The advancement of cloud technologies has made it much easier to access data from anywhere, anytime. Storing data on the cloud not only improves portability but also allows us to work with different devices seamlessly. Over the last few years, the cloud has become a necessity for businesses and individuals. Two of the most popular choices for cloud-based storage are Box and Dropbox. In this article, we look at a comparison of the two similarly named applications, Box vs Dropbox.

Box is an enterprise company that is dedicated towards providing file sharing, cloud storage, and cloud content management services for businesses. The company was introduced in 2005 by Aaron Levie but it went public just last year.

Dropbox is a file hosting and cloud storage service that was first introduced by Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi in 2007. The service now runs under the company name of Dropbox, Inc.

Box vs Dropbox – Introduction:

Now that you know about the background of both companies, let us move on to an in-depth comparison of Box vs Dropbox in terms of their file sharing, file hosting, and cloud storage services.

Pricing Comparison:

Both Box and Dropbox have their pricing plans divided into two categories, Individual and Business. We will look at the business plans and features later in this article. Here is how Box vs Dropbox stand against each other in terms of individual pricing plans:

Box offers the following packages:

• Individual: Free of cost with 10 GB storage and 250 MB upload limit.
• Personal Pro: Priced at $11.50 per month with 100 GB of storage and 5 GB upload limit.

In comparison, Dropbox offers the following packages:

• Basic: Free of cost with 2 GB storage.
• Plus: Priced at $8.25 per month with 1 TB of storage.
• Professional: Priced at $16.58 per month with 1 TB of storage.

Box also has platform plans that are meant for developers and cloud-based software solutions. Overall, Dropbox offers more storage for its individual and business level plans than Box but as a file hosting and cloud solution, Box is more economical. Therefore, it is a tie between storage and affordability.

Features Comparison:

Box features a clean, intuitively designed user interface that has a customizable view that you can easily adapt to. It has a number of useful built-in features that are suitable for both companies and individuals which include administration console, access roles, user creation, group creation, file sharing, sync with desktop, and support for third-party apps (such as Google Doc and Microsoft Word). Box is available as a web application, desktop application, and mobile application. It also supports all kinds of file types for upload and sharing.

Unlike Box, Dropbox is not filled with powerful ready-to-use features for their personal or business accounts i.e. it is intended for people who do not want a lot of options with their cloud storage. Dropbox is highly portable and offers very quick transfer speeds when compared to other cloud storage solutions. It also allows file sharing, sync with desktop and smartphone, and support for third-party apps. As with Box, Dropbox is also available as a web application, desktop application, and mobile application with support for all file types.

In terms of useful features offered, Box takes the advantage.

Security Comparison:

Security of cloud-based storage is very important and it is a key factor that distinguishes between a good file hosting service and a poor one. Dropbox makes use of AES 256-bit encryption for their files but it has been prone to numerous lapses in the past that include phishing scams and leaked files. Dropbox also does not support the local encryption of saved files – it only encrypts the data that is available on their servers and data that is in transit.

Box, on the other hand, has a comprehensive security plan – it also makes use of AES 256-bit encryption and SSL security for their files. The file names are encoded in search engines and servers so that bots cannot index the file links. Files can also be given access roles which means that you can control who can read/download/edit files on your storage. Box is also certified by Safe Harbor and SAS80 Type II.

Box wins again in this Box vs. Dropbox comparison.

Box vs. Dropbox for Business:

The features offered by Box for businesses include granular access, desktop sync, two-factor authentication, up to 100,000 API calls per month, dedicated customer support, data loss prevention (DLP), workflow automation, user groups, and document watermarking. These features are available according to the following pricing plans for business:

• Starter: Priced at $6 per user per month with 100 GB of storage and 2 GB upload limit.
• Business: Priced at $17 per user per month with unlimited file storage and 5 GB upload limit.
• Enterprise: Custom pricing with unlimited file storage, 5 GB upload limit, and powerful business features.

On the other hand, Dropbox offers features such as admin console, smart sync, Office 365 integration, file event tracking, 24/7 customer support, up to 25,000 API calls per month, tiered admin roles, and two-factor authentication security. Here is the pricing plan for Dropbox Business:

• Standard: Priced at $12.5 per user per month with 2 TB of storage.
• Advanced: Priced at $20 per user per month with unlimited storage.
• Enterprise: Custom pricing with unlimited file storage and enterprise-level features.

For businesses, Box vs. Dropbox stand neck and neck with each other – Box has the slight advantage because it has been providing enterprise level services for over a decade now with the focus on powerful analytics and premium security features.

Box vs. Dropbox Summary:

Conclusion:

Box stood out as the better tool in three out of our four Box vs Dropbox comparison factors i.e. Features, Security, and Business Plans which makes it our recommended file sharing and cloud storage tool for professionals.