Oxolan vs Dropbox — LAN speed or cloud sync?

Honest verdict

Different tools for different distances. Dropbox is mature cloud sync: work from anywhere, share links externally, per-user monthly pricing — and every file makes a round-trip through Dropbox’s servers at your internet’s upload speed. Oxolan is for teams in one building: files move directly between machines at LAN speed and never touch a third-party server. Remote collaboration → Dropbox. Same-office large files or confidential work → Oxolan. Many teams run both.

Feature by feature

OxolanDropbox
Price modelFlat per office (unlimited transfers)Per user, per month, forever
A 20 GB project to the next desk~3–6 minutes at LAN speedUpload + download via the cloud — often hours
Files leave your buildingNever — LAN only, TLS 1.3 encryptedAlways — stored on Dropbox servers
Works with internet downYes — LAN onlyNo sync until it’s back
External sharing linksNo — office toolExcellent
Remote / travel accessNo — same network onlyAnywhere
Storage capNone — your disksPlan quota
File lockingBuilt-in file lockingEditing badges; conflicted copies happen
Version historyIncludedIncluded

Speed, with real numbers

The physics is the whole story: a cloud round-trip is capped by office upload bandwidth (often 10–50 Mbps ≈ 1–6 MB/s), then the receiver downloads it again. The same gigabit cable between two desks carries 60–115 MB/s with Oxolan — verified engineering numbers, not marketing.

Pricing

Dropbox Business runs per user per month; ten people cost more every single year. Oxolan is one flat per-office license from $149/yr — and heavy transfer days cost nothing extra. Oxolan plans run $149–$999/yr by office size (5 to 50 PCs) — see current pricing.

The honest test: run it on two PCs

Install Oxolan next to whatever you use today and let the transfers decide. Free 14 days, no card.

Try Oxolan side by side — free

Frequently asked questions

Can Oxolan replace Dropbox completely?

Only if your collaboration is inside one building. Oxolan has no cloud, so no remote access or external share links — that’s the point. Teams with both needs keep a small Dropbox plan for external sharing and move the heavy internal traffic to Oxolan.

Why are Dropbox transfers slow between two PCs in the same office?

Every file goes up to Dropbox’s servers at your upload speed, then back down to the second PC. With typical office upload bandwidth, a 20 GB folder takes hours — the same folder crosses a gigabit LAN in minutes.

Is LAN-only sharing safer than cloud for client files?

Data that never leaves your network cannot be exposed by a cloud-side breach, subpoena or misconfigured share link. Oxolan transfers are TLS 1.3-encrypted between certificate-pinned machines. (Keep backups either way — LAN-only also means no cloud copy.)

What about LAN sync in Dropbox?

Dropbox’s LAN sync accelerates downloads between machines on one network, but files still upload to the cloud first and it requires everyone syncing the same folders. Direct transfer skips the round-trip entirely.

Read the deep dives