Alfresco vs Box vs OpenText Content Manager comparison

Read 41 Box reviews

1,448 Views
1,010 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

OpenText Content Manager

Read 23 OpenText Content Manager reviews

1,401 Views
824 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

Alfresco

OpenText Content Manager

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Alfresco, Box, and OpenText Content Manager based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, OpenText, IBM and others in Enterprise Content Management.

To learn more, read our detailed Enterprise Content Management Report (Updated: May 2025).

Enterprise Content Management

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Helped 851,174 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Enterprise Content Management category, the mindshare of Alfresco is 7.6%, down from 8.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Box is 3.7%, down from 5.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText Content Manager is 4.4%, up from 3.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Content Management

Featured Reviews

Karthi Keyan

Head Of Information Technology at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

Streamlining document management with enhanced digitalization features needed

We used Alfresco as a document management system for automating and digitizing manual forms. Those were the main use cases The digitalization of workflow, forms, operations, and business processes has improved our organization. The most valuable features of Alfresco include its integration with…

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Shrikant Pillay

Service Management Consultant at Tata Consultancy

Allows you to upload and download files quickly but lacks integration with Office 365

For enterprise users, the data is in a local repository. We use it for files for the end user process. This is a cloud solution. In my current organization, we have over 10,000 people using this solution. I use it very extensively. Users these days are working remotely You can upload your bin,…

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Maurice Riverso

Records Management Officer at ANZPAA

Our our official repository and it has disposal management and retention management

The security architecture is the only problem as it's a little bit complex and too torturous at times. So it could be improved a little bit, but it is regarded as a very good system in Australia. It's probably overly subscribed. Also, what's missing is what people would like, which is basically online collaboration. That's a problem. But it has so many other things to offer that SharePoint, I'm sure, will not have. So, that will be an interesting issue to come up. It's not very good at providing stable and robust add-ins to Microsoft. That's a bit of a problem with Content Manager. They're kind of very volatile. So, that's been definitely something that could be improved.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product allows engineering teams and developers to introduce new things in a seamless and easy way."

"Alfresco's technical support is very fast and professional."

"The most valuable feature is the flexibility of the searching elements of the metadata."

"Document repository."

"Alfresco allows broad searches with many index fields that you can search on, although the created fields and their values may not be intuitive."

"The most valuable features of Alfresco include its integration with the scanning solution, the ability to search, and the capability to store and index to capture metadata."

"The digitalization of workflow, forms, operations, and business processes is also significant."

"I like the ease of use, sections, and calendar."

"I like that Box makes it easy to deploy virtual machines."

"You can upload your bin, upload your files quickly, and download your files quickly. It provides a lot of other alternatives."

"File sharing, authorization on the back, its ease of use and reliable uptime performance are valuable features of this solution."

"Governance and ease of use are why I think a lot of people like Box, including ourselves. Basically, we're concerned about what information is being sent to Box, so we use a lot of the Box governance features to make sure that what is being sent to Box is appropriate. If it is not appropriate, it is not allowed to be sent. It is also pretty easy to use. It is the easiest to use for customers and for technologists."

"Box had a very easy-to-use search feature and a good user interface on its website, which was faster and better than SharePoint."

"Office Integration. The full integration into the Microsoft Office products is just perfect."

"The sharing feature, with its various permission settings, such as viewing or uploading, is convenient and helpful."

"Using Box for cloud storage allows us to focus on the service and maintaining infrastructure."

More Box pros

"We like how the solution allows us to have retention of records and workflows, as well as its fire plan."

"For a records management system, Content Manager is a really good system."

"The product can be integrated with different solutions."

"An advantage is integration with your IP directory."

"I did not face issues with the product's scalability...The solution's technical support is good."

"The most valuable features of OpenText Content Manager are its stability, reliability, security, and workflow engine."

"The tool's implementation has made life easier for customers. It is sold by SAP. The integration between SAP and the solution is good, making it easy to access the documents. It is widely recognized as a market leader in enterprise document management."

"It has a robust search but has often been difficult for people to learn."

Cons

"Alfresco could improve workflow digitalization and enhance artificial intelligence capabilities."

"I would like them to consider document capture functionality."

"The configuration of Alfresco is a big challenge."

"I think the presentation layer could be improved - currently, it's too complex, and there are too many features cluttered all over the screen."

"Alfresco has a very steep learning curve, and unfortunately, during the learning process, it's very easy to make errors, which often are unforgiving."

"Currently, documents in Alfresco are stored on a file server, which, while good for performance, is a security risk."

"Metadata, auto class, disposition log, and legal hold."

"The setup process for Alfresco was complex."

"Like all cloud platforms, there are always areas of improvement around sync to local devices."

"They could integrate better with other platforms."

"If there was a plugin that added some sort of toolbar in Office, that would be great."

"I don't like the low level of role-based security it provides – it's very cumbersome, and the support is ordinary at times."

"I recommend doing the trial first, because it's not cheap ware. It's not overly expensive, but it's not cheap ware, and enterprise has a minimum number of users."

"The solution's data security should be improved."

"Better integration with other solutions is needed."

"One thing that Box would benefit from is a records management component."

More Box cons

"Pricing is an issue, as it is too expensive."

"Due to very limited use in the industry, vendor and contract support are hard to find."

"Support could be enhanced. The first line of support consists of individuals who lack experience with some key aspects. When you create a support ticket, the time to resolve the issue may be prolonged because the first person may not understand the system or the solution."

