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Alfresco vs Box vs OpenText Content Manager 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.4
Alfresco provides efficient document management and cost savings, boosting employee efficiency and reducing IT support needs.
Sentiment score
6.6
Organizations using Box report efficiency in file management, reduced compliance risks, and notable returns despite some awaiting detailed calculations.
Sentiment score
6.2
OpenText Content Manager improves efficiency and security, though requires more support and integration compared to modern solutions.
Alfresco provides a significant return on investment by efficiently managing documents.
Country Head Spain at Apiux
I have seen a return on investment as open-source production with vibrant community support is cost-effective compared to many proprietary CMS solutions in the market.
Human Resources Specialist at Unilever Inc.
It made my office go paperless, thereby saving the environment.
Software Engineer at Procter & Gamble
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.2
Customer service is praised, but technical support receives mixed reviews, with users desiring more agile updates and interactions.
Sentiment score
5.2
Box customer service is generally praised, but users want improved response times and frontline expertise for better experiences.
Sentiment score
5.6
OpenText Content Manager support varies; users praise premium help but note deficiencies and complexity, especially after third-party involvement.
I would prefer a direct relationship with them, focusing on updating their products more like in an agile practice
Head Of Information Technology at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Alfresco's technical support is very fast and professional.
Country Head Spain at Apiux
The customer support for Alfresco is very vibrant, supportive, and responsive.
Human Resources Specialist at Unilever Inc.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Alfresco efficiently scales across layers, handling growth well and managing high document volumes with minimal resource adjustments.
Sentiment score
7.7
Box offers strong scalability and performance for large organizations, but some limitations appear in enterprise-level deployments and large file handling.
Sentiment score
7.1
OpenText Content Manager is scalable but challenges arise with large deployments, suggesting planning and using cloud platforms for enhancement.
It has continued to grow with my organization and can handle a large volume of content.
Data Analyst at Unilever
Implementations needing to handle millions of documents may involve complex cluster setups requiring expert assistance.
Country Head Spain at Apiux
Alfresco is very scalable and handles my organization's growth efficiently.
Software Engineer at Procter & Gamble
I am uncertain about its effectiveness at an enterprise level, where SharePoint might be preferred.
Consultant at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
Alfresco is stable but needs experienced setup, careful upgrades, and proper architecture for large volumes and simultaneous requests.
Sentiment score
7.9
Box is highly stable and secure, with minimal outages, though users seek improvements in upload speed.
Sentiment score
6.2
OpenText Content Manager's stability is generally rated high, but integration and scalability issues affect some users' experiences.
The stability of Alfresco is rated highly as it hardly goes down.
Head Of Information Technology at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Alfresco is generally a very stable and high-performance platform.
Country Head Spain at Apiux
Those issues have now been corrected.
Technical Project Manager at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Box was very stable and did not have any latency issues.
Consultant at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Alfresco struggles with security, UI customizations, integration, and lacks documentation, hindering adoption and development efficiency.
Box needs improved sync, search, file management, security, integration, interface, performance, permissions, API, pricing, and data recovery.
OpenText Content Manager needs enhancements in integration, usability, search, security, installation, pricing, and service responsiveness for better user experience.
It would be beneficial if Alfresco offers different options for document storage, such as databases or cloud solutions.
Country Head Spain at Apiux
Governance of this system is required. If you don't have proper governance, things can go wrong.
Technical Project Manager at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
I feel the documentation needs a lot of improvement, especially for Activiti microservice adoption, which is sometimes frustrating or slows me down.
Human Resources Specialist at Unilever Inc.
To open and see who is accessing the document now and see my movements across the document or the file we are sharing together.
Senior Projects Manager at Tech-hub
Collaborative editing was challenging if multiple people were in a document at once.
Consultant at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
 

Setup Cost

Alfresco's enterprise pricing is cost-effective for large organizations but potentially expensive for small projects, with varying options and costs.
Box pricing is initially steep but offers excellent value, with discounts and free versions available for businesses and education.
OpenText Content Manager's licensing is complex and expensive, but negotiation and customization are possible despite high ongoing costs.
Alfresco is a very cost-effective and affordable tool.
Human Resources Specialist at Unilever Inc.
The pricing of Alfresco starts at $100,000, which can be expensive for small projects.
Country Head Spain at Apiux
Alfresco is very cheap and cost-effective.
Software Engineer at Procter & Gamble
I found the pricing reasonable because when I was working for an IBM partner, Box was free for us.
Senior Projects Manager at Tech-hub
 

