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Box vs Cloudinary comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 5, 2025

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

Box
Ranking in Digital Asset Management
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Content Management (6th), Cloud Storage (12th), Document Management Software (3rd), Content Collaboration Platforms (5th)
Cloudinary
Ranking in Digital Asset Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

Shrikant Pillay - PeerSpot reviewer
Allows you to upload and download files quickly but lacks integration with Office 365
For enterprise users, the data is in a local repository. We use it for files for the end user process. This is a cloud solution. In my current organization, we have over 10,000 people using this solution. I use it very extensively. Users these days are working remotely You can upload your bin,…
Josue BYIRINGIRO - PeerSpot reviewer
Saves time and resources and has a clear dashboard
I like the tool best because it's straightforward and doesn't have too many complicated options like AWS. The dashboard is clear - you create a directory, get credentials, and then use those in your Node.js or Java application to access resources. With AWS, you have to consider many things, like bucket policies and user permissions. It doesn't have these complications. Everything on Cloudinary is clearer than other platforms I've seen. It is very easy to use. It's easier than the AWS platforms I've seen. Even general developers can use it, while AWS needs more experience. The solution saves time and resources in several ways. It's easy to get started with, saving time from the beginning. You can implement file uploads in about thirty minutes without complications. The SDK and APIs provided to access their resources are simple and not complicated. Cloudinary is also a popular platform with good documentation and community support, making it easy to find solutions to problems.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Box is extremely stable, they have not been hacked or lost any data in the past seventeen years. I am very impressed with it."
"Box is very simple and effective, so I prefer Box."
"The solution is scalable."
"The solution is used for data storage and any kind of visualization."
"The collaboration of the solution is good."
"We can provide controlled access to documents using the product."
"The application is very light in terms of uploading and downloading files."
"It is really easy to load files to and from this solution."
"As a developer, I find Cloudinary valuable because it provides many opportunities for building applications. For example, I recently created an AI application that can read images and automatically generate captions, which helps in describing images or videos without manual input. Cloudinary's APIs support this functionality and enhance my development process. One of the most beneficial features of Cloudinary is its asset management capabilities. I can tag and categorize images and videos based on their content, such as tagging videos where a person is wearing glasses. This helps in organizing and managing media effectively. I have experimented with Cloudinary's automation capabilities, but I am still learning and haven't fully explored its potential. Currently, I want to use Cloudinary to improve user engagement with my videos, such as tracking who is viewing and interacting with my media. This is a feature I plan to explore more in the future."
"One of the best features of the platform is that we have a generous free tire that I can use for some of my projects without worrying about the platform's cost."
"I can create folders in the Cloudinary interface using the front end, allowing me to store profile pictures, post pictures, cover pictures, and other media files."
"The product's most valuable feature is the ability to upload images quickly and retrieve URLs. It integrates well with code, providing a seamless experience."
"Unlike Firebase Storage, Cloudinary handles media-specific tasks like re-encoding uploads. For example, when users upload a video from an Apple device, it's often encoded in a proprietary Apple codec."
"I have not seen any bugs or breakdowns. The tool's performance when the site loads up is good."
"The automation tools were used most often. They are quite convenient and cover our requirements."
"The tool has tools designed for the average user, and the onboarding process is very easy, especially for aspiring junior developers. I love Cloudinary's automation feature. It automatically optimizes assets, so I don't have to do anything. When I store an image, their system already optimizes it. Its CDN is very powerful. The solution also has a default configuration that makes images load faster without losing quality. We haven't faced any issues in integrating the tool with other platforms."
 

Cons

"Like all cloud platforms, there are always areas of improvement around sync to local devices."
"I don't like the low level of role-based security it provides – it's very cumbersome, and the support is ordinary at times."
"The integration with other products should be improved."
"The room for improvement is in the area of integrations. They need to establish more integrations, especially with Office 365 and Outlook."
"The upload speed needs improvement."
"Data privacy, regarding where to store your data: Offering several transparent(!) options (where to store my data and whether to sync back or not and where to sync) regarding the local law situations (USA, EU, Switzerland!) would increase the credibility of a US based company (after NSA ‘snooping’)."
"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."
"It could be cheaper."
"There are some things the product can improve in its UI."
"The product could be improved by being more user-friendly for beginner programmers."
"For non-technical users, the initial setup could be made easier."
"I believe there is some scope for improvement in areas like the dashboard, specifically the user dashboard and the browser where you can navigate the platform."
"It blocked our account, prevented us from uploading files, and showed a message about file adjustments."
"When you open the product's management console, it can just be a little bit overwhelming at first until you figure it out."
"The main issue with the package is how it handles errors. It swallows errors and throws its own, but without preserving the stack trace, making debugging nearly impossible."
"The platform's API features need enhancement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We are using the free version of the solution. There is a free version and monthly and yearly subscriptions available."
"The more you dig, the deeper the level of tools, and the more expensive it becomes."
"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."
"I'm in Higher Ed, so we purchase through Internet2-Net+. I absolutely recommend going that route for Higher Ed customers."
"Box needs to improve with their pricing in terms of licensing costs."
"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."
"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."
"My organization pays for the license."
"For us, the price is okay."
"The solution’s pricing is moderate."
"The tool's pricing is very high."
"The product's free tier licensing plan is beneficial for individual developers to learn about its functionality."
"From what I've used, it's actually cheap compared to other options like AWS."
"We decided to quit using Cloudinary after two years because we were getting a lot of users, and it was becoming expensive. Cloudinary had fixed charges, so if we agreed to pay 500 USD per month, it would be the same whether we used high or low resources. They would notify us if we exceeded our limit, but not if we used less—however, AWS charges according to usage, which became more cost-effective for us as we grew. With AWS, you might pay 100 one month and 200 the next, depending on your usage."
"I am using the free version."
"It is a free tool."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
54%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
5%
Government
4%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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?
The solution is expensive when it comes to API calls.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cloudinary?
I did not research Cloudinary's pricing, as I am using it for free. In the free service, it performs well.
What needs improvement with Cloudinary?
The UI needs improvement because it has become quite messy recently, making it difficult to locate the media library and images. Additionally, the initial setup process is complex due to the numero...
What advice do you have for others considering Cloudinary?
I would advise new users to read the documentation thoroughly to understand how to upload and store images effectively. For those using Cloudinary for the first time, be prepared for a learning cur...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

GE, Toyota, P&G, Caterpillar, Flex, Schneider Electric, Sally Beauty, Eurostar, AstraZeneca, AirBnB, Whirlpool, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Nationwide, Aeropostale etc
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Find out what your peers are saying about Box vs. Cloudinary and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,963 professionals have used our research since 2012.