Is Dropbox Free to Use in 2020?

As cloud storage becomes more common in modern computing, you may wish to try out some of the most popular solutions. However, it can be expensive to buy a plan, especially if you opt for a full year to get the best price deals. In this article, we’ll be looking into the free Dropbox Basic plan and ways to increase the file space of your Dropbox folder (read our guide to what Dropbox is if you’re not familiar with it).

How Much Space is Free on Dropbox?

If you want to try out Dropbox for yourself, there are two free options. Dropbox Basic can hold 2GB of files for an indefinite period, although it has limited features. There is also a 14-day trial of the Plus and Professional plans, which you can use to test out the more advanced offers from Dropbox (read our Dropbox review for a thorough overview of the plans).

You can upgrade your Dropbox account at any point. Upgrading will let you use extra features and allow you to save more files into your Dropbox folder. However, if you’re looking for a cheaper or more secure alternative, you should look through our best cloud storage software guide, Sync.com and pCloud are our faves, and both have free plans much like Dropbox does.

How Do I Get Dropbox for Free?

If you want to start using Dropbox for free, you will need to navigate to its webpage, Dropbox.com. The sign-in section is available on the right side of this page. Here, you can enter your name, email address and a password. Dropbox doesn’t limit the number of accounts one person can have, so you can repeat this process with a new email address.

Once you have entered your details, an option to try Dropbox Plus will appear. Although this will give you 14 days of 2TB of storage, it requires payment details, and the trial will automatically change to the paid plan after the period is over. 

A similar free period for Dropbox Professional is available, with the full suite of extra features. You will need a new account and email address to use either trial, so this is a better option if you are looking for a short-term test to see if Dropbox will work for you.

There is also a light-gray button beneath the trial option for a long-term 2GB account. By clicking here, you can avoid the need to enter payment details before you receive the email to sign in and verify your Dropbox account, but you will receive a limited feature set. 

Once you have verified your Dropbox account, you can either download the desktop UI or go back to Dropbox.com to sign in. Both will take you to your account, where you can begin to save your files.

How Much Does It Cost to Use Dropbox?

Getting something for nothing is great, but you shouldn’t ignore the benefits of paying for software. The extra storage space is the main addition to Dropbox’s paid plans, but there is also priority access to the support team and features like offline access on the mobile app. 

The first paid plan, Dropbox Plus, gives you 2TB of space and costs $9.99 per month when you pay for a full year. Although this is far from one of the best cloud storage deals available, it isn’t too costly because there are extra features in this plan, including a remote device wipe to protect your files if someone steals your phone.

If you want to go for the more feature-rich option, Dropbox Professional, you will have access to 3TB for $16.58 per month, when paid yearly. This is more expensive than some alternatives but it does come with greater controls for sharing and working on files with others. Dropbox Business is our choice as the best cloud storage for collaboration because of similar features and options.

These plans are both available within Dropbox by selecting “upgrade account” and then choosing the option you want. You can pay with either PayPal or a credit card, and it will automatically renew with the same payment method unless you cancel the plan.

How Do I Get a Free Dropbox Upgrade?

Dropbox occasionally runs a promotion with other companies to give out free storage space upgrades. These promotions — for example, getting 25GB of extra space when you purchase a new HP computer — have three simple steps in order to apply them to your Dropbox account.

If the promotion comes with a new computer, there will be an installer for Dropbox on the desktop. When you use this to download Dropbox, it will automatically apply the upgrade. You just need to open it up, create a new Dropbox account and start using your extra space.

Some promotions come with other pieces of software. When you purchase one of these programs, you will receive a link that will redirect you to sign in to your Dropbox Basic account, which will receive the upgrade. 

When using these free upgrades, you should remember that after the six- or 12-month period is over, your account will go back to the basic 2GB plan. Although you will be able to access your data, you won’t be able to work on or share files until you go below the limit.

Have you tried a Dropbox Basic account or one of its promotions? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Thanks for reading.