Open-source alternatives to Dropbox and Google Drive

Dropbox and Google Drive are brilliant until you add it all up. Every new starter is another monthly fee, forever. Your files sit on someone else's servers, often outside the UK. And when a supplier changes its prices or its terms, you go along with it, because moving everything feels impossible.

Nextcloud is the open-source answer that most businesses end up with. It has been around for years, it is used by everyone from small firms to governments, and it does the everyday jobs well.

Hands-on: Nextcloud

What it does day to day

For most teams, Nextcloud is "our own Dropbox":

• Sync to every device. Desktop apps for Windows, macOS and Linux keep a folder on each laptop in sync, and the phone apps for iPhone and Android do the same for photos and documents on the go.
• Shared folders. Set up folders for the whole team, a department or a project, and control who can see and change what.
• Share links. Send a link to a client or supplier, with a password and an expiry date if you like, without them needing an account.
• File versions. If someone overwrites or deletes something, you can roll back to an earlier version.
• Calendars and contacts that work with the apps people already use on their phones and laptops.
• Two-step login for every account.

Documents in the browser

Pair Nextcloud with Collabora Online (Nextcloud calls it Nextcloud Office) and you can open and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint files in the browser, with several people working on the same document at once. It is based on LibreOffice and handles everyday documents well. Very complex layouts, heavy macros or elaborate spreadsheets may look slightly different from how they look in Microsoft Office, so test your trickiest files first.

In my experience:

• Out of the box, it can feel slow. Proper caching (Redis) and a background job (cron) make the difference, so it needs setting up properly rather than just installing.
• Clients like the desktop sync. Files simply appear in Windows Explorer or the Mac Finder, just as they did with Dropbox.
• Editing together wins people over. Two people working on the same spreadsheet in the browser usually sells it.
• Upgrades need care. There are three major versions a year, and you have to step through them one at a time, checking your add-on apps work first.

What it takes to run

This is where open source is honest about "free". The software is free; running it well takes care:

• A properly set up server. Nextcloud runs on PHP with a database (MariaDB, MySQL or PostgreSQL). It needs caching set up properly to stay fast, which Nextcloud's own documentation recommends.
• Regular upgrades. Nextcloud releases about three major versions a year, and each has to be upgraded in turn. Skipping them for too long makes upgrading harder.
• Backups that are tested, of both the files and the database.
• A plan for document editing. Collabora's free edition (CODE) is described by Collabora as a development version "not recommended for production environments". For a business, Collabora's supported Business edition is around £2.60 per user a month. That is still a small fraction of Dropbox or Google Workspace.

That is exactly the part I take care of: you get the files and documents, I keep it running, updated and backed up.

The UK angle

• Your files stay in the UK. I host Nextcloud on a dedicated server in a UK data centre, so you know exactly where your data is.
• You own it. Files are stored as normal files, not locked into a format only one company can read. If you ever want to leave, you can take everything with you.
• Easier GDPR answers. When a client asks where their documents are kept and who can see them, you have a clear answer.
• No surprise changes. Nobody can raise your per-user price or change the terms on you.

Honest drawbacks

• Email isn't included. Nextcloud replaces the files and documents side of Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, not email. Most businesses keep their email where it is.
• It isn't quite as polished. The desktop sync is reliable, but not quite as smooth as Dropbox's, and very large folders with hundreds of thousands of files need a well-tuned server.
• Office compatibility isn't perfect. Everyday documents are fine; complex ones may need checking.
• It needs looking after. Upgrades, backups and security updates are not optional. If nobody does them, it gets slow and risky. That is the trade-off for not paying per user.
• Some extras are paid. Collabora's supported edition costs a little per user, and Nextcloud's own Enterprise subscription starts at 100 users, so most small businesses rely on whoever runs it for support.

Sources

• Nextcloud Hub 26 Summer release
• Nextcloud system requirements
• Nextcloud maintenance and release schedule
• Nextcloud Office admin documentation
• Collabora Online CODE
• Collabora Online pricing
• Nextcloud Enterprise pricing