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Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs Box comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 17, 2024

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
9.2
Amazon EFS offers scalable, cost-effective storage with minimal maintenance, enhancing productivity and benefiting businesses through pay-as-you-go pricing.
Sentiment score
7.4
Organizations using Box report efficiency in file management, reduced compliance risks, and notable returns despite some awaiting detailed calculations.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.3
Amazon EFS support is often praised but mixed reviews highlight occasional delays and high costs for responsive assistance.
Sentiment score
6.9
Box customer service is generally praised, but users want improved response times and frontline expertise for better experiences.
While the time to respond was good, the time to resolve was not optimal, as it took more than a week.
Training and support depend on the plan you have, with centralized support being very helpful in case issues arise.
Amazon's support model is consistent across services.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Amazon EFS is praised for scalability, quick deployment, and auto-scaling, with some latency challenges noted in specific environments.
Sentiment score
7.8
Box offers strong scalability and performance for large organizations, but some limitations appear in enterprise-level deployments and large file handling.
Its auto-scaling feature is a crucial point, providing high scalability that I would rate at ten out of ten.
Elastic File Systems allow me to scale up or down easily.
It is very cost-effective, and there's no need for initial charges.
I am uncertain about its effectiveness at an enterprise level, where SharePoint might be preferred.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Amazon EFS is stable and reliable, with minimal issues, handling applications effectively and receiving high user ratings.
Sentiment score
8.0
Box is highly stable and secure, with minimal outages, though users seek improvements in upload speed.
Amazon EFS is extremely stable, as it is managed by AWS.
While I experienced an EFS mount dropping, it was related to server issues rather than EFS itself.
Box was very stable and did not have any latency issues.
 

Room For Improvement

Amazon EFS requires improved Windows support, performance, and security measures to enhance usability for technical and non-technical users.
Box needs improved sync, search, file management, security, integration, interface, performance, permissions, API, pricing, and data recovery.
Enabling AI-driven or automatic features would be beneficial for new or nontechnical users.
In my project, there are challenges related to AWS, such as ensuring proper security measures with IMS code and encryption.
Collaborative editing was challenging if multiple people were in a document at once.
 

Setup Cost

Amazon EFS offers flexible pricing, but data transfer costs in India are high, impacting overall affordability.
Box pricing is initially steep but offers excellent value, with discounts and free versions available for businesses and education.
EFS could cost around $30 to $50 per month for similar usage.
Amazon EFS is more costly compared to other storage options available from AWS.
It is very cost-effective with no need for initial charges.
 

Valuable Features

Amazon EFS offers scalable, flexible storage with seamless AWS integration, enhancing infrastructure with speed, security, and cost-effective auto-scaling.
Box provides secure file sharing, collaboration, advanced security, and seamless Microsoft integration, making it ideal for organizations.
They help me process data while maintaining low latency, which is crucial for efficient data processing.
Its ease of integration with other AWS services enhances our infrastructure, while the shared storage access improves reliability and processing continuity for our applications.
It provides extra throughput and IOPS, allowing us to configure it according to the MDA.
Box had a very easy-to-use search feature and a good user interface on its website, which was faster and better than SharePoint.
 

Categories and Ranking

Amazon EFS (Elastic File Sy...
Ranking in Cloud Storage
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
File and Object Storage (10th)
Box
Ranking in Cloud Storage
13th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Content Management (8th), Digital Asset Management (3rd), Document Management Software (4th), Content Collaboration Platforms (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Cloud Storage category, the mindshare of Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) is 7.2%, down from 9.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Box is 3.9%, down from 4.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud Storage
 

Featured Reviews

MuhammadAzhar Khan - PeerSpot reviewer
Auto-scaling capabilities enhance file management while reducing downtime
The most valuable feature of Amazon EFS is its auto-scaling capability. It's really easy to configure EFS by just creating it and running a command to directly configure it with my servers. It supports unlimited use, and charges are applied based on the file usage at the end of the month. The solution offers reduced downtime and increased durability through its auto-scaling features.
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.
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859,129 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Educational Organization
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
32%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which file storage system is better - Amazon EFS (elastic file storage) or Azure File Storage?
Amazon EFS is easy to set up: you can use the AWS management console, API, or command-line. Amazon EFS can grow to petabytes and deliver consistent low latencies and high levels of throughput. This...
What do you like most about Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)?
The product's initial setup phase is easy, as per the configurations.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)?
Amazon EFS is more costly compared to other storage options available from AWS.
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.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Arcesium, Atlassian, Seeking Alpha, Zend
GE, Toyota, P&G, Caterpillar, Flex, Schneider Electric, Sally Beauty, Eurostar, AstraZeneca, AirBnB, Whirlpool, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Nationwide, Aeropostale etc
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs. Box and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
859,129 professionals have used our research since 2012.