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

Box vs ownCloud 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
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Content Management (9th), Cloud Storage (13th), Digital Asset Management (3rd), Document Management Software (4th)
ownCloud
Ranking in Content Collaboration Platforms
19th
Average Rating
10.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Content Collaboration Platforms category, the mindshare of Box is 8.1%, down from 8.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ownCloud is 0.9%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Content Collaboration Platforms Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Box8.1%
ownCloud0.9%
Other91.0%
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.
SC
Self-hosted file sync tool used to deploy custom web UIs.
I think it’s probably the best self-hosted file sync tool on the market. It’s a full web application platform, an indispensable tool for a business of any size that needs to deploy any kind of custom web UI. If you build an ownCloud app, you’ve got authentication, storage, security, caching, and database layers already fully baked for you. You just need to build your UI and custom logic. Your app doesn’t even need to interact with files, sync, or interact with other ownCloud features. Any web UI can be included without ownCloud. It can even be a portal to web interfaces of other applications within a business using the external app to display external sites within ownCloud. This is the case as long as that site allows itself to be displayed within a frame.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The sharing feature, with its various permission settings, such as viewing or uploading, is convenient and helpful."
"Simple file sharing and sync for internal and external customers."
"The interface is very good."
"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."
"It is really easy to load files to and from this solution."
"The solution is scalable."
"I like the ease of use."
"Office Integration. The full integration into the Microsoft Office products is just perfect."
"I think it’s probably the best self-hosted file sync tool on the market."
 

Cons

"Tasks and comments could be easier to see, report, search, and manage."
"Maturity of the enterprise security around user management."
"Better integration with other solutions is needed."
"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."
"One thing that Box would benefit from is a records management component."
"The UI should be faster. Sometimes it lags when switching between documents."
"The price must be lowered."
"The room for improvement is in the area of integrations. They need to establish more integrations, especially with Office 365 and Outlook."
"Even with fast disks, it still takes a fair bit of time to write most schema changes to multi-GB tables."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Box needs to improve with their pricing in terms of licensing costs."
"Better sign a full year's contract to get a discount."
"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."
"It is expensive per head, as you need the enterprise license to get full security and tools. So negotiate a discount!"
"Box's pricing is excellent."
"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 Box is cheaper than SharePoint."
"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."
Information not available
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Content Collaboration Platforms solutions are best for your needs.
869,513 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

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

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise27
No data available
 

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.
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

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
CERN, Joy Global, Sciebo, Bauhaus, datto
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Dropbox, Google and others in Content Collaboration Platforms. Updated: September 2025.
869,513 professionals have used our research since 2012.