Direct answer: at annual public prices, ten users cost Zoho Workplace Standard USD 360/year, Zoho Workplace Professional 720/year, Microsoft 365 Business Basic 840/year, Dropbox Standard 1,800/year, Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot 2,820/year, Dropbox Advanced 2,880/year and Microsoft 365 Business Premium with Copilot 3,840/year. But they sell different things: Zoho/Microsoft are “email + office suite + cloud drive”, while Dropbox is “team drive + collaboration”; comparing only the seat price leads to the wrong purchase.
This guide is for founders, IT, admin and procurement teams buying business email, cloud storage or an office collaboration suite. Data cut-off: 5 November 2026; prices are US public list prices in USD, excluding tax, with no FX conversion; the TCO is an editorial calculation, not a vendor quote. All three bill per user/month, but what is included in email, Office, Teams, storage and AI differs widely; Dropbox does not even include email/Office.
First ask whether you need business email/Office/Teams, then compare the seat price; then check whether storage is “1 TB per person” or “3 TB/100 GB per team”; finally add SSO, AI allowance, archiving, compliance and the annual commitment. A USD 3 Zoho, a USD 7 Microsoft Basic and a USD 15 Dropbox are not the same bill.
Three positions: collaboration suite, office suite, team drive
Zoho Workplace is an “email + online Office + team drive + meetings + password manager” suite: Standard USD 3/user/month with 30 GB mail, 100 GB team files and Zia AI; Professional USD 6 with 100 GB mail + 100 GB retention and 1 TB team files. Microsoft 365 is an “email + Office + Teams + OneDrive” suite: Business Basic USD 7/user/month with web/mobile Office, 1 TB OneDrive, 100 GB mailbox, Teams and AI chat; Business Standard with Copilot USD 23.50 with desktop Office + Copilot; Business Premium with Copilot USD 32 adding Intune/Defender/Purview/Windows 11 Pro. Dropbox is a team drive: Standard USD 15/user/month with 3 TB team storage, 180-day recovery and 250 AI credits/user/month; Advanced USD 24 with 15 TB, SSO, end-to-end encryption and 1-year recovery.
| Platform | Positioning | Office | Storage model | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho Workplace | Email + online Office + team drive + meetings | Yes (30/100 GB) | Online Writer/Sheet/Show | 100 GB/1 TB team files |
| Microsoft 365 | Email + Office + Teams + OneDrive | Yes (100 GB) | Web/mobile or desktop | 1 TB OneDrive per user |
| Dropbox | Team drive + collaboration + AI | No | No | 3 TB/15 TB team |
Sources: Zoho Workplace Pricing, Microsoft 365 Business Pricing and Dropbox Plans (all accessed 5 November 2026). This is editorial grouping, not a vendor taxonomy; “Office” covers only what the pricing pages verify and does not judge compatibility, performance or user experience.
The official 2026 price lists
Zoho: Mail Lite 1/user/month (5 GB mail, no files), Mail Premium 4 (50 GB + 50 GB retention, no files), Workplace Standard 3 (30 GB mail + 100 GB team files + Zia), Workplace Professional 6 (100 GB + 100 GB retention, 1 TB team files) and Enterprise custom; annual, with Standard/Professional monthly at 4/7. Microsoft 365: Business Basic 7/user/month paid yearly (1 TB OneDrive, 100 GB mailbox, web/mobile Office, Teams); Business Standard with Copilot 23.50 (desktop Office + Copilot); Business Premium with Copilot 32 (adds Intune/Defender/Purview). Dropbox: Standard 15/user/month annual (3 TB team, 180-day recovery, 250 AI credits); Advanced 24 (15 TB, SSO, end-to-end encryption, 1-year recovery); Enterprise custom.
