Box vs. Dropbox

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Box
Score 7.1 out of 10
N/A
Box is an online Intelligent Content Management solution that caters to individual users as well as businesses.
$7
per month per user (3 minimum)
Dropbox
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
Dropbox is a cloud storage solution, equipped with features that help users to save time, improve productivity, and collaborate with others. Users can edit PDFs, share videos, sign documents, and collaborate with stakeholders without leaving Dropbox.
$9.99
per month
Pricing
BoxDropbox
Editions & Modules
Business Starter
$7
per month per user (3 minimum)
Business
$20
per month per user (3 minimum)
Business Plus
$33
per month per user (3 minimum)
Enterprise
$47
per month per user (3 minimum)
Enterprise Plus
$50
per month (billed annually) per user (3 minimum)
Enterprise Advanced
Contact us
per month per user (35 minimum)
Plus
$9.99
per month
Essentials
$18
per month
Business
$20
per month per user
Business Plus
$26
per month per user
Basic
Free
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BoxDropbox
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional DetailsA discount is available for annual pricing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BoxDropbox
Considered Both Products
Box
Chose Box
I believe that anyone with exposure to software like Dropbox or Google Drive will have an easier transition when attempting to use Box. Where Box could improve is having a refresh of the UI/UX design. With an improvement to the design, Box can be more responsive and widely …
Chose Box
I slightly prefer Box over Dropbox, especially if I need to store and manage thousands of files. Dropbox online file management was not as easy to navigate as Box. However, Dropbox also has a similar cloud sync feature that worked similar to Box and was pretty comparable to the …
Chose Box
The first benefit of using Box that comes to my mind is the cost advantage. Box is generally more affordable and easy-to-use than Dropbox Business because it eliminates the cost of hardware and maintenance which translates into significant cost savings. Box team maintains, …
Chose Box
This platform was a recent selection but before switching to Box we used Hiver, MS SharePoint, Dropbox, and Asana. We moved to Box because of many reasons like cost factors, usability factors, support team rating, and much more. With my
Chose Box
Box is better for large file sets than Dropbox, and doesn't have the collaboration abilities of Sharepoint (But that's not a negative! Sometimes it's just not needed).
Chose Box
Our university previously used a private VPN, and we've used Google Drive as well before. At a previous university, I had experience with Dropbox. While I was unhappy about the switch to Box at first (change is always hard), Box seems superior in ease of use and collaboration …
Chose Box
Box is more secure than Dropbox and has a better user interface on desktop clients. We also like Box's UI for editing documents in the cloud and Box's offerings for sharing documents outside our organization over competitors like Dropbox. However, Dropbox is better known for …
Chose Box
I like using Box much better than Dropbox although I have not used Dropbox in ten or so years, so their performance and [user] interface may have improved. Box is more user friendly and easy to navigate. When I was using Dropbox, I disliked that it did not sync well or quickly, …
Chose Box
I prefer Box over Dropbox. I found the online interface more intuitive and user-friendly. In addition, Box is integrated with more software than Dropbox, and it is also easier to share files of any size using Box. Finally, Box comes with slightly more enhanced security features …
Chose Box
The best user experience of any of the major cloud data providers. As it's not a product of any of the other major technology companies, it remains agnostic to the many platforms / features that everyday users want to have.
Chose Box
Among many other solutions box has been vetted by our security professionals and deemed to be the best solution for our particular organization. This lends to many of box's security features that still allow for collaboration and secure file sharing.
Chose Box
Box has cheap storage pricing and so is preferred by small organizations, and easy to use app and sync make it a good product to use.
Cross platform file sharing and editing over the cloud is one of the best features it has.
