Dropbox Paper vs Nuclino
We give Dropbox Paper and Nuclino the same GPA: 3.6 out of 4.0. Dropbox Paper grades higher on the free plan. Nuclino grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Dropbox Paper
Free collaborative documents that live in a Dropbox account
Nuclino
Lightweight team wiki with docs, boards and whiteboards
How we grade them
| 3.6GPADropbox PaperExcellent | 3.6GPANuclinoExcellent | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | APaper itself costs nothing and there's no limit on the number of docs. Dropbox's paid plans, from $9.99 a month billed yearly, buy storage and longer version history, not a better editor. | AStarter is $6 a user a month billed yearly, or $8 monthly, which is the cheap end of this category. Business, with SSO and the Sidekick AI, is $10. The catch: guests and read-only members are billed too. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree with any Dropbox account, including the Basic plan with 2 GB of storage. Docs barely touch that: each one takes up less than 100 bytes. You could stay here for good. | BFree for good, with real-time editing, all four views, the API and every app. But it stops at 50 items, 3 canvases and 2 GB in total, and the plan table lists no version history. A growing wiki gets to 50 items quickly. |
| Features | BUp to 50 people editing at once, comments on text and images, to-dos with assignees and due dates, tables, timelines and templates. But there's no offline editing, and on the new release of Paper the Slack commands don't work and docs export one at a time. | AEvery item is a live document, and the same workspace turns into a list, a board, a table or a graph. Add whiteboards and diagrams on a canvas, publishing as a website, an API and an MCP server, plus Sidekick AI on Business. |
| Ease of use | BNo app rating on record. If you have a Dropbox account there's nothing to set up, and Dropbox supplies ready-made templates for things like project plans. Everyone you share with has to sign in to Dropbox, though. | BNo app rating on record. It's pitched at small teams who want little setup, with hotkeys, slash commands and Markdown for people who like to type their way around. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, iPhone and Android, with Google Calendar and Outlook Calendar hooked in and a public API. One gap: the Dropbox desktop app only opens Paper docs on dropbox.com, so nothing works offline. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android, with an API on every plan and integrations for Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Drive, Jira and Figma. |
| Best for | free shared docs for people already on Dropbox | a simple team wiki with boards and whiteboards |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Dropbox Paper and Nuclino. How we grade
Where they differ
- Dropbox Paper starts at $9.99 per month, billed yearly (Dropbox Plus). Nuclino starts at $6 per user / month, billed yearly ($8 billed monthly).
- Only Nuclino lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- Dropbox Paper also covers templates and tasks.
- Nuclino also covers wiki, whiteboard and kanban boards.
At a glance
| Dropbox Paper | Nuclino | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $9.99 per month, billed yearly (Dropbox Plus) | $6 per user / month, billed yearly ($8 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Paper is free with any Dropbox account, including the free Basic plan with 2 GB of storage. There is no limit on the number of docs, and each doc takes up less than 100 bytes of storage. | Up to 50 items, up to 3 canvases and 2 GB of total storage, with real-time collaboration, all four views, integrations and the web, desktop and mobile apps. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial of the Dropbox Standard and Advanced team plans | 14-day free trial of the Starter plan, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Dropbox | Nuclino GmbH |
| Price read from | dropbox.com | nuclino.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Dropbox Paper
- Teams that already keep their files in Dropbox
- Meeting notes, briefs and plans with assigned to-dos
- People who want shared docs without paying for another tool
Nuclino
- Small teams that want a simple wiki with little setup
- Keeping docs, light project boards and diagrams in one tool
- Mixed-platform teams: desktop apps cover Windows, macOS and Linux
Worth knowing
Dropbox Paper
- Paper has no plan of its own: it is free with a Dropbox account, and everyone who opens a doc has to sign in to Dropbox.
- Docs cannot be edited offline; the Dropbox desktop app stores them as web-based files that open only on dropbox.com.
- No more than 50 people can edit a doc at once, and inserted files are limited to 50 MB each.
- On the new release of Paper, the Slack integration's commands and previews do not work and docs can only be exported one at a time.
