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Azure Files vs Box comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Azure Files
Ranking in Cloud Storage
17th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
File and Object Storage (24th)
Box
Ranking in Cloud Storage
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Content Management (10th), Digital Asset Management (4th), Document Management Software (5th), Content Collaboration Platforms (8th)
 

Featured Reviews

Yogesh Autade - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Security Engineer at Softcell Technologies Limited
Centralized file sharing has improved security and compliance but still needs better analytics
From our experience, Azure Files could be improved with more granular performance visibility, simpler troubleshooting tools, and enhanced reporting around file shares, uses, and access patterns. We would also prefer more streamlined management for large-scale development deployments, better monitoring of SMB and NFS performance issues, and deeper integration of storage analytics to help identify bottlenecks and optimize cost efficiency. Another area where Azure Files could improve is the administrative experience for hybrid environments. More intuitive troubleshooting for authentication, SMB connectivity, and synchronization-related issues would help reduce operational efforts. Enhanced reporting, proactive recommendations, and clearer root cause analysis and diagnostics would also be valuable for storage and infrastructure teams managing large deployments.
Chirag Morajkar - PeerSpot reviewer
Lead Ai Tech And Tech Automation Engineer at a individual & family service with 11-50 employees
Structured cloud storage has streamlined document collaboration and automated workflows
The biggest friction point I have encountered with Box is mainly the pricing part; I think five dollars for this platform is not necessarily justified. While I have used it for integrating and using it as a cloud platform, I have not encountered any significant negative aspects. A few times, I might have faced performance issues, but I am uncertain whether that was due to the automation platform or Box itself. Overall, the only thing I could mention is that it can take a little time to understand how the integration works with Box; setup and figuring out what can and cannot be done might take some time, but other than that, I do not think anything else bothered me. One thing I would want Box to introduce to improve the platform and make it stand out even more would be incorporating AI. For example, the only way to identify documents shared in Box currently is by their names, and if those names are not precise, I can get confused. If Box had an AI feature to summarize and identify documents based on their contents, it would significantly enhance usability. AI is essential for making work easier, so that would be an excellent addition to the platform.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"If we need to migrate data, Azure Files allows a seamless data migration."
"We see a clear return on investment with Azure Files, primarily through reduced infrastructure management effort and improved operational efficiency."
"The sharing feature, with its various permission settings, such as viewing or uploading, is convenient and helpful."
"Box is very realistic when it comes to sharing capabilities."
"We've never had a penetration. We've never had a security issue that their support didn't solve. We love their audit trail. We can know exactly when a collaborator opens. We love how you can define a collaborator."
"File sharing with collaborators not on the same domain with offline access from multiple devices: I work on many projects that are multi-organizational, such as with customers, suppliers, or acquisitions."
"The solution is used for data storage and any kind of visualization."
"The collaboration of the solution is good."
"Most of the time, they are running a free 50GB for life promotion, which is a pretty good deal."
"The application is very light in terms of uploading and downloading files."
 

Cons

"I think if Azure Files could integrate migration using Storage Mover, that would be an improvement."
"From our experience, Azure Files could be improved with more granular performance visibility, simpler troubleshooting tools, and enhanced reporting around file shares, uses, and access patterns."
"If you want to delete something in Box, you have to do it manually, one by one. That was my recent experience. They might have a bulk delete, but I could not find that option. If you want to delete something, you have to go to each and every file and delete it."
"I don't like the low level of role-based security it provides – it's very cumbersome, and the support is ordinary at times."
"Working on documents in real-time is sometimes faulty and could be improved."
"The Search functionality needs to be more robust and behave like Google Search."
"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."
"Maturity of the enterprise security around user management."
"The price must be lowered."
"Improvements in speed - Box's high level of security impacts performance, especially when compared with other similar services."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"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."
"There's a free version that allows you to use it with almost full-feature access. Even in the free version, it gives you all you need."
"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."
"My organization pays for the license."
"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."
"I have to pay for Box. It could be a little cheaper. On a scale from one to ten, I would give the pricing a five."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
12%
Construction Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise30
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Azure Files?
From our experience, Azure Files could be improved with more granular performance visibility, simpler troubleshooting tools, and enhanced reporting around file shares, uses, and access patterns. We...
What is your primary use case for Azure Files?
Our primary use case for Azure Files is centralized file sharing, application data storage, and replacing traditional on-premises file servers with cloud-based SMB and NFS shares. From an infrastru...
What advice do you have for others considering Azure Files?
I would recommend this product without hesitation. I would also recommend starting with a pilot workload to validate SMB, NFS performance, and user access patterns. I recommend using Active Directo...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Box?
I found the pricing reasonable because when I was working for an IBM partner, Box was free for us. We did not go to payment and other matters like this.
What needs improvement with Box?
The biggest friction point I have encountered with Box is mainly the pricing part; I think five dollars for this platform is not necessarily justified. While I have used it for integrating and usin...
What is your primary use case for Box?
My main use case for Box is storing cloud content on its cloud and managing it as a collaborating platform so that I can store secure files and share through Box. I use it for document management a...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
GE, Toyota, P&G, Caterpillar, Flex, Schneider Electric, Sally Beauty, Eurostar, AstraZeneca, AirBnB, Whirlpool, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Nationwide, Aeropostale etc
Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Files vs. Box and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,800 professionals have used our research since 2012.