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Alfresco vs Box vs OpenText Documentum Content Management 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:
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Enterprise Content Management category, the mindshare of Alfresco is 7.1%, down from 7.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Box is 3.7%, down from 3.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText Documentum Content Management is 6.4%, down from 12.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Content Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Alfresco7.1%
OpenText Documentum Content Management6.4%
Box3.7%
Other82.8%
Enterprise Content Management
 

Featured Reviews

UC
Technical Project Manager at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Extensive customization and governance enhance document management experience
Currently, the challenge is the general availability to users. Initially, they had poor documentation, but over the years, their documentation has highly improved. Initially, we had challenges finding the extension points and understanding how to extend the system. The workflow was one of the hurdles we had. At that time, it was not that beautiful or feature-rich. Even today, workflow consists of basic workflows. If you want to extend, you have to implement your own customizations. They are using it extensively with features such as records management, CMIS, Share UI, and Web Scripts. All these features are being used extensively. Governance of this system is required. If you don't have proper governance, things can go wrong. If you don't have a proper policy of how documents should be maintained, issues can arise. You have to make rules, such as one folder should not have more than 5,000 subfolders or children. This was advised by Alfresco, but we did not have that advice, so we had challenges when everything was dumped into single folders. It slows down the systems and sometimes becomes unusable. Whoever is going to use it should have that governance system in place.
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.
FC
Consultant In Risk Management and Performance Improvemenf at Deloitte Risk Advisory
User finds integration useful but seeks improvement in interface intuitiveness
I am satisfied with OpenText Documentum so far; it has great integration capabilities. The connection with our API and SAP is useful, as you can use their SAP interface. The key point that my company decided to go with OpenText Documentum is mostly because you can integrate it with many other tools such as Salesforce.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the flexibility of the searching elements of the metadata."
"The initial setup was straightforward, because Alfresco also provides a stack installer that includes the required supporting software."
"Document repository."
"I like the ease of use, sections, and calendar."
"Alfresco's technical support is very fast and professional."
"The product allows engineering teams and developers to introduce new things in a seamless and easy way."
"The most valuable feature is the flexibility of the searching elements of the metadata."
"One of Alfresco's strengths is the data modeling, as document domain experts can model type and hierarchical associations and metadata constraints in a declarative way, and a graphical user interface model manager now allows users that don't know XML formalisms to build models."
"The solution is used for data storage and any kind of visualization."
"The word Box has become a verb at Morehouse College."
"We use Box as a cloud-based storage service for our employees to share documents, such as presentations, between people, and some of our customers have many gigabytes in files and we set up shared access to them using Box."
"Using Box for cloud storage allows us to focus on the service and maintaining infrastructure."
"You can upload your bin, upload your files quickly, and download your files quickly. It provides a lot of other alternatives."
"The most valuable feature of Box is security."
"You can upload your bin, upload your files quickly, and download your files quickly, and you can use it on your own, on an iPad, or on your mobile phones whenever you wish to."
"Box is very realistic when it comes to sharing capabilities."
"Two things are excellent in Documentum. One is business process management. The other is its support for metadata."
"I appreciate Documentum's scalability, allowing for vast volumes of content storage."
"It has reduced the amount of paper documents; reducing time and errors in the process."
"The most valuable features of this solution are the security, storage, and document search capability."
"The most valuable feature of Documentum for our content management needs is its ability to segregate access based on department and role."
"The most impactful thing is the size, which is almost 25 TB."
"In terms of sub-products/components, the most valuable features are definitely Content Server and DFC."
"The product is user-friendly."
 

