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Azure NetApp Files vs Dropbox comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 17, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.4
Azure NetApp Files boosts performance, eases deployment, reduces downtime, and optimizes costs, despite higher initial expenses than on-premises.
Sentiment score
6.3
Users appreciate Dropbox's low-cost features, though quantifying ROI is challenging; benefits include accessibility, security, and reduced complaints.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.4
Azure NetApp Files receives mixed feedback on support, praised for integration and ease, but some users seek more specialized assistance.
Sentiment score
2.7
Dropbox support is mixed; positives include 24/7 availability, negatives involve slow email responses and licensing issue assistance.
They have top-notch people.
Dropbox offers 24-hour support, both through chat and limited hour calls.
We provide the support ourselves and do not have any support straight from Dropbox.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Azure NetApp Files is scalable, flexible, and cost-effective for large setups, but pricing concerns exist for smaller setups.
Sentiment score
7.2
Dropbox is scalable for various business sizes, offering flexible plans, but may vary in effectiveness at enterprise levels.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.4
Azure NetApp Files is rated highly for stability due to its reliability and consistency under increased workloads and migrations.
Sentiment score
8.1
Users consider Dropbox stable and reliable, despite occasional syncing delays and reliance on internet connectivity for uploads.
 

Room For Improvement

Azure NetApp Files needs improved features, cost efficiency, easier deployment, regional integration, and strengthened security to meet user demands.
Dropbox needs better storage, pricing, security, interface, and integration to enhance user experience and remain competitive.
I would like for them to have more compression so that it can avoid using more storage.
Sharing documents with other people in the same division or department and being able to work without downloading the file would be ideal.
One area of improvement would be to allow multiple users to edit a file simultaneously and see edits in real time, similar to OneDrive.
 

Setup Cost

Azure NetApp Files pricing is premium yet justified by features like management, scalability, and flexible licensing options.
Enterprise users find Dropbox pricing competitive, though opinions vary on cost-effectiveness and desire for better discounts and management.
It is expensive, especially with NetApp Ultra Storage.
 

Valuable Features

Azure NetApp Files enhances performance, scalability, and management with integrated features for backup, recovery, and seamless Azure integration.
Dropbox offers user-friendly, secure storage with seamless syncing, easy sharing, scalability, and strong compatibility across all devices and environments.
The most valuable feature is that the sixty-terabyte database snapshot can be done in less than two to three minutes.
It also features an admin console where we can easily manage users, see which user has access to which content, and how much space they are consuming.
 

Categories and Ranking

Azure NetApp Files
Ranking in Cloud Storage
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Migration (8th), Public Cloud Storage Services (10th)
Dropbox
Ranking in Cloud Storage
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
90
Ranking in other categories
Content Collaboration Platforms (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Cloud Storage category, the mindshare of Azure NetApp Files is 8.4%, down from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dropbox is 5.4%, down from 5.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud Storage
 

Featured Reviews

AjayKumar13 - PeerSpot reviewer
Fast, reliable, and helps meet our SLAs
The most valuable feature is that the sixty-terabyte database snapshot can be done in less than two to three minutes. It is faster. It is quicker. It is reliable. You don't need to take the snapshot. Snapshots are compressed. It doesn't take storage from the back end. It takes three minutes to do sixty terabytes of the database. You don't have to go to the tape and store it outside, which takes hours and hours. It also uses a lot less of the storage. It's very easy to restore or copy the snapshots to other locations for disaster recovery. There are a lot of benefits. In terms of the snapshot's rapid restore capability, we were testing the load of performance testing, and we needed to rebuild the DR site. If I need to rebuild the DR for a standby database, it takes sixty terabytes to copy onto the another site, which will take at least a day. Now, the snapshot is easy. We just copy the snapshots, and then we do the cross-region application. The snapshots came along with that, and that's where we were able to build the DR site within a few hours rather than days. All together, instead of a four-day process, instead of a day.
Edgar  Paez - PeerSpot reviewer
Work from anywhere and backup easily while being practical
I recommend Dropbox, yet not for all of the features it has. I am a basic user. In a personal mode, we have about 100 employees, and maybe 20 of them use Dropbox as a personal backup system. ShareFile is more secure than Dropbox. Five years ago, ShareFile was qualified as having better security control, access privilege management, and version control recovery, among many features that we were using for private documentation. Overall, I would rate Dropbox an eight out of ten.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Educational Organization
10%
Educational Organization
41%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
6%
Construction Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

How does Azure NetApp Files compare to NetApp ONTAP?
Azure NetApp Files is a Microsoft Azure file storage service built on NetApp technology. The platform combines the file capabilities of Azure and NetApp to move critical file-based applications to ...
What do you like most about Azure NetApp Files?
The availability is good, meaning downtime or network issues rarely occur. The system also offers flexibility, allowing for increases in data volume, IOPS, and other capabilities without requiring ...
What do you like most about Dropbox?
For me, the biggest thing is version history. I can easily go back and view older versions.
What needs improvement with Dropbox?
One area of improvement would be to allow multiple users to edit a file simultaneously and see edits in real time, similar to OneDrive. In Dropbox, once a file is opened on one system, it locks the...
 

Also Known As

NetApp ANF, ANF
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

SAP, Restaurant Magic
Vita Coco, BCBGMAXAZRIA Group, Centric Project, Kayak, FourSquare, Asana, Huge Adversting , USA Gymnastics, Appen, Valliant, Radio Lab
Find out what your peers are saying about Azure NetApp Files vs. Dropbox and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,490 professionals have used our research since 2012.