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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Dropbox vs Google Photos

Dropbox 4.8★ · Free + IAP 70
Winner Tie
Google Photos 4.8★ · Free to download 68

Dropbox is a more reliable choice for general file storage and sharing, while Google Photos excels at photo-specific features like memory creation and facial recognition, despite recent performance and privacy concerns.

Full reviews: Dropbox · Google Photos

Dropbox offers reliable file access and sharing across devices, though some users find its interface clunky and pricing high. Google Photos provides excellent photo organization and AI-powered memory features, but faces criticism for privacy, app bloat, and recent performance issues.

Head to head

Features edge: Google PhotosR6R11R14R17
Dropbox Dropbox is praised for its ability to access files across multiple devices and simplify life R11. It's also valued for keeping important photos and documents safe R14R17. However, users desire better search functionality with wildcard support and struggle with deleting items directly from the app, often needing to use the website R6. Some find the interface confusing and not straightforward .
Google Photos Google Photos is highly appreciated for its AI-powered features like creating videos and memories . It's also seen as effective for backing up photos automatically . However, recent updates have broken features like photo-to-video creation and the magic eraser . Users also dislike the new photo grid layout and the inability to filter between backed-up and non-backed-up photos .
Ease of Use tieR3R11R26R30
Dropbox Dropbox is generally considered easy to use for accessing files and sharing R11R26. However, some users find its iPad interface awkward to navigate, struggling to see top-level directories or find files R30. There are also complaints about the share link screen being broken on iPhone and difficulty rearranging files R3.
Google Photos Google Photos is often found easy to use for its core function of backing up photos . However, many users report a terrible user experience when trying to manually upload photos or manage specific albums R61R73. The app is criticized for forcing full access to photos rather than allowing selection of a subset R79R109. Recent updates have made navigation harder, with users missing monthly views and struggling to exit memory widgets .
Reliability edge: DropboxR7R10R12R15
Dropbox Dropbox is seen as very reliable for keeping pictures and documents safe and syncing content across devices R17. However, some users report issues with recent updates causing photos/videos to fail downloading R12 and the app not syncing R10. There are also serious complaints about Dropbox deleting personal photos and videos, especially after downgrading from a paid account R7R15.
Google Photos Google Photos users report significant reliability issues, including photos not deleting properly , uploads failing R70R85, and the app crashing constantly R94. Many experience the app losing access to photos, showing blank spaces, or resetting custom album orders . There are also reports of albums disappearing or having zero photos .
Price/Value tieR4R5R13R37
Dropbox Dropbox is seen as valuable for its storage and syncing capabilities R5. However, many users express dissatisfaction with its pricing, finding it too expensive for additional memory R13R52. There are complaints about being forced into team plans for single users R37 and receiving unwanted messages after downgrading to a free account R4. Some users also feel that their paid support is not adequate R40.
Google Photos Google Photos is criticized for its shift from free unlimited storage, with users now feeling forced to buy more space . There are strong complaints about the app taking up all Google storage and then demanding payment, without clear options to manage or delete photos . Some users feel there's little difference between paying for Google Photos and iCloud storage now .
Support edge: DropboxR2R25R40R56
Dropbox Dropbox receives positive feedback for helping users restore accounts R2 and providing patient phone conversation R56. However, a significant number of users complain about the lack of human support, stating they only get robots R25R40.
Google Photos Google Photos users report that developer responses often miss the point of their issues, suggesting automated or AI-generated replies . There are also complaints about being unable to get help when storage issues arise, especially when photos are 'stolen' without consent .
Pick Dropbox if

you prioritize reliable file syncing and storage for a variety of file types, value direct human support when available, and need to share files securely R2R17.

Pick Google Photos if

you are primarily looking for an app to organize and enhance your photo library with AI-powered features like memory creation and facial recognition, and are comfortable with Google's ecosystem .

Evidence note: Both apps have a mix of positive and negative recent reviews, with many negative reviews for both focusing on pricing changes and perceived lack of value for money after previously free services became paid. Google Photos has a higher volume of recent complaints regarding app performance, glitches, and privacy concerns.

