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Read 37 Box reviews
1,213 views|697 comparisons
Dropbox Logo
1,696 views|1,104 comparisons
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Jul 26, 2023

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:

  • Ease of Deployment: Most reviews indicated that Box's initial setup is efficient and user-friendly. However, the implementation and governance processes may be more time-consuming, typically lasting two to six weeks. Dropbox offers a convenient cloud-based setup, a straightforward process that can be completed in minutes without establishing directories or file-sharing abilities.
  • Features: Box is highly valued for its collaboration capabilities and ease of use, with quick file upload and download options. It offers various device accessibility alternatives and straightforward navigation. Dropbox, on the other hand, is praised for its accessibility, file sharing, and scalability. It provides a user-friendly interface, multiple-user access, and generous storage space.

  • Room for Improvement: Box could improve its bulk options (such as deletion), improve integrations with Office 365 and Outlook, search capabilities, role permissions, and pricing. A Senior IT Project Manager, Grant Boyd, shared that "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." On the other hand, Dropbox needs enhancements in security, storage capacity, and document editing features. Dropbox's user, Ahmed Essa, shared "I'd like to see security improved a bit. I would like to get it to the point where we could offer permission on one file to make one person see that one file only."
  • Pricing: Box has a range of tools and features that contribute to varying setup costs, which some users consider costly. In contrast, Dropbox offers free and paid versions, including subscription options. Users have differing opinions on Dropbox pricing, with some finding it reasonable and others finding it pricey.
  • Service and Support: Box's customer service is highly regarded for its impressive abilities and quick problem-solving. On the other hand, Dropbox's customer service is rarely utilized or assessed by users, as the platform is perceived as user-friendly and self-explanatory.

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.

To learn more, read our detailed Box vs. Dropbox Report (Updated: March 2024).
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Q&A Highlights
Question: Which is better—Box or Dropbox?
Answer: Just an FYI...I found out this week that Microsoft with their OneDrive solution will be also encrypting files in storage and in transit, and if you have your email already in the cloud with Microsoft O365 you can get enormous amounts of data per user in each person's OneDrive...I probably can't say how much, but let's just say it's WAY more storage per user than you get with Box or Dropbox. I'd suggest looking into, especially if you are a Microsoft PC/office/mail shop.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The application is very light in terms of uploading and downloading files.""The solution is used for data storage and any kind of visualization.""Sharing and collaborating across files and folders has been a massive game changer.""You can upload your bin, upload your files quickly, and download your files quickly. It provides a lot of other alternatives.""The solution is scalable.""It is really easy to load files to and from this solution.""I like the ease of use.""Governance and ease of use are why I think a lot of people like Box, including ourselves. Basically, we're concerned about what information is being sent to Box, so we use a lot of the Box governance features to make sure that what is being sent to Box is appropriate. If it is not appropriate, it is not allowed to be sent. It is also pretty easy to use. It is the easiest to use for customers and for technologists."

More Box Pros →

"The solution is easy to use.""Setting up DropBox is straightforward, and one person can do it in less than five minutes.""The solution is easy to use.""It ensures all our staff are using the current version of our documents.""The way the tool is designed and using the tool itself is quite transparent.""Dropbox's most valuable features are ease of use and performance.""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.""It's very easy to use and quite accessible for everybody."

More Dropbox Pros →

Cons
"The integration with other products should be improved.""I recommend doing the trial first, because it's not cheap ware. It's not overly expensive, but it's not cheap ware, and enterprise has a minimum number of users.""One thing that Box would benefit from is a records management component.""The room for improvement is in the area of integrations. They need to establish more integrations, especially with Office 365 and Outlook.""The solution's data security should be improved.""I would love to see the ability to invite collaborators extended to a file level, not just the folder level.""Working on documents in real-time is sometimes faulty and could be improved.""I don't like the low level of role-based security it provides – it's very cumbersome, and the support is ordinary at times."