Chose Box
I prefer Box over all of these alternatives because I find Box to be a lot more user-friendly and intuitive. Box has a lot more integrations as compared to the previous alternatives I used in my company. Moreover, this tool has led to an improvement in risk mitigation because …
Chose Box
Simply put, having unlimited file storage is a clear differentiator. Furthermore, the number of integrations offered by Box is simply unmatched. If you are looking for pure document and file sharing, I don't think there is a better product on the market. The benefits from …
Chose Box
Box and its competitors are all quite similar in their filesharing and storing capabilities. I think the closest, most similar product would be OneDrive, which I use quite often. Google Drive provides a bit more of real-time updating and version control of documentation that I …
Chose Box
A simple secure link and a password protection is what employees use to share files. Box is made different from other cloud content collaboration software because of the commenting feature which keeps all discussions together and enables any collaborator to provide feedback on …
Chose Box
Box was selected prior to me starting with the company. We eventually switched to Sharepoint because of the cost savings, but otherwise, we would have preferred to stay on Box. OneDrive did not stack up to Box because it was determined that it was best suited for storing work …
Chose Box
Box has a similar, but easier interface.
Chose Box
Box was the most versatile and cheaper of these options, also had more granular admin capabilities and platform agnostic (whether your are using MS Office or Google Docs).
Chose Box
Box has added some new protections to try and prevent multiple people from working on the same document at the same time without knowing, but I have yet to test them out. That has been an issue in the past that has led to some weird file uploads where now there are multiple …
Chose Box
Both of these services are fine but they both seem to either be missing features or are much slower to do what needs to be done. Price might be the biggest difference since Google Drive is free but paying for Box is still worth it.
Dropbox
Chose Dropbox
I've been a longtime user of Dropbox, for me, I'm already invested. I never have any issues across different devices or platforms. "Dropbox Life"!
Chose Dropbox
I have used Box, Google Drive and MS OneDrive. Honestly, most of the company has trust issues with Microsoft and Google as they have a history of leaks and system hacks. Box is good but not as complete a business solution compared to Dropbox. Dropbox is fast and reliable and it …
Chose Dropbox
We switched over to box because of some integration tools we wanted for Salesforce, and to have a platform that could be better utilized by others outside of our design and production team. We found that box has better usability for our users that aren't as fluent in computers. …
Features
BoxDropbox
Enterprise Content Management
Comparison of Enterprise Content Management features of Product A and Product B
Box
6.1
Ratings
26% below category average
Dropbox
-
Ratings
Content capture & imaging8.10 Ratings00 Ratings
File sync, storage & archiving9.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Document management6.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Records management5.70 Ratings00 Ratings
Content search & retrieval7.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Enterprise content collaboration8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Content publishing & creation5.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Security, risk management & information governance6.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Contract lifecycle management5.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Automated workflows5.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Artificial intelligence2.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile support3.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
File Sharing & Management
Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Product A and Product B
Box
-
Ratings
Dropbox
7.8
Ratings
7% below category average
Versioning00 Ratings7.50 Ratings
Video files00 Ratings7.80 Ratings
Audio files00 Ratings7.90 Ratings
Document collaboration00 Ratings7.70 Ratings
Access control00 Ratings7.80 Ratings
File search00 Ratings7.60 Ratings
Device sync00 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Cloud Storage Security & Administration
Comparison of Cloud Storage Security & Administration features of Product A and Product B
Box
-
Ratings
Dropbox
8.0
Ratings
8% below category average
User and role management00 Ratings7.90 Ratings
File organization00 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Device management00 Ratings7.90 Ratings
Cloud Storage Platform
Comparison of Cloud Storage Platform features of Product A and Product B
Box
-
Ratings
Dropbox
8.0
Ratings
6% below category average
Performance00 Ratings7.40 Ratings
Reliability00 Ratings8.30 Ratings
Storage Reports00 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BoxDropbox
Small Businesses
Square 9 Softworks
Square 9 Softworks
Score 9.1 out of 10
SugarSync
SugarSync
Score 5.7 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
MediaValet
MediaValet
Score 9.1 out of 10
Druva Security Cloud
Druva Security Cloud
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
MediaValet
MediaValet
Score 9.1 out of 10
Druva Security Cloud
Druva Security Cloud
Score 9.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BoxDropbox
Likelihood to Recommend
6.7
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(0 ratings)
6.7
(0 ratings)
Usability
6.7
(0 ratings)
7.5
(0 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(0 ratings)
6.7
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.1
(0 ratings)
6.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.5
(0 ratings)
7.4
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
10.0
(0 ratings)
8.2
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(0 ratings)
7.5
(0 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(0 ratings)
6.4
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(0 ratings)
6.6
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
BoxDropbox
Likelihood to Recommend
Very likely to use it. It gives you the comfort that all the files are being stored in [the] same places from different team members. It is easy to organize in folders and also very useful by adding time stamps. [With] an easy setup u can have and box extension installed on your laptop and use it directly. So you can sync files easily.
