Mega vs Dropbox (vs the others) which is the best?

BitTorrent?

BitTorrent on Thursday unveiled a new service, dubbed Sync, that will let users synchronize personal files across multiple devices.  The system uses peer-to-peer technology to sync files between devices. Details are scant, but a BitTorrent spokesman explained that Sync will allow direct synchronization between machines without any cloud caching via native apps for Mac OS, Windows, and Linux, as well as native NAS integration. Files will be encrypted, as well.

Mega?

Kim Dotcom’s recently launched Mega file locker website has been climbing the ranks of the world’s biggest sites very quickly indeed. Just yesterday it had become the biggest site in New Zealand and today it’s managed to eclipse not only Rapidshare, but DropBox as well.

This was announced by Kim Dotcom on his regularly updated twitter account, with the simple message “141.” This is because while Mega.co.nz’s three month ranking is still somewhere in the low thousands, in-fact the site’s daily rank has show to 141, ranking it in the top 150 websites in the world. Considering it was only launched on Friday, that’s a tremendous achievement.

Dropbox?

Dropbox is a file hosting service operated by Dropbox, Inc., that offers cloud storage, file synchronization, and client software. Dropbox allows users to create a special folder on each of their computers, which Dropbox then synchronises so that it appears to be the same folder (with the same contents) regardless of which computer is used to view it. Files placed in this folder also are accessible through a website and mobile phone applications.

Others?

I looked at google drive, but this turned me off:

“Google may make and publicize derivative works of your uploaded content for the operation, promotion, or improvement of its services, and may store its own copies of your content even after you stop using its services”

How do I choose?

Clearly they are all different beasts.  How do you choose which one is best?

I looked on wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_online_backup_services and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_file_hosting_services but mega is not there.   So lets compare them here instead.  Unfortunately BitTorrent is not ready yet so it is not included.

Features

MEGA

Dropbox

Free Storage

50 GB

2 GB (up to 18GB via Referrals)

Paid Storage (basic)

500 GB

100 GB

Monthly Cost (basic)

9.99 Euros

9.99 Dollars

Undelete Function

No

Yes (Paid @ 39.99$/Year)

Encrypted?

Yes

No

Drive Mapping?

No*  (on the way)

Yes

It is really simple.  If you require drive mapping (copy files from once device to another) then drop box wins for the moment.

If you require privacy (encryption), or volume (big files) then Mega is the king.

You decide.  I will publish updates later as the coming features start pouring in.

Follow me on twitter for more updates:  http://www.twitter.com/dingfelder

About Andy Dingfelder

Andy is a Technology Manager with over 20 years of experience in Software Development, Project Management and Team Management in Telco, Healthcare and General SDLC. Full bio is available at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/dingfelder Follow at http://twitter.com/dingfelder Andy Dingfelder lives in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand with his wife and two daughters.
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