Business Cloud Storage Compared: OneDrive, SharePoint, Dropbox and Google Drive

Choosing business cloud storage from OneDrive, SharePoint, Dropbox and Google Drive looks straightforward, until you realise that storage limits, pricing and security options all work slightly differently. What you commit to determines not only what storage costs, but also how your staff collaborate, how quickly you recover from a ransomware attack and where your data stands legally. This article compares the four popular options side by side for Dutch SMEs, with concrete prices, limits and the pitfalls we run into most often in practice.

Why business cloud storage is not a consumer choice

It is tempting to put business files in a free consumer Dropbox or a personal Google Drive. For a sole trader that can work, but as soon as multiple employees, customer data or contracts are involved, you run into three problems: no central management, no audit trail and no legal guarantees about where your data is stored.

A business solution takes care of three things the consumer version lacks: encrypted storage in a known data location, central control over permissions and devices, and recovery options that go beyond a recycle bin. For SMEs, that third category is often the difference between a chaotic morning and a lost week after a ransomware attack.

OneDrive for Business: the Microsoft 365 default

OneDrive for Business is included in almost every Microsoft 365 subscription. Every licensed user gets 1 TB of storage by default, and administrators can raise that to 5 TB per user, or up to 25 TB via a support request. For SMEs, its strength lies in integration: Word, Excel and Teams save to OneDrive automatically.

As standard, Microsoft keeps at least 500 versions per file, offers self-service file restore covering the last 30 days and a 93-day recycle bin. After a mass attack, Microsoft can roll back up to 14 additional days. Valuable, but not a true backup: anything permanently deleted and outside those windows is gone. OneDrive should stay personal; anything a team needs to share belongs in SharePoint or Teams.

SharePoint Online: the real collaboration platform

SharePoint is the other half of the Microsoft story. Where OneDrive is personal, SharePoint is built for teams by definition: sites, document libraries and shared structures with permissions per folder or file. Under the bonnet, every file you put in a Teams channel is simply stored in SharePoint.

Storage limits work differently from OneDrive. Every Microsoft 365 tenant gets 1 TB of base storage plus 10 GB per licensed user, combined in a shared pool. An organisation with 40 users therefore has 1.4 TB of SharePoint storage at its disposal. Each site (SharePoint site collection) has a hard limit of 25 TB; exceed it and the site becomes read-only until you clear space. For the average SME that is more than enough, but businesses with lots of video or CAD drawings hit that pool sooner than expected.

We have a separate guide on setting up SharePoint properly: Using SharePoint effectively in SMEs. The key lesson: design your information architecture first, and only then create sites and libraries. Start without a plan and within a year you will have a sprawl nobody can find anything in.

Google Drive and Google Workspace: the strong alternative

For SMEs without a Microsoft legacy, Google Workspace is often an attractive choice. Pricing is transparent: Business Starter at around $7 per user per month with 30 GB pooled, Business Standard at around $16.80 per user per month with 2 TB pooled per user, and Business Plus at around $26.40 per user per month with 5 TB pooled. Storage is shared, so a team of 20 users on Business Standard has 40 TB available between them.

For businesses that work mostly in Docs, Sheets and Slides, collaboration runs smoothly. Search in Drive is stronger than in OneDrive or Dropbox, and shared drives neatly solve the problem of files disappearing with departing employees. What you give up compared with Microsoft: less deep integration with desktop Office if your clients mainly work in Word and Excel, and a less extensive compliance suite unless you scale up to Enterprise. For businesses torn between the two worlds, we have covered Google Workspace for SMEs in detail.

Dropbox Business: the specialist

Dropbox came from a different angle and has kept its niche. Business Standard costs $15 per user per month (billed annually, minimum 3 users) with 5 TB of pooled storage. Business Advanced costs $24 per user per month with 15 TB pooled for three licences, plus 5 TB extra per active licence.

Its strength is synchronisation: files are available quickly and reliably on every device, even with heavy media. That makes Dropbox popular with creative agencies, architects and video production companies. The downside is that Dropbox does not offer a productivity suite: you still need Office or Google Workspace, so in effect you pay twice. Keep an eye on EU data residency with Dropbox: it is available, but only from 10 licences. Smaller teams don't get that option.

What this means for the price per user

Comparing on storage alone is misleading. Cloud storage almost always comes as part of a suite. Price ranges as of mid-2026 (in US dollars):

• Microsoft 365 Business Basic: around $6 to $7 per user per month, with 1 TB of OneDrive, Teams, Exchange and SharePoint.
• Microsoft 365 Business Standard: around $12.50, including desktop Office.
• Microsoft 365 Business Premium: around $22, adding Intune, Entra ID P1 and Defender for Business.
• Google Workspace Business Standard: around $16.80 with 2 TB pooled.
• Dropbox Business Standard: around $15 purely for storage and file sharing.

Euro prices in the Netherlands differ because of exchange rates and partner discounts. In February 2026 Microsoft applied a eurozone price adjustment of 7 to 13 percent, followed by an increase for several Enterprise plans on 1 July 2026. Ask your licensing partner for current rates; if you outsource cloud management, the licensing benefit is usually built into the contract price.

Data residency and GDPR: where are your files stored?

