I have compared Box and Dropbox based on our users reviews in several parameters. After reading the collected data, you can find my conclusions below:
To summarize, based on user opinions, for larger organizations, Box is the preferred choice when compared to Dropbox. Users appreciate the simplified file management, as well as the ability to access Box on different devices. However, some users mention areas that could be improved, such as the limited integrations and inadequate search features. On the other hand, Dropbox seems to be easier to start with, and has a free pricing tier making it more relevant for smaller organizations.
"The system's performance is impressive, and file sharing is notably straightforward."
"You can upload your bin, upload your files quickly, and download your files quickly. It provides a lot of other alternatives."
"The collaboration of the solution is good."
"The interface is very good."
"Box is very realistic when it comes to sharing capabilities."
"File sharing, authorization on the back, its ease of use and reliable uptime performance are valuable features of this solution."
"The solution is used for data storage and any kind of visualization."
"Simple file sharing and sync for internal and external customers."
"Dropbox has a simple interface, and it's pretty straightforward."
"It is definitely stable. The main advantage of Dropbox is that you can see the files, and you can easily share them with all the team members. They can be accessed by whoever you give access to, and it is all secure. Dropbox is a seamless product. It provides you the privacy that you're looking for. Privacy is a major factor for my company, and Dropbox provides you that."
"The user interface is very user-friendly."
"Dropbox offers helpful functionalities for business purposes, such as receiving file requests from external parties like customers who don't have an account. Additionally, it includes features, such as reminders and workflow capabilities."
"The main feature that I found the most valuable is the ability to link the documents such that they are automatically taken to a page where you can review them."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is its convenience, I can retrieve files online from various places. It has backup options in case something was to go wrong with my computer I can restore my files."
"The features that I find most valuable are the ability to sync across devices, easily access/share files and organize them among myself and my team."
"It offers convenience. It can connect with all devices that you own."
"The upload speed needs improvement."
"Tasks and comments could be easier to see, report, search, and manage."
"The solution's data security should be improved."
"I find their API to be quite complex and it could be more straightforward."
"Like all cloud platforms, there are always areas of improvement around sync to local devices."
"Maturity of the enterprise security around user management."
"One thing that Box would benefit from is a records management component."
"The search features and role permissions are not very user friendly. It only searches the first few pages of a document, which is quite a problem."
"The solution could be a bit less expensive."
"Dropbox can improve by enhancing the capacity of storage in the free version."
"Currently, it permits up to five users, but for larger families, it would be beneficial to have a more flexible offering."
"Dropbox could improve by increasing its storage."
"There is a potential improvement regarding storage capacity and offering more than its current four gigabytes."
"The only thing I have had trouble with is the ability to share files. The recipients of my requests have had difficulty accessing the files."
"I see that if you use a mobile device that does not allow you to properly configure the email part with Dropbox, then you cannot access it."
"It could be more secure."
Box is ranked 8th in Cloud Storage with 37 reviews while Dropbox is ranked 4th in Cloud Storage with 81 reviews. Box is rated 8.4, while Dropbox is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of Box writes "Used for data storage and data collaboration, but its data security could be improved". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Dropbox writes "Seamless file synchronization across devices with user-friendly deployment". Box is most compared with SharePoint, Microsoft OneDrive, Citrix ShareFile, Office 365 and OpenText Documentum, whereas Dropbox is most compared with Microsoft OneDrive, SharePoint, Citrix ShareFile, Google Workspace and Amazon WorkDocs. See our Box vs. Dropbox report.
See our list of best Cloud Storage vendors and best Content Collaboration Platforms vendors.
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Having used both I am too in the camp of Box followers simply because it is more secure and there is a great storage space in the free option. Dropbox has gained a lot of fans from the younger market as it is quick and easy to use but it is also fairly limited in its toolsets and also in its storage space. Box has a feel of permenancy and strength about it and has been a real boon for me when preparing presentations for various gigs in a multitude of locations as it enabled all the artists to access runsheets, chord charts, music videos and technical data sheets, so that when we came together at the gig we were all playing, acting and presenting off the same songsheet! Literally!
I have used Dropbox for family business meetings and sharing of documents and ideas. It is also simple to set up and access which is a real boon when dealing with thechnophobes or computer luditites.
In the end it is horses for courses and if you are a thorough bred on a long race with plenty of jumps then I'd go for the horse called Box. if your on the beach for a donkey darby then dropbox will do what you need.
Appologies for the weird sense of humour.
The biggest difference we saw when we looked at Box a few years ago was that Box encrypted stored files both in transit and at rest in storage. This is a deal breaker for most enterprises because most enterprise policies won't allow public storage (outside company data center) of employee or customer data without it being encrypted in order to protect that information. In addition to better security, box had much better administrator tools than dropbox at the time. More granular control, better tools for the security team to enforce policies, etc. As far as I know, this hasn't changed in the last few years. Box is the only player really putting forth the effort to offer a secure cloud storage platform that has the ease of use of consumer solutions, but secured for the enterprise. Microsoft doesn't have it. Dropbox doesn't have it. I'm not aware of anyone else focusing on this niche of the marketplace.
If you’ve ever been frustrated by the desire to share your text files with a friend or business colleague, these two products will be a great boon. Both are free too. Both allow you to invite people to either view your files, or to share the editing. A great idea if you want to co-write a report for example. Both allow you to download the file, edit it, and then load it back up again. Or to edit offline on your PC using the synch option.
Box (formerly box.net) key features:
· Free storage – 10gb
· File size limit – 250mb (free version)
· Main users – business
· Good online help
· Works by you uploading files and folders, which you can then share. These can be synched with boxsynch – similar to Dropbox. Also free.
· Secure storage
· Not as intuitive to use (more like Google docs), due to endless security options
· Great for more robust business usage
· Looks very flash
· Has a business version
· Not so widely used (30m users)
· Access from most phones, ipads, PCs and Macs.
Dropbox key features
· Free storage – 2GB (introduce your friends and this goes up)
· File size limit – no limit
· Main users – everyone
· Little online help
· Works by synchronising to a folder on your PC
· Intuitive to use
· A doddle to set up
· Looks less flashy than Box, but improving
· Secure storage (it is now!)
· Great for simple file sharing
· Has a business version
· Very widely used (300m users)
· Access from most phones, ipads, Kindle, Linux, PCs and Macs.
If I were choosing now, I would almost certainly pick Box to work with, unless I wanted to share really large files (I don’t) or to run on Linux or a Kindle (don’t want to do this either).
If all you want is a simple tool to share a few files, then I’d choose Dropbox.
I’ve been using cloud based storage for many years now, but the earlier versions of Box, when it was Box.net, put me off, as they were flaky and cumbersome to use. Dropbox stole their thunder, made it really simple and hundreds of millions of users now use it. Both companies are working fast to capture users, especially business users. So watch this space, and watch Google docs too.
Thank you,
Jacqui