Dropbox Killed Send & Track in March 2025
On March 31, 2025, Dropbox discontinued its Send and Track feature - the tool that let users share files as tracked links and see whether recipients opened them. The discontinuation was announced with little notice. Affected users received a 3-month DocSend trial as compensation, after which tracking required a separate DocSend subscription.
Dropbox's strategic focus shifted to Dash, its AI-powered search product. The file tracking and document sharing analytics that many teams depended on as part of their Dropbox plan were removed with no equivalent replacement built into the core product.
Dropbox Send & Track is permanently discontinued. Standard Dropbox file sharing gives you no view analytics - you send a link and receive no information about whether the recipient opened it, how long they spent, or which sections they read.
This list covers six alternatives that fill the document sharing and tracking gap that Dropbox no longer covers.
1. PaperLink
Best for: document sharing with analytics and built-in invoicing
PaperLink provides the document tracking that Dropbox Send & Track offered, with significantly more depth. Upload a PDF or Markdown file, configure access controls, and see page-by-page analytics for every view - the viewer's email (when captured via email gate), time spent on each page, total session duration, and whether they downloaded.
The access controls go further than Dropbox's link-sharing ever did: password protection, email verification, expiration dates, and NDA agreement gates that recipients must sign before viewing. Real-time Slack notifications alert you when a recipient opens the document.
PaperLink also includes a full invoicing module - the step that typically follows sending a proposal or deliverable. For freelancers and agencies whose workflow is proposal - share - invoice, PaperLink handles all three steps from one account. The permanent free plan covers the core use case with no document limit, full analytics, and all sharing controls. The main limits are 50 file links and one user.
Free plan: Unlimited documents, 50 file links, full analytics, 1 user Paid plans: Per team, not per user Analytics: Page-by-page time tracking on all plans eSignature: Not available
2. DocSend
Best for: sales teams with CRM integrations
DocSend was the product Dropbox offered as a replacement for Send & Track users - and it is the most direct substitute for the tracking use case. Page-level analytics, eSignature on all paid plans, and native HubSpot and Salesforce integrations are its core strengths. Email plugins for Gmail and Outlook let sales teams share documents directly from their inbox with tracking applied automatically.
The catch is that DocSend requires a separate paid subscription. There is no permanent free plan - access ends after a 14-day trial. The per-user pricing model adds up for growing teams: a five-person sales team on the Standard plan pays $225 per month. For teams already budgeting for a dedicated document sharing tool, DocSend's CRM integrations make it a strong option. See our DocSend vs PaperLink comparison.
Free plan: 14-day trial only Paid plans: $10-150/user/month Analytics: Page-by-page time tracking eSignature: All paid plans
3. Papermark
Best for: open-source document tracking
Papermark is an open-source document sharing platform (AGPLv3) with a cloud free plan and a self-hosted option. It covers the core tracking use case - trackable links, page-level analytics, password protection, and email verification - with data rooms and watermarking on paid plans.
The cloud free plan includes 50 documents and 50 links for one user. For teams with technical resources who want to audit the source code or self-host the platform entirely, Papermark's open-source model is a real alternative. For teams looking for a managed cloud product, the free tier covers basic document sharing and tracking without a subscription. See our Papermark vs PaperLink comparison.
Free plan: 50 documents, 50 links, 1 user Paid plans: Per team Analytics: Page-by-page time tracking eSignature: Not available
4. Digify
Best for: post-download access control, enterprise security
Digify's standout capability is PPAD (Persistent Protection After Download) - patented technology that enforces access controls on documents even after recipients download them. You can revoke access, change expiry dates, and update permissions on files already stored on someone else's device. No other platform in this comparison offers equivalent post-download control.
For teams that shared sensitive documents through Dropbox and relied on the ability to revoke access later, Digify's PPAD addresses that need more robustly than any link-expiry approach. It is ISO 27001 certified and HIPAA compliant.
The pricing reflects the enterprise positioning - entry-level starts at approximately $130 per month with no permanent free plan. For teams that do not need post-download DRM, the core tracking use case is covered by less expensive alternatives at a fraction of the cost. See our Digify vs PaperLink comparison.
Free plan: 7-day trial only Paid plans: ~$130-480+/month Analytics: Page-level tracking, full audit trail eSignature: Not available
5. Box
Best for: enterprise cloud storage with compliance
Box is a cloud content platform with granular permission management and compliance certifications (SOC 2, ISO 27001). FedRAMP and HIPAA compliance are available on Enterprise plans. For enterprise teams that need to share documents with external partners under specific compliance frameworks, Box's access controls and audit trail are robust.
Box's sharing model includes link expiration, download prevention, and access logs for who viewed shared files. The analytics are less granular than dedicated document sharing platforms - you see who accessed the file and when, but not page-by-page time data within a document. For teams already using Box for storage, its sharing controls reduce the gap left by Dropbox. For teams specifically looking for page-level engagement data, Box does not cover that use case.
Free plan: Individual plan (10 GB, limited features) Paid plans: $15-47/user/month Analytics: Access logs, not page-level eSignature: Yes (Box Sign)
6. Google Drive
Best for: teams already in Google Workspace
Google Drive is the default fallback for many teams migrating away from Dropbox. It handles file storage, collaborative editing through Google Docs and Sheets, and external sharing through links with permission levels. The 15 GB free plan and Workspace pricing ($7-22/user/month) is competitive for cloud storage.
The sharing gap is the same as Dropbox's remaining product: no view analytics for external recipients, no password protection on shared links, no email verification, and no expiration dates on individual links. You share a file and hear nothing unless the recipient replies. For teams that only need file storage and collaboration without tracking, Google Drive is a straightforward replacement for Dropbox. For teams that need document engagement data, a dedicated document sharing platform fills the gap. See our Google Drive vs PaperLink comparison.
Free plan: 15 GB Paid plans: $7-22/user/month (Workspace) Analytics: Not available for external recipients eSignature: Not available
How to Choose
| Need | Best option |
|---|---|
| Document tracking + invoicing | PaperLink |
| CRM integrations (HubSpot, Salesforce) | DocSend |
| Open-source, self-hostable tracking | Papermark |
| Post-download DRM, enterprise security | Digify |
| Cloud storage with compliance | Box |
| File storage + Google Workspace | Google Drive |
The key distinction is whether you need file storage or document sharing with analytics. Dropbox, Box, and Google Drive are storage tools. DocSend, PaperLink, and Papermark are document sharing platforms that tell you what happens after you send the link. Most teams need both: storage for internal files, a dedicated sharing platform for client-facing documents.
For the broader document sharing category, see our DocSend vs PaperLink comparison or the full free DocSend alternatives list.