| Platform / plan | Annual (USD/user/month) | Monthly (USD/user/month) | Mail/storage | Key capability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho Mail Lite | 1 | — (annual only) | 5 GB mail; no files | Business email, calendar, ToDo |
| Zoho Mail Premium | 4 | — (annual only) | 50 GB + 50 GB retention; no files | Retention/eDiscovery/S-MIME |
| Zoho Workplace Standard | 3 | 4 | 30 GB mail + 100 GB team files | Online Office, meetings, Zia, password manager |
| Zoho Workplace Professional | 6 | 7 | 100 GB + 100 GB retention + 1 TB team files | Full suite + retention/eDiscovery + intranet |
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic | 7 | — (paid yearly) | 100 GB mailbox + 1 TB OneDrive/user | Web/mobile Office, Teams, AI chat |
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot | 23.50 | — (paid yearly) | 100 GB mailbox + 1 TB OneDrive/user | Desktop Office, Teams, Copilot |
| Microsoft 365 Business Premium with Copilot | 32 | — (paid yearly) | 100 GB + 1.5 TB archive + 1 TB OneDrive/user | Adds Intune/Defender/Purview, Windows 11 Pro |
| Dropbox Standard | 15 | — (annual) | 3 TB team storage | 180-day recovery, 250 AI credits/user/month, team folders |
| Dropbox Advanced | 24 | — (annual) | 15 TB team storage | SSO, end-to-end encryption, 1-year recovery, tiered admin |
Sources: Zoho Workplace Pricing (Mail Lite 1, Mail Premium 4, Standard 3/4, Professional 6/7; 30/100 GB mail, 100 GB/1 TB team files; Zia), Microsoft 365 Pricing (Business Basic 7; Standard with Copilot 23.50; Premium with Copilot 32; 1 TB OneDrive, 100 GB mailbox, Copilot/Intune/Defender/Purview), Dropbox Plans (Standard 15, Advanced 24; 3 TB/15 TB, 250 AI credits, 180-day/1-year recovery). USD, excluding tax; Microsoft/Dropbox are annual page prices; Zoho monthly only on Standard/Professional.
1 / 10 / 25 users: annual TCO
One user: Zoho Standard 36, Zoho Professional 72, Microsoft Basic 84, Dropbox Standard 180, Microsoft Standard with Copilot 282, Dropbox Advanced 288, Microsoft Premium with Copilot 384. Ten users: 360/720/840/1,800/2,820/2,880/3,840. Twenty-five users: 900/1,800/2,100/4,500/7,050/7,200/9,600. Zoho is cheapest, Microsoft Basic second, Dropbox costs more because it is a pure 3 TB team drive, and Microsoft’s upper tiers cost more because of desktop Office + Copilot + security.
| Option (annual) | 1 user/year | 10 users/year | 25 users/year | Vs Zoho Standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho Workplace Standard 3 | 36 | 360 | 900 | 1.0× |
| Zoho Workplace Professional 6 | 72 | 720 | 1,800 | 2.0× |
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic 7 | 84 | 840 | 2,100 | 2.3× |
| Dropbox Standard 15 | 180 | 1,800 | 4,500 | 5.0× |
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot 23.50 | 282 | 2,820 | 7,050 | 7.8× |
| Dropbox Advanced 24 | 288 | 2,880 | 7,200 | 8.0× |
| Microsoft 365 Business Premium with Copilot 32 | 384 | 3,840 | 9,600 | 10.7× |
Editorial calculation, not a quote. = annual monthly price × users × 12; Zoho 3/6, Microsoft 7/23.50/32, Dropbox 15/24. Excludes tax, add-ons, storage overage, SSO (Dropbox Advanced), implementation and migration; “vs” = annual/360.
The easiest misreading is “Dropbox 15 is twice Microsoft Basic 7”. Dropbox gives 3 TB team storage, 180-day recovery and 250 AI credits but no email/Office/Teams; Microsoft Basic gives 1 TB OneDrive per user, 100 GB mailbox, web/mobile Office and Teams. At ten users Dropbox 1,800 is 960 above Microsoft Basic 840; if you only need 1–2 TB of team drive and no email/Office, Dropbox’s 3 TB may be simpler; if you need email + Office, Microsoft Basic is cheaper.
