What are the alternatives to Ubuntu One?

Question

Since canonical is shutting down Ubuntu One, what are the possible alternatives?

I currently use Ubuntu One as a backup service for my Documents folder and various other folders I deem important. Of course I have backups on an external hard drive as well, but nevertheless, I find Ubuntu One to be very useful. What I'm especially looking for is a cloud service that does not need a special folder (such as a dropbox or google drive folder); something that is able to integrate into my own file system and syncs just any folder I want to.

I am aware that this question is rather subjective, but I do guess many people who have used Ubuntu One are now in the dark.

I use [Unison](http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~bcpierce/unison/) to sync between my PCs. Often at a continent of distance... you never know, meteorites... It is highly configurable (although you probably will need to edit the conf file by hand). Available in standard ubuntu repository. It is multiplatform, safe and fast, and can be scripted. — Rmano, Apr 02 '14 at 15:00
Seems to me that an rsync cronjob to a VPS might be easier to setup? — Gx1sptDTDa, Apr 02 '14 at 15:47
Maybe; but the basic usage of Unison (using unison-gtk graphic interface) is a breeze and you have a nice interface to solve conflicts when they arise. YMMV... About shells around `rsync`, I was starting to play with [Back in Time](http://backintime.le-web.org/) , seemed interesting... let it alone due to lack of time. — Rmano, Apr 02 '14 at 15:53
Hmm.. missed the part about the GUI around unison. Nice! I've used back in time when I was a "newbie" to CLI stuff. Found it's exceptionally, well... SLOW compared to just typing some rsync commands. Dunno why. — Gx1sptDTDa, Apr 02 '14 at 15:57
could anyone posting please include a link to software center if possible or to the site where to find the download? That will save a lot of people time ;) — Rinzwind, Apr 02 '14 at 17:06
If you have access to an ssh server (say, belonging to the corporate you work for), you can use rsync. — Reza, Apr 02 '14 at 18:04
Try OneDrive (New name for Skydrive) - I THINK it is web only on Ubuntu, but on Windows and Android it works quite well, and it also integrates really well with outlook, unlike Dropbox, is that is who you use your email for — George, Apr 02 '14 at 19:53
Well he does state that he wants something which can synchronize any user-specified folder (rather than a specific folder)... My understanding is that most "cloud" storage systems don't support this - so why is this question "on hold"? — Gregory Opera, Apr 03 '14 at 09:48
Asking for a list of alternatives to a specific service is not too subjective, nor too broad. There should also be many questions like this expected over the next few days. — dobey, Apr 03 '14 at 11:49
Where is the broadness of this question? This is a pretty objective problem affecting millions of users and you can pretty much expect a deluge of questions the following weeks. I myself ended up in this thread when preparing to file a similar question. — Luís de Sousa, Apr 03 '14 at 14:40
@dobey as long as any and every answer is valid, it's too broad. — Braiam, Apr 03 '14 at 14:46
If anyone wants something check http://softwarerecs.stackexchange.com/questions/2928/alternative-to-ubuntu-one-client-and-service-that-can-run-automated-backups — Braiam, Apr 03 '14 at 14:49
@Braiam No, it isn't. Otherwise all the other similar questions on AskUbuntu that have been protected, like https://askubuntu.com/questions/6586/what-native-games-are-available , need to be closed as "Too Broad" as well. — dobey, Apr 03 '14 at 16:11
@dobey if it wasn't Locked, I would have followed the [meta Q](http://meta.askubuntu.com/a/503/169736) and close it, as the Community have done with [other several Q's](https://askubuntu.com/search?q=closed%3A1+score%3A20+duplicate%3A0). — Braiam, Apr 03 '14 at 16:18
See also: [Dear Ubuntu One Users: What SpiderOak Can Do For You](https://spideroak.com/blog/20140402145558-dear-ubuntu-one-users-spideroak-can) — landroni, Apr 06 '14 at 20:42
I'd really like to allow this, I really would, but it is really just quite too broad. There is a [discourse thread](http://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/what-are-your-plans-to-replace-ubuntu-one-and-why/1598) on the topic however. @dobey If you see any more very broad questions like that feel free to flag them for closure. Also, protection is only to stop new users from posting non answers in the answer section, nothing else ;) — Seth, Apr 08 '14 at 16:43

score 52 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 12 '20 at 14:37

The following is a list of the cloud services similar to Ubuntu One that work in Ubuntu (Can be installed with a .DEB file) and may provide support for the Unity Systray:

Dropbox

Website - https://www.dropbox.com/
Starting Free Space - 2 GB
Bonus Space - 25 GB to 50 GB when used on an Smartphone
Characteristics - Sync Files/Folders between devices.
Unity SysTray Support- YES
Open Source - NO

InSync

Website - https://www.insynchq.com/
Characteristics - Sync Files/Folders with Google Drive. Extensive Sharing properties. 15 Day Trial.
Unity SysTray Support - YES
Open Source - NO

OwnCloud

Website - http://owncloud.org/
Characteristics - Sync Files/Folders between Devices on your "Own Cloud".
Support - http://owncloud.org/providers/
Unity SysTray Support - YES
Open Source - YES (GitHub)

SpiderOak

Website - https://spideroak.com/
Starting Free Space - 2 GB
Characteristics - Sync Files/Folders between devices. Advanced GUI System & File History
Unity SysTray Support - YES
Open Source - NO

Wuala

Website - http://www.wuala.com/
Starting Free Space - 0 GB Paid Only
Characteristics - Sync Files/Folders. GUI System and an easy way to manage files across devices.
Unity SysTray Support - YES
Open Source - NO

Tonido

Website - http://www.tonido.com/
Starting Free Space - 2 GB
Characteristics - Sync Files/Folders between computers.
Unity SysTray Support - YES
Open Source - NO

