Microsoft OneDrive alternatives: 13 cloud storage tools compared
People search for OneDrive alternatives when storage that came bundled with Microsoft 365 stops fitting what they need: files that no provider should be able to read, a different jurisdiction, a flat price outside the Microsoft subscription, or a self-hosted setup. They move to end-to-end encrypted services, to the other large collaboration suites, or to a server they run themselves.
Short answer: The closest replacements for Microsoft OneDrive in our cloud storage ranking are Google Drive, Dropbox and Box. Choose Google Drive if your team writes in Google Docs and Sheets rather than Word and Excel. All 13 alternatives below are ranked products from Best Cloud Storage for Business in 2026, and each says where it differs from Microsoft OneDrive.
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Pricing: Per user per month, published; included in Microsoft 365
Established in: United States
Built for: A company already paying for Microsoft 365
Not for: A team on Google or Apple
01
Why buyers look past Microsoft OneDrive
01
Storage is tied to the subscription
For most Microsoft 365 business subscriptions, the default OneDrive allowance is 1 TB per user, which an administrator can raise to 5 TB depending on plan and licence count. That is generous, but it comes from the licence: when a user account is deleted, Microsoft's documentation says the OneDrive moves to the site collection recycle bin for 93 days, and access is lost for everyone the content was shared with. Teams that want storage they can buy and cancel separately look elsewhere.
02
Limits that show up at scale
Microsoft documents a 250 GB limit per uploaded file across OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams, and a limit of 400 characters on the full decoded file path for OneDrive. Most users never reach either. Video, CAD and data-science teams, and anyone syncing deeply nested folder trees, do, and then compare services built for large files.
03
Encryption keys and who can read files
Personal Vault adds a second identity check for sensitive files, and Microsoft lists it for OneDrive Basic, Personal and Family subscribers, available from the web, the mobile app or a Windows PC. It is a lock on top of a service Microsoft operates, not a design in which the provider cannot read your files. Organisations that need that property move to services with client-side, zero-knowledge encryption.
Free 5 GB plan; paid per user per month, minimum three users, published
Team folders and file sync at a low per-user price
your team already uses Zoho applications and wants team folders with per-file upload limits stated up front
#10
03
What each one does differently
1
Google Drive
United States · Per user per month with Workspace, published
Google Drive is the other mainstream suite-bundled store. Google Workspace lists pooled storage of 30 GB per person on Business Starter, 2 TB on Standard and 5 TB on Plus, billed per user per month (shown at EUR 6.80, 13.60 and 21.10 on our visit). It follows the same model as OneDrive, so it solves a suite preference, not a privacy or hosting concern.
Switch from Microsoft OneDrive if your team writes in Google Docs and Sheets rather than Word and Excel.
Dropbox is a stand-alone file service rather than part of an office suite. Standard is listed at EUR 12 per user per month with 3 TB for the team and 180 days to restore deleted files, and Advanced at EUR 18 with 15 TB and one year to restore. Uploads can go up to 100 GB per file. Enterprise is quoted on request.
Switch from Microsoft OneDrive if you want sync and sharing independent of Microsoft or Google, with a longer deleted-file window.
United States · Per user per month, published; minimum of three users on business plans
Box positions itself as AI-powered content management, workflow and collaboration for organisations, not as a personal sync folder. We could not retrieve its pricing page during this review, so we state no plan or price here. Check the current plans and the user minimum on box.com.
Switch from Microsoft OneDrive if you need document workflows and governance around content, not only file sync.
Switzerland · Free tier; paid per user per month, published
Proton Drive is end-to-end encrypted, and Proton says it blocks third parties and itself from reading your files. Proton AG is a Swiss company supervised by the non-profit Proton Foundation. A free plan gives 5 GB, Drive Plus is 200 GB at $4.99 a month, and Drive Professional is 1 TB per user at $9.99 a month. Its online editor covers documents and spreadsheets only.
Switch from Microsoft OneDrive if end-to-end encryption and a Swiss operator matter more than Office integration.
Germany · Free self-hosted; enterprise subscriptions per user per year, published
Nextcloud is open-source (the server is AGPL-3.0) software that you host on your own server, or get from a provider, so your files stay on infrastructure you choose. It adds chat and calls and online editing of docx, pptx and xlsx files. You run and secure it, or pay for support, which OneDrive's managed service spares you.
Switch from Microsoft OneDrive if you want to keep files on your own servers and can run the administration.
Tresorit sells end-to-end encrypted, zero-knowledge storage in separate products for businesses (SecureCloud), private use and confidential data rooms (Engage). Its terms apply Swiss law and Zurich arbitration. It is built around security and sharing with outsiders, so check how far its editing and Microsoft 365 integration go before relying on them.
Switch from Microsoft OneDrive if you handle confidential client files and need end-to-end encryption with business administration.
Canada · Free 5 GB plan; Teams per user per month, minimum three users, published
Sync.com offers end-to-end encrypted storage, described on its pricing page as a platform where only you have access to your files. Teams plans give 1, 2 or 10 TB per user with a three-user minimum. It is a storage and sharing product, so compare its editing options with OneDrive's Office apps before moving.
