A European, encrypted Dropbox alternative
Dropbox is mature and everywhere — but it can read your files, it’s a US company under the Cloud Act, and it’s closed source. Here’s where Beebeeb differs, and where Dropbox is still the better pick.
14-day free trial, no charge until day 15 · no lock-in, export anytime
Dropbox encrypts your files at rest and in transit, but Dropbox holds the keys — it can read your files, scan them, and produce them in response to a US legal request. That is not zero-knowledge. Beebeeb encrypts on your device with a key we never receive, so we hold only ciphertext.
✓ available · ~ coming soon · ✗ not available. Anything marked “coming soon” isn’t live yet — see the roadmap. Competitor details reflect public information as of June 2026; always verify current pricing on each vendor’s site.
What you actually get by switching
Files Dropbox-style convenience, encryption Dropbox can’t match
Your files are encrypted on your device before upload — we hold ciphertext and cannot read it. Dropbox holds the keys, so it (and anyone who compels it) can read your files.
EU jurisdiction, named to the city
Your data lives in Falkenstein, Germany, operated by Initlabs B.V. in the Netherlands. German law has no data-retention mandate. Dropbox is a US company under the Cloud Act, wherever its servers sit.
Open source you can verify
Our clients and encryption core are public — read them, compile them, confirm the claims. Dropbox is closed; you trust the marketing.
A private free trial
Beebeeb gives you a 14-day free trial on Starter, Basic and Pro with full zero-knowledge encryption — try it before you pay. Dropbox’s free tier is 2 GB and is not zero-knowledge.
Scales far past Dropbox’s ceiling
Dropbox individual plans top out around 3 TB. Beebeeb scales to 99 TB self-serve at €10.99/extra TB, with a custom quote beyond.
Who should use which
- → You depend on Dropbox’s mature desktop sync and native apps today
- → You rely on its huge third-party integration ecosystem
- → Your team already works in Dropbox shared folders and Paper
- → You want the largest install base for sharing with non-users
- → You want files the provider literally cannot read
- → EU jurisdiction matters for you or your business
- → You want open source and a genuinely free, private tier
- → You need to scale well past 3 TB
What Dropbox does well
Dropbox effectively invented consumer file sync, and it shows. The desktop clients are mature, sync is fast and reliable, and the third-party integration ecosystem is enormous.
For teams already living in Dropbox — shared folders, Paper, the vast install base for sharing with outside collaborators — the convenience is real, and switching has a cost.
Where Beebeeb is different
The core difference is who can read your files. Dropbox holds the keys, so it can access your data and is a US company under the Cloud Act. Beebeeb encrypts on your device with a key we never receive — we hold only ciphertext.
Add EU jurisdiction in Falkenstein, open-source clients you can verify, a 14-day zero-knowledge free trial, a CLI and WebDAV, and storage that scales to 99 TB. If privacy and EU data residency matter, Beebeeb is the stronger home; if you need Dropbox’s ecosystem today, it still wins on maturity.
Switching is low-risk by design
Other honest options
We’d rather you find the right tool than the wrong one. A few other alternatives worth a look:
Proton Drive
Swiss, zero-knowledge and open source — a strong EU-adjacent privacy choice.
Tresorit
Zero-knowledge with EU region options and heavy compliance certs. Closed source; free Basic plan is 3 GB.
pCloud
Swiss-based with optional client-side encryption — but the zero-knowledge layer is a paid add-on, not the default.
Nextcloud (self-hosted)
Open-source and EU-friendly if you run it yourself — full control, but you operate the server.
EU Dropbox alternative: common questions
Dropbox encrypts files at rest and in transit, but it holds the encryption keys — so Dropbox can read your files, scan them, and produce them on a legal request. It is not zero-knowledge. Beebeeb encrypts on your device with a key it never receives.
Yes. Beebeeb is operated from the Netherlands and stores your encrypted files in Falkenstein, Germany, under EU law — with no US Cloud Act exposure. Your files are encrypted on your device before they ever reach the server.
Beebeeb does not have a permanent free plan; instead it gives you a 14-day free trial on Starter, Basic and Pro, with full zero-knowledge encryption. Dropbox’s free tier is 2 GB and is not zero-knowledge. After the trial, Beebeeb starts at €1.99/month for 100 GB (Starter).
Yes. Start with a 14-day free trial on Starter, Basic or Pro and add your files by dragging them in or scripting uploads with the CLI. One-click import from Dropbox is coming soon to make the switch even faster.
Start a 14-day free trial
No charge until day 15. Full encryption from day one. EU infrastructure in Falkenstein, open source.
Join the waitlist →Last updated June 2026