fast. This was a clear downgrade forced by Apple’s changes.

I set up a server with Seafile 6 yrs ago and its been running pretty solid and stable. Its free, and needs minimal maintenance. I run it using docker-compose and the only thing i need yo do is update the seafile-server every few months.

They also have a nice iOS client which integrates well with the iOS Files app.

It depends if your use case is more to sync with yourself or if sharing with other people is important to you. I feel like Dropbox that does way better, the UX of iCloud Drive is still horrible (Seeing the progress of sync, sharing with people UI,...).

I use iCloud sync for things I want to eventually access on my phone, but I see it as "eventually consistent" as sometimes things just don't show up for a while.

I can highly recommend Syncthing if you don't need to access on mobile but only between computers.

I wasn't able to run Nextcloud without Docker (to save compute power on a tiny VPS), there were so many setup issues that I've run into, and the docs were terrible (undocumented folder permissions, no proper nginx configs). As an alternative, I use Google Drive through rclone drive mount (there was also their own drive mounter, which is dead now, I think), works fine, but it's not fast, and kinda pricy for my 1.5TB.

I’ve had great experiences with iCloud Drive. Moved from Dropbox and Google Apps a few years ago. iCloud+ 2TB shared with family is quite cost-effective for our use. Mail with custom domain too. I tend to buy devices with base storage because Optimise Storage in Drive and Photos works seamlessly. To collaborate with others using Dropbox, I much prefer to use Panic’s Transmit than keep sync running (I no longer have the Dropbox app installed).

https://eclecticlight.co/2023/07/24/how-to-fix-problems-with...

https://eclecticlight.co/?s=icloud

Depends on what you store on iCloud. Dot files aren't synced, which I learned the hard way when I tried to use it as a place for my ~/code folder.

For basic stuff (I'm the only one changing files, I'm not expecting to change a file on my laptop and have it on my desktop seconds later, I'm only mirroring files between Apple devices), iCloud has worked fine for me for a very long time.

For those reading this looking for alternatives: nextcloud-aio docker image on a NAS or small server works well for syncing files across machines. It's overkill, so I turn off most of the features, but I find the clients reliable across OSes (mobile and otherwise).

I do not put Nextcloud on the internet -- my use case does not require changes away from home to be live synced to others before returning. By the time I've walked in the door and put stuff away, changes + photos are synced.

The only issue I have with iCloud is that there's no way to ignore files in a directly, namely the .git folder, so you can't use it for code. I don't remember the exact issue but it was causing issues with git.

Which is a shame because I wanted to just toss my ~/Code folder into iCloud and never worry about losing work nor have to ensure every code folder is backed up on Github.

I used to use Dropbox lightly. When iCloud was introduced I tried it, it sucked, and year or two later I tried it again and I have never looked back.

The only downside in iCloud is that you cannot configure whether you want to have whole folders offline available, but barring that it has been smooth sailing for 10 years or so.

Disclaimer: I share nothing with anyone, and I use it with abour 5 devices and most of the time it syncs fast enough.

I think the problem of files not synchronizing had been solved end of last year [0]. Since then I am using iCloud Drive without any issues.

[0]https://tidbits.com/2023/10/12/cloudy-with-a-chance-of-insan...

iCloud has gotten much better for me over the years. It’s now my primary storage for documents. One of my major gripes was how long it would take to save in iOS from the browser for example and now it’s instant or at least as fast as Google Drive on iOS. No complaints for me right now.

I do have optimize storage turned off on my laptop so that all the cloud files are locally stored and can be backed up that way.

I’ve used iCloud for 10 years. No problems.

Just remember it’s not a backup it’s a convenience.

iCloud is rock solid at this point. I can't even remember the last time I had an issue. I've used it for more than a decade and I sync all my devices, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, Macs etc.

The killer feature for me is probably the iCloud shared album that allows me to share family photos with my whole family without having to resort to e.g. Facebook or Google.

Switched everything to Office/Onedrive since i need that license anyways and 1TB Storage is included. And ~100€ for 2TB of which i just use a fraction is too damn expensive for Dropbox. Also, there is no less expensive or smaller storage offering at Dropbox so the decison was easy to consolidate cost and move after 14 good years with Dropbox

I self-host seafile, using it to share various folders between iOS, Windows, Linux, and macOS, and can recommend it.