Switch from Microsoft OneDrive if a small team wants encrypted storage at a flat per-user rate without an office suite.
Switzerland · Per month, per year or one-off lifetime, published
pCloud is operated by pCloud International AG, registered in Switzerland, and is known for lifetime plans: the pricing page lists a one-time payment of EUR 219 for 500 GB and EUR 499 for 2 TB at the discounted rate. Client-side encryption is a separate Crypto folder rather than the default for all files.
Switch from Microsoft OneDrive if you want to pay once for personal storage instead of a recurring subscription.
Germany · Free plan; monthly or annual plans by storage size, stackable, published
Filen encrypts all files client-side with zero-knowledge technology and is published by Filen Cloud Dienste UG, a German company. Plans are monthly, starting at 200 GiB for EUR 1.99 and stackable, with unlimited bandwidth. Plans are sized by storage, with no suite of applications attached.
Switch from Microsoft OneDrive if you want cheap, default-encrypted personal storage from a German vendor.
Spain · Free 1 GB plan; paid per year or one-off lifetime, published
Internxt, from Internxt Universal Technologies SL, describes its service as open source and audited, with zero-knowledge AES-256 encryption. It gives 1 GB free and sells 1, 2 and 5 TB plans billed annually or as a lifetime purchase. The free allowance is small.
Switch from Microsoft OneDrive if you want encrypted storage with the option of a one-off lifetime purchase.
Slovenia · Free 10 GB plan; paid yearly by storage size, published
Koofr gives 10 GB free and sells storage by size, for example 100 GB for 2 EUR a month and 1 TB for 10 EUR a month. It can connect your existing Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Drive accounts, which makes it useful as a single view over several clouds during a migration. Its pricing page does not describe zero-knowledge encryption.
Switch from Microsoft OneDrive if you want to gather several cloud accounts in one place while you migrate.
Norway · Free tier; paid per month or year by plan and user count, published
Jottacloud is run by Jotta Group AS of Oslo and says files are stored on servers in Norway. It has a free 5 GB plan, an Unlimited plan at EUR 12.9 a month with upload speed reduced after 5 TB, Home plans for five users, and Pro and Business plans licensed for commercial use. Its focus is backup of all devices more than collaboration.
Switch from Microsoft OneDrive if you want backup of every device with the data held in Norway.
India · Free 5 GB plan; paid per user per month, minimum three users, published
Zoho WorkDrive is a team product billed per user per month with a three-user minimum on annual billing. Starter includes 1 TB of team storage for 3 to 10 users and a 10 GB upload limit per file, Team 3 TB and 50 GB, Business 5 TB and 250 GB. It suits teams already inside Zoho's applications.
Switch from Microsoft OneDrive if your team already uses Zoho applications and wants team folders with per-file upload limits stated up front.
OneDrive remains the right choice when the organisation already pays for Microsoft 365. The storage is included, files open in Word, Excel and PowerPoint without conversion, administrators manage it from the same place as email and Teams, and a default of 1 TB per user (raised to 5 TB on some plans) is more than most staff use. Moving to a separate service adds a second bill and a second sign-in for little gain unless you need encryption the provider cannot undo or a different jurisdiction.
05
What moving off Microsoft OneDrive involves
01
Check what lives in OneDrive besides files
Shared links and permissions do not move with the files, and neither do the document collaboration histories created in Office. Inventory what is shared externally first and tell recipients that links will change. Where users have folders redirected to OneDrive (Desktop, Documents), restore those locally before you disconnect the sync client.
02
Mind the path length and file size
Microsoft allows paths of up to 400 characters in OneDrive, which is longer than some alternatives accept, so very deep folder trees can fail on import. Rename the long paths before the move. For deleted accounts, remember Microsoft's 93 days in the recycle bin and copy anything you need before an account is removed.
06
Questions about replacing Microsoft OneDrive
5 answers
How much storage does a business OneDrive account have?
Microsoft's documentation says the default OneDrive storage for each user is 1 TB for most subscription plans, and depending on plan and number of licensed users it can be increased up to 5 TB.
Is OneDrive end-to-end encrypted?
Not by default. Microsoft's Personal Vault adds a second identity check for selected files, available to OneDrive Basic, Personal and Family subscribers, but we found no statement that files in OneDrive are zero-knowledge encrypted.
Proton Drive, Tresorit, Sync.com, Filen, Internxt and pCloud's Crypto folder are the services here that describe client-side or end-to-end encryption.
What is the largest file OneDrive accepts?
Microsoft documents a 250 GB limit for each file uploaded to Teams, SharePoint document libraries and OneDrive folders.
Dropbox lists transfers of up to 100 GB per file on its Standard and Advanced plans, and Zoho WorkDrive lists 10 GB on Starter and 250 GB on Business.
Which alternative can I host myself?
Nextcloud. Its server is released under the AGPL-3.0 licence and the vendor describes it as software for self-hosting on your own server, with desktop and mobile apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.
Can I pay once instead of a subscription?
pCloud and Internxt both list lifetime purchases. pCloud shows EUR 219 for 500 GB and EUR 499 for 2 TB at the discounted rate, and Internxt offers a lifetime option next to its annual plans.
Check the current price on each vendor's page, as these are promotional.
