Box vs. Google Drive

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Box
Score 7.2 out of 10
N/A
Box is an online Intelligent Content Management solution that caters to individual users as well as businesses.
$7
per month per user (3 minimum)
Google Drive
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Google Drive is a cloud file storage, synchronization, and collaboration platform and service, that features Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides for document editing and presentation.
$6
per month
Pricing
BoxGoogle Drive
Editions & Modules
Business Starter
$7
per month per user (3 minimum)
Business
$20
per month per user (3 minimum)
Business Plus
$33
per month per user (3 minimum)
Enterprise
$47
per month per user (3 minimum)
Enterprise Plus
$50
per month (billed annually) per user (3 minimum)
Enterprise Advanced
Contact us
per month per user (35 minimum)
Basic
$6.00
per month
Business
$12.00
per month
Enterprise
Contact Vendor for Quote
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BoxGoogle Drive
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional DetailsA discount is available for annual pricing.Discounts are available for students, educators, and non profit organizations.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BoxGoogle Drive
Features
BoxGoogle Drive
Enterprise Content Management
Comparison of Enterprise Content Management features of Product A and Product B
Box
6.1
Ratings
26% below category average
Google Drive
-
Ratings
Content capture & imaging8.10 Ratings00 Ratings
File sync, storage & archiving9.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Document management6.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Records management5.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Content search & retrieval7.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Enterprise content collaboration8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Content publishing & creation5.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Security, risk management & information governance6.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Contract lifecycle management5.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Automated workflows5.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Artificial intelligence2.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile support3.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
File Sharing & Management
Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Product A and Product B
Box
-
Ratings
Google Drive
7.8
Ratings
7% below category average
Versioning00 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Video files00 Ratings7.60 Ratings
Audio files00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Document collaboration00 Ratings8.50 Ratings
Access control00 Ratings8.30 Ratings
File search00 Ratings6.10 Ratings
Device sync00 Ratings7.90 Ratings
Cloud Storage Security & Administration
Comparison of Cloud Storage Security & Administration features of Product A and Product B
Box
-
Ratings
Google Drive
8.2
Ratings
6% below category average
User and role management00 Ratings8.30 Ratings
File organization00 Ratings7.50 Ratings
Device management00 Ratings8.70 Ratings
Cloud Storage Platform
Comparison of Cloud Storage Platform features of Product A and Product B
Box
-
Ratings
Google Drive
8.4
Ratings
1% below category average
Performance00 Ratings8.20 Ratings
Reliability00 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Storage Reports00 Ratings8.50 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BoxGoogle Drive
Small Businesses
Square 9 Softworks
Square 9 Softworks
Score 9.5 out of 10
SugarSync
SugarSync
Score 5.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
MediaValet
MediaValet
Score 9.1 out of 10
Druva Security Cloud
Druva Security Cloud
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
MediaValet
MediaValet
Score 9.1 out of 10
Druva Security Cloud
Druva Security Cloud
Score 9.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BoxGoogle Drive
Likelihood to Recommend
6.8
(0 ratings)
8.4
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(0 ratings)
9.9
(0 ratings)
Usability
6.8
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.1
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.5
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
10.0
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Online Training
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(0 ratings)
6.0
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
10.0
(0 ratings)
5.0
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
BoxGoogle Drive
Likelihood to Recommend
Very likely to use it. It gives you the comfort that all the files are being stored in [the] same places from different team members. It is easy to organize in folders and also very useful by adding time stamps. [With] an easy setup u can have and box extension installed on your laptop and use it directly. So you can sync files easily.
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Suppose you require quick access to files across multiple systems. Real-time collaboration on Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets. You don’t have to send ten different versions of the same file back and forth. One person can write a document in Los Angeles, and someone in Tokyo can be on at the same time and see their edits as they make them.
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Pros
  • The main feature that I like the most in Box is that it makes collaboration seamless, workers can easily check the documents any time and make changes according to the needs.
  • Box manages and backs up all of your files on its cloud servers, and provides a very nice interface for creating, viewing, editing, and collaborating on the most commonly used file types (PDF, XLS, DOC, etc.).
  • Over the past few years, Box has built on top of its basic cloud storage management with a host of other tools, such as workflows, AI, monitoring, and analytics.
  • It is helping us to make good connections with clients and our workers themselves as to its syncing and viewing feature to all is very much helpful and easy to go.
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  • Any user with access can store a file using different platforms like Android, IOS, Windows, or Ubuntu (Desktop version)
  • You can share files with any number of different users with different access rights or you can even keep it public by providing the access link and assign different rights for public access
  • You can open Excel/Word files using google software Sheets/Docs in the browser environment without having to install software like Microsoft Office etc on your Windows OS
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Cons
  • The graphic design of the dashboard should be simpler and more tangible that can be changed to the liking of the Admin.
  • Sometimes there are some syncing issues in the background.
  • The product has very limited functionality in some areas which could be a bit frustrating at times.
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  • Advanced File Search, personally I find it uncomfortable to search for files with specific extensions within my drive in Google Drive, the interface is not very clear and the search options are limited, making this work tedious.
  • In applications like Google Sheets, the number of cells is extremely small, which limits the amount of information that can be saved, this makes the tool focus on small files.
  • Inherited permissions, it happens to me that in certain shared files when analyzing the permissions granted to the participants some of them are left with owner permissions without having given such property, that point is confusing so I would like the interface to be clearer.
