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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
10th
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
7.4
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 Azure Data Lake Storage is 1.0%, up from 0.1% 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

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

"I also like its speed. It's basically built on Azure Blob Storage, which was already fast. But Azure Data Lake Storage adds the hierarchical structure for even better performance."
"Azure Data Lake Storage is user-friendly and easy to use."
"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."
"Azure Data Lake Storage offers comprehensive integration with a variety of Azure tools, such as SQL servers and the Azure DevOps platform."
"Data Lake Storage provides valuable features such as access keys, container strings, lifecycle management, audit logs, and the soft delete option."
"The most valuable feature is the scalability due to the blob, which allows us to scale our data effectively."
"The solution's most valuable feature is its simplicity of configuration and setup."
"Offers high scalability for data storage"
"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."
"We can provide controlled access to documents using the product."
"The collaboration of the solution is good."
"The ability to collaborate around data anywhere, anytime is the most powerful features of Box."
"Box is very user-friendly; more so than SharePoint."
"Box is very simple and effective, so I prefer Box."
"The most valuable feature of Box is security."
 

Cons

"Improvement is needed in the migration process from Lakehouse to Enterprise Data Lake (EDL). Currently, migration is only one-way possible, and it would be beneficial if this aspect could be improved."
"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 scalability is limited. However, it's easy to set up."
"Microsoft, in general, needs to simplify its licensing model. That's one of the biggest issues with Microsoft. The licensing model is either quite difficult to understand or is constantly evolving."
"When you store your files manually, you can't ensure complete data integrity, which can impact data security."
"The version was a bit outdated compared to the newer Microsoft Data Fabric offerings."
"The speed of support response needs to improve, especially for critical, high-priority issues. Having a quick SLA response time is crucial."
"Microsoft Fabric costs more since we are charged for all the components."
"One thing that Box would benefit from is a records management component."
"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 integration with other products should be improved."
"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."
"I don't like the low level of role-based security it provides – it's very cumbersome, and the support is ordinary at times."
"Maturity of the enterprise security around user management."
"With OneDrive, you can continuously save your files over a Box folder. That is something I wish we could have."
"The price must be lowered."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing is tricky because it depends on the solution you're building and the type of Data Lake storage you use—hot or cold."
"I rate the product price as two or three, where one is high, and ten is low. The product's price is really high."
"It's a pay-as-you-go model. Your charges are based on the amount of data you store."
"Compared to other options we've explored, I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"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."
"The tool is cheap, depending on the services and requirements you need."
"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."
"Box needs to improve with their pricing in terms of licensing costs."
"It is expensive per head, as you need the enterprise license to get full security and tools. So negotiate a discount!"
"I believe Box is cheaper than SharePoint."
"Our pricing and licensing is excellent. I'd tell all Higher Ed customers to talk with Internet2 for excellent pricing and support."
"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."
"My organization pays for the license."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
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

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: June 2025.
859,129 professionals have used our research since 2012.