Is SnapVault a cheaper way to back up phone photos than Dropbox?
Short answer Yes at 200 GB: Dropbox's smallest paid plan is Plus with 2 TB at $9.99 per month billed yearly, $599.40 over five years, while SnapVault plus a Backblaze B2 bucket is about $79 in storage plus the one-time app purchase. At 2 TB, Dropbox Plus ($599.40) is cheaper than SnapVault on B2 (about $830 in storage plus the app). Dropbox is the better collaboration tool.
What is the difference between SnapVault and Dropbox?
Dropbox is a file sync and sharing service with a camera uploads feature on iOS and Android. The free Basic plan holds 2 GB; the first paid plan, Plus, jumps straight to 2 TB at $9.99 per month billed yearly or $11.99 monthly, with Essentials (3 TB) and a six-member Family plan above it, as of August 2026. SnapVault is an iOS app that copies the camera roll to an S3-compatible bucket you rent from Cloudflare R2, Backblaze B2, AWS S3 or Wasabi. The app is a one-time purchase priced in your local App Store, and the provider bills per gigabyte-month, roughly $0.007 on B2 and $0.015 on R2. Dropbox holds the encryption keys and shines at sharing folders, syncing desktops and collaborating; SnapVault does one thing, which is putting every photo and video into storage that belongs to you. For a modest photo library, Dropbox's 2 TB minimum means paying for space you will not use.
How do Dropbox and SnapVault compare feature by feature?
The table reads from the vendors' public pages; SnapVault's column reflects the current App Store release (1.0.3). Android is not shipped yet, so "iOS today" is the honest platform line.
| Feature | Dropbox | SnapVault |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Basic: 2 GB, 3 linked devices | Free tier with a weekly upload cap; bucket providers add 10 GB free (R2, B2) |
| Cheapest paid plan | Plus 2 TB at $9.99/month billed yearly or $11.99 monthly | One-time app purchase, priced per country in the App Store; storage billed by your provider |
| Plan that fits 200 GB | Plus 2 TB (no smaller paid tier) | Any bucket; about $1.32/month on Backblaze B2, $2.85 on Cloudflare R2 |
| Plan that fits 2 TB | Plus 2 TB at $119.88/year | Any bucket; about $13.83/month on Backblaze B2, $29.85 on Cloudflare R2 |
| Billing | Monthly or yearly | One-time app purchase (price shown in your local App Store); provider bills per GB-month |
| Family sharing | Family plan: 2 TB shared by up to 6 (about $203.88/year, as listed by third parties) | Any number of phones can write to the same bucket with their own keys |
| Original-quality photos and video | Yes, no photo compression; HEIC can be kept or converted | Yes, files are copied byte for byte as stored on the phone |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, web, macOS, Windows, Linux | iOS today; Android coming soon |
| Who holds the files and keys | Dropbox holds the keys (end-to-end only on team Advanced and above) | You: files sit in a bucket under your own provider account |
| Getting your files out | Desktop sync client or web download | Standard S3 objects; any S3 client, CLI or desktop tool can download them |
Dropbox plans and prices
| Plan | Storage | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic (free) | 2 GB | $0 | n/a |
| Plus | 2 TB | $11.99 | $119.88 ($9.99/month) |
| Essentials about | 3 TB | About $19.99 | About $199 |
| Family (up to 6) about | 2 TB shared | About $19.99 | About $203.88 |
| Business Standard (3 users min) | From 3 TB per team | $18/user | $15/user/month |
How much do Dropbox and SnapVault cost over five years?
Dropbox has no paid tier between 2 GB and 2 TB, so a 200 GB photo library needs Plus at $9.99 per month billed yearly: $119.88 per year and $599.40 over five years ($719.40 on monthly billing). SnapVault with Backblaze B2 costs (200 - 10 free) x $0.00695 = $1.32 per month, $79.23 in storage over 60 months, plus the one-time app purchase priced in your local App Store, and Cloudflare R2 is $2.85 per month, $171.00 in storage over five years, plus the app. Even AWS S3 Standard at $0.023 per GB comes to $276.00 in storage. At 2 TB the same Dropbox Plus plan still costs $599.40, while SnapVault on B2 is $829.83 in storage and on R2 $1,791.00, plus the app, so Dropbox is the cheaper choice once you actually fill the 2 TB. The crossover sits around 1 TB. Prices are list prices as of 2026-08-19 and can change.
