Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • November 2013 (Revised November 2014)
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Freemium Pricing at Dropbox

By: Thales Teixeira and Elizabeth Anne Watkins
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:10
ShareBar

Abstract

Online storage company Dropbox provided remote-storage over the internet of any type of computer file, along with file sharing, synchronization and backup. Using a freemium pricing strategy whereby a basic service was free-of-charge and a premium service was paid, Dropbox grew into a business with 200 million users. But only an estimated 1.6 to 4.0% of its users provided any revenue to the company. This case examines how Dropbox used freemium pricing to facilitate product adoption and user referrals. A survey is provided of the cloud-storage industry, including an overview of the largest players and their pricing/service models. Further, various freemium-based companies across industries are compared, including user conversion rates and revenue profiles.

Keywords

Marketing Strategy; Price; Internet; Information Technology Industry

Citation

Teixeira, Thales, and Elizabeth Anne Watkins. "Freemium Pricing at Dropbox." Harvard Business School Case 514-053, November 2013. (Revised November 2014.)
  • Educators
  • Purchase

Related Work

    • November 2013 (Revised November 2014)
    • Faculty Research

    Freemium Pricing at Dropbox

    By: Thales Teixeira and Elizabeth Anne Watkins
Related Work
  • Freemium Pricing at Dropbox By: Thales Teixeira and Elizabeth Anne Watkins
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College