Storage model: 1 TB per user vs 3 TB team vs 30 GB + 100 GB
Microsoft 365 is “1 TB OneDrive per user + 100 GB mailbox”, so ten users = 10 TB drive + 1 TB mail, but OneDrive is personal and team sharing needs SharePoint/Teams. Dropbox is “3 TB/15 TB team”, shared by ten users, good for large shared folders/external collaboration, but no personal 1 TB. Zoho Standard is “30 GB mail + 100 GB team files”, ten users = 300 GB mail + 100 GB team; Professional is “100 GB + 100 GB retention + 1 TB team”. By total team drive, Microsoft’s 10 TB is largest; by shared drive, Dropbox’s 3 TB is simpler; Zoho is cheapest but smallest.
| Option | Mail/user | Drive | 10-user total drive | Sharing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho Standard | 30 GB | 100 GB team | 100 GB team | WorkDrive team folders |
| Zoho Professional | 100 GB + 100 GB retention | 1 TB team | 1 TB team | WorkDrive team folders |
| Microsoft Business Basic/Standard/Premium | 100 GB (Premium 1.5 TB archive) | 1 TB/user OneDrive | 10 TB personal | OneDrive/SharePoint/Teams |
| Dropbox Standard | None | 3 TB team | 3 TB team | Team folders/shared links |
| Dropbox Advanced | None | 15 TB team | 15 TB team | Team folders/SSO/tiered admin |
Sources: Zoho Workplace Pricing (30/100 GB mail, 100 GB/1 TB team files), Microsoft 365 Pricing (1 TB OneDrive/user, 100 GB mailbox, Premium 1.5 TB archive), Dropbox Plans (3 TB/15 TB team storage). Accessed 5 November 2026; this is editorial conversion, and the ten-user total assumes linear 1 TB/user while actual sharing/quota follows the product.
Procurement should ask “how big is the shared team drive”, not just “how much per user”. Ten users at 1 TB each is theoretically 10 TB on Microsoft, but OneDrive is personal and cross-team sharing uses SharePoint; Dropbox 3 TB is a team pool, good for design/video/client files; Zoho 100 GB/1 TB is for document-centric small teams. If you have 2 TB of shared assets, Zoho Standard is not enough; Dropbox Standard 3 TB or Microsoft (SharePoint) fits better.
What AI is included: Copilot vs Zia vs Dropbox credits
Microsoft: Business Basic has AI chat (web grounding/writing/agents); Business Standard/Premium with Copilot include Copilot in Word/Excel/PowerPoint/Outlook/Teams, with some advanced AI usage-based; Business Premium adds security/device management. Dropbox: Standard/Advanced both include 250 AI credits/user/month for file organization, content transformation and Q&A; Advanced adds SSO/end-to-end encryption. Zoho: Zia is included in Workplace tiers, with no published credit number; AI capability follows Zia. The meters differ, so “who gives more” is not a direct comparison.
| Platform | AI included | Allowance/meter | Overage/add-on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic | AI chat with web grounding, writing, agents | No credits listed | Advanced AI usage-based |
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot | Word/Excel/PowerPoint/Outlook/Teams Copilot | Included at 23.50/user/month | Some advanced AI usage-based |
| Microsoft 365 Business Premium with Copilot | All Standard + security/device management | Included at 32/user/month | Some advanced AI usage-based |
| Dropbox Standard | File organization/transformation/Q&A | 250 credits/user/month | No public add-on |
| Dropbox Advanced | Same + SSO/end-to-end encryption | 250 credits/user/month | No public add-on |
| Zoho Workplace Standard/Professional | Zia assistant | No credits listed | Per Zoho page/contract |
Sources: Microsoft 365 Pricing (Basic AI chat, Standard/Premium Copilot, usage-based advanced AI), Dropbox Plans (250 AI credits/person/month), Zoho Workplace Pricing (Zia included). Accessed 5 November 2026; the AI units/scopes differ and are not 1:1 convertible; “not listed” means no number on the pricing page and is not guessed here.