5-year cost at 200 GB
| Option | Year 1 | 5 years | Arithmetic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dropbox Plus 2 TB (yearly) | $119.88 | $599.40 | $9.99 x 12 = $119.88/year; x 5 = $599.40 |
| SnapVault + Backblaze B2 | $15.85 | $79.23 | (200 - 10 free) GB x $0.00695/GB = $1.32/month; x 60 months = $79.23 storage (app purchase not included) |
| SnapVault + Cloudflare R2 | $34.20 | $171.00 | (200 - 10 free) GB x $0.015/GB = $2.85/month; x 60 months = $171.00 storage (app purchase not included) |
| SnapVault + AWS S3 Standard | $55.20 | $276.00 | 200 GB x $0.023/GB = $4.60/month; x 60 months = $276.00 storage (app purchase not included) |
| SnapVault + Wasabi | $95.88 | $479.40 | 1,000 GB minimum x $0.00799/GB = $7.99/month; x 60 months = $479.40 storage (app purchase not included) |
5-year cost at 2 TB
| Option | Year 1 | 5 years | Arithmetic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dropbox Plus 2 TB (yearly) | $119.88 | $599.40 | $9.99 x 12 = $119.88/year; x 5 = $599.40 (monthly billing: $11.99 x 60 = $719.40) |
| SnapVault + Backblaze B2 | $165.97 | $829.83 | (2,000 - 10 free) GB x $0.00695/GB = $13.83/month; x 60 months = $829.83 storage (app purchase not included) |
| SnapVault + Cloudflare R2 | $358.20 | $1,791.00 | (2,000 - 10 free) GB x $0.015/GB = $29.85/month; x 60 months = $1,791.00 storage (app purchase not included) |
| SnapVault + AWS S3 Standard | $552.00 | $2,760.00 | 2,000 GB x $0.023/GB = $46.00/month; x 60 months = $2,760.00 storage (app purchase not included) |
| SnapVault + Wasabi | $191.76 | $958.80 | 2,000 GB x $0.00799/GB = $15.98/month; x 60 months = $958.80 storage (app purchase not included) |
Method: year 1 is twelve months on the cheapest billing option the vendor offers; five years is year 1 times five with no price changes. Bucket totals use decimal gigabytes, subtract each provider's always-free allowance, and exclude the one-time app purchase, which is priced per country in the App Store. Egress is excluded because a backup is written once and read only on restore; see the bucket cost explainer for egress and request fees.
Who should pick Dropbox?
- You share folders with other people or sync work files across Mac, Windows and Linux; that is Dropbox's core strength.
- You will actually use most of the 2 TB, for example photos plus documents plus computer backup with Dropbox Backup.
- You want one app for camera uploads, desktop sync, file requests and link sharing.
- Several family members need a pooled 2 TB through the Family plan.
Who should pick SnapVault?
- Your library is in the 100 GB to 1 TB range, where a per-GB bucket undercuts every subscription tier.
- You want the files in an account you control, in standard formats, reachable from any S3 tool.
- You already run AWS, Cloudflare, Backblaze, Wasabi or a MinIO box and want the phone to write into it.
- You prefer paying once for software and paying wholesale for storage instead of a bundle.
- You only need photo and video backup and do not want to pay for 2 TB of sync space to store 200 GB.
Trade-offs to know: SnapVault needs a bucket and access keys before the first backup (a few minutes at Cloudflare R2 or Backblaze B2), it has no web gallery or sharing, and it runs on iOS only today with Android coming soon.
How do I move my photos from Dropbox to my own bucket?
- Photos taken on your iPhone are already in the iOS photo library. If your Dropbox Camera Uploads folder also holds photos from other devices, sync that folder to a computer with the Dropbox desktop app or download it from dropbox.com, then use any S3 desktop client or CLI to copy it into the same bucket.
- Install SnapVault from the App Store, create a bucket at Cloudflare R2, Backblaze B2, AWS S3 or Wasabi, and paste the endpoint, bucket name and access keys into the app.
- Run the first backup on Wi-Fi while charging. SnapVault skips files already in the bucket, so you can stop and resume safely.
- Check the object count in your provider's console against the photo count on the phone before you downgrade or cancel the old plan.
- Turn off Camera Uploads in the Dropbox app settings, or keep it running on Basic as a second copy if your library fits in 2 GB.
Questions about Dropbox and SnapVault
Does Dropbox have a plan smaller than 2 TB?
Not a paid one. Basic is free with 2 GB; the next step is Plus at 2 TB for $9.99 per month billed yearly or $11.99 monthly, as of 2026-08-19. There is no 100 GB or 200 GB tier.
Does Dropbox compress photos or videos?
No. Camera uploads keep files as-is, and Live Photos are preserved when uploaded through the Dropbox app. HEIC files can be kept in HEIC or converted to JPG in the app's settings.
Is Dropbox cheaper than SnapVault if I have 2 TB?
Yes. Dropbox Plus is $599.40 over five years on yearly billing. SnapVault plus Backblaze B2 at 2 TB is about $829.83 in storage over five years, plus the one-time app purchase. SnapVault is cheaper below roughly 1 TB, Dropbox above it.
Can SnapVault write into a Dropbox account?
No. SnapVault talks the S3 API, so it needs an S3-compatible bucket such as Cloudflare R2, Backblaze B2, AWS S3, Wasabi or MinIO. Dropbox does not expose an S3 endpoint.
Try SnapVault with your own bucket
Free tier with a weekly upload cap; SnapVault Pro is a one-time purchase, priced in your local App Store. Your storage provider bills the bucket directly.
Sources and date checked
All vendor pages below were read on 2026-08-19. Bucket prices come from the provider pricing pages listed last.