In this guide
Before you start.
- Check who took the payment before you look for a button. Dropbox sells subscriptions on its website, through the Apple App Store and through Google Play, and the app store ones cannot be cancelled on dropbox.com.
- Know what a downgrade is not. Dropbox states that downgrading your Dropbox account to Basic is not the same as deleting your Dropbox account, and that deleting the Dropbox app from your computer or phone does not cancel your plan or delete your account.
- Letting the card expire does not work either. Dropbox states that letting the credit card you were using expire does not cancel your plan or necessarily stop you from getting charged, because your bank could have automatically transferred payments to your new card.
- Work out how much you store. Dropbox Basic includes 2 GB. Dropbox states that if you exceed this quota you may not be able to sync, upload, share, move or preview files and folders, and that if your account remains over the limit Dropbox may delete files you own to bring the account below the limit.
- Dropbox does not publish a deadline for that deletion. It states that its support team may contact you, that your least recently modified files may be deleted first, that only files you own will be removed, and that it will notify you before this happens to give you an opportunity to save your files.
- On a team, only an admin can cancel. Dropbox states that only certain types of admins can cancel a Standard, Business, Advanced or Business Plus subscription, and that a member should contact their team's admin.
- Removing a team member does not reduce the bill. Dropbox states that a reduction in licences will only come into effect on your renewal date, that inactive licences are not removed automatically, and that pending invites and suspended members are included in a team's overall licence total.
- Dropbox states that in most cases payments for Dropbox subscriptions and team member licences are not refundable, and that if you live in the EU, UK or Turkey you are eligible for a refund if you cancel a Plus, Family, Professional or Essentials subscription within 14 days of purchase.
FOLLOW THE RIGHT BILLING ROUTE
Cancel Dropbox, step by step.
Cancel an individual plan on dropbox.com
This is the route for Plus, Professional or Essentials bought on the website. Note the control is under your avatar rather than in a settings menu.
- Log in to dropbox.com.
- Click your avatar, the profile picture or initials, in the bottom-left corner.
- Click Manage account.
- Click Cancel plan at the bottom of the page.
- Select a reason for cancelling.
- Click Continue canceling or Confirm change and follow the prompts.
- Check for the confirmation email: Dropbox states it comes from no-reply@dropbox.com with the subject line "Dropbox Plan will not renew".
Dropbox states that when you cancel, your account changes to a free Dropbox Basic account at the end of your current billing cycle. You can also verify it worked by opening the Billing tab in account settings and clicking Change next to Billing period, where a notification titled "Plan downgrade scheduled" should appear.
Cancel a subscription bought on iPhone or iPad
Dropbox sells Plus, Professional and Simple as in-app purchases on iOS, and Apple controls those renewals. This is the usual reason the Cancel plan button is missing on the website.
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Tap your name at the top.
- Tap Subscriptions.
- Tap Dropbox.
- Tap Cancel Subscription and confirm.
Dropbox states that if you do not see a button to cancel, or you see an expiration message in red text, the subscription is already cancelled. It also states that if you bought through your device's storefront you should reach out to that storefront for refund requests.
Cancel a subscription bought on Android
Google Play took the payment for an Android in-app purchase, and Dropbox routes you there through its own app.
- Open the Dropbox mobile app.
- Tap the Account tab in the bottom right corner.
- Tap Manage your subscription.
- Tap How to cancel, then tap Cancel plan at the bottom of the screen, which takes you to your subscription in Google Play.
- Tap Cancel subscription and confirm.
- Or go straight to play.google.com/store/account/subscriptions and cancel there.
Cancel a Dropbox team subscription
Standard, Business, Advanced and Business Plus are cancelled from the admin console, and the consequences for the team are larger than for an individual plan.
- Log in to dropbox.com with your admin credentials.
- Open the Admin console.
- Open Billing.
- Scroll down and click Cancel plan.
- Select a reason and click Continue with cancellation.
- Under "Please acknowledge the following", check all the boxes, then click Complete cancellation.
Dropbox states that when your account is changed to Basic, your team is placed in locked state, which removes most team viewing, syncing and sharing features. It also states that if an admin does not take action within a certain timeframe the team account may be deleted automatically, with an email warning first. If you pay by manual invoice, Dropbox states you should contact support or your account manager instead.
Cancel or leave a Dropbox Family plan
Family has two different actions depending on whether you run it or are on it.
- As the Family manager: click your avatar, click Manage account, click Cancel plan, select a reason and click Continue canceling.
- As a member: click your avatar, click Manage account, then under Subscriptions click Leave plan, select a reason and click Continue canceling.
- If the plan was bought through the Dropbox mobile app, cancel through the app store instead: Dropbox states Family managers who purchased through the app need to do this.
- Save anything you need from the Family Room folder before leaving.
Dropbox states that when the plan is cancelled everyone is downgraded to their own free Basic account, retains access to all of their files and folders, and retains a copy of the Family Room folder. A member who leaves keeps their own files but loses access to the Family Room folder.
What happens next?
- Paid features run to the end of the cycle. Dropbox states your account changes to a free Basic account at the end of your current billing cycle.