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Likelihood to Renew
As I've stated Box is very easy to use and to set up. The documentation provided by Box is easy to follow and the interface is designed in a way that makes sense. With only a few limitations on the administrator side the system is fully capable to get the job done for our company
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It's perfect for me. It keeps things saved and is easy to remove items if needed. Also, I very much enjoy the formatting options. Along with the integrations it has for SSO. Overall, this is the most user friendly system I have ever come across.
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Usability
I think I can only describe it as excellent. All aspects of Box work without problem, quickly and efficiently. The file upload and download systems are quite fast, the process of access from different platforms is carried out without problems, so far no document has been generated in conflicts or unexpected copies, or any type of error.
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It's easy enough to use for computer users of all ages and skill levels. I am an advanced user, and I think the hardest part might be showing someone how to download and set up the app on their device if they weren't too familiar with computers, but overall it is very easy to understand.
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Reliability and Availability
Yeah, it's always worked, I've never had any kind of connection issues, the only issues I've had it I've been on our end when the Internet hasn't worked.
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Always available
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Performance
It's performance is great. Everything loads as soon as you open a page. The same goes for the local file application, if is just like going through folders on a native "My Computer" or "Finder" folder. The integration into other softwares is also fantastic, as Box keeps them all running smoothly and quickly
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The documents load fairly quickly and also update in real time, especially given the fact that multiple people can be using it at once. The "Offline" feature works great to allow the user to make edits and access the document without access to the internet, and then sync changes later once they're back.
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Support Rating
I found their support community lacking in clarity when I experienced a login issue. The error messaging was poor on my Box Sync application. I did not reach out to support staff for help, instead, I reasoned that I should try downloading the Box Sync application again and reinstall it. That fixed my issue, thankfully. I think a less computer-savvy user would've been much more frustrated.
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It takes a few days for customer support to get back to you. Although, I have not had to use support too often. Once you get an email back, they are very thorough and work hard to fix the problem quickly. It is a really great resource and a great way to get the help you need if you're stuck. A phone call also works quickly but you have to call during specific times.
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In-Person Training
The in person training was done in house and I helped with the training, people seem to respond well.
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The effective google workspace using training that my organization received and was conducted by me (as a team lead of the ICT team) was mind-blowing and as a result, our staff is performing well in terms of using the application for their daily jobs than before. Now, in my institution, all teachers and all the administrative personnel are very much interested in cloud storage facilities, in previous my institution was afraid of losing all important documents in the cloud storage. But, after having received the training they are now realized that if anyone has only one google account then he or she can use 15GB of cloud storage freely and they are now happy because now it is not necessary for anyone to carry the traditional pen drive.
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Online Training
The documentation is good. Since Box is a popular service, there were also a number of YouTube videos and other sources that were helpful as we were considering the product and planning for deployment. Also, the ability to try the free version helped to prepare us.
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No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Be careful with settings. It is easy to get overwhelmed with updates. For example, you don’t want to be updated when doing historical data uploads. I recommend taking off notifications initially and then turn on post you have done your historical data upload.
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It's an extremely easy software to implement, once you sign up for a google account you automatically have access to google drive with a set amount of storage space. The business or Google Suite accounts have more storage space than a regular free account, but setting up and accessing google drive is very easy in both cases
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Alternatives Considered
I slightly prefer Box over Dropbox, especially if I need to store and manage thousands of files. Dropbox online file management was not as easy to navigate as Box. However, Dropbox also has a similar cloud sync feature that worked similar to Box and was pretty comparable to the Box feature. The main reason my team switched to Box was because our organization provided it at no cost to our team, whereas for Dropbox we had to use our own research grant money to pay for it.
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Apple Drive dosn't offer that much storage and doesn't provide vast features with collaborative tools like docs , spreadsheet and forms etc. Google drive also allows you to search for files and folders that contain certain words in their title or content in any perticular file. therefore search is very deep and reliable and hepls to access your data easily
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Scalability
It's great, as we put more files on there it's done very well.
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I have always been able to access
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Return on Investment
  • Box has been an only positive experience. It provides a seamless way for me and my team to collaborate on documents in such a way where we're not sending the document back/forth via email. It's a huge timesaver.
  • Box reduces the risk of sharing a sensitive document to the wrong person via email.
  • Box has provided a platform where my team can share notes in meetings - this has helped streamline and organize our meetings. Our meetings are more productive and actionable.
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  • It has given our operation remote capabilities
  • Easier to access and understand client's need through collaborative enviroment
  • availability to digital resources fast and easy
  • saved our operation hundreds of dollars in physical storage (both investment and maintenance)
  • our operation became easier for new staff to get onboard: small learning curve to use it
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ScreenShots