The GDPR requires you to know where personal data is processed. In practice, accountants, insurers and municipalities often ask: is it stored in Europe? For Microsoft and Google, the answer for SMEs is clearly yes, provided everything is configured correctly.

Microsoft completed its EU Data Boundary in February 2025. For Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Power Platform and most Azure services, customer data and pseudonymised personal data stay within the EU and EFTA. Microsoft has data centres in Amsterdam, among other locations. Google Workspace lets you pin data regions from Business Plus and Enterprise upwards, with the Dutch region in Amsterdam available. Dropbox only offers EU residency from 10 licences.

For businesses covered by the new Dutch Cybersecurity Act (Cyberbeveiligingswet, implementing NIS2), data location becomes more important, because supervision and incident reporting fall under European authorities. The practical rule for SMEs: when in doubt, choose a provider with proven EU residency and document that choice in your record of processing activities.

Cloud storage and backup: why they are not the same thing

The biggest misconception we come across in SMEs: "we're in the cloud, so our backup is sorted". All four providers offer version history and recycle-bin recovery, but that is not a backup in the formal sense. Microsoft itself recommends using Microsoft 365 Backup or a partner solution on top of the standard protection.

The reason is the retention period. OneDrive and SharePoint keep deleted files in the recycle bin for 93 days, plus 14 days on the back end. Google Drive has similar periods. If you only find out after three months that a contractor emptied your entire library, it is gone. For real protection against ransomware, malicious deletion and unnoticed mistakes, you need a separate backup outside the tenant itself. Our complete backup strategy explains the 3-2-1 rule as it applies to cloud storage.

A practical decision matrix for SMEs

There is no single best choice. Based on what we see in practice:

1. SMEs with a Microsoft legacy, Windows and Office: Microsoft 365 Business Standard or Premium. Choose Premium from 20 employees upwards or if you handle sensitive data.
2. SMEs that have used Gmail for years: Google Workspace Business Standard, with the Netherlands data region from Business Plus.
3. Creative or media-heavy agencies: Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace for productivity, supplemented by Dropbox for project files. Yes, that means two licences per person.
4. Businesses with strict sector requirements: Microsoft 365 Business Premium or Enterprise with Advanced Data Residency, plus a separate backup provider.

What not to do: use consumer Dropbox or personal Gmail for business data. During an audit, a GDPR request or when an employee leaves, that causes problems straight away.

Migrating from one platform to another: how complex is it?

A migration between these platforms rarely goes without a hitch. Expect 5 to 15 percent of files to need special attention because of file names, forbidden characters or complex permissions. Large photo and video libraries take days to weeks. For small tenants, tools such as Mover, ShareGate or BitTitan work well; larger or mixed environments need a phased approach. If cloud migration is not your day job, you will lose more time than a specialist would cost.

Frequently asked questions about business cloud storage

What is the difference between OneDrive and SharePoint? OneDrive for Business is for each user's personal working files. SharePoint is for shared team files, project sites and document libraries that belong to the organisation rather than to an individual. Everything you share in Teams channels automatically ends up in SharePoint. The rule of thumb: personal drafts in OneDrive, anything a colleague must be able to take over in SharePoint.

Is 1 TB per user in OneDrive enough? For most office workers, more than enough. Anyone working with video, CAD drawings or large photo archives fills it up faster. Administrators can raise the default limit to 5 TB per user in the Microsoft 365 admin centre, and up to 25 TB via a support request. Remember that this is separate from the shared SharePoint pool.

Where is my data stored with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace? Since February 2025 Microsoft has completed its EU Data Boundary: customer data and pseudonymised personal data stay within the EU and EFTA. Microsoft has data centres in Amsterdam, among other locations. From Business Plus upwards, Google Workspace lets you pin your data region to the Netherlands. EU residency is available with Dropbox, but only from 10 licences.

Does cloud storage replace a backup? No. All four providers offer version history and a recycle bin of between 30 and 93 days. For real protection against ransomware, malicious deletion or unnoticed mistakes, you need a separate backup stored outside the tenant. Microsoft itself recommends using Microsoft 365 Backup or a partner solution.

What does cloud storage cost per user per month? Price ranges as of mid-2026: Microsoft 365 Business Basic around $6 to $7, Business Standard around $12.50, Business Premium around $22. Google Workspace Business Standard around $16.80. Dropbox Business Standard around $15. Euro prices in the Netherlands differ because of exchange rates, partner discounts and Microsoft's 2026 price increases. Always ask your licensing partner for current rates.

Can I use OneDrive, Google Drive and Dropbox together? Technically yes, but in practice employees get stuck asking "where is that file?" and you lose oversight of permissions and sharing. Choose one primary suite and only use other platforms where they genuinely add value, with clear agreements about which data lives where.

Conclusion

Comparing business cloud storage is not about who offers the most terabytes on paper. It is about the mix of storage, collaboration, security, recovery options and legal certainty about where your data lives. For the vast majority of Dutch SMEs, the choice comes down to Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace at the core, possibly supplemented by Dropbox for specific use cases, and always with a separate backup for genuine security.

Not sure which suite suits your business, or want an existing OneDrive or SharePoint tenant thoroughly cleaned up? We help Dutch SMEs every day with choosing, migrating and managing their cloud environment. Discover our cloud services or call +31 85 303 5869 for a conversation without the sales pitch. TRON Group. Moving IT Forward: IT that works, grows and protects.