Backblaze vs Dropbox Comparison 2026
Backblaze is object storage billed by the terabyte, $6.95 a month, reached through an S3-compatible API with free egress up to three times what you store. Dropbox is a synced drive billed by the seat, with 2 GB free and Plus at $9.99 a month for 2 TB, built so a client with no account can still open a shared link. Backblaze suits an archive an API writes to and rarely reads from. Dropbox suits files people need to open, comment on and sync every day.
At a glance
- Backblaze starts cheaper, at $6.95.
- Only Dropbox has a free tier.
Side by side
Backblaze | Dropbox | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $6.95 | From $9.99 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Paid subscription | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier (they differ) | No | Yes |
| Billing (they differ) | Usage-based | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | 30 days |
| API |
Backblaze
Cloud storage at $6.95 a terabyte
Backblaze B2 is object storage priced at a fraction of what the big three charge, with an S3-compatible API so most tools already speak to it. For a video archive that has to exist somewhere and rarely gets read, the arithmetic is hard to argue with. Egress is free up to three times what you store, and above that it is billed by the gigabyte.
Our note
Egress decides this one, not the $6.95. Free retrieval up to three times average storage covers an archive that is written often and read rarely. A working library pulled back every week meets the penny a gigabyte, and that is a different bill.
Dropbox
File delivery and video review clients can open
Dropbox is how a finished cut reaches a client who will not install anything, and Replay adds timestamped comments on top so the notes come back attached to the frame. Two terabytes on the personal plan is roughly a year of 4K projects. Frame.io is the better review tool; this is the better place to put the files.
Only on this side
Why people weigh these two
- Dropbox instead of Backblaze
- Everyday file storage clients can open, from $9.99 with a free tier; built for sharing and review where Backblaze B2 is an S3-compatible archive at $6.95 a terabyte.
- Backblaze instead of Dropbox
- Backblaze charges $6.95 a terabyte for cloud storage alone, cheaper than Dropbox's $9.99 plan for anybody who does not need Replay or a synced desktop folder.
Which one should you pick
Take Backblaze for an archive that mostly sits still. The rate is flat regardless of team size, egress up to three times average storage is free, and an S3-compatible API means most backup tools already know how to write to it. Pull the same library back every week instead of occasionally and the free egress allowance runs out, at which point retrieval costs a cent a gigabyte, and there is no link to hand a client since everything moves through the API.
Take Dropbox when a file has to reach a person rather than a program. Plus is $9.99 a month for one person and 2 TB, and Replay layers timestamped comments on video so review notes land on the frame. Standard moves to $15 a user for team storage starting at 3 TB, and Advanced to $24 a user for 15 TB with end-to-end encryption and SSO. Cost scales with people on Dropbox and with terabytes on Backblaze, so which is cheaper depends on which of those two numbers is actually growing.
Common questions
- Which is cheaper, Backblaze or Dropbox?
- It depends on what is growing. Backblaze bills a flat $6.95 a terabyte regardless of team size, so it wins for a large archive with few people touching it. Dropbox bills by the seat, and Plus at $9.99 covers one person and 2 TB, so it can be cheaper for a small team that needs to open and share files rather than just store them.
- Can a client open a file stored in Backblaze like a Dropbox link?
- Not directly. Backblaze is reached through an S3-compatible API, so sharing a file means building or using a tool on top of it. Dropbox generates a link that opens for anybody, with no account or software required on their end.
- Does Backblaze charge for downloading files back out?
- Only past a point. Egress is free up to three times what you store in a month, then it is billed at a cent a gigabyte. An archive read back constantly can meet that cap; one written once and rarely touched usually will not.
- Does Dropbox do anything Backblaze does not?
- Yes: synced desktop apps, shareable links, file recovery windows from 30 days to a year, and Replay, which adds timestamped comments to video for review. Backblaze is storage reached through an API, with none of that layered on top.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.