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Box vs Office 365 comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 29, 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
6.2
Office 365 offers cost savings and enhanced productivity, though ROI varies, especially for small companies with alternative options.
 

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
4.1
Microsoft Office 365 support is generally positive, noting responsiveness and resolution, though initial delays and navigation issues exist.
At times if you're trying to use their online support, they'll send you to an article that may or may not have anything to do with what you're looking for.
 

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
7.4
Office 365 is scalable and adaptable, efficiently supporting large user bases with easy scaling through additional licenses.
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
7.4
Office 365 is highly stable, with minor issues on Mac, rated 8-10 for reliability and performance satisfaction.
Box was very stable and did not have any latency issues.
The integration capabilities of Office 365 with Word, Excel, and Outlook with OneDrive for cloud storage have been smooth and work well.
At this time, whatever they have meets the needs, and they are expanding the number of participants to Team meetings and other features.
 

Room For Improvement

Box needs improved sync, search, file management, security, integration, interface, performance, permissions, API, pricing, and data recovery.
Office 365 needs improved multilingual support, non-Windows performance, better third-party integration, enhanced security, AI features, and pricing adjustments.
Collaborative editing was challenging if multiple people were in a document at once.
I believe the choice of office apps often depends on the existing ecosystem of the business, and since Office 365 has comprehensive coverage, I am not missing any features that the competition provides.
Microsoft could improve their support; I don't deal with Office 365 or Office 365 application-specific issues, but I wonder if it's similar where you get someone from Microsoft to hold your case, which could take a couple of days, maybe a week in between when they get back in contact with you.
I mentioned that I use Copilot, and maybe I would Office 365 to implement more AI, artificial intelligence within my daily routine with Office 365.
 

Setup Cost

Box pricing is initially steep but offers excellent value, with discounts and free versions available for businesses and education.
Office 365 pricing varies by features and user count, offering flexibility but can be costly for smaller businesses.
My experience with the pricing or licensing of Office 365 is that a lot of times we've gotten them when they've been on sale, so we've had really good pricing for the Microsoft products.
the cost of using the Microsoft ecosystem is higher than the combined cost of using Notion and Slack.
 

Valuable Features

Box provides secure file sharing, collaboration, advanced security, and seamless Microsoft integration, making it ideal for organizations.
Office 365 enhances remote work productivity with collaboration tools, seamless integration, real-time editing, and robust communication features.
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 has improved productivity and functionality by providing all necessary tools in one suite.
The most valuable feature is SharePoint, where we can easily put files and make them accessible to any person who has access.
Office 365 has positively impacted my organization by making the salespeople more accurate because they've been able to use the features in Excel instead of relying on the calculator or adding machine.
 

Categories and Ranking

Box
Ranking in Content Collaboration Platforms
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Content Management (9th), Cloud Storage (13th), Digital Asset Management (3rd), Document Management Software (4th)
Office 365
Ranking in Content Collaboration Platforms
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
150
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Content Collaboration Platforms category, the mindshare of Box is 8.1%, down from 8.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Office 365 is 9.6%, up from 5.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Content Collaboration Platforms Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Office 3659.6%
Box8.1%
Other82.3%
Content Collaboration Platforms
 

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.
Gary Cook - PeerSpot reviewer
Access to advanced features boosts productivity despite pricing concerns in developing regions
I need to do maintenance for Office 365 very seldom, once a year. In the maintenance process for Office 365, we have about 12 people involved. For the maintenance side of Office 365, only one person is involved. Looking at Office 365's pricing, I would give it a 4 on a scale from 1 to 10. My overall rating for Office 365 is an 8 out of 10, but for the product itself, I would give it a 10. I would definitely recommend Office 365 to other businesses, probably a 9 out of 10 for recommendation. This is only because of its price and the fact that they do not take into account developing countries such as South Africa, where they should give us more favorable prices or local prices. We do not have a partnership with Microsoft, which is a sore point for us. We have reached out to Microsoft South Africa, and they are very hard to contact and largely uncooperative. We are a B-Level 2 and a B-Level 1, which are local affirmative action ratings that companies get. Level 1 is the highest, and Level 8 is the lowest. We hold amongst the highest BEE ratings, but we have not found Microsoft South Africa to be forthcoming or very open. We should have a partnership with them, and we run Power BI as we are a Power BI shop now. I strongly would want to see a box within Office 365 for our team to have ChatGPT through OpenAI as well. We use Excel as a data source for many tasks and find that it integrates really well with Python. We write a lot of Python code and use Excel as a data sheet many times, and we operate through SQL and other zero elements as well. From an Office 365 viewpoint, we find that with Copilot and Python and Excel's provision for Python, it is very useful.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
Healthcare Company
6%
Computer Software Company
19%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Performing Arts
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise27
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business62
Midsize Enterprise29
Large Enterprise68
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Office 365?
My experience with the pricing, licensing, or setup costs with Office 365 is that it's the same thing; I'm not really involved with the pricing, so that's not my area of responsibility.
What needs improvement with Office 365?
I don't think of any areas that could be improved or things that I would want to see in the next releases of Office 365. Microsoft could improve their support; I don't deal with Office 365 or Offic...
What is your primary use case for Office 365?
The main use cases for Office 365 are both for our clients and internal use.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
Microsoft Office 365, Office 365 Enterprise, Office 365 Enterprise E1, Office 365 Enterprise E3, Office 365 Enterprise E5, Office 365 ProPlus, Office 365 Business, Office 365 Business Essentials, Office 365 Business Premium, Office 365 F1
 

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
Me & the Bees Lemonade
Find out what your peers are saying about Box vs. Office 365 and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,785 professionals have used our research since 2012.