Introduction
Here is a short subjective comparison of cloud storage services I tried (as of 10.2021). Note that I basically live in Apple ecosystem and need around 200GB of space.
Other popular services I haven’t tried are Google Drive and Yandex Disk. Especially Google Drive gets good reviews, it’s probably worth checking.
Comparison
| DropBox | iCloud | OneDrive | |
| GB-Tier Price | 🔴 High | 🟡 Medium | 🟢 Free with Microsoft 365 |
| Plan variety | 🔴 Low | 🟢 High | 🟡 Medium |
| Desktop client | 🟡 Solid | 🟢 Integrated | 🔴 Buggy |
| Client performance | 🟡 OK | 🟢 Best | 🔴 Bad |
| File sync logic | 🟢 Block upload | 🔴 Full upload | ❓ Unknown |
| Version history | 🟢 Yes | 🔴 No | 🟢 Yes |
| File sharing from… | 🟢 Desktop, Web | 🔴 Web only | 🟢 Desktop, Web |
| E-mail file link | 🔴 Manual | 🟢 Automatic | 🔴 Manual |
| OS variety | 🟢 High | 🔴 Low | 🟡 Medium |
| Cloud-only storage | 🟢 Smart sync | 🔴 No | 🟢 Files on demand |
| Temporary file sharing | 🟢 Transfer | 🔴 No | 🟢 Temporary links |
Subjective Verdict
Dropbox is the best option overall – especially if you are on the TB-tier. Supports a large variety of operating systems, syncs changes on big files very fast, has version history and provides WeTransfer-style file sharing + Cloud-only file storage. But it is the most expensive.
iCloud is the best option for the casual Apple ecosystem user on the GB-tier, who simply wants to backup files online without much hassle, access them from any Apple device and do basic file sharing with friends & family. But it lacks many advanced features.
OneDrive is the best option for Microsoft 365 subscribers with a tight budget and a small batch of files. But a large file batch breaks the Mac desktop app.
Dr. Kerem Koseoglu 
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