TeamDrive

Website - http://www.teamdrive.com/
Starting Free Space - 2 GB
Characteristics - Sync Files/Folders between computers. File Collaboration (Multi User Support)
Bonus Space - Up to 10 GB by inviting others.
Unity SysTray Support - YES
Open Source - NO

SeaFile

Website - http://seafile.com/en/home/
Starting Free Space - 1 GB
Characteristics - Sync Files/Folders between computers.
Unity SysTray Support - YES
Open Source - YES (GitHub)

Syncany

Website - http://www.syncany.org/
Starting Free Space - Depends on which cloud service you use
Characteristics - Sync Files/Folders between computers. Can use Picasa, RackSpace, Amazon, Google, Windows Share and even WebDAV as a repository. Nautilus integration. Advanced GUI. Can integrate with other Cloud Services. Very flexible.
Unity SysTray Support - YES
Open Source - YES (GitHub)

Copy (Barracuda)

Website - https://www.copy.com/home/
Starting Free Space - 15 GB
Characteristics - Up to 5 Devices Synced, 5 GB+ for every invite, Can personalized space provided for a single user. Nautilus integration. Advanced GUI. Can integrate with other Cloud Services. Very flexible. Supports soft symlinks.
Unity SysTray Support - YES
Open Source - NO

Others that may be used (Open Source):

enter image description here OwnDrive - https://owndrive.com/

Unified Access to multiple Cloud Services
1 GB Free Space

enter image description here SparkleShare - http://sparkleshare.org/

Open Source (GitHub)
Version Control & Privacy

Others that may be used (Closed Source):

enter image description here Asus Web Storage - https://www.asuswebstorage.com/navigate/

5 GB free space
More free space if you use ASUS Devices

enter image description here SugarSync - https://www.sugarsync.com/

30 Day Trial
60 GB Starting Size (Not free)

enter image description here BitTorrent Sync - http://www.bittorrent.com/sync/downloads

Offer API to Developers
Direct Transfer between Devices

enter image description here BitCasa - https://www.bitcasa.com/

5 GB (Upto 20 GB via inviting others) Free Space
Up to 3 Clients

enter image description here GoAruna - http://goaruna.com/

2 GB Free Space
Works on many devices

In my case I stick with Dropbox and InSync. Tried SpiderOak and there was a lack of User-Friendliness that I did not use it after a week. InSync is pretty cool (Saves me a lot of time). Lastly Syncany has pretty cool options to connect to other cloud services and even create your own for privacy.

+1 for SpiderOak. I agree that it is less user-friendly than the others, but its major advantage is privacy. Nobody but you has access to the files you store, SpiderOak doesn't store copies of your encryption keys like most providers do. — TwentyMiles, Apr 02 '14 at 19:44
It would be nice if you could expand this answer by adding in which country(ies) these companies store the data. — Luís de Sousa, Apr 03 '14 at 14:58
Following up on my own comment earlier: European users might want to go with [ownCloud](http://owncloud.org) and choose among a [myriad of supported service providers hosted in Europe](http://owncloud.org/providers/). — Luís de Sousa, Apr 04 '14 at 13:17
Thanks Luis for the great answer! If I may suggest an improvement: add the information of which ones are open source and which aren't. — mardy, Apr 06 '14 at 18:59
Another major advantage of SpiderOak is historic versions of files. You always have all historic versions of the files that you work on, unlike in Dropbox (where these are available for 30 days only). — landroni, Apr 06 '14 at 20:40
Is there a software that automatically signs up for all the cloud storage services and we can use the free storage 2Gb+ for all? — user13107, Apr 07 '14 at 02:00
After this answer there is no sync app left on the planet internet @LuisAlvarado ... Very good answer. — Qasim, Apr 07 '14 at 15:18
Just want to add that one can use google drive with grive tools.. — Venkatesh, May 17 '14 at 10:42
OwnCloud client is well supported in Ubuntu. I lease a server so I use one of my domains as the server also supports OwnCloud via cPanel. — Christopher, Jun 09 '14 at 14:09
Wuala offers no free storage to new users anymore: https://support.wuala.com/2014/06/shifting-to-paid-only-service/ — just-learning, Jul 12 '14 at 09:49
Copy did not get enough credit here. I think it is the best choice for Linux users. Because, first, it has an app that runs in Linux, that makes syncing easy, secondly, you get 15GB free and en extra 5GB (up to extra 15GB) for every new user that you referred to this service, and thirdly, it SUPPORTS SYMLINKS!!! This means that you put in your synced folder symlinks to anywhere you want and copy regards them as a folder. — yaron160, Aug 20 '14 at 08:41
@yaron160 thanks for the information just added the new changes of Copy, including the unity integration and symlink support. — Luis Alvarado, Aug 20 '14 at 15:06

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 02 '14 at 18:20

One of my favorite services that no one is listing is BitTorrent Sync. They offer UNLIMITED transfer and storage space; it works just like Dropbox.

The ONLY downside is that it is indeed BitTorrent; one computer has to be on with the files. I just let it run on my laptop. It's multiplatform, and its incredibly sharable.

Ther's also Dropbox, which I highly recommend.

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 02 '14 at 17:01

1

I use Google Drive with Insync. I think Insync is the most decent cloud service client for Ubuntu, as you can leave your files where they are, because Insync can follow symlinks.

answered Apr 02 '14 at 17:01

mark.sagikazar

130
3

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Apr 02 '14 at 16:53

OneMediaHub (Funambol) is a good one. It's supported by large amounts of different hardware and operating systems. I sync my Android device with Google, Evolution, my Nokia N8, etc. It's really quite good. It's open source as well, so you can run it yourself if you want to.

It supports notes, contacts, calendar, todo, pictures, video, music and other files.