Box vs Dropbox

Box

• Companies that need unlimited storage priced per user
• Teams that send documents for signature from where they are stored
• Organizations connecting storage to Microsoft 365, Salesforce or Slack

Dropbox

• Individuals who want 2 TB synced across Windows, Mac and Linux
• Teams that send large media files to clients
• Small teams that need team-owned folders and admin controls

Box

• Business and Enterprise plans require a minimum of 3 users.
• File upload size is capped by plan: 250 MB on the free plan, 2 GB on Business Starter, 5 GB on Business and 15 GB on Business Plus.
• Enterprise Plus is sold on annual billing only, and Enterprise Advanced is priced through sales.
• The downloads page lists Box Drive for Mac and Windows only, with no Linux app.

Dropbox

• The free Basic plan includes only 2 GB of storage.
• The cheapest paid plan is Plus at 2 TB for one person; the plans page lists no smaller paid tier.
• End-to-end encryption, single sign-on and audit logs are limited to Advanced, which requires at least 3 users.
• Monthly billing costs more: $11.99 for Plus and $18 per user for Standard, against $9.99 and $15 on yearly billing.

Box

Box Drive

A desktop app for Mac and Windows that opens Box files from the computer without taking up much local disk space.

Box Sign

E-signatures are built in: 5 signature requests a month on the free plan, 10 on Business Starter, and unlimited from the Business plan up.

Box AI

Box AI is included from the Business plan. Enterprise adds 1,000 AI Units a month and Box Hubs, and Enterprise Plus raises the allowance to 2,000.

External collaboration

The Business plan charges for each external collaborator, while Business Plus and the Enterprise plans allow an unlimited number.

File version history

The free Individual plan keeps 1 version of each file, Personal Pro keeps 10 and Business Starter keeps 25.

Integrations and API

Box lists more than 1,500 apps and AI agents that connect to it, and paid business plans include a monthly allowance of API calls.

Dropbox

Sync across devices

Files stay in sync between the desktop apps, the mobile apps and the web, and every paid plan allows an unlimited number of connected devices.

File recovery and version history

Deleted files and earlier versions can be restored for 30 days on Plus, 180 days on Standard and 1 year on Advanced.

Large file transfers

Send a copy of files by link: up to 50 GB per transfer on Plus and up to 100 GB on Standard and Advanced, where transfers can also be password protected.

PDF editing and signatures

Edit, annotate and sign PDFs inside Dropbox. The paid plans list unlimited self-signing and 3 signature requests per month.

Team folders and admin console

Standard adds team-owned folders, groups and an admin console. Advanced adds tiered admin roles, audit logs with file event tracking and single sign-on.

Connections to AI tools

Dropbox content can be connected to AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini to find and summarize files and save work back to Dropbox.

Box

• Individual$0

  Single user with 10 GB of storage, a 250 MB file upload limit and 5 Box Sign signature requests per month.

• Business Starter$5

  per user / month, billed annually ($7 billed monthly)

  Minimum of 3 users: 100 GB of storage, 2 GB file uploads, 25 file versions and 10 Box Sign requests per month.

• Business$15

  per user / month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly)

  Minimum of 3 users: unlimited storage, 5 GB file uploads, Box AI, unlimited e-signatures and 50,000 API calls per month.

• Business Plus$25

  per user / month, billed annually ($33 billed monthly)

  Minimum of 3 users: unlimited storage, 15 GB file uploads and unlimited external collaborators.

• Enterprise$35

  per user / month, billed annually ($47 billed monthly)

  Minimum of 3 users: 50 GB file uploads, 1,000 AI Units per month, Box Hubs and 100,000 API calls per month.

• Enterprise Plus$50

  per user / month, annual billing only

  Minimum of 3 users: 150 GB file uploads, 2,000 AI Units per month and support with 24-hour coverage.

Dropbox

• Basic$0

  2 GB to store and share files.

• Plus$9.99

  per month, billed yearly ($11.99 billed monthly)

  For 1 person: 2 TB of storage, 30 days to restore deleted files and transfers of up to 50 GB.

• Standard$15

  per user / month, billed yearly ($18 billed monthly)

  For 1 person or more: storage starts at 3 TB for the team, 180-day restore, 100 GB transfers, team folders and admin controls.

• Advanced$24

  per user / month, billed yearly ($30 billed monthly)

  For 3 people or more: storage starts at 15 TB, 1-year restore, end-to-end encryption, single sign-on and tiered admin roles.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Custom pricing with integrations for third-party security tools and live support from dedicated staff.

Box

• Annual discount

  About 25% lower with annual billing

  Box's pricing page has a monthly or annual toggle that advertises a saving for paying annually. The listed prices put Business at $15 per user annually against $20 monthly.

Dropbox

• Annual discount

  About 17% to 20% lower with yearly billing

  Billed yearly, Plus is $9.99 a month instead of $11.99, Standard is $15 per user instead of $18, and Advanced is $24 per user instead of $30.