Valuable Features

Alfresco offers cost-effective document management with robust customization, intuitive interface, and seamless integrations, supporting cloud and on-premises collaboration.
Box provides secure file sharing, collaboration, advanced security, and seamless Microsoft integration, making it ideal for organizations.
OpenText Content Manager offers efficient document management with strong search, customization, integration, security, and large-scale enterprise support.
This makes the record independent of the document, which is beneficial as documents often change, and it helps avoid continual updates to the registry.
Country Head Spain at Apiux
There is document storage with metadata, document versioning, document workflow, check-in, check-out, REST API for integration, easy customization, and vibrant community support.
Software Engineer at Procter & Gamble
When it comes to scripting, if there is something that Alfresco does not do natively, you can use their custom API to do almost anything that you want.
Network Engineer at AT&T
Box had a very easy-to-use search feature and a good user interface on its website, which was faster and better than SharePoint.
Consultant at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
I find the synchronization feature most valuable in Box. When I use multiple devices, it syncs them together and gives excellent results.
Senior Projects Manager at Tech-hub
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Enterprise Content Management category, the mindshare of Alfresco is 7.6%, down from 7.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Box is 3.7%, down from 3.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText Content Manager is 4.3%, up from 4.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Content Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Alfresco7.6%
Box3.7%
OpenText Content Manager4.3%
Other84.4%
Enterprise Content Management
 

Featured Reviews

Maria Giulia - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Software Engineer at Wells Fargo
Streamlined document workflows have improved collaboration and supported compliant record management
Alfresco delivers an open, scalable, cloud-native content, process, and governance management suite. When it comes to document management, it is one of the best and top-notch solutions available. Alfresco helps us to quickly find and access information from anywhere on any device using web-based viewing tools. It is a very intelligent tool because it provides intelligent process management where integrated process and content service capabilities streamline content-centric processes and enable faster and more informed decision-making. I love the basic workflows that are easy enough for casual users to set up and utilize. Cloud synchronization capability provides a great way to share documents with third parties and to use as a backup system for critical documents. The best features Alfresco offers include the Alfresco mobile app, folder rules that are easy to set up, and the ability to make metadata assessment easier to automate. Easy customization and support from Alfresco are great advantages. We have been able to automate most of the repetitive tasks using folder rules and metadata automation, saving a lot of time and cost. Through the Alfresco mobile app, it makes it easy for those on the road to access, approve, and share documents, promoting collaboration. Deal flow processes run much more efficiently. Compliance needs are easily met in a cost-effective manner.
Ahmed Rashad - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Projects Manager at Tech-hub
Team collaboration has improved through shared access and real-time synchronization
I find the synchronization feature most valuable in Box. When I use multiple devices, it syncs them together and gives excellent results. I can assess the benefits of Box's file sharing. Box's integration with third-party apps is valuable, especially with Outlook. Box has helped my team's productivity by being very helpful with team collaboration when we are sharing certain shared documents between us. I mostly value Box's automation capabilities. They have helped optimize my business processes by saving time for sharing or sending files between the team. This gives us a shared workspace to work together on the same document or the same ideas. Box's security features have helped my organization meet compliance needs.
Maurice Riverso - PeerSpot reviewer
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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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Construction Company
6%
Government
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
University
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise10
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise27
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise8
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Alfresco?
My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing is that Alfresco is very cheap and cost-effective.
What needs improvement with Alfresco?
One area where Alfresco can be improved is the ability to scan directly using Alfresco. Additionally, I would appreci...
What is your primary use case for Alfresco?
My main use case for Alfresco is that I implemented Alfresco Content Services to solve complex enterprise problems fo...
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 p...
What needs improvement with Box?
I believe Box has a lot of features that put it in a good rank among the file-sharing apps. I would like to see featu...
What is your primary use case for Box?
I use Box, Delphi, and IBM FileNet. I worked for a software company as a project manager, and this experience include...
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...
 

Also Known As

No data available
No data available
Micro Focus Content Manager, HPE Records Manager, HPE Content Manager
 

Overview

 

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
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, IBM, Adobe and others in Enterprise Content Management. Updated: March 2026.
885,667 professionals have used our research since 2012.