Cons

"Currently, documents in Alfresco are stored on a file server, which, while good for performance, is a security risk."
"Alfresco could improve workflow digitalization and enhance artificial intelligence capabilities."
"Technical Support: Average, this might be because I am quite experienced and the questions I have might be difficult to find an answer to quickly as I have probably already exhausted most solution possibilities before I contact support."
"We would like to see improvement in the numbers of documents that can be managed by the repository."
"We did encounter some stability issues when there were many simultaneous requests on the server."
"I would like them to consider document capture functionality. Currently, for document capture functionality (ocr, read document metadata automatically, automatic document classification), Alfresco needs to be integrated with document capture such as: Kofax, Ephesoft, etc., while other Alfresco competitors already make document capture functionality as their default functionality."
"I think the presentation layer could be improved - currently, it's too complex, and there are too many features cluttered all over the screen."
"I think the presentation layer could be improved - currently, it's too complex, and there are too many features cluttered all over the screen."
"Box is extremely user friendly, however our clients have been having a hard time adjusting and understanding Box."
"Search function remove layers."
"The upload speed needs improvement."
"The waterfall methodology for folders does not allow for privatization of folders at the root level, which sometimes may be necessary."
"With OneDrive, you can continuously save your files over a Box folder. That is something I wish we could have."
"If there was a plugin that added some sort of toolbar in Office, that would be great."
"I recommend doing the trial first, because it's not cheap ware."
"I haven't really come across a case where we're not able to use it for what it is, so I don't really have anything holding us up or any customers holding us up at this point that I know of. There are always some limitations, but as a technologist, I just live with them, and there is always room for improvement, but I don't have anything quantifiable."
"While generally secure, some noted security issues need consideration. The installation process for on-premise setup needs improvement as well."
"When Dell EMC had the technical support, it was better in terms of response and resolution. After the acquisition of Documentum from Dell EMC to OpenText the support became not as good in terms of responses and resolutions."
"The product needs to improve the way documents are logged together. I believe running it on the cloud or containerization will bring value to it. The tool's Time to Market and deployment cycle need to be improved. Finding suitable training materials for OpenText Documentum is also a bottleneck. If we can find the training modules easily, we can bring together people, give them quick training, and start working on the deployment. It can help with quick outputs."
"They should develop something so that bugs don't happen in our project. We make changes manually and some bugs happen."
"Open Text's technical support is lacking. There isn't enough community support."
"It needs a better UI and it should also be cloud-ready. The UI has not changed in years."
"The vertical application could be improved."
"An area that needs to improve is how to reduce storage space on the AWS site."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are costs for any upgrade or additional functions."
"It is cheaper compared to head-to-head competitors."
"If you buy Alfresco through a partner, there is usually a OEM licensing option."
"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."
"They are very price competitive when pushed. Initially, they come out with a standard list price, but they are willing to be very competitive. The Box price was pretty much equal to or lower than the Citrix price, and Box has more features."
"I'm in Higher Ed, so we purchase through Internet2-Net+. I absolutely recommend going that route for Higher Ed customers."
"My organization pays for the license."
"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."
"We are using the free version of the solution. There is a free version and monthly and yearly subscriptions available."
"I believe Box is cheaper than SharePoint."
"It is expensive per head, as you need the enterprise license to get full security and tools. So negotiate a discount!"
"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."
"The product is expensive."
"OpenText Documentum has announced a new licensing model, which could be more expensive."
"OpenText Documentum's pricing is good."
"It falls in line with a lot of things that are out there on the market. There is nothing extraordinary in terms of great or bad."
"It is quite an expensive product."
"The price is considered affordable now."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Healthcare Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Energy/Utilities Company
8%
 

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 Business10
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise28
 

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 needs improvement with OpenText Documentum?
The interface of OpenText Documentum could be more intuitive; sometimes it is hard to find where the information is l...
What is your primary use case for OpenText Documentum?
We are using it to archive the information about our sales.
What advice do you have for others considering OpenText Documentum?
One of my colleagues has found some automation features. It is not my responsibility regarding security features; I a...
 

Also Known As

No data available
No data available
Dell EMC Documentum, Documentum , Documentum xCelerated Composition Platform
 

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
Agility; Bibliotheca Alexandrina; Capitec Bank; Department of Social Development, Republic of South Africa; County of Los Angeles, Department of Human Resources; Fresenius Kabi; Heathrow Airport; Lahey Health; Linde PLC; Milestone Pharma Co. Ltd; National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development; Open Grid Europe GmbH; REPCO NEX Industrial Solutions; Springer Nature; Syngene International; Tata Power DDL; University of Texas Austin
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Hyland, IBM and others in Enterprise Content Management. Updated: April 2026.
892,383 professionals have used our research since 2012.