MediaFire vs Dropbox: Which One Is Better?
A few days ago we’ve learned that MediaFire has properly entered the cloud storage market thanks to a new desktop app, as well as a redesigned and much improved web-based user interface. Following up on that news, we have recently published a full review of MediaFire, discussing the various features that the service brings to the table.
Today, it is time to learn how MediaFire stacks up against the most popular cloud storage provider, Dropbox. Throughout this article we’ll pit MediaFire against Dropbox and talk about how one service compares to another.
To help keep track, this article is split into various sections.
Round 1: OS Availability
MediaFire has apps available for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android.
Dropbox, on the other hand, is available on all the operating systems mentioned above, but also adds BlackBerry OS and Linux to the equation. Given that a lot of professionals use Linux on their systems, Dropbox wins this round.
Round 2: Free Cloud Storage
On sign-up, Dropbox’s free plan offers only 2GB of cloud storage space, while MediaFire offers 10GB. Both services allow their users to earn additional free storage space, but MediaFire offers better bonuses for the various actions you can perform. Connecting both your Facebook and Twitter accounts earns you 250MB of free storage on Dropbox, and 2GB of additional free storage on MediaFire.
Both MediaFire and Dropbox have referral bonuses in place, although MediaFire comes out on top in this section as well: with Dropbox you earn 500MB of additional storage for each friend you refer to the service, while MediaFire offers 1GB of additional storage for the same action.
If your free cloud storage quota is of maximum importance to you, MediaFire is preferable over Dropbox.
Round 3: Free Account Limitations
Although MediaFire comes out on top when it comes to free cloud storage, one important thing to bear in mind is that free Dropbox accounts are not limited in any way, while free MediaFire accounts are populated by ads and captcha codes.
In addition, MediaFire offers limited-time storage for free accounts. No doubts about this one, the round goes to DropBox.
Check out our guide on the Dropbox file size limit.
Round 4: Paid Account Pricing
As with all cloud storage providers, MediaFire and Dropbox really come into their own if you’re willing to sign up for a paid account (and it’s easy to cancel Dropbox if you need to). This what Dropbox currently charges for its paid plans:
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Dropbox Plus
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Dropbox Professional
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This is the always updated pricing information for MediaFire:
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Free
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Pro
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Business
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As you can easily notice from the tables above, MediaFire’s paid plans are much cheaper than equally-sized plans from Dropbox. Given that you can purchase a 500GB plan with MediaFire at the same price that Dropbox asks for its 100GB plan. MediaFire is a clear winner in this round.
Round 5: Folder Sync, File Sharing & File Versioning
File sharing works in very much the same way with both MediaFire and Dropbox, as do the automatic folder sync features. It’s hard to differentiate between the two services in this aspect, mainly because MediaFire seems to have perfectly replicated the functionality offered by Dropbox.
Both Dropbox and MediaFire allow their users to restore previous file versions as well as previously deleted files. So this round is a close draw!
Conclusion
At the end of our battle, MediaFire and Dropbox won two rounds each, with one round called a draw. As it turns out, MediaFire is a tough competitor for Dropbox, especially when it comes to free storage quotas and paid account pricing.
On the other hand, Dropbox has apps available for more platforms, and does not limit free accounts. What do you guys think: which one is better: MediaFire or Dropbox? Drop us a comment in the section below and join the conversation! Read our Dropbox vs Google Drive vs OneDrive piece, too.