I’d like to stop paying for Dropbox too as I already have iCloud and onedrive, but so far I’ve had random problems with all of them (slow sync, not working download when sharing, like this), while Dropbox works consistently. It seems I’ll cancel my Office subscription sooner than Dropbox if this trend continues.

In my opinion, iCloud isn't a viable alternative to Dropbox (as far as its "a folder that syncs" functionality). They work differently under the hood and iCloud Drive is tied to all your iCloud data, so don't even think about using it for non-personal things.

You cannot sign into iCloud Drive on a Mac and not also have a bunch of sensitive personal data placed on it.

I now use SyncThing. It works when it works, but sync often breaks/stalls/goes into proxy mode and I have to go in and do some voodoo to get things syncing correctly again.

Moving my all my Syncthing devices to Tailscale IPs has helped this quite a bit, but it still kinda sucks. Still preferable to paying Dropbox's ever creeping prices and feature bloat.

I know this doesn’t help, but I reached the point where I just built my own alternative:

https://calmdocs.com

It was a lot of work but now I can sync multiple folders at once on macOS, not use the macOS file provider api, sync the macOS photos folder, access my synced files via an api, access file metadata (longitude and latitude so I can display photos from particular locations on a photo frame), listen to music in folders on the ios app, automatically transcode and watch uploaded videos on the ios app, etc, etc.

I’m using it myself and for a few others in private beta. My point is that sync done well can be done, it’s just that no-one seems to be providing the service.

I have used iCloud as my personal cloud storage for 5 years now.

Gradually upgraded storage as I needed and now on 2TB tier. I actually never ever faced any problem on iCloud. I never used Dropbox but used Google drive as personal storage in past (and still use at work).

I was an avid Dropbox user from 2011, but I found that myself thinking the same in the sense that Dropbox was becoming more and more complex. I also found their pricing became expensive.

I switched to Google Drive/Photos and haven't looked back

I recommend using one or more services supported by rclone (Dropbox is one of them)[0]. I use Backblaze B2 personally.

[0] https://rclone.org/docs/

I use Google Drive and iCloud on Mac. I sync my files and folder tree with Drive and sync my photos, messages, etc between apple devices with iCloud.

As a Gmail, Doc user I found this to be the most efficient way to pick up work between devices. As an iPhone/Mac user, the iCloud sync simplifies life.

Drive comes with 15GB of free storage, and if that's not enough you can upgrade to 100GB for $2/mo. You can upgrade iCloud to 50GB for a dollar a month.

The only advantage I see Dropbox having over these two is if you are a designer, or need to store and transfer large files on the regular.

Proton Drive could be considered. I don’t have any experience with it yet.

https://proton.me/drive/download

I’ve used iCloud since it started. It has got much better in the last couple of years. I gave up on Dropbox for the same reasons as you. iCloud is good for personal and family storage - but I haven’t tried it in a company setting. It would be my first choice, based on cost, but I’d approach it with caution.

In reference to another comment, it has become a lot less opaque, there’s a lot more feedback in the finder now.

FWIW, in a work setting I tried Google Drive and Box as alternatives and they both sucked, with terrible latency to the web site. Maybe because I’m located in Australia.

Personally I use my own NAS drive with Syncthing under TrueNAS for my bulk of files so that I phyiscally own everything. My NAS then has an off-site backup to Backblaze S3

Other stuff, especially if I want sharing of files with realtime editing I use Zoho WorkDrive which is pretty affordable (along with their other suite) https://go.zoho.com/lAl (full transparency - affiliate link)

I use iCloud because of Apple's Advanced Data Protection. I don't believe Dropbox offers anything like that, do they?

For backups I use Time Machine synced to a Linux home server.

I would put a couple HDDs into a synology, and install Tailscale. The experience has been better than cloud storage.

Synchting will also beat them. Could be on an always-on MiniPC or PI with external drive.

Have we come to rely on "cloud services" so much that we've forgotten how to do this ourselves?

When Dropbox came out, many people LOL'd (especially here on this site where most people could build Dropbox in a weekend) because it isn't that complicated. It was just pretty and targeting the less-technical.

But now here we are, on the same site where people used to be able to build this in a weekend, asking how to find an alternative because (presumably) nobody can build this in a weekend.

> If not, who do you have a good experience with?

What about running your own storage at home? If you have a decent internet connection this shouldn't be an issue.

If you look into QNAP and Synology, they should have 2-disks/4-disks (and more-disks) solutions that will most likely solve the problem for you, and you get to do a one-time purchase (and most likely get way more storage space).