Nuclino
- The Free plan stops at 50 items, 3 canvases and 2 GB of total storage, and its plan table lists no version history.
- Every user is billed, including guests and read-only members, and upgrading moves the whole team to the paid plan.
- Sidekick AI, SAML single sign-on, the audit log and custom publishing domains are limited to the Business plan.
- Starter keeps 30 days of version history; unlimited history needs Business.
Key features
Dropbox Paper
- Real-time co-editing
- Up to 50 people can edit a doc at the same time; anyone beyond that sees it as view-only. Collaborators can be mentioned in the text to bring them into a doc.
- Comments on text and images
- Comments attach to highlighted text or to a selected area of an image, can mention colleagues to notify them, and can be linked to directly.
- To-dos with assignees and due dates
- Checklist items are assigned by mentioning someone and can carry a due date. A Things to do sidebar gathers the to-dos assigned to a user and those they assigned to others.
- Tables, timelines and embedded files
- Docs can hold tables, timelines and code blocks. Files under 50 MB can be dragged in and are previewed inline when Paper supports the file type.
- Templates
- Dropbox supplies pre-designed templates for formats such as project plans and creative briefs, and any doc can be turned into a reusable template.
- Stored as Dropbox files
- Docs sit in Dropbox folders as .paper files, follow the account's sharing policies and use Dropbox version history. Each doc can be exported as .docx, Markdown or PDF.
Nuclino
- Collaborative items
- Each item is a document that the team edits in real time, with room for notes, assigned tasks, flowcharts and embedded files. Hotkeys, slash commands and Markdown are supported.
- List, board, table and graph views
- The same workspace can be shown as a list for docs, a board for projects and tasks, a table that sorts and filters, or a graph for exploring how knowledge connects.
- Canvas
- An infinite canvas for whiteboards and diagrams can be added anywhere in a workspace. The Free plan allows up to 3 canvases; paid plans have no limit.
- Sidekick AI
- Answers questions from the team's own content, drafts and summarizes text, extracts action items and generates images. Sidekick is part of the Business plan.
- Publishing
- A workspace can be published as a website that search engines can find. Publishing starts on Starter, and a custom domain needs Business.
- API and MCP server
- An API is included on every plan, and an MCP server connects assistants such as Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor to the team's content.
Plans
Dropbox Paper
Basic$0
Free Dropbox account with 2 GB of storage. Paper is included at no charge, with no limit on the number of docs.
Plus$9.99
per month, billed yearly ($11.99 billed monthly)
For 1 person: the same Paper editor with 2 TB of Dropbox storage and 30 days of version history and deleted-file recovery.
Standard$15
per user / month, billed yearly ($18 billed monthly)
Team plan with storage from 3 TB, team folders, admin controls and 180 days of version history, which also covers Paper docs.
Advanced$24
per user / month, billed yearly ($30 billed monthly)
For 3 people or more: storage from 15 TB, single sign-on, tiered admin management and 1 year of version history.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom pricing with integrations for third-party security tools and live support from dedicated staff.
Nuclino
Free$0
Up to 50 items, up to 3 canvases and 2 GB of total storage, with real-time collaboration, integrations and the API.
Starter$6
per user / month, billed yearly ($8 billed monthly)
Unlimited items and canvases, admin tools, publishing, 30-day version history and 10 GB of storage per user.
Business$10
per user / month, billed yearly ($12 billed monthly)
Sidekick AI, SAML single sign-on, audit log, team insights, a custom publishing domain, unlimited version history and 20 GB of storage per user.
Ways to pay less
Dropbox Paper
- Annual discount
About 17% to 20% lower with yearly billing
Billed yearly, Dropbox Plus is $9.99 a month instead of $11.99, Standard is $15 per user instead of $18, and Advanced is $24 per user instead of $30. Paper itself stays free.
Nuclino
- Annual discount
Up to 25% off with yearly billing
Starter is $6 per user a month billed yearly ($72 a year) against $8 billed monthly, a 25% saving. Business is $10 billed yearly ($120 a year) against $12.
