Box and Dropbox are among the most widely used cloud storage platforms, locked in fierce competition to win over personal and business users alike. As leaders in the space, these services have become household names. But which one reigns supreme?
In this comprehensive guide, we pit Box versus Dropbox across all the parameters that matter – storage, features, security, speed and more. Read on as we break down how they stack up across all categories to help you decide the best platform for your needs.
A Brief History of Box and Dropbox
Founded in 2005 in Mercer Island, Washington by Dylan Smith and Drew Houston, Dropbox pioneered the personal cloud storage and file sharing space. The service has over 700 million registered users as of 2022, with excellent cross-platform support and mobile apps.
Box, launched in 2005 by Aaron Levie and Dylan Smith, is headquartered in Redwood City, California. While Dropbox captured the individual user market, Box focused more on business and enterprise clients from the beginning. Today, Box powers over 100,000 businesses globally with its content management and workflow automation capabilities beyond just storage.
Box vs. Dropbox: Side-By-Side Comparison
| Box | Dropbox | |
|---|---|---|
| Storage capacity | 10GB to Unlimited | 2GB to Unlimited |
| Free version | Included | Included |
| Subscription plans | 6 plans ($7/mo-$47/mo) | 6 plans ($11.99/mo-$30/mo) |
| Integrated apps | Zoom, Google Workspace, Microsoft Office 365, Zapier, Smartsheet, Asana, Salesforce, Workato | Google Suite, Microsoft, Dropbox Capture (Windows), Adobe, Zoom, Slack, Canva, Autodesk |
| Speed (1GB Test File) | 450 Mbps Download, 21Mbps Upload | 460 Mbps Download, 22 Mbps Upload |
| Best for | Hosting large files and collaboration for teams needing workflow automation | Storing personal media and documents |
What is Box?
Box is a cloud content management platform that enables users to securely access, manage, and share content like files and documents online. Beyond just storage though, Box focues heavily on content collaboration in the cloud.
With Box, teams can easily manage projects, automate workflows, and collaborate on files in real-time from anywhere. Features like customizable permissions, annotations, task assignments, version history and integrated productivity tools like Microsoft Office and Google Docs make Box a feature-packed service – almost an OS built for the cloud.
What Is Dropbox?
Dropbox pioneered personal cloud storage as we know it today. The popular platform allows individuals and teams to store all kinds of files in the cloud to access them from any device. Features like automatic syncing and backup across devices makes using Dropbox seamless.
Users can easily share and collaborate on Dropbox files by sending shared links. Built primarily as a "file hosting service", Dropbox excels at letting users organize personal media collections in the cloud, integrate cloud storage into their workflows with desktop/mobile apps and popular productivity software.
Box vs. Dropbox: What‘s The Difference?
Now that we understand the basics of Box and Dropbox, where exactly do they differ? We break it down across some key parameters:
Subscription Plans & Storage
Box offers more overall storage than Dropbox at higher price points, while Dropbox has better value low-end plans.
Box plans range from $7/month to $47/month supporting 100GB to unlimited storage for individuals and teams. The cheapest Dropbox plan is just $11.99/month with 2TB storage. However, advanced users may prefer Box‘s higher-tier offerings.
Special Features
Box shines in collaboration capabilities like assigned tasks, approvals, annotations within files. Dropbox excels at automatically organizing photos and media.
Box Key Features
- Content Management – control user access down to the file/folder level
- Annotations – @mention users and comment directly within files
- Tasks – assign action items to team members
- eSignatures – send documents for legal eSignatures
- Workflows – customize business processes with triggers and alerts
Dropbox Key Features
- Camera Uploads – auto-upload photos/videos from cameras and SD cards
- Smart Sync – access cloud files without taking up hard drive space
- Paper Docs – create/format/publish web docs
- Showcase – create visual galleries to share publicly
File Sharing
Dropbox edges out Box here with higher transfer quotas for paid users and setting share link expirations. Box does have password-protected links though.
Collaborations and Syncing
Box‘s seamless Office and GSuite integrations make collaborating on files intuitive. Dropbox has an advantage with block-level sync for large file batches.
Upload and Download Speeds
Both services offer blazing fast speeds, with Dropbox just slightly ahead in benchmarks. Real-world speeds will depend on proximity of servers though.
| Service | 1GB Test File Download Speed | 1GB Test File Upload Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Box | 450 Mbps | 21 Mbps |
| Dropbox | 460 Mbps | 22 Mbps |
Privacy and Security
Box and Dropbox offer robust encryption both in transit and at rest. Additionally, both services comply with privacy standards like SOC2, ISO 27001, HIPAA. Box provides more granular internal security controls for businesses while Dropbox has broader platform compatibility and two-factor authentication.
Integrated Apps
With over 1500 App integrations, Box leads Dropbox significantly. Top apps include Office 365, G Suite, Slack, Zoom and popular business software platforms. Dropbox maintains excellent integration with Windows and MacOS though.
5 Key Differences Summarized
- Dropbox is better for automatic photo management and syncing while Box excels at document collaboration features.
- Box costs more but offers more storage, while Dropbox gives you more bang for your buck.
- For large teams, Box‘s unlimited storage and workflow capabilities justify its pricing.
- Box has 3x more app integrations with business software vs Dropbox‘s focus on productivity apps.
- In speed testing, Dropbox edged out Box just barely in both file uploads and downloads.
Which Should You Choose?
For Personal Use
We recommend Dropbox for most personal users, especially those wanting cloud backup for photos or media files. Plus Dropbox works seamlessly across mobile devices with excellent integrations into Windows and Mac workflows. Unless you have over 2TB of storage needs, Dropbox should suit most individual‘s needs perfectly.
For Business Use
Box is the easy choice for business, enterprise and other types of power users that deal with large documents, data sets and complex workflow processes. The content collaboration tools, configurable permissions and seamless integrations with Office and other document apps reflect it‘s best-in-class status for content management at scale. Unlimited storage on higher tier plans makes it easy to standardize on Box company-wide.
Box vs Dropbox: Final Verdict
While Dropbox pioneered personal cloud storage and still excels in that area today, Box has become the platform of choice for secure business content collaboration in the cloud. With best-in-class integrations, compliance certifications, access controls and unlimted storage on plans over $20/month, Box edges out the win for business use-cases while Dropbox remains the gold standard for consumer backup and sync.
Hopefully this comprehensive feature comparison helped summarize the Box vs Dropbox debate based on your specific needs!
