Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Box vs Office 365 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Box
Ranking in Content Collaboration Platforms
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Content Management (8th), Cloud Storage (13th), Digital Asset Management (3rd), Document Management Software (4th)
Office 365
Ranking in Content Collaboration Platforms
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
143
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Content Collaboration Platforms category, the mindshare of Box is 8.7%, up from 8.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Office 365 is 6.8%, up from 6.3% 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.
Gary Cook - PeerSpot reviewer
Access to advanced features boosts productivity despite pricing concerns in developing regions
I need to do maintenance for Office 365 very seldom, once a year. In the maintenance process for Office 365, we have about 12 people involved. For the maintenance side of Office 365, only one person is involved. Looking at Office 365's pricing, I would give it a 4 on a scale from 1 to 10. My overall rating for Office 365 is an 8 out of 10, but for the product itself, I would give it a 10. I would definitely recommend Office 365 to other businesses, probably a 9 out of 10 for recommendation. This is only because of its price and the fact that they do not take into account developing countries such as South Africa, where they should give us more favorable prices or local prices. We do not have a partnership with Microsoft, which is a sore point for us. We have reached out to Microsoft South Africa, and they are very hard to contact and largely uncooperative. We are a B-Level 2 and a B-Level 1, which are local affirmative action ratings that companies get. Level 1 is the highest, and Level 8 is the lowest. We hold amongst the highest BEE ratings, but we have not found Microsoft South Africa to be forthcoming or very open. We should have a partnership with them, and we run Power BI as we are a Power BI shop now. I strongly would want to see a box within Office 365 for our team to have ChatGPT through OpenAI as well. We use Excel as a data source for many tasks and find that it integrates really well with Python. We write a lot of Python code and use Excel as a data sheet many times, and we operate through SQL and other zero elements as well. From an Office 365 viewpoint, we find that with Copilot and Python and Excel's provision for Python, it is very useful.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Box had a very easy-to-use search feature and a good user interface on its website, which was faster and better than SharePoint."
"Box is very user-friendly; more so than SharePoint."
"File sharing, authorization on the back, its ease of use and reliable uptime performance are valuable features of 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."
"The solution is used for data storage and any kind of visualization."
"Box is extremely stable, they have not been hacked or lost any data in the past seventeen years. I am very impressed with it."
"The sharing feature, with its various permission settings, such as viewing or uploading, is convenient and helpful."
"Sharing and collaborating across files and folders has been a massive game changer."
"The most valuable feature is the integration between net and mobile devices."
"It has more features than somebody would expect, and it is worth taking a deeper look into the features available."
"My primary use case is for preparing presentations to teach, often on PowerPoint."
"The functionality that is most valuable is the solution's ability to detect patient data in email attachments. Whenever a user sends out an email with patient data embedded in an attachment, it triggers an alert. The tool can detect a social security number and various other forms of patient identity. Emails are then automatically generated and sent."
"Many of the features in Office 365 are good, but I think Excel is a very good tool."
"The way the ERP presents information for the user is very good."
"It's inexpensive to license."
"It is stable."
 

Cons

"Improvements in speed - Box's high level of security impacts performance, especially when compared with other similar services."
"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."
"I haven't really come across a case where we're not able to use it for what it is, so I don't really have anything holding us up or any customers holding us up at this point that I know of. There are always some limitations, but as a technologist, I just live with them, and there is always room for improvement, but I don't have anything quantifiable."
"The price must be lowered."
"It could be cheaper."
"The UI should be faster. Sometimes it lags when switching between documents."
"I don't like the low level of role-based security it provides – it's very cumbersome, and the support is ordinary at times."
"One thing that Box would benefit from is a records management component."
"The security should be improved."
"Office 365 could be easier to use at first. Tutorials are needed to know how to use the solution."
"Security is still complex, but the admin console improving."
"I started working a lot on Microsoft Teams and I find it a bit vast. It should be divided out a bit so that someone can use it for basic functionality, like audio, video, and calls. Then, if someone wants more advanced functionality for file sharing and team creation, and so on, they could use a separate app."
"Normally, they have a way to work with specific developments, and I think they shouldn't allow the partners to make some changes they have made. When I have a client with a lot of changes, we have a problem with that because there aren't rules to develop inside the ERP, so you can do anything."
"I'd like to see them add more features in the future in order to continue to advance the product."
"Integration between Outlook calendar and Google Calendar would be a good improvement since many of our team use Android phones and personal Gmail accounts as their main calendar application."
"In terms of improvement, it should have tutorials when you first have the opportunity to use it, to be able to really learn it."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Better sign a full year's contract to get a discount."
"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."
"I believe Box is cheaper than SharePoint."
"Box's pricing is excellent."
"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."
"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."
"The pricing is good for all the features that we receive, e.g., Skype for Business."
"The pricing is high and has actually caused us to limit the number of licenses we purchase due to budgeting."
"The price of Office 365 is very expensive."
"The pricing is not really high, but one can get the software with the license key for free."
"Good reporting and good value subscriptions for international calls."
"I think that we pay $9.99 USD per user, monthly."
"​The pricing/licensing is easy to manage."
"Licensing, billing, and accounting are available from the management interface."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Content Collaboration Platforms solutions are best for your needs.
857,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
34%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
Healthcare Company
5%
Educational Organization
65%
Computer Software Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
3%
Government
3%
 

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 tricky but manageable with provided guidance and steps.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Office 365?
For pricing, I think it's fairly priced, I would rate it 8.
What needs improvement with Office 365?
The areas of Office 365 that have room for improvement are what should be better in this solution.
What is your primary use case for Office 365?
A typical use case for Office 365 is how I primarily use this solution.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
Microsoft Office 365, Office 365 Enterprise, Office 365 Enterprise E1, Office 365 Enterprise E3, Office 365 Enterprise E5, Office 365 ProPlus, Office 365 Business, Office 365 Business Essentials, Office 365 Business Premium, Office 365 F1
 

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
Me & the Bees Lemonade
Find out what your peers are saying about Box vs. Office 365 and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
857,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.