Box Screenshots

Screenshot of an overview of Box's intelligent content management platform. It provides a unified, AI-powered approach to managing and securing your unstructured data, or content. ICM provides organizations with collaboration, AI, security, compliance, and workflow tools, interoperable and customizable, to get the most from their content.Screenshot of how with Box AI, AI can be accessed right where enterprise content exists. While that work can reside within Microsoft, Google, Apple, and other productivity suites, Box helps users to tap the full potential of AI for unstructured data.Screenshot of how Box creates a central workspace to edit, review, and assign tasks. Users can automate business processes and centralize content workflows in Box, including a configurable content submission, unlimited e-signatures, user-drive no-code workflow, and task assignment to power approvals.Screenshot of how Box secures content from threats, including malware and ransomware, and recover from attacks if they happen. This helps to maintain a zero trust architecture to ensure proper usage of corporate data, and prevent data theft.Screenshot of how Box can connect to any productivity suite, including Microsoft, Google, and Apple. This extends any existing security investments with integrations into key DLP, SIEM, and network security tools. Thus, seamless experiences can be built for users in any system they use, whether that’s a business tool like Salesforce or ServiceNow, or communications engines like Zoom and Slack.Screenshot of an overview describing Box's scalability. With unlimited storage capabilities Box has an exabyte (1,000PB) of customer data plus 1 gigabit per second upload and download speed. At its core, Box is a multi-tenant global SaaS platform with enterprise-grade reliability and end-to-end encryption to secure content.

Google Drive Screenshots

Screenshot of Google Drive PriorityScreenshot of Comment on Microsoft Files in Google DriveScreenshot of Shared drives