"The ease of use should be addressed."

"The product could improve its scalability."

"The stability of the solution is an area of concern where improvements can be made."

"It's not very good at providing stable and robust add-ins to Microsoft."

"OpenText Content Manager needs to improve its user interface. Its installation process is difficult and can be made easier."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is cheaper compared to head-to-head competitors."

"The license for Alfresco is expensive - not the maximum, but close. There are also extra costs once you start building integrations, as implementation seems to be very costly."

"There are costs for any upgrade or additional functions."

"If you buy Alfresco through a partner, there is usually a OEM licensing option."

"Box needs to improve with their pricing in terms of licensing costs."

"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."

"I'm in Higher Ed, so we purchase through Internet2-Net+. I absolutely recommend going that route for Higher Ed customers."

"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."

"The more you dig, the deeper the level of tools, and the more expensive it becomes."

"My organization pays for the license."

"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."

"We are using the free version of the solution. There is a free version and monthly and yearly subscriptions available."

More Box pricing and cost advice

"The solution's licensing cost depends on the customer domain. Though its costs are high, the product is worth the money. You have to pay a one-time cost and support costs."

"I rate the product price an eight or nine on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive. The solution is expensive."

"I would suggest that you do a thorough evaluation of all competing products and look for support for these products in your local area."

"The fees incurred are for the licensing and maintenance."

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851,174 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Government

14%

Computer Software Company

11%

Insurance Company

Educational Organization

52%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Government

20%

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Alfresco?

The pricing of Alfresco starts at $100,000, which can be expensive for small projects. There is often a transition fr...

What needs improvement with Alfresco?

Currently, documents in Alfresco are stored on a file server, which, while good for performance, is a security risk. ...

What is your primary use case for Alfresco?

Mostly, the primary use case is to store documents related to transactions in our company. These documents could be s...

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 t...

What do you like most about Micro Focus Content Manager?

An advantage is integration with your IP directory.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Micro Focus Content Manager?

Pricing is a disadvantage as it is very expensive, especially in this market.

What needs improvement with Micro Focus Content Manager?

Pricing is an issue, as it is too expensive. Support and services need to be more user-friendly. The support has been...

OpenText Documentum vs Alfresco

Comparisons

Compared 19% of the time

Hyland OnBase vs Alfresco

Compared 18% of the time

SharePoint vs Alfresco

Compared 10% of the time

OpenText Extended ECM vs Alfresco

Compared 9% of the time

More Alfresco Competitors

SharePoint vs Box

Compared 14% of the time

Microsoft OneDrive vs Box

Compared 11% of the time

ShareFile vs Box

Compared 11% of the time

Egnyte vs Box

Compared 9% of the time

More Box Competitors

SharePoint vs OpenText Content Manager

Compared 26% of the time

OpenText Extended ECM vs OpenText Content Manager

Compared 16% of the time

OpenText Documentum vs OpenText Content Manager

Compared 13% of the time

Microsoft Purview Records Management vs OpenText Content Manager

Compared 11% of the time

IBM ECM vs OpenText Content Manager

Compared 3% of the time

More OpenText Content Manager Competitors

Product Reports

Alfresco

Download Alfresco product report

Download Box product report

Download OpenText Content Manager product report

OpenText Content Manager

April 2025

Also Known As

No data available

Micro Focus Content Manager, HPE Records Manager, HPE Content Manager

Overview

The Alfresco Digital Business Platform offers open, secure content services to let you unlock the value from your most important business information. Give users access to their content wherever and however they work with Alfresco’s open, flexible, and highly scalable cloud-native content services platform. Easily integrate and connect with everyday business applications. Find, view, collaborate on, govern, and securely share digital content—and get information to the right person at the right time.

Hyland

Box is a Modern Content Management Platform for companies of all sizes and industries. The difference that Box brings is that it offers the security and controls admins need with the sharing and collaboration capabilities end users want. Box has made it easier for people to securely share ideas, collaborate and get work done faster. Today, more than 62,000 businesses, including 59% of the Fortune 500, trust Box to manage content in the cloud.

The Box platform provides HIPAA, FINRA, FedRAMP, and many other compliances to go with granular access permissions and advanced security capabilities.

By using Box you can sync, share, and collaborate on all types of files, anywhere, on any device - but that's just the beginning. You can choose where to store your data, to manage your own encryption keys, and set workflows to automate content-based processes. You can also assign custom metadata tags to content, watermark sensitive content, and set file retention or legal hold policies.

Box has deep, native integrations with Microsoft Office and Outlook, Google Apps for Work, Salesforce, Netsuite, Docusign, Adobe, and many other best-of-breed solutions you may already be using.

OpenText Content Manager, formerly Records Manager, is a governance-based enterprise content management system designed to help government agencies, regulated industries and global organizations manage their business content from creation to disposal. Regardless of how you create and collaborate on your content, Content Manager gives you the ability to leverage accurate, contextual, and complete information throughout its lifecycle. Managing your content in this way helps you significantly improve services to your customers, business decisions and insight for future strategy.

OpenText

Sample Customers

Over 1,300 companies from 180 different countries. Including EuroStar, Saks Fifth Avenue, NASA Langley Research Center, and KLM.

GE, Toyota, P&G, Caterpillar, Flex, Schneider Electric, Sally Beauty, Eurostar, AstraZeneca, AirBnB, Whirlpool, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Nationwide, Aeropostale etc

Missouri State Courts

Enterprise Content Management