Frequently asked

Does Dropbox delete old files if I downgrade to a free account?
Yes, some users report that Dropbox has deleted their personal photos and videos without consent after they downgraded from a paid account, even if they were not syncing new content R7R15.
Can I manually select photos to upload to Google Photos, or does it require full access?
Many users report that Google Photos makes it extremely difficult or impossible to manually upload a subset of photos, often requiring full access to your entire phone's photo library to function R61R73R79R109.
Are there issues with Google Photos' performance and stability?
Yes, numerous users have reported that Google Photos crashes constantly, is impossibly slow, fails to load, and has issues with uploading or downloading videos, especially after recent updates R70R72R85R94.
Is Dropbox expensive for additional storage?
Many users find Dropbox's pricing for additional storage to be high, with some feeling it's too much 'rent for more cloud' and being forced into multi-person plans when they only need storage for a single user R13R37R52.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R6] Dropbox 3/5 · US Delete items: Need to be able to deleted from the app. Instead in constantly gives you pop up warnings that it’s full. If you want to make space you have to go to the website and manually delete/empty trash.
  2. [R11] Dropbox 5/5 · US Wonderful tool!: I love using Dropbox to give me access to favorite files on multiple devices. It is easy to use and simplifies my life!
  3. [R14] Dropbox 5/5 · US this is good: keeps my important photos
  4. [R17] Dropbox 5/5 · US Peace of Mind: Above all, I value Dropbox for the peace of mind it gives me knowing that my pictures and document are safe.
  5. [R3] Dropbox 3/5 · US Mostly good: Nice for access to files but difficult to rearrange filed
  6. [R26] Dropbox 5/5 · US God or whoever your higher power is bless you: I love you thank you so much for everything you do you make it so fun and easy to send things to friends back-and-forth back-and-forth back-and-forth back-and-forth back-and-forth back-and-forth back-and-forth. I love it and I love you and everyone who works in your building.
  7. [R30] Dropbox 3/5 · US Awkward interface on iPad: I find Dropbox is awkward to navigate on my iPad. I want to see a top level directory of folders, just like on my Mac desktop version of Dropbox. Instead, I have to fumble around to eventually reach that level. It’s very annoying and makes searching for projects to present in person very frustrating.
  8. [R7] Dropbox 1/5 · US Beware: For the longest time, Dropbox never deleted anything of mine. The only time you had to purchase the storage was if you wanted to add more photos and videos. Not to keep your original photos and videos from being deleted. Without my consent, they deleted a lot of of my personal family photos and videos. Stay away from this scam company
  9. [R10] Dropbox 1/5 · US Can’t synch: Boo
  10. [R12] Dropbox 3/5 · US Recent update glitch: I like the app but ever since their recent update I been getting a notification stating that my photos/videos failed to download onto the app. I made sure I have the latest version of the app and I have space within my account but this issue still continues. Yall need to put a new update out or something for this issue.
  11. [R15] Dropbox 3/5 · US Wow deleting important photos of mine because I decided after several years of paying for your stora: So not cool of you Dropbox to DELETE my photos from several years including pictures of my nieces as babies, me holding them as babies, and my now dead grandmas 90th birthday! Why are you deleting my photos and files when I am not even synching anything new to yo yr app?! Oh you want money from me
  12. [R4] Dropbox 1/5 · US Dissatisfied: After years of paying for an account my storage needs changed and I downgraded to a free account. I frequently received unwanted messages on my laptop and texts. This has turned me off toward this app and even if I again needed storage needs I would not choose Dropbox.
  13. [R5] Dropbox 5/5 · US After all these years: Awesome and free. Forgot I had it TBH. Found 13 year old pix from an old trip to Europe.
  14. [R13] Dropbox 2/5 · US Too much rent for more cloud: Why does more memory cost so much money. Is there some Angel at the edge of tge cloud charging you a tariff and you pass it on with your own cost. How much is it costing you to keep my information in your cloud. Probably less then two dollars. Can’t you be more fair, especially to people with a fixed income who can’t or don’t delete!
  15. [R37] Dropbox 1/5 · US Poor storage options: Poor plan options. I am a single user and need more storage and I am being forced into a three person team plan.
  16. [R2] Dropbox 5/5 · US Thank you!: I lost access to my old email address and Dropbox helped me restore my account, had to answer questions and I’m so appreciative of their support in the process. Thank you!
  17. [R25] Dropbox 1/5 · US Humans need human support: Having absolutely no way to talk to a live support tech will be the downfall of platforms like this!
  18. [R40] Dropbox 2/5 · US Support I’m paying for is just not there. All I get is a robot.: It does what it’s supposed to do. And they’ve added so much stuff I don’t care about and can’t escape that I’ve had enough. All sorts of unnecessary, for me, features. I want to store synced files and share them. That’s it. But it sings, dances, cooks, drives. I don’t care. My plan included support. Apparently they were kidding. Ther
  19. [R56] Dropbox 5/5 · US Phone conversation: Very patient
  20. [R61] Google Photos 1/5 · US Nosy and not worth it: Wanted to upload my photos to a shared album on this app from a work team bonding event. It was a really fun day and I wanted to contribute. If I could select certain photos from my library I would’ve done just that and have a neutral to positive experience on this app. But no, I spent many minutes of my life poking around the app, not knowing why the selected photos I chose
  21. [R73] Google Photos 1/5 · US Terrible UX: Which ever PM/Designer decided this should be a UX and it should be this hard to manually upload a photo to google photos should find a new career. This app is borderline unusable if you don’t want to use automatic backup… I want to manually upload a photo from my iphone, no, I don’t want to scroll through my entire google 10k+ google photo collection most of which are not on my iphon
  22. [R79] Google Photos 1/5 · US Won’t work unless you give Google access to all your photos: Do you want to add a few photos from vacation to a friend’s share Google photo album? Well, forget it, this app will not let you access and share a few photos, it wants every single photo on your phone. The app claims to allow “limited access” but you can punch that button all day, it won’t work. Then, once you allow “full access,” and h
  23. [R109] Google Photos 1/5 · US Steal your privacy: After update, you cant choose some photos to publish anymore. Only "give me all your photos" or "nothing" options.
  24. [R70] Google Photos 1/5 · US Never uploads correctly: I imagine this product works well on Android, but on iOS it has been a complete mess for sometime. Images will not upload even when you leave your phone open, you cannot remove images from albums, images disappear from albums, and the list goes on. Fire these PMs and start over from scratch.
  25. [R72] Google Photos 3/5 · US Performance is horrible: I used to love this app and am married to it because all my photos from over the years are in it. However, the last year or two the performance has continued to deteriorate. The app is so impossibly slow and sometimes doesn’t load at all. Hoping to amend this review if updates are finally made, but I’m tired of waiting and hoping.
  26. [R85] Google Photos 1/5 · US Slow, won’t upload or download videos: It always fails to download or upload videos or live pictures. Worked so well then suddenly about a week ago the app is basically useless. Trying to move my archives over and now I’m regretting wasting so much time.
  27. [R94] Google Photos 2/5 · US Crashes constantly: This app has gotten steadily worse over the years. It crashes constantly on my iPad. Very frustrating.
  28. [R52] Dropbox 1/5 · US Why did you become greedy like others!!!: This app use to be so great but just like time things change and greed gets higher in every corner now. This world is over .

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store