Box vs Microsoft OneDrive
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Box
Business content storage with e-signatures, workflows and AI
Microsoft OneDrive
Microsoft's cloud storage, bundled with Microsoft 365 plans
Where they differ
- Box starts at $5 per user / month, billed annually (minimum 3 users). Microsoft OneDrive starts at $1.99 per month, or $19.99 per year.
- Box also covers workflow automation.
At a glance
| Box | Microsoft OneDrive | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $5 per user / month, billed annually (minimum 3 users) | $1.99 per month, or $19.99 per year |
| Free plan | Individual plan: one user, 10 GB of storage, a 250 MB file upload limit, 1 file version and 5 Box Sign requests per month. | 5 GB of free cloud storage with a Microsoft account. |
| Free trial | Free trial offered on Business Starter, Business, Business Plus, Enterprise and Enterprise Plus | One-month free trial of Microsoft 365 Personal, Family or Premium; a credit card is required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Box, Inc. | Microsoft |
| Price read from | peony.ink (not the vendor's own page) | microsoft.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
Microsoft OneDrive
- People who already pay for Microsoft 365 and its Office apps
- Families: Microsoft 365 Family gives up to 6 people a shared 2 TB
- Organizations that work in Teams and SharePoint
Worth knowing
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.
Microsoft OneDrive
- The free allowance is 5 GB. Family and Premium subscriptions started from October 7, 2026 share 2 TB between all members, where each person used to get 1 TB.
- Home plans jump from 100 GB on Basic ($1.99 a month) to 1 TB on Personal ($9.99 a month), with no tier in between.
- Microsoft's system requirements list Windows, macOS, iOS and Android apps but no Linux client.
- Copilot features in the Family and Premium plans apply to the subscription owner only and cannot be shared.
Key features
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.
Microsoft OneDrive
- Sync and offline files
- The plan comparison lists advanced sync between PC, Mac and the cloud, along with files and folders that can be kept available offline.
- Windows and camera roll backup
- Windows backup and camera roll backup are listed as key features, and the mobile app can automatically back up a phone's photos and videos.
- Co-editing in Microsoft 365 apps
- Files stored in OneDrive can be edited from anywhere with real-time collaboration in Word, Excel and PowerPoint on the web, desktop and mobile.
- Sharing links
- Files and folders are shared by link, and the plan comparison lists password-protected and expiring link settings among the OneDrive features.
- Version history and ransomware recovery
- Version history plus ransomware detection and file restore appear in the plan comparison, and Microsoft 365 Basic names OneDrive ransomware protection as an inclusion.
- Copilot in OneDrive
- On the business page, Copilot can summarize or compare files and turn them into audio overviews from inside OneDrive. Work accounts can also upload files of up to 100 GB.
Plans
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.
Microsoft OneDrive
Free$0
5 GB of cloud storage with a free Microsoft account.
Microsoft 365 Basic$1.99
per month, or $19.99 per year
For 1 person: 100 GB of cloud storage, ad-free Outlook email and OneDrive ransomware protection.
Microsoft 365 Personal$9.99
per month, or $99.99 per year
For 1 person: 1 TB of cloud storage and the desktop Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook apps with Copilot, on up to 5 devices at once.
Microsoft 365 Family$12.99
per month, or $129.99 per year
For 1 to 6 people: 2 TB of cloud storage shared between them, plus everything in Personal.
Microsoft 365 Premium$19.99
per month, or $199.99 per year
For up to 6 people sharing 2 TB of storage: everything in Family plus extensive Copilot usage and agentic AI features for the subscription owner.
Ways to pay less
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.
Microsoft OneDrive
- Annual discount
About 16% lower with yearly billing
Paying yearly costs $19.99 for Basic, $99.99 for Personal, $129.99 for Family and $199.99 for Premium, against $1.99, $9.99, $12.99 and $19.99 a month.