- Basic includes 2 GB. Dropbox states that if you exceed this quota file syncing stops, you cannot upload new files, and some sharing, moving and preview features may be limited, and that syncing resumes after your account is no longer full.
- Files are not deleted on a published timetable, but Dropbox reserves the right. It states that if you do not bring your account under quota, your least recently modified files may be deleted first, that only files you own will be removed, and that it will notify you before this happens.
- Version history shortens. Dropbox states that anyone on a free Basic plan can recover deleted files and restore earlier versions for 30 days.
- A cancelled team goes into locked state, which Dropbox states disables syncing with the desktop app, sharing files or folders, previewing and uploading on dropbox.com, creating folders, adding shared folders, inviting new members and creating or editing Paper docs. It states that after upgrading you need to reinvite any members who left while the team was locked.
- Dropbox states that in most cases payments for subscriptions and team member licences are not refundable, with a 14 day refund right for Plus, Family, Professional and Essentials in the EU, UK and Turkey.
- A chargeback has side effects. Dropbox states that any chargeback requested from your bank changes your subscription to a Basic plan, and that on a team subscription it places the team in a locked state requiring the admin to disband the team or re-subscribe.
WHEN IT DOES NOT WORK
If you get stuck.
There is no Cancel plan button in my account
Two documented causes. Dropbox states that if you do not see Cancel plan you may have purchased Dropbox on your mobile device, in which case the cancellation has to happen in the App Store or Google Play. The other is being signed in to a different Dropbox account from the one being charged, which is common when a trial was started on a phone with one email and the desktop uses another. Dropbox publishes a credit card charge lookup tool to identify which account a charge belongs to.
I deleted the app and I am still being charged
Dropbox states this outright: deleting the Dropbox app from your computer or phone does not cancel your plan or delete your account. It also states that letting the card expire does not cancel the plan or necessarily stop the charges, because banks routinely forward recurring payments to a replacement card. The cancellation has to be done in the account or in the store that sold it.
I removed team members and the invoice did not change
That is the documented behaviour. Dropbox states a reduction in licences will only come into effect on your renewal date, that inactive licences are not removed automatically, and that pending invites and suspended members are included in the licence total. If you pay by manual invoice, Dropbox states requests to remove or reduce licences must be made at least 30 days in advance of your renewal date.
Google Play says it cannot find my subscription
Check which Google account is signed in on the device, since a Play subscription belongs to the account that bought it rather than to the phone. If it genuinely is not there, the subscription was probably bought on the website or through Apple instead. Cancel on dropbox.com under your avatar, Manage account, Cancel plan, or in your Apple subscriptions.
My plan downgraded itself and support will not help me
An involuntary downgrade usually follows a failed payment, a chargeback, or a subscription that lived under a different Apple ID after you switched accounts. Dropbox states that a chargeback changes your subscription to a Basic plan. For support access, Dropbox states that billing issues are reachable by visiting the support page while you are not signed in to a Dropbox account, which is how people on the free tier reach a billing contact.
I am over the 2 GB limit and I do not know how long I have
Dropbox does not publish a deadline, which is the honest answer. It states its support team may contact you, that your least recently modified files may be deleted first to bring the account under the limit, that only files you own will be removed, and that it will notify you before this happens to give you an opportunity to save your files. Treat the notification as your deadline and download rather than waiting.
Still not cancelled?Common reasons a subscription will not cancel How to cancel an app subscription
GOOD TO KNOW
Questions, answered.
How do I cancel my Dropbox subscription?
Log in at dropbox.com, click your avatar in the bottom-left corner, click Manage account, then click Cancel plan at the bottom of the page and follow the prompts. If the button is missing, you bought it on a phone and need to cancel in the App Store or Google Play.
Will Dropbox delete my files when I downgrade to Basic?
Not immediately. Dropbox states that going over the 2 GB Basic quota stops syncing and uploads, and that if your account remains over the limit it may delete files you own, least recently modified first, after notifying you. It publishes no fixed deadline, so treat the notice as the point to act.
Does Dropbox give refunds?
Dropbox states that in most cases payments for subscriptions and team member licences are not refundable, and that if you live in the EU, UK or Turkey you are eligible for a refund if you cancel a Plus, Family, Professional or Essentials subscription within 14 days of purchase. An App Store or Play purchase is refunded by that store.
Is cancelling my Dropbox plan the same as deleting my account?
No, and Dropbox says so explicitly. Cancelling moves you to a free Basic account with your files intact, subject to the 2 GB limit. Deleting the account is a separate action.
Can I cancel Dropbox by post?
Yes. Dropbox documents a physical mail cancellation route for people who cannot or prefer not to cancel online, and asks for your name, account email, payment method and card details such as the first six and last four digits, the date, the amount and the billing postal code, or a PayPal transaction ID.
Provider resources
- Dropbox: downgrade or cancel an individual plan
- Dropbox: cancel a subscription bought on a mobile device
- Dropbox: refund policy
- Dropbox: cancel a team subscription
- Dropbox: cancel a Family plan
- Dropbox: add or remove licences and space
- Dropbox: what happens when you are over your storage limit
- Dropbox: team locked state
Instructions reviewed .
Subex is independent of Dropbox. Availability and cancellation terms can vary by plan, billing provider and country.