More Box Cons →

"If someone manages a large amount of data, they will need more storage, which they must purchase.""Improve the ease of use. Sometimes, occasional users struggle to login again and access documents.""Dropbox could probably be improved around the integrated security, but those options are probably available. I don't have much of a view on improvements, based on the relatively few occasions that I use it.""The product must provide users with the ability to edit and modify documents.""For us, storage is an issue. The free version is too small in terms of the amount of storage on offer.""The mobile aspect of the solution needs improvement. For instance, if I want to use a file from Dropbox on my phone, I sometimes struggle to download images off of Dropbox. The solution lacks accessibility on different devices.""Dropbox needs to increase its storage.""Considering the solution's shortcomings, I want the product to be more user-friendly and offer more storage capacity."

More Dropbox Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "The pricing may seem steep at first, but delve into the features and you'll soon realize it is incredible value for what you get."
  • "It is expensive per head, as you need the enterprise license to get full security and tools. So negotiate a discount!"
  • "Better sign a full year's contract to get a discount."
  • "I'm in Higher Ed, so we purchase through Internet2-Net+. I absolutely recommend going that route for Higher Ed customers."
  • "A business account has a minimum of three users. If you are more than three people in-house, go for the Enterprise version. All the external users are free of charge."
  • "Our pricing and licensing is excellent. I'd tell all Higher Ed customers to talk with Internet2 for excellent pricing and support."
  • "I believe Box is cheaper than SharePoint."
  • "They are very price competitive when pushed. Initially, they come out with a standard list price, but they are willing to be very competitive. The Box price was pretty much equal to or lower than the Citrix price, and Box has more features."
  • More Box Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "Dropbox offers a freemium model which is very convenient and affordable. Beyond that, the pricing is favorable."
  • "Given the price and limitations, there are more competitive options available."
  • "A bigger discount for existing users would be appreciated."
  • "I am using the free solution, which provides me with 2GBs of storage, and for me, it's sufficient."
  • "Its price is quite cheap. It is quite competitive. You just need to pay for the license. There are no additional costs."
  • "You pay as you go, which is a good thing. There is a monthly fee, and you can also pay annually. This flexibility makes the subscription easier and affordable for some of us. I prefer yearly pricing, which is also slightly cheaper than monthly pricing."
  • "It has some free features, but for some of the features, you need to pay. If you need more storage, then you need to pay. Its licensing probably is on a monthly basis."
  • "I am on a monthly subscription for the solution and I am somewhat satisfied with the pricing. However, the price could a bit better."
  • More Dropbox Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Answers from the Community
    Avigail Sugarman
    it_user105822 - PeerSpot reviewerit_user105822 (Data Centre Technician at a retailer with 10,001+ employees)
    Vendor

    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.

    Eric Dirst - PeerSpot reviewerEric Dirst
    Real User

    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.

    it_user120363 - PeerSpot reviewerit_user120363 (Management Consultant at a consultancy)
    Consultant

    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

    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:The solution is used for data storage and any kind of visualization.
    Top Answer:The solution does not have the feature to retrieve deleted data. The solution's data security should be improved. While outsiders cannot access it, people within the organization can access the data… more »
    Top Answer:Dropbox is an easy-to-use solution that has good stability.
    Top Answer:I am using the free version of Dropbox. Users need to pay to increase the solution's capacity.
    Top Answer:The solution could provide more capacity for free.
    Ranking
    8th
    out of 30 in Cloud Storage
    Views
    1,213
    Comparisons
    697
    Reviews
    10
    Average Words per Review
    366
    Rating
    8.2
    4th
    out of 30 in Cloud Storage
    Views
    1,696
    Comparisons
    1,104
    Reviews
    24
    Average Words per Review
    324
    Rating
    8.4
    Comparisons
    SharePoint logo
    Compared 25% of the time.
    Microsoft OneDrive logo
    Compared 17% of the time.
    Citrix ShareFile logo
    Compared 9% of the time.
    Office 365 logo
    Compared 7% of the time.
    Atlassian Confluence logo
    Compared 3% of the time.
    Microsoft OneDrive logo
    Compared 31% of the time.
    SharePoint logo
    Compared 25% of the time.
    Citrix ShareFile logo
    Compared 11% of the time.
    Google Workspace logo
    Compared 7% of the time.
    Amazon WorkDocs logo
    Compared 3% of the time.
    Learn More
    Overview

    Box is a Modern Content Management Platform for companies of all sizes and industries. The difference that Box brings is that it offers the security and controls admins need with the sharing and collaboration capabilities end users want. Box has made it easier for people to securely share ideas, collaborate and get work done faster. Today, more than 62,000 businesses, including 59% of the Fortune 500, trust Box to manage content in the cloud.

