For most small businesses, no. Google Workspace already includes Google Drive for personal files and Shared Drives for team files, which cover what almost everyone uses Dropbox for. Paying for both is usually paying twice. At about $15 per user per month, Dropbox runs near $9,000 a year for 50 people on top of a subscription that already does the job.
Dropbox is one of those tools that quietly survives every software review because nobody wants to be the person who breaks file sharing. So it stays on the invoice, year after year, alongside a Google Workspace subscription that already includes everything most teams actually use it for. That overlap is real money, and it is worth a closer look.
What does Google Workspace already include?
Every Google Workspace plan comes with Google Drive, and that is not a stripped-down version of file storage. It is two things working together:
- My Drive for an individual's own files, the direct equivalent of a personal Dropbox folder.
- Shared Drives for team and company files, owned by the organization rather than a person, which is what most businesses are really using Dropbox for.
If your Dropbox is mostly shared team folders, Shared Drives replace it, and they do it better, which is the next point.
Why Shared Drives are safer than a shared Dropbox folder
The difference that matters is ownership. A personal Dropbox folder or a My Drive belongs to a person, so when that person leaves, their files can leave with them. A Shared Drive belongs to the organization. Files stay put when an employee departs, access is managed at the team level, and nothing walks out the door with a resignation. For client files and business records, that is not a nice-to-have, it is the correct way to store them.
What does keeping both actually cost?
| Tool | Approx. cost per user / month | Annual cost, 50 users |
|---|---|---|
| Dropbox (business) | ~$15 | ~$9,000 |
| Google Drive + Shared Drives | Included in Workspace | $0 extra |
That $9,000 is a ceiling estimate at standard pricing for 50 users; your real number depends on your plan and seat count. Either way, for most businesses it is money spent on a second copy of something already paid for.
How do you move off Dropbox?
Files, folder structure, and access move with dedicated tooling and get verified before Dropbox is switched off, so nothing is lost. The real opportunity is designing a clean Shared Drive structure during the move instead of copying years of clutter across. The full process is on the Dropbox to Google Drive migration page, and the migration cost guide covers pricing.