Microsoft’s Copilot is in-app AI, most valuable to heavy Office users; Dropbox’s 250 credits are more about file organization/content transformation; Zoho’s Zia is a suite assistant with no credit number on the pricing page. Do not decide on “AI included” alone: confirm whether you use Word/Excel/Teams heavily or file organization/sharing heavily.
Hidden costs: SSO, storage, archiving, add-ons
Dropbox SSO/end-to-end encryption is Advanced (24/user/month); Standard does not have it. Microsoft Intune/Defender/Purview/Windows 11 Pro is Business Premium with Copilot (32); Business Basic does not. Zoho mail retention/eDiscovery is Mail Premium/Professional; Standard has 30 GB mail. All three exclude tax, migration and implementation; storage overage, archiving, compliance and support need separate confirmation. Annual is a commitment; monthly is often more expensive or unavailable (Microsoft/Dropbox pages are annual).
| Platform | Hidden cost/tier | Public price | When it applies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dropbox | SSO/end-to-end encryption | Advanced 24/user/month | Enterprise login/encryption |
| Dropbox | Storage cap | Standard 3 TB/Advanced 15 TB | Team drive over cap |
| Microsoft | Intune/Defender/Purview/Windows 11 Pro | Premium with Copilot 32 | Device management/compliance |
| Microsoft | Advanced AI usage | Usage-based | Copilot advanced features |
| Zoho | Mail retention/eDiscovery | Mail Premium 4/Professional 6 | Compliance/retention |
| Zoho | Team file cap | 100 GB/1 TB | Shared assets over cap |
| All three | Tax/migration/implementation/support | Extra/to confirm | Enterprise procurement |
Sources: Dropbox Plans (Standard 3 TB, Advanced 15 TB/SSO/end-to-end encryption), Microsoft 365 Pricing (Premium with Copilot 32, Intune/Defender/Purview, advanced AI usage-based), Zoho Workplace Pricing (Mail Premium 4, Professional 6, retention/eDiscovery). Accessed 5 November 2026; USD, excluding tax; add-on/support prices follow the contract.
Capability matrix: email, Office, Teams, SSO, AI
For business email + Office + Teams: Microsoft 365 Basic/Standard/Premium; for the cheapest email + online Office + team drive: Zoho Workplace; for a pure team drive + external collaboration: Dropbox Standard/Advanced. SSO: Dropbox Advanced, Microsoft (Entra ID with M365), Zoho tier to confirm; AI: Microsoft Copilot, Dropbox credits, Zoho Zia; compliance/device management: Microsoft Premium, Zoho Professional/Enterprise, Dropbox Advanced/Enterprise.
| Capability | Zoho Workplace | Microsoft 365 | Dropbox |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business email | Yes (30/100 GB) | Yes (100 GB) | No |
| Office suite | Online Writer/Sheet/Show | Web/mobile or desktop | No |
| Team IM/meetings | Cliq/Meeting | Teams | No (integrations) |
| Team drive | 100 GB/1 TB | 1 TB/user OneDrive | 3 TB/15 TB |
| SSO | Tier to confirm | Entra ID | Advanced |
| AI | Zia | Copilot (Standard/Premium) | 250 credits/user/month |
| Device/security | Professional/Enterprise | Premium (Intune/Defender/Purview) | Advanced/Enterprise |
| Best fit | Budget-first, email + online Office | Heavy Office/Teams | Pure drive/external collaboration |
Sources: the three official pricing pages (accessed 5 November 2026). This is an editorial comparison, not a full feature list; “tier to confirm” means the pricing page does not explicitly state the capability and sales/docs must confirm; performance, compatibility, migration experience and compliance certification were not tested.
