Box vs Shade (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Box grades higher than Shade: 2.8 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Box grades higher on the free plan, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and features.
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
Shade
Cloud storage and review for video teams, with AI search
Which one is for you
Pick Box if
- Fits if your company wants unlimited storage priced per user, from 3 users up
- Works for teams that send contracts for signature from where they're stored, or plug files into Microsoft 365, Salesforce or Slack
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're one person wanting more space, as every paid plan priced here needs at least 3 users
- Pricey if you want the unlimited storage and the AI, which start at $15 a user against a $5 category middle
- Not for you if you're on Linux, since Box Drive is Mac and Windows only
- Tight if you stay free: 10 GB, no file over 250 MB, 1 version kept and 5 signature requests a month
- Watch out: uploads cap at 2 GB on Starter and 5 GB on Business, and Enterprise Plus is billed yearly only
Pick Shade if
- Fits if you edit video and want review comments on the files themselves
- Works for creative teams that deliver files to clients
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you just want storage, at $29.75 a seat a month
- Not for you if you have over 15 seats or 150 guests, as that needs Enterprise at no published price
- Watch out: SSO, SCIM and audit logging are Enterprise only
- Watch out: the comparison claims against LucidLink, Frame.io and Dropbox are the vendor's own
How we grade them
| 2.8GPABoxGood | 2.0GPAShadeFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DStorage in this category has a middle price of $5 a month, and the dearest tenth starts at $9.99. Box's entry plan is $5 a user but needs 3 users, so $15 a month minimum for 100 GB. The parts people actually come for, unlimited storage, Box AI and unlimited signing, start at $15 a user. | D$29.75 a seat a month billed annually ($35 monthly), against $7 in the middle for file storage, though it is a different kind of product from plain storage. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree for one person with 10 GB, which sounds fine until you read the caps: no file over 250 MB, 1 version kept of anything you edit, 5 signature requests a month. A phone video can breach that upload limit. | DA free trial on Growth with no length stated on the pricing page, and no free plan. |
| Features | BStorage and sharing, plus Box Sign for e-signatures, workflow automation and Box AI, with Box Drive opening files on a Mac or PC without filling the disk. The listing's own upload ceilings, 250 MB free and 2 GB on Starter, keep it off an A. | BMounted drives, AI search, transcription, face recognition, time-stamped review comments and client delivery on the same files. |
| Ease of use | A4.8 from about 191,000 App Store ratings. On a computer, Box Drive puts your Box files in Finder or Explorer, so there's nothing new to learn. | CNo store rating on record, and workspaces and drives have to be set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, and Box counts more than 1,500 connected apps, Microsoft 365, Salesforce and Slack among them, with API call allowances on the paid plans. No Linux app, mind. | BWeb, Mac, Windows and Linux with Slack. No phone app is listed. |
| Best for | company files with signing and workflows built in | video and creative teams sharing large files |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Box and Shade. How we grade
Price against what you get
Box starts at $5 a month for each person and scores 3.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Shade starts at $29.75 a month for each person and scores 2.7.
Box scores higher and starts $24.75 a month lower. Of the other file storage and sync services on the chart, none scores higher than Box for less, and 13 score higher than Shade for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Box also covers workflow automation.
- Shade also covers transcription.
At a glance
| Box | Shade | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $5 per user / month, billed annually (minimum 3 users) | $29.75 per seat / month, billed annually ($35 billed monthly) |
| 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. | None |
| Free trial | Free trial offered on Business Starter, Business, Business Plus, Enterprise and Enterprise Plus | Free trial on the Growth plan; its length is not stated on the pricing page |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Box, Inc. | Shade Inc. |
| Price read from | peony.ink (not the vendor's own page) | shade.inc |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
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.
Shade
- Growth is capped at 15 seats, 150 guests and 1 workspace; larger teams need Enterprise, which has no published price.
- Storage is 500 GB of active storage per seat on Growth, and the page says storage add-ons are available.
- SSO/SAML, SCIM and audit logging are limited to Enterprise.
- The site markets Shade as a replacement for LucidLink, Frame.io and Dropbox; these claims are the vendor's own.
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.
Shade
- Mountable drives
- The homepage describes drives that mount on a computer like a local disk; the pricing page lists unlimited drives, with multi-mount on Enterprise.
- AI search and indexing
- Search by sentence, facial recognition and transcripts, with unlimited AI indexing on both plans.
- Review and approval
- Time-stamped comments, annotation and markup, and a Slack integration appear in the plan comparison.
- Client delivery
- Role-based access, download permissions and published links are listed for sharing work with clients.
- Video proxies and metadata
- Web playback and downloadable proxies, plus EXIF, IPTC, XMP and timecode metadata.
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.
Shade
Growth$29.75
per seat / month, billed annually ($35 billed monthly)
1 workspace, unlimited drives and AI indexing, up to 15 seats and 150 guests, and 500 GB of active storage per seat.
EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited workspaces and seats, up to 250 guests, 1 TB of active storage per seat, SSO/SAML, SCIM, audit logging and a dedicated account manager. Sold through sales.
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.
Shade
- Annual discount
Annual billing: $29.75 against $35 monthly
The pricing page shows $29.75 per seat a month on annual billing against $35 per seat a month billed monthly for Growth.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Box or Shade?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Box is cheaper to start with: $5 a month for each person, against $29.75 a month for each person for Shade. Box starts at $5 per user / month, billed annually (minimum 3 users), and Shade starts at $29.75 per seat / month, billed annually ($35 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Box or Shade?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Box has a free plan. Shade does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Box and Shade run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Box lists iOS and Android apps and only Shade lists a Linux app. Both list a web app and macOS and Windows apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.