Dropbox Paper vs Mellel
Dropbox Paper
dropbox.comMellel
mellel.comSide by side
| Figure | Dropbox Paper | Mellel |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $0.99/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 7 | 5 |
| Spec score · Word Processing Software | 8.7 (#4) | 8.1 (#14) |
| Founded | 2007 | 2002 |
| Purpose | Dropbox Paper is a collaborative document for teams with timelines, to-dos, and tables. | Mellel is a word processor for writing, editing, and delivering scholarly, scientific, and technical manuscripts. |
Plans
Dropbox Paper
- BasicFree
- Basic Extra$0.99 a month
- Standard$15 a month
- Plus$9.99 a month
- Standard$15 a month
- Advanced$24 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
Mellel
- Mellel MobileFree
- Mellel Upgrade$44, paid once
- Nisus to Mellel Crossgrade$51, paid once
- Mellel for Mac$69, paid once
- Mellel + Bookends Bundle$114, paid once
In their own words
Dropbox Paper
Dropbox Paper is a collaborative document tool for teams, built around documents with timelines, to-dos, and tables. To-dos can be assigned and given due dates, then viewed in a Things to do sidebar. Timelines collect deadlines, files, and to-dos and can be viewed by week, month, quarter, or year; on mobile, timelines are read-only. Paper is free, and a Dropbox account with sign-in is required to create or access documents. There is no limit on the number of Paper documents in an account, and each uses less than 100 bytes of Dropbox storage. The separate Dropbox Paper mobile app was discontinued on October 9, 2025, while Paper remains available on the web. In the Dropbox desktop app, Paper documents open on dropbox.com unless exported as PDF, DOCX, or Markdown. Paper supports real-time collaboration, track changes, and offline editing. Some users can connect Paper with Google or Outlook calendars to link documents to events and make meeting notes. Documents are encrypted at rest with 256-bit AES and in transit with SSL/TLS.