Which option fits which scenario?
Ten users, budget-first, only email + online Office + 100 GB team drive: Zoho Standard 360/year; for 1 TB team drive/mail retention: Zoho Professional 720. For 1 TB per user + email + web Office + Teams: Microsoft Basic 840; for desktop Office + Copilot: Microsoft Standard with Copilot 2,820; for device management/compliance: Premium with Copilot 3,840. For a pure team drive/external collaboration: Dropbox Standard 1,800 (3 TB) or Advanced 2,880 (15 TB + SSO).
- Ten users, budget-first: Zoho Workplace Standard 360/year; 30 GB mail, 100 GB team files, best for document-centric small teams.
- Bigger team drive/mail retention: Zoho Professional 720/year; 1 TB team files, 100 GB + 100 GB retention.
- Heavy Office/Teams: Microsoft 365 Business Basic 840/year; desktop Office + Copilot 2,820; add security/device management 3,840.
- Pure team drive/external collaboration: Dropbox Standard 1,800/year (3 TB); for SSO/end-to-end encryption/15 TB: Advanced 2,880.
- Twenty-five users: Zoho 900/1,800, Microsoft 2,100/7,050/9,600, Dropbox 4,500/7,200; scales linearly within the same tier.
- SSO/compliance: Dropbox Advanced, Microsoft Premium, Zoho Professional/Enterprise; confirm the tier and contract.
What should procurement and acceptance specify?
At least eight things: whether business email/Office/Teams is needed, per-user and team storage, shared-drive cap, SSO/device management/compliance, AI allowance and overage, annual commitment, migration/import, and a two-week real collaboration POC. The POC should use the same files and mailboxes and record migration, sharing permissions, external collaboration, mobile, actual AI usability and the bill, not just the seat price.
- Features: confirm email/Office/Teams/drive separately; Dropbox has no email/Office, Zoho/Microsoft do.
- Storage: 1 TB per user or 3 TB/100 GB team; shared cap and overage price.
- SSO/security: Dropbox Advanced, Microsoft Premium/Entra, Zoho tier; device management/audit/data residency.
- AI: scope and overage of Copilot/Zia/Dropbox credits; do not buy on “AI included” alone.
- Contract: annual commitment, renewal price, user changes, refunds; Microsoft/Dropbox pages are annual.
- Migration: import mail/files from Google/Microsoft/Dropbox, permission/shared-link mapping, migration fees.
- Compliance: archiving, eDiscovery, retention, DLP, industry certifications; confirm by business need.
- POC: two weeks, real files/mailboxes, 5–10 people; record migration, sharing, external collaboration, mobile, AI and the bill.
FAQ
Ten people: what is cheapest?
Per seat: Zoho Workplace Standard 360/year is cheapest; for 1 TB team drive/mail retention, Zoho Professional 720; for 1 TB per user + email + web Office + Teams, Microsoft Basic 840; for a pure team drive, Dropbox Standard 1,800 (3 TB). Confirm whether you need email/Office first.
Is Microsoft 365 Business Basic enough?
Basic 7/user/month: web/mobile Office, 1 TB OneDrive/user, 100 GB mailbox, Teams, AI chat; no desktop Office/Copilot, Intune/Defender/Purview. For desktop Office + Copilot use Standard with Copilot 23.50; for device management/compliance use Premium with Copilot 32.
How is Dropbox different from Microsoft 365?
Dropbox is a team drive: 3 TB/15 TB, team folders, external sharing, 250 AI credits, no email/Office/Teams. Microsoft is a suite: email + Office + Teams + 1 TB OneDrive per user. For drive only choose Dropbox; for email/Office choose Microsoft/Zoho.
Is Zoho’s USD 3 credible?
