Microsoft 365 or Dropbox for a Small Team on Macs: What Each Plan Gives You
Microsoft 365 or Dropbox for a small team on Macs? See what each provider's plans include, how they differ and how we would decide.
Choosing where a small team keeps its files is really a choice between a complete workplace package and a dedicated file service. Microsoft 365 puts OneDrive alongside email, Teams and the Office apps. Dropbox focuses on storing and sharing files.
This guide explains what each provider’s business plans include, so you can see which fits the way your team works.
What a Microsoft 365 business plan includes
Business Basic, Business Standard and Business Premium each include 1TB of OneDrive storage per person.
Business Basic includes the web versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, business email on your own domain, Teams, OneDrive and SharePoint. Business Standard adds the installed versions of the Office apps for your Macs. Our guide to choosing a Microsoft 365 plan for a Mac-based business goes through the plans in more detail.
What Dropbox’s team plans include
Dropbox Standard suits a team of any size, including one person. It gives 3TB of storage for the first person, shared across the team, plus 1TB for each extra person who uses it. It includes team folders, groups, admin controls, the ability to send files of up to 100GB, and 180 days to get back deleted files and earlier versions.
Dropbox Advanced is for teams of three or more. Storage starts at 15TB for the team, and you have a year to get back deleted files. It adds more control over who manages what, stronger encryption options, sign-in through your business’s existing work accounts, and alerts for suspicious activity, including ransomware.
The main difference
Microsoft 365 puts your files alongside your email, calendar, Teams and Office apps. Dropbox is about storing, sharing and managing files, and does not include email or Office apps. That is why comparing storage space alone can mislead: you are comparing a full package with a single service.
Recovery and backup
Both services let you get back deleted files for a limited time, but neither is a full backup of your Macs. Our guides on why cloud storage is not always a backup and what iCloud, OneDrive and Dropbox protect explain the difference.
How we would decide
If your team already uses Outlook, Word, Excel and Teams through Microsoft 365, use OneDrive. It comes with what you are already paying for, and it works with Teams and SharePoint. Our guide to OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams on a Mac explains how they fit together.
If your team mainly needs somewhere to store and share files, and does not use Microsoft 365, Dropbox Standard is a strong choice, with team folders and simple controls over who sees what.
Whichever you choose, a clear folder structure and simple sharing rules make more difference than the product itself.
Need a hand?
If you would like help choosing and setting up the right system, see our Business Software & Cloud Services service, or contact Your Mac Tech.
