Should I move my files from dropbox to iCloud?

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Level 1

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Should I move my files from dropbox to iCloud?

I am considering moving my files from DropBox to iCloud. I haven't had issues with dropbox but I am almost out of space (5.9 of 6.1GB) and I don't want to pay the $100/yr to upgrade. I already pay $12/yr for the 50GB of space in iCloud but never use it. iCloud is cheaper and accessible across my MacBook Pro, iPad (from 2012) and iPhone 7 so I want to change but want insight about how it's worked and how to switch easily.

Have any of you found luck making this shift?
How can I copy folders from Dropbox to iCloud?
I see how to copy individual files but I have about 75 folders in dropbox with many subfolders that I'd like to keep intact.

Thanks!

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013), macOS Sierra (10.12.6)

Posted on Aug 26, 2017 7:24 AM

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Answer 1

Aug 26, 2017 8:16 AM in response to MissLissa08

Have any of you found luck making this shift?

I used to use dotmac years ago but after it's demise went to dropbox where I stayed until I was convinced iCloud Drive was up to it. never looked back, never had an issue, happy to have moved.

How can I copy folders from Dropbox to iCloud?

Just drag the top level folder(s) into iCloud Drive, then wait for them to copy over. There are no issues with nested folders.

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Answer 2

MissLissa08 Author

Level 1

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Aug 26, 2017 7:33 AM in response to MissLissa08

Hi Csound,

Thanks for the fast response! What do you mean? I thought,

"iCloud Drive lets you securely access all of your documents from your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, and Windows PC. So no matter which device you’re using, you always have the most up to date documents when you need them."

What is it exactly if not a storage system?

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Answer 3

Aug 26, 2017 8:41 AM in response to MissLissa08

It will save space on your Mac.

There are 2 ways to achieve this...

First is optimisation which cleverly just keeps your frequently and recently used files on your Mac and everything else just in the cloud, it also cleverly determines how much optimisation there should be based on how short of space you are. much more useful than Dropbox.

The second way is to disable iCloud Drive on your Mac and access it through iCloud.com, that way none of the files will use any space on your Mac.

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Answer 4

Csound1

Level 9

60,063 points

Aug 26, 2017 7:26 AM in response to MissLissa08

iCloud is not a storage system, so if you want to store files in it I would advise you not to.

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Answer 5

Csound1

Level 9

60,063 points

Aug 26, 2017 7:36 AM in response to MissLissa08

It is a synchronization hub, it will use space on your Mac. If synchronization is what you want iCloud is good, if storage is what you want it is no good.

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Answer 6

MissLissa08 Author

Level 1

5 points

Aug 26, 2017 8:30 AM in response to Csound1

Got it! I thought it would save space on my mac. I didn't realize it just makes files avaialable across devices. Thank you! I'll stick with Dropbox.

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