Koofr is a fast service that not only offers a free plan but also able to connect multiple cloud service accounts. They connect all the 3 prominent cloud storage, Dropbox, Google Drive and Onedrive together into One.
Originating from Slovenia, Koofr is a cloud storage solution that offers privacy and the ability to connect existing cloud accounts such as Google Drive, Dropbox, and One Drive to access all files in one location.
If you are interested to know the differences between Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive, read our review.
Besides its selling point in managing multiple cloud storage providers and their privacy features, Koofr is also known for its sharing capabilities, fast upload speed, and exceptional user experience.
What is Koofr?
According to their website, Koofr is a made-up word, but it originates “from the German word Koffer (suitcase), French coffee (chest), and English coffer (small money box).”
They decided to name it Koofr to symbolize their platform as a safe place for files and a style of convenience to use anywhere at any time.
As stated by Koofr, the platform is safe, secure, and easy to use for storage and file-sharing, such as documents, photos, videos, and many more.
Similar to other popular cloud storage services, Koofr offers a 10GB free plan of storage space for life, which is not bad at all.
Nevertheless, Koofr has found a spot in our recommended free cloud storage solution.
In case you need more space, Koofr offers low-cost storage upgrades with other 7 different plans. The pricing plans will be discussed further below.
Furthermore, all files are stored in secured data centers in the European Union, which means Koofr is GDPR compliant. All of the data are securely transferred using TSL and SSL encryption.
Koofr is accessible anytime from anywhere using Windows, Linux, Mac OS, and WebDAV desktop as well as on Android, Windows phone, and iOS mobile devices.
Koofr has come a long way, and it certainly doesn’t fail to deliver its promises.
However, if you are not bothered with secure encryption or other security features, feel free to give Koofr a try.
Otherwise, look for a more reliable substitute. You should take a look at our intake of the 4 most secured cloud storage solutions in the market.
Overall Features
Besides storing files, Koofr offers a Chrome extension that directly saves content such as links, webpages, images, and texts to Koofr with one click.
With a single interface, you can integrate existing cloud storage accounts such as Dropbox, Google Drive, and One Drive.
The only critique we have is that these are the only 3 options available in Koofr.
It’s not the best cloud storage for Macs, nor can it connect to them.
I would use iCloud if I were one of the Apple users.
Therefore, it would be great to see other popular cloud storage services in the future.
You can preview images, videos, and Microsoft Office documents such as documents, excels, and presentations as well as PDF files.
However, Koofr doesn’t have the option to edit documents because it doesn’t integrate with Microsoft Office or Google Suite. Even photo editing is not an option as well.
But if you are on their paid plan, you will get a web-based Microsoft Office integration and the online image editor where you can edit your photos on the platform without the hassle to download, editing, and re-uploading them which is super convenient.
You could also create a plain text file which is like Evernote but with a more straightforward design.
Part I: User Ability
1. Ease of Use
It was easy to get started.
You can log in with your Google, which is a quicker option.
Once you entered the web interface, it was all familiar with some other platforms.
The navigation menu is easily recognized in an instant, which presents an added excellence to the user experience.
With that being said, we decided to give it a try to see if this storage functions in the same vein as its promises.
First, we tested by integrating Google Drive with Koofr. The integration process was swift and smooth as consent was only required for this part.
Once it was integrated, the files immediately showed in the interface from Google Drive. It was swift, and we were impressed.
However, it’s good to know that the files are not copied to Koofr.
Through this integration, you only have access and the option to search through files stored in your Google Drive.
In the future, if you want to remove Google Drive from Koofr, you have the option to do it.
All you have to do is click on the icon that has your first letter name and select ‘Places.’
From there, you can remove any of the storage services.
Besides that, you can switch between a ‘tile view’ or ‘list view’ according to your preference.
There is also a bookmark button that allows you to tag folders for quicker access and a share button to share the folder with others.
Anything you put in the cloud appeared very quickly.
When you copy a file or folder into Koofr, it automatically synced to the cloud, which is a thumbs up compared to other mediocre cloud storage services.
2. File Sync & Sharing
Next, we tested file sharing and syncing capabilities with a couple of files and folders.
We tried to ‘drag and drop’ files and folders from the desktop into the web interface. For some reason, you cannot drag and drop folders, but it worked with the files.
Once the folder was synced in, the content in the folder was empty – which was very odd and confusing.
However, you can upload a file or folder or create a new folder. This automatically syncs them to the cloud.
Having said that, Koofr doesn’t offer selective sync on the free plan.
If you want selective sync on specific files and folders, you’ll need to get one of Koofr’s paid plans.
Koofr is also available as a desktop client on iOS, Windows, and Linux. The application enables you to synchronize all files you have in the cloud directly to your devices.