Workplace Standard 3/user/month annual includes 30 GB mail, 100 GB team files, online Office, meetings, Zia and password management; it is not “email only”. But the team drive is 100 GB and mail 30 GB; for 1 TB team files/100 GB mail, Professional is 6. Features and capacity follow the page.
How should storage be compared: 1 TB per user vs 3 TB team?
Microsoft is 1 TB OneDrive per user (ten users theoretically 10 TB, but personal drives; team sharing via SharePoint/Teams); Dropbox is a 3 TB/15 TB team pool; Zoho is 100 GB/1 TB team. Calculate the shared drive you need, not just “per user”.
How much AI is included?
Microsoft Basic has AI chat; Standard/Premium with Copilot include in-app Copilot; Dropbox gives 250 AI credits/user/month; Zoho includes Zia but does not list credits on the pricing page. Scopes and meters differ; test with real tasks, do not compare on “AI included”.
Which tier has SSO/compliance?
Dropbox SSO/end-to-end encryption is Advanced; Microsoft Entra ID comes with M365 and Intune/Defender/Purview is Business Premium with Copilot; Zoho mail retention/eDiscovery is Mail Premium/Professional, while the SSO tier needs confirmation. Put SSO/audit/data residency in the contract.
What other costs are hidden?
Dropbox storage cap/SSO is Advanced; Microsoft advanced AI is usage-based and device management is Premium; Zoho team drive is 100 GB/1 TB and mail retention is Mail Premium/Professional; all three exclude tax, migration, implementation and support. Annual is a commitment; confirm renewal and user-change terms.
Research method and limitations
This article separates “official facts” from “editorial modelling”: plan prices, storage, mailbox, AI inclusion and SSO/device management come from the three official pricing pages; the 1/10/25-user TCO is annual monthly price × users × 12 arithmetic, not a vendor quote. It does not compare performance, compatibility, migration experience, AI quality or compliance certification.
Eight limitations: (1) only US public list prices are compared, excluding tax, add-ons, storage overage, migration, implementation and support; (2) Microsoft’s page currently features Copilot bundles (Basic 7, Standard with Copilot 23.50, Premium with Copilot 32); non-Copilot tiers may exist but were not captured; (3) Dropbox prices are annual, and Standard has no email/Office/SSO; (4) Zoho 3/6 are annual, monthly 4/7; Mail Lite/Premium are annual only; (5) storage compares “1 TB per user”/“3 TB/100 GB team” directly without verifying sharing/quota/overage details; (6) real file/mailbox migration, external sharing, mobile and AI experience were not tested; (7) SSO/audit/data residency/industry certification availability was not verified; (8) mainland China network, data compliance and local pricing are excluded. Treat this as a unit-alignment template and replace assumptions with a two-week real collaboration POC.
Sources and basis
- Zoho, Workplace Pricing: zoho.com/workplace/pricing.html. Mail Lite 1, Mail Premium 4, Workplace Standard 3/4, Professional 6/7 (annual/monthly); 30 GB/100 GB mail; 100 GB/1 TB team files; Zia; mail retention/eDiscovery; Enterprise custom. Accessed 5 November 2026.
- Microsoft, Microsoft 365 Business Pricing: microsoft.com/microsoft-365/business. Business Basic 7/user/month paid yearly (web/mobile Office, 1 TB OneDrive, 100 GB mailbox, Teams, AI chat); Business Standard with Copilot 23.50; Business Premium with Copilot 32 (Intune/Defender/Purview, Windows 11 Pro); advanced AI usage-based. Accessed 5 November 2026.
- Dropbox, Plans: dropbox.com/plans. Standard 15/user/month annual (3 TB team, 180-day recovery, 250 AI credits/user/month); Advanced 24 (15 TB, SSO, end-to-end encryption, 1-year recovery); Enterprise custom. Accessed 5 November 2026.
Data cut-off 5 November 2026; prices are public list prices excluding tax; all models are editorial calculations. This is not procurement advice.