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Dropbox is great for everyone. Data on a hard drive is no longer secure. Learned the hard way when a hard drive fried. It's great for families, students, artists, entrepreneurs, consultants, small businesses, startups, graphic designers, and photographers. Did I leave anyone out?
Read full review
Pros
  • The main feature that I like the most in Box is that it makes collaboration seamless, workers can easily check the documents any time and make changes according to the needs.
  • Box manages and backs up all of your files on its cloud servers, and provides a very nice interface for creating, viewing, editing, and collaborating on the most commonly used file types (PDF, XLS, DOC, etc.).
  • Over the past few years, Box has built on top of its basic cloud storage management with a host of other tools, such as workflows, AI, monitoring, and analytics.
  • It is helping us to make good connections with clients and our workers themselves as to its syncing and viewing feature to all is very much helpful and easy to go.
Read full review
  • Ensures documents are up to date, even with multiple users accessing the same documents.
  • I love that if a team member accidentally deletes a file, I can find it and restore it.
  • I like that I can edit from the web or have the app downloaded.
Read full review
Cons
  • The graphic design of the dashboard should be simpler and more tangible that can be changed to the liking of the Admin.
  • Sometimes there are some syncing issues in the background.
  • The product has very limited functionality in some areas which could be a bit frustrating at times.
Read full review
  • I’d like to be able to hover over an image/document and have it expand/enlarge without actually opening it
  • I’d love to see a carousel that lets me thumb through more quickly
  • I’m almost always in thumbnail view. I’d like to see them re-organize automatically when something is moved or deleted instead of leaving an empty space.
  • AI options for photo editing.
  • Easier pdf markups
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Likelihood to Renew
As I've stated Box is very easy to use and to set up. The documentation provided by Box is easy to follow and the interface is designed in a way that makes sense. With only a few limitations on the administrator side the system is fully capable to get the job done for our company
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Even though it has its shortcomings, Dropbox is an exceptionally useful product for simple file sharing. It’s intelligent design and user-friendly interface have continued to facilitate project completion. However, as we expand, we will probably look to other solutions for storage and sharing as we undertake larger and more intensely collaborative projects
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Usability
I think I can only describe it as excellent. All aspects of Box work without problem, quickly and efficiently. The file upload and download systems are quite fast, the process of access from different platforms is carried out without problems, so far no document has been generated in conflicts or unexpected copies, or any type of error.
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It works extremely well, and we have never had any issues with connecting or sharing files. It's very easy to use, and any team member can share, add, and delete files to a virtual drive. This is extremely helpful, and it's an amazing tool to use, ensuring everyone can connect and work together effectively.
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Reliability and Availability
Yeah, it's always worked, I've never had any kind of connection issues, the only issues I've had it I've been on our end when the Internet hasn't worked.
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No answers on this topic
Performance
It's performance is great. Everything loads as soon as you open a page. The same goes for the local file application, if is just like going through folders on a native "My Computer" or "Finder" folder. The integration into other softwares is also fantastic, as Box keeps them all running smoothly and quickly
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Dropbox is really useful, you can access any file from anywhere and you can upload and even edit files online, but, sometimes it can be slow. Downloading, uploading, and syncing is a bit slow, it can take several minutes. Furthermore, the search engine for large amounts of data can be slow too and it is not powerful.
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Support Rating
I found their support community lacking in clarity when I experienced a login issue. The error messaging was poor on my Box Sync application. I did not reach out to support staff for help, instead, I reasoned that I should try downloading the Box Sync application again and reinstall it. That fixed my issue, thankfully. I think a less computer-savvy user would've been much more frustrated.
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They immediately responded like in an example that I gave where one of our staff members accidentally deleted the whole Special Hope Network Dropbox, we immediately contacted Dropbox they walked us through the steps of how to retrieve the information and luckily enough we were able to retrieve the entire Dropbox and we have had back and forth with Dropbox on what to do when an employee leaves how to remove them how to add another employee.