Once you have created a folder with files on your computer, they will be automatically synchronized to the cloud.
On the desktop client, you can enable the sync icons to notify you about the status of all folders and files in the Sync folder.
All your files that are automatically synced can be found on all devices.
Despite that, there’s no block-level sync that usually gives you a better speed.
Koofr is all about simplifying the file-sharing process.
You can either share the link via download link or share the link through Email, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and Tumblr.
To get access to the download link, a user doesn’t need a Koofr account.
Koofr also allows you to customize the URL of the link, set a password, and expiration date on the download link on files and folders.
Besides, Koofr provides a password-protection link on shared files and folders, but it only works when you copy and paste the link or share it through an Email.
It doesn’t work when the files are shared on social media platforms.
Nonetheless, Koofr offers this added benefit for free users, unlike other cloud storage services that only provide in their paid plans.
The second option is by adding a person by entering their email address.
Once you entered their email addresses, non-members are automatically invited to join Koofr.
This second option is slightly different compared to sharing a URL link because when a non-user downloads the URL link, they don’t need to create a Koofr account.
So once the user has created a Koofr account, the user has access to the files and folders.
Files’ permission settings are again, different from the folders’ permission settings. When you add the user’s email address to share the file, the user has permission to read the file.
When it comes to adding a user to a shared folder, you are allowed to give them one or more permissions such as, “can comment (and see comments),” “can modify,” “can create download links,” “can create upload links” or “can manage shares.”
Integration with other cloud storage services
Besides testing the integration with Google Drive, we also tested using Dropbox and One Drive.
To be honest, it’s a pretty impressive feature that not a lot of cloud storage services have in the market.
Koofr does not only backup but also allows you to manage files from these cloud storage services. Which is quite different from CloudAlly.
In other words, you can preview, share, and delete all in one place. It’s a two-way street feature that is pretty convenient and neat.
Retrieving Deleted Files
Another great feature of Koofr is that you can recover your deleted files for up to 7 days from the “Deleted Files” page.
The files in this section will not take up any space, which is a blessing in disguise.
Koofr also has a file versioning format that allows you to keep up to 5 earlier versions of the files.
Mobile Apps
Koofr is available on mobile apps: iOS, Android, and Windows phones.
Similarly to the web interface, it’s pretty straightforward to use. The interface is neat and attractive.
Once you log in, you’ll see the very-same menu with the same options similar to the web interface.
It provides an additional opportunity to use files offline. You can set Koofr to upload photos and videos automatically.
Security & Privacy
Koofr’s servers are hosted in Germany in certified ISO 27001 data centers, which means the company complies with security and protection grounds – even though the company operates in Slovakia.
In short, they are GDPR compliant, have no GA tracking, and will not sell your data to any paying company.
All of this information can be found in Koofr’s Privacy policy. The policy is pretty easy to read and understand.
Every data transfer is secured using SSL and TSL encryption from the moment your files begin to transfer.
Once the data arrive on their servers on rest, they are again encrypted using server-side encryption, with the AES 256-bit algorithm, one of the most effective security encryption.
It is essential to know that migrating your files online is a considerable risk without appropriate security measures. You can be a target for hackers and ransomware.
For added protection, you can switch on the 2-Step Verification, also known as two-factor authentication, to make your account more secure and protect your credentials in the account settings.
Now, most cloud storage such as pCloud or Sync.com not only offer two-factor authentication, but they also employ TLS protocol, end-to-end encryption to keep anyone but you from reading your data, and use at-rest and in-transit encryptions.
If you’re into the best security features in cloud storage, we recommend you to read our GCS’s Best Cloud Storage Picks.
Back to Koofr, every file in their server ends up in at least 3 separate physical locations as part of their disaster recovery plan.
The content and metadata are kept either on different layers or in entirely separate servers.
With this setup, nobody can use your data to figure out the location of your content on its servers.
On-site technicians work around the clock to keep these servers operating at full capacity.
Verdict
Amazing range of plans, while it is certainly not the most affordable.
Still, it’s a decent service with no complaints, unlike the worst cloud storage services that we had encountered. The file-sharing capabilities, on the other hand, are on another level, and they meet the needs when it comes to sharing files.
In a nutshell, Koofr offers users to protect their data with content control options, integrate with other cloud storage services, and manage all of them in one platform.
On top of that, the upload speed is fast, and security is all right. We didn’t include them in the quickest cloud storage though.
It does the job by safeguarding files using TLS and SSL encryption, placing them in secured data centers in Europe, and Koofr complies with GDPR to protect your privacy.
All that is wrapped in a tie-bow for an enjoyable and convenient user experience.
But we encourage you to check our top cloud storage list before leaping or at least try out one of our free cloud storage lists.