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Box vs Dropbox vs Microsoft OneDrive 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 July 2025, in the Content Collaboration Platforms category, the mindshare of Box is 9.3%, up from 8.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dropbox is 7.9%, down from 11.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft OneDrive is 9.6%, down from 12.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Content Collaboration Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Edgar  Paez - PeerSpot reviewer
Work from anywhere and backup easily while being practical
I recommend Dropbox, yet not for all of the features it has. I am a basic user. In a personal mode, we have about 100 employees, and maybe 20 of them use Dropbox as a personal backup system. ShareFile is more secure than Dropbox. Five years ago, ShareFile was qualified as having better security control, access privilege management, and version control recovery, among many features that we were using for private documentation. Overall, I would rate Dropbox an eight out of ten.
Victor Bayouwa - PeerSpot reviewer
I love the backup capabilities and the offline sync
We use OneDrive to share documents throughout the organization and collaborate. It is also used for backups.  The backup capability is one feature I love about OneDrive. I also like how it syncs when you're working offline. Everything is updated once you connect again. It takes too long for…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The interface is very good."
"The solution is used for data storage and any kind of visualization."
"Simple file sharing and sync for internal and external customers."
"Box is very user-friendly; more so than SharePoint."
"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."
"The ability to collaborate around data anywhere, anytime is the most powerful features of Box."
"Using Box for cloud storage allows us to focus on the service and maintaining infrastructure."
"It is a very user-friendly product."
"It's very easy to use and quite accessible for everybody."
"I can edit my files online, and I like the comments option."
"The initial setup was very easy."
"The various methods for accessing files, such as through mobile apps, online synchronization, and on a PC, are highly valuable."
"Dropbox is reliable, and I've never reached the storage limits."
"It is very practical and so easy to upload and download files and carry on without my computer."
"I use the product to open files."
"It offers security, accessibility, and user-friendly features."
"With this solution, the sharing of documents if very easy to do. There's a lot of collaboration you can do with your colleagues."
"They have support for integration with a lot of tools."
"Ability to share documents."
"The stability of Microsoft OneDrive is very good, it is reliable. There were multiple instances where I had lost my valuable data on hard drives in several other places. However, with Microsoft OneDrive, I've never lost a single file."
"It's pretty easy to learn. Once someone taught me, I was able to navigate it quite easily."
"The most valuable feature is to be able to modify the file online and keep it stored on the cloud, since it is not necessary to download it to make modifications."
"It is simple to use and it allows me to give me the opportunity to access anything I want from any device."
"The feature that I have found the most valuable is that Microsoft OneDrive works with any Enterprise Cloud Solutions Office app. You can edit a document on the cloud, share documents with your colleagues, and monitor changes. You can access your work almost anywhere. You can also sync Microsoft OneDrive with your workstation so that whatever you are working on gets automatically backed up to the cloud at regular intervals. So even if your system crashes, you still have a copy of your documents in the cloud, which I found very useful."
 

Cons

"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’)."
"Like all cloud platforms, there are always areas of improvement around sync to local devices."
"They could integrate better with other platforms."
"The upload speed needs improvement."
"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."
"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 price must be lowered."
"For us, storage is an issue. The free version is too small in terms of the amount of storage on offer."
"It's an expensive solution."
"Dropbox, like many file sharing tools, needs to synch to a local hard drive. That is a bit difficult with 5TB Dropbox content."
"I would like to see an option to secure my files and set password protection to my folders."
"The pricing could be better and so could the amount of storage space. I feel like for the price, they don't offer very much storage space, especially when compared to competitors like Google."
"It could be more secure."
"File version control can be improved. It generates a lot of conflicts when people are working on the same file. Its integration with other solutions can be improved in terms of user experience. Integration is there, and it has connectors for Excel, Word, and other solutions, but it is not very friendly. There should be a better user experience."
"Dropbox could probably be improved around the integrated security, but those options are probably available. I don't have much of a view on improvements, based on the relatively few occasions that I use it."
"Support has not been the same since the beginning of COVID lockdowns."
"The scalability has room for improvement."
"Microsoft OneDrive could improve because it doesn't support backing up .PST files, which are Outlook data files, and email archives. This is a substantial setback when it comes to Microsoft OneDrive."
"OneDrive is a bit behind competing products like Dropbox and Box."
"The initial setup is not easy."
"The online application is quite limited, for this and other Office offerings."
"No one gets an alert when files are deleted."
"The website could be improved. Sometimes I try to login and the website has issues, I can't retrieve my documents."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Our pricing and licensing is excellent. I'd tell all Higher Ed customers to talk with Internet2 for excellent pricing and support."
"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."
"Box's pricing is excellent."
"I believe Box is cheaper than SharePoint."
"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."
"Box needs to improve with their pricing in terms of licensing costs."
"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."
"I believe I pay around $5 per month for the license."
"Its price is quite cheap. It is quite competitive. You just need to pay for the license. There are no additional costs."
"The pricing for non-corporations is expensive. They have raised their prices and have low storage capacity."
"I need to pay towards the licensing costs attached to the solution. The solution is expensive."
"I use the free version of the solution."
"While the pricing is comparable, especially for users of Microsoft Office 365, the value proposition might not be as competitive for those seeking primarily storage options."
"We pay a monthly subscription fee."
"Dropbox could be less expensive, and I pay monthly."
"Costwise, it is a great option. In most cases, it is a free space, which will be more than enough for most customers."
"This is a pricy solution, given that we are only using it at 50% capacity."
"We pay a lot for the Enterprise version, but it is a premium service."
"The price of Microsoft OneDrive is reasonable and compatible with competitors."
"The licensing is expensive and on a yearly basis."
"OneDrive comes with Microsoft 365 so it is just an added part of that package."
"Using this software, it has had an amazing impact moneywise on our business. It allows us to share documents without the need of extra hardware."
"It is free if you are using Office 365, and you get a terabyte of storage with your account."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
26%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Healthcare Company
5%
Educational Organization
46%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Computer Software Company
5%
Construction Company
4%
Educational Organization
20%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
6%
 

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?
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 t...
What do you like most about Dropbox?
For me, the biggest thing is version history. I can easily go back and view older versions.
What needs improvement with Dropbox?
One area of improvement would be to allow multiple users to edit a file simultaneously and see edits in real time, si...
Ask a question
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Comparisons

 

Also Known As

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MS OneDrive
 

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
Vita Coco, BCBGMAXAZRIA Group, Centric Project, Kayak, FourSquare, Asana, Huge Adversting , USA Gymnastics, Appen, Valliant, Radio Lab
Chevron, Accenture, Booz Allen Hamilton, DBS, Nestle, Lowe's, MGM Resorts, Textron, MGM Resorts
Find out what your peers are saying about Dropbox, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and others in Content Collaboration Platforms. Updated: May 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.