Our comparison · updated 2024

File Sync & Storage Systems — Feature Comparison

Prices compared for a 15-person team with 5 TB storage. Cost scales with actual usage — see breakdown below.

More features than Dropbox. Transparent, usage-based pricing.

LightUpon Cloud gives your team unlimited users, 365-day file history, full data sovereignty, and included support — you pay only for the storage you actually use.

Save 29%
vs Dropbox at 5 TB
See pricing section
Save 55%
vs ownCloud at 5 TB
See pricing section
Unlimited
Users
Competitors cap at 15–50
365 days
File version history
Dropbox: 120 · fileCloud: 30
💡 LightUpon Cloud at 5 TB: ~€1,488/year · unlimited users
vs Dropbox Business: $2,250 · ownCloud: $3,600 · fileCloud: $1,800
Price = €15/month team fee + your actual AWS S3 storage cost. → Adjust for your storage needs ↓
1 TB20 TB
~€1,488 / year
€180 team fee + €1,308 storage (AWS S3 at $0.023/GB/month)
LightUpon Cloud
Best Value 		Dropbox Business Seafile Pro ownCloud fileCloud
💳 Pricing & Capacity
Price per year ~€1,488 at 5 TB · see calculator $2,250 $720* $3,600 $1,800
Users Unlimited 15 10–249 50 15
Storage size 5 TB 5 TB Custom Custom 1 TB
Max file size >5 TB 5 TB Filesystem limitiDefault filesystem limit is typically 1 TB. Filesystem limit Backend-dependentiMaximum file size depends on the configured storage backend.
File versions & recovery 365 days 120 days n/a 180 days 30 days
⚡ Performance
Speed Extremely fast ~100 Mbit (slow) VariableiCeph: tuning required · AWS: <100 Mbit (slow) · OpenStack Swift: slow. VariableiUnpredictable — depends on many configuration factors. VariableiAWS: <100 Mbit (slow) · Azure: limited, depends on location.
Auto-backup across multiple data centresiFiles are simultaneously replicated to two or more locations, protecting against hardware failure or regional outage. (Multi-datacenter bidirectional replication.) Yes No No No No
👥 Collaboration
Team shared directories Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Mobile app Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Desktop app Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Isolated workspaces for multiple teamsiOne LightUpon installation can serve several independent teams, each with separate storage and permissions. (Multi-tenancy.) Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Full-text search Yes Yes Yes No Yes
🔒 Security & Control
Activity logs Yes Yes No No No
Share-only mode — control who can downloadiRestrict recipients to view/preview only, preventing downloads of shared files. (Restricted download.) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
File lock/unlock Yes No No No Yes
🌱 Ethics, Openness & Support
Open source Yes No No Yes No
Your data stays where you put itiFiles are stored in the data centre you choose. LightUpon never routes data through uncontrolled third-party infrastructure. (Transparent architecture.) Yes No No Yes No
No tracking, no ads, no data reselling — everiLightUpon is funded by subscriptions only. Your content is never analysed for advertising purposes. (Ethic technology.) Yes No No No No
API Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Support Included Email $120 / hour No Ticket, chat
Customisation & branding Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Maintenance cost Low n/a HighiSeafile Pro requires self-hosted infrastructure, ongoing DevOps work, and charges $120/hr for support. Total cost of ownership is typically higher than the licence fee suggests. High n/a

* Seafile Pro appears cheaper at $720/yr for the 10–249 user tier, but it requires self-hosted setup with ongoing DevOps maintenance, $120/hr paid support, and no included replication — total cost of ownership is typically higher. Storage cost calculated at AWS S3 Standard rates ($0.023/GB/month); final cost depends on actual storage used.

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