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Azure Data Lake Storage 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Azure Data Lake Storage
Ranking in Cloud Storage
12th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Box
Ranking in Cloud Storage
13th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Content Management (9th), Digital Asset Management (5th), Document Management Software (4th), Content Collaboration Platforms (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Cloud Storage category, the mindshare of Azure Data Lake Storage is 1.4%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Box is 3.8%, down from 4.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud Storage
 

Featured Reviews

Chetan Jayatheertha - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides valuable features such as access keys, container strings, lifecycle management, audit logs, and the soft delete option
Data Lake Storage provides valuable features such as access keys, container strings, lifecycle management, audit logs, and the soft delete option. These features help in cost-saving and provide an excellent mechanism for backing up data. Furthermore, Data Lake Storage can interact with any other Azure resources, providing seamless integration and connectivity.
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The tool is very safe to use. It is impossible to hack the product."
"I would recommend Azure Data Lake Storage because it is straightforward to set up and versatile for various projects, especially AI solutions requiring document storage."
"Data Lake Storage provides valuable features such as access keys, container strings, lifecycle management, audit logs, and the soft delete option."
"Azure Data Lake Storage is user-friendly and easy to use."
"Azure Data Lake Storage is a user-friendly and easy-to-learn solution."
"The most valuable feature is the scalability due to the blob, which allows us to scale our data effectively."
"Azure Data Lake itself doesn't have built-in features for handling data on its own. It's used as a collection of data. Tools you can use with it include Azure Data Factory and Databricks."
"The tool's best feature is that it can store different types of data - structured, unstructured, and semi-structured—in one lake. We can use the required data for analytics and dashboard design."
"We've never had a penetration. We've never had a security issue that their support didn't solve. We love their audit trail. We can know exactly when a collaborator opens. We love how you can define a collaborator."
"Using Box for cloud storage allows us to focus on the service and maintaining infrastructure."
"It is a very user-friendly product."
"I like the ease of use."
"I like that Box makes it easy to deploy virtual machines."
"The most valuable feature of Box is security."
"It is really easy to load files to and from this solution."
"File sharing with collaborators not on the same domain with offline access from multiple devices: I work on many projects that are multi-organizational, such as with customers, suppliers, or acquisitions."
 

Cons

"I suggest enhancing the connectors for improvement. Some software, like HubSpot and Xero, has connectors, but they're limited to a few fields. That's why we use REST API calls instead. It would be better if the connectors could retrieve all data."
"From an SAP perspective, direct connectivity to SAP systems is an area that could be enhanced."
"Currently, Azure Data Lake Storage has blob, table, and file share, but no vector feature."
"Lack of clarity in migration processes"
"Maybe the solution could be a bit more user-friendly."
"Azure Data Lake Storage should support other formats apart from the Data Lake format, such as the Iceberg format."
"One improvement I'd suggest is the out-of-the-box conversion of input data, like spreadsheet or table data, to various formats. We'll be using Parquet, which enables transactional integrity."
"The high price of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"Improvements in speed - Box's high level of security impacts performance, especially when compared with other similar services."
"I would love to see the ability to invite collaborators extended to a file level, not just the folder level."
"The price must be lowered."
"If you want to delete something in Box, you have to do it manually, one by one. That was my recent experience. They might have a bulk delete, but I could not find that option. If you want to delete something, you have to go to each and every file and delete it."
"The upload speed needs improvement."
"If there was a plugin that added some sort of toolbar in Office, that would be great."
"The search features and role permissions are not very user friendly. It only searches the first few pages of a document, which is quite a problem."
"Collaborative editing was challenging if multiple people were in a document at once."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"From one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the product price as five."
"One of the most affordable products from the vendor"
"The tool's licensing model is pay-as-you-go. Regarding pricing, there's always competition between Azure Data Lake Storage and AWS. They're quite similar, but to attract more customers, Azure Data Lake Storage could consider adjusting its pricing to be more competitive with AWS. This might make Azure Data Lake Storage a more appealing option for users."
"I rate the product price as two or three, where one is high, and ten is low. The product's price is really high."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."
"It costs just a few dollars per terabyte per month."
"Compared to other options we've explored, I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"The tool is cheap, depending on the services and requirements you need."
"Box needs to improve with their pricing in terms of licensing costs."
"Better sign a full year's contract to get a discount."
"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!"
"We are using the free version of the solution. There is a free version and monthly and yearly subscriptions available."
"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."
"I'm in Higher Ed, so we purchase through Internet2-Net+. I absolutely recommend going that route for Higher Ed customers."
"There's a free version that allows you to use it with almost full-feature access. Even in the free version, it gives you all you need."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
7%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Azure Data Lake Storage?
The tool's most valuable feature is security access policies.
What needs improvement with Azure Data Lake Storage?
The speed of support response needs to improve, especially for critical, high-priority issues. Having a quick SLA response time is crucial.
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.
 

Comparisons

No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
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 Azure Data Lake Storage vs. Box and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,484 professionals have used our research since 2012.