    The Box platform provides HIPAA, FINRA, FedRAMP, and many other compliances to go with granular access permissions and advanced security capabilities.

    By using Box you can sync, share, and collaborate on all types of files, anywhere, on any device - but that's just the beginning. You can choose where to store your data, to manage your own encryption keys, and set workflows to automate content-based processes. You can also assign custom metadata tags to content, watermark sensitive content, and set file retention or legal hold policies.

    Box has deep, native integrations with Microsoft Office and Outlook, Google Apps for Work, Salesforce, Netsuite, Docusign, Adobe, and many other best-of-breed solutions you may already be using.

    Dropbox provides cloud-based file syncing, sharing, and storage. It specializes in helping large-scale businesses stay organized and productive while protecting the integrity of sensitive information with enterprise-level security. Dropbox is a valuable solution for businesses looking to simplify communication, safeguard information, and improve collaboration. Dropbox's platform provides a user-friendly, real-time sharing and storage solution for large businesses.

    The company's enterprise-level service plan includes 256-bit AES and SSL encryption, an optional two-step verification process, and optional mobile passcodes, which provide tight security to protect sensitive information. Dropbox uniquely offers a remote wipe feature, which allows businesses to keep data safe when an employee leaves the company or a computer is lost.

    Dropbox stands out from the competition by offering businesses expanded storage, unlimited file recovery and versioning, and control over sharing permissions. Additionally, Dropbox provides businesses with team management solutions, including device and location tracking, login tracking, detailed user management options for administrators, and centralized billing. 

    Collaboration between team members is further simplified with the addition of various Dropbox apps that allow advanced functionality such as document editing, CRM, and e-signatures. Dropbox has become one of the most popular business tools, entrusted by 97 percent of all Fortune 500 companies.


    Before implementing Dropbox, global apparel merchandiser BCBGMAXAZRIA was struggling to structure communication and increase company-wide efficiency, which resulted in the need for increased staff hours and expenses. Since choosing Dropbox as its cloud-based sharing and storage solution, BCBGMAXAZRIA has been able to restructure its file sharing and collaboration streams in every department. As a result, BCBGMAXAZRIA is able to boost efficiency, reduce expenses, and protect its information throughout all 550 locations.

    Sample Customers
    GE, Toyota, P&G, Caterpillar, Flex, Schneider Electric, Sally Beauty, Eurostar, AstraZeneca, AirBnB, Whirlpool, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Nationwide, Aeropostale etc
    Vita Coco, BCBGMAXAZRIA Group, Centric Project, Kayak, FourSquare, Asana, Huge Adversting , USA Gymnastics, Appen, Valliant, Radio Lab
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Non Tech Company26%
    University10%
    Construction Company10%
    Real Estate/Law Firm10%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization48%
    Computer Software Company7%
    Financial Services Firm5%
    Manufacturing Company5%
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider14%
    Computer Software Company14%
    Manufacturing Company9%
    Financial Services Firm9%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization49%
    Computer Software Company6%
    University4%
    Construction Company4%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business27%
    Midsize Enterprise19%
    Large Enterprise54%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business14%
    Midsize Enterprise52%
    Large Enterprise34%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business44%
    Midsize Enterprise21%
    Large Enterprise35%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business18%
    Midsize Enterprise55%
    Large Enterprise27%
    Buyer's Guide
    Box vs. Dropbox
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Box vs. Dropbox and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Box is ranked 8th in Cloud Storage with 37 reviews while Dropbox is ranked 4th in Cloud Storage with 80 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 Atlassian Confluence, 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.

    We monitor all Cloud Storage reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.