Dropbox & OneDrive both have file number limitations. After loading files & days of failed syncing I've moved away from each.

Google Drive also had syncing issues on their Windows app & stores images in a reduced way.

Haven't used iCloud for years as need auto syncing from Win PCs as well.

Will be trying some of gge suggestions listed below too now. Thanks for the topic.

I use the following:

https://mega.io/

https://filen.io/

https://internxt.com/

Is Mountain Duck (https://mountainduck.io) still viable for this sort of thing?

I use Dropbox, iCloud and GDrive but, it's inconsistent and a bit fractured. I've never looked into consolidation seriously.

I used to be a big proponent of Google Drive, but they have fumbled over the last years. The client is now crashing randomly and during shutdown blocks Windows erratically. Worst, they lost the ability to sync pictures to Google Drive (from mobile/Google Photos).

I used pcloud and would discourage that. They have low bandwidth, I did everything they asked me for and yet everything is incredibly slow. I do get a lot of space.

Nextcloud (open source) works well in terms of performance, but their phone app crashes with directories full of files

Neither are exactly a 1:1 replacement, but check out backblaze and syncthing. A combination (syncthing for device sync, backblaze for offsite backup) might suit you.

I was impressed with syncthing when I used it ~2 years ago and I assume it's matured since then.

I was having similar concerns as you until a friend recommended Maestral. [0]

It works really, really well and at this point is much better than the Dropbox app.

[0]: https://www.maestral.app/

What about box? I don't see many folks recommending that, I wonder why?

I use onedrive as it comes with office 365 family subscription (5 user license for all office apps plus 1tb onedrive storage for each user). If you use office paying another provider for storage makes no sense.

It works mostly but sync is slower and you have no idea of progress.

The best value is Google. The best sync is still Dropbox, but it’s expensive and they nag you.

I've been using Synchthing for >1 year. Works really well and it is P2P so you don't need a server.

Syncthing works quite well on Android. On iOS you must bridge it with Mobius, but it kinda works.

I switched to a mix of OneDrive and SyncThing and never looked back. I do use iCloud drive, but not for anything involving large volumes of files.

I uninstalled Dropbox about a year ago since it became an unbearable bloatware. I now simply regularly back up to a physical HDD with Time Machine.

> Considering all that I want is for a directory tree to be mirrored between the cloud and my devices, are there any alternatives you’d recommend?

Apologies in advance but...

...you can already build such a system yourself quite trivially by getting an FTP account, mounting it locally with curlftpfs, and then using SVN or CVS on the mounted filesystem.

iCloud is not a viable alternative to dropbox because dropbox is everywhere, while iCloud is in apple, and begrudgingly on windows.

Also, iCloud frequently fails or has file conflicts when I use it on windows. I use Dropbox on Linux, android phones, on my iPhone, on windows, and on the Mac.

My top 3 are

1. OneDrive: works amazing on windows and has Office. Plus, works great with Cryptomator and clients are good 2. Google drive, the best all around service, that is cross device compatible and is always fast and reliable (this would be my suggestion to you) 3. Mega. Secure private, great share mechanic and client apps are very good

I've been happy with box.com -- works great for me.

I've just swapped Dropbox for Tresorit. So far so good.

As long as you stay within the Apple ecosystem, I find iCloud great. I pay for the 2Tb plan (technically part of Apple One, but I paid for the 1TB before that transition).

It does what I need, it easily syncs between all of my devices, and I kinda just don't have to think about it being there. Especially when I also use the Apple iWork stuff like Pages and Numbers.

The experience on Windows leaves a lot to be desired, but I just don't use it on Windows since my Windows machine is just for gaming so I don't need the drive there.

So honestly, yeah I think it is and once you go all in on iCloud with mail, notes, etc. It is really nice.

Add in the family plan so you can split 2TB with family (but you both have your own storage) it is an easy option in my book.

You can try mountain duck with any of your clouds

I’ve been very happy with Proton.

The problem with the file provider api is that it won’t sync to an external drive. I had a similar experience with drop box, where I used it for years but they are adding all this interface nonsense and I switched. Apple isn’t allowing external drives to force you to buy bigger internal drives that are crazy expensive and there is no easy way to backup iCloud if your Mac’s drive is smaller than its size so it seems like a system outside of the file provider api is preferred for me.