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Box vs Dropbox comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 27, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.4
Organizations using Box report efficiency in file management, reduced compliance risks, and notable returns despite some awaiting detailed calculations.
Sentiment score
6.3
Users appreciate Dropbox's low-cost features, though quantifying ROI is challenging; benefits include accessibility, security, and reduced complaints.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.4
Box customer service is generally praised, but users want improved response times and frontline expertise for better experiences.
Sentiment score
2.7
Dropbox support is mixed; positives include 24/7 availability, negatives involve slow email responses and licensing issue assistance.
Dropbox offers 24-hour support, both through chat and limited hour calls.
We provide the support ourselves and do not have any support straight from Dropbox.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Box offers strong scalability and performance for large organizations, but some limitations appear in enterprise-level deployments and large file handling.
Sentiment score
7.2
Dropbox is scalable for various business sizes, offering flexible plans, but may vary in effectiveness at enterprise levels.
I am uncertain about its effectiveness at an enterprise level, where SharePoint might be preferred.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Box is highly stable and secure, with minimal outages, though users seek improvements in upload speed.
Sentiment score
8.1
Users consider Dropbox stable and reliable, despite occasional syncing delays and reliance on internet connectivity for uploads.
Box was very stable and did not have any latency issues.
 

Room For Improvement

Box needs improved sync, search, file management, security, integration, interface, performance, permissions, API, pricing, and data recovery.
Dropbox needs better storage, pricing, security, interface, and integration to enhance user experience and remain competitive.
Collaborative editing was challenging if multiple people were in a document at once.
Sharing documents with other people in the same division or department and being able to work without downloading the file would be ideal.
One area of improvement would be to allow multiple users to edit a file simultaneously and see edits in real time, similar to OneDrive.
 

Setup Cost

Box pricing is initially steep but offers excellent value, with discounts and free versions available for businesses and education.
Enterprise users find Dropbox pricing competitive, though opinions vary on cost-effectiveness and desire for better discounts and management.
 

Valuable Features

Box provides secure file sharing, collaboration, advanced security, and seamless Microsoft integration, making it ideal for organizations.
Dropbox offers user-friendly, secure storage with seamless syncing, easy sharing, scalability, and strong compatibility across all devices and environments.
Box had a very easy-to-use search feature and a good user interface on its website, which was faster and better than SharePoint.
It also features an admin console where we can easily manage users, see which user has access to which content, and how much space they are consuming.
 

Categories and Ranking

Box
Ranking in Cloud Storage
13th
Ranking in Content Collaboration Platforms
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Content Management (8th), Digital Asset Management (3rd), Document Management Software (4th)
Dropbox
Ranking in Cloud Storage
3rd
Ranking in Content Collaboration Platforms
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
90
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Cloud Storage category, the mindshare of Box is 4.0%, down from 4.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dropbox is 5.4%, down from 5.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud Storage
 

Q&A Highlights

AS
Jul 09, 2014
 

Featured Reviews

Parthasarathy Chellapillai - PeerSpot reviewer
Used for data storage and data collaboration, but its data security could be improved
If I have restricted access within an organization by keeping the data in Box, there are other applications through which I can barge into the data. If anyone wants to keep a file restricted to four people, I can access it because it's available in the cloud. I can directly access the file and pull in the data by entering the file's name. Someone from outside the organization can't access it. However, someone from within the organization who is not supposed to access the data can access it, provided it is in Box. Box is almost like a folder structure outside your system. The solution uses the cloud, and you don't need any separate storage in your system. Even if your system crashes down, the data will be saved. Overall, I rate the solution a six out of ten.
Edgar  Paez - PeerSpot reviewer
Work from anywhere and backup easily while being practical
I recommend Dropbox, yet not for all of the features it has. I am a basic user. In a personal mode, we have about 100 employees, and maybe 20 of them use Dropbox as a personal backup system. ShareFile is more secure than Dropbox. Five years ago, ShareFile was qualified as having better security control, access privilege management, and version control recovery, among many features that we were using for private documentation. Overall, I would rate Dropbox an eight out of ten.
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860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Answers from the Community

AS
Jul 9, 2014
Jul 9, 2014
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'...
2 out of 4 answers
it_user120363 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 17, 2014
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
ED
Jun 17, 2014
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.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
29%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
Healthcare Company
5%
Educational Organization
50%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Computer Software Company
5%
Construction Company
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Box?
The solution is used for data storage and any kind of visualization.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Box?
I was not involved in discussions about paying for Box, so I cannot provide specifics about pricing.
What needs improvement with Box?
Collaborative editing was challenging if multiple people were in a document at once. The installation procedure was tricky but manageable with provided guidance and steps.
What do you like most about Dropbox?
For me, the biggest thing is version history. I can easily go back and view older versions.
What needs improvement with Dropbox?
One area of improvement would be to allow multiple users to edit a file simultaneously and see edits in real time, similar to OneDrive. In Dropbox, once a file is opened on one system, it locks the...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

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
Find out what your peers are saying about Box vs. Dropbox and other solutions. Updated: May 2025.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.