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In-Person Training
The in person training was done in house and I helped with the training, people seem to respond well.
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No answers on this topic
Online Training
The documentation is good. Since Box is a popular service, there were also a number of YouTube videos and other sources that were helpful as we were considering the product and planning for deployment. Also, the ability to try the free version helped to prepare us.
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I did not personally take any training for Dropbox so I am self taught but I know when our Vice President selected Dropbox, he personally did do some training modules on it and I'm assuming it was very easy and simple to understand since he now acts like he is a pro at it!
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Implementation Rating
Be careful with settings. It is easy to get overwhelmed with updates. For example, you don’t want to be updated when doing historical data uploads. I recommend taking off notifications initially and then turn on post you have done your historical data upload.
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I needed to stay current in improving my daily operations. Dropbox
was suggested to me by a former colleague two-years ago and I've been using it just fine ever since.
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Alternatives Considered
I slightly prefer Box over Dropbox, especially if I need to store and manage thousands of files. Dropbox online file management was not as easy to navigate as Box. However, Dropbox also has a similar cloud sync feature that worked similar to Box and was pretty comparable to the Box feature. The main reason my team switched to Box was because our organization provided it at no cost to our team, whereas for Dropbox we had to use our own research grant money to pay for it.
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I prefer the layout and visual aspect of Dropbox as it mirrors my files on my computer. I feel that I am more organized, and it's easier to find my files in Dropbox than it was with Google Drive.
Read full review
Scalability
It's great, as we put more files on there it's done very well.
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bc i think box.com is better and more affordable
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Return on Investment
  • Box has been an only positive experience. It provides a seamless way for me and my team to collaborate on documents in such a way where we're not sending the document back/forth via email. It's a huge timesaver.
  • Box reduces the risk of sharing a sensitive document to the wrong person via email.
  • Box has provided a platform where my team can share notes in meetings - this has helped streamline and organize our meetings. Our meetings are more productive and actionable.
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  • I access my Dropbox account from anywhere—any computer, my smartphone —is very accessible while still secure.
  • I would like it to be more editable with existing projects. This could be just me.
  • I would like it to integrate better with other systems, such as email and Office.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Box Screenshots

Screenshot of an overview of Box's intelligent content management platform. It provides a unified, AI-powered approach to managing and securing your unstructured data, or content. ICM provides organizations with collaboration, AI, security, compliance, and workflow tools, interoperable and customizable, to get the most from their content.Screenshot of how with Box AI, AI can be accessed right where enterprise content exists. While that work can reside within Microsoft, Google, Apple, and other productivity suites, Box helps users to tap the full potential of AI for unstructured data.Screenshot of how Box creates a central workspace to edit, review, and assign tasks. Users can automate business processes and centralize content workflows in Box, including a configurable content submission, unlimited e-signatures, user-drive no-code workflow, and task assignment to power approvals.Screenshot of how Box secures content from threats, including malware and ransomware, and recover from attacks if they happen. This helps to maintain a zero trust architecture to ensure proper usage of corporate data, and prevent data theft.Screenshot of how Box can connect to any productivity suite, including Microsoft, Google, and Apple. This extends any existing security investments with integrations into key DLP, SIEM, and network security tools. Thus, seamless experiences can be built for users in any system they use, whether that’s a business tool like Salesforce or ServiceNow, or communications engines like Zoom and Slack.Screenshot of an overview describing Box's scalability. With unlimited storage capabilities Box has an exabyte (1,000PB) of customer data plus 1 gigabit per second upload and download speed. At its core, Box is a multi-tenant global SaaS platform with enterprise-grade reliability and end-to-end encryption to secure content.

Dropbox Screenshots

Screenshot of the action bar, that sits across the browser page can be used to record the screen, edit PDFs, upload files, create folders, get signatures, or send and track documents.Screenshot of Dropbox Replay, that lets collaborators leave frame-accurate feedback and markups directly on project files.Screenshot of Dropbox Capture, which can be used to take screen recordings, screenshots, and GIFs with one click and share them with a link.Screenshot of the interface where Dropbox lets users upload, edit, send, and sign PDFs in one place.