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Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs Box comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 17, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Amazon EFS (Elastic File Sy...
Ranking in Cloud Storage
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
File and Object Storage (8th)
Box
Ranking in Cloud Storage
12th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Content Management (6th), Digital Asset Management (3rd), Document Management Software (3rd), Content Collaboration Platforms (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Cloud Storage category, the mindshare of Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) is 8.0%, down from 9.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Box is 4.3%, up from 3.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud Storage
 

Featured Reviews

MuhammadAzhar Khan - PeerSpot reviewer
Auto-scaling capabilities enhance file management while reducing downtime
The most valuable feature of Amazon EFS is its auto-scaling capability. It's really easy to configure EFS by just creating it and running a command to directly configure it with my servers. It supports unlimited use, and charges are applied based on the file usage at the end of the month. The solution offers reduced downtime and increased durability through its auto-scaling features.
Shrikant Pillay - PeerSpot reviewer
Allows you to upload and download files quickly but lacks integration with Office 365
For enterprise users, the data is in a local repository. We use it for files for the end user process. This is a cloud solution. In my current organization, we have over 10,000 people using this solution. I use it very extensively. Users these days are working remotely You can upload your bin,…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Amazon EFS is extremely stable, as it is managed by AWS."
"The initial setup was straightforward."
"Amazon EFS offers the flexibility of scaling as needed without requiring pre-provisioned storage."
"We are not that big of a cloud user. We just use it for the storage of our bytes. The most valuable aspect is the storage."
"Its elasticity and flexible pricing are the most valuable. For Amazon EFS, you are charged based on the storage. It is also very fast and stable with a very simple and intuitive interface."
"The first valuable thing is it is scalable."
"Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) is secure as it is used under VPC."
"We haven't seen any downtime or challenges when using the services."
"It is really easy to load files to and from this solution."
"You can upload your bin, upload your files quickly, and download your files quickly. It provides a lot of other alternatives."
"The most valuable feature of Box is security."
"We've never had a penetration. We've never had a security issue that their support didn't solve. We love their audit trail. We can know exactly when a collaborator opens. We love how you can define a collaborator."
"The application is very light in terms of uploading and downloading files."
"Box is extremely stable, they have not been hacked or lost any data in the past seventeen years. I am very impressed with it."
"The solution is scalable."
"I like that Box makes it easy to deploy virtual machines."
 

Cons

"It could be better in connecting with Windows Server instances."
"It should be simplified. There are people who don't have cloud experience. It should be storage that we are able to just connect to."
"Around 80 percent of the features of Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) are available on Linux and not in Windows, making it a major drawback of the product."
"When we faced some issues, the support team took a lot of time to resolve them."
"The main challenge with EFS is its cost, which is slightly higher compared to EBS or S3."
"The platform's connectivity could be improved to be more comparable to S3 buckets, which offer better API availability."
"Its deployment process could be faster while installing the Python package directly into the environment."
"Specifically, when it comes to the file system for the learning system, we encountered performance issues with both Azure and AWS."
"The solution's data security should be improved."
"If there was a plugin that added some sort of toolbar in Office, that would be great."
"The UI should be faster. Sometimes it lags when switching between documents."
"In future releases, there could be encryption, to have better security."
"The upload speed needs improvement."
"They could integrate better with other platforms."
"If you want to delete something in Box, you have to do it manually, one by one. That was my recent experience. They might have a bulk delete, but I could not find that option. If you want to delete something, you have to go to each and every file and delete it."
"The price must be lowered."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The main challenge with EFS is its cost, which is slightly higher compared to EBS or S3. For one GB or ten GB of data, S3 is much cheaper. EFS could cost around $30 to $50 per month for similar usage."
"The product charges are based on the amount of data stored."
"It has flexible pricing. You are charged based on your storage."
"The solution's price is mid-ranged."
"Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) offers a pay-as-you-go model, so whenever you use its services, you need to pay."
"I would rate the pricing 7 out of 10."
"The product's price depends on the services and the size and capacity at which it is used in a business environment."
"My organization pays for the license."
"It is expensive per head, as you need the enterprise license to get full security and tools. So negotiate a discount!"
"Box's pricing is excellent."
"Our pricing and licensing is excellent. I'd tell all Higher Ed customers to talk with Internet2 for excellent pricing and support."
"The more you dig, the deeper the level of tools, and the more expensive it becomes."
"Box needs to improve with their pricing in terms of licensing costs."
"I have to pay for Box. It could be a little cheaper. On a scale from one to ten, I would give the pricing a five."
"I'm in Higher Ed, so we purchase through Internet2-Net+. I absolutely recommend going that route for Higher Ed customers."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
17%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
58%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Computer Software Company
5%
Government
3%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which file storage system is better - Amazon EFS (elastic file storage) or Azure File Storage?
Amazon EFS is easy to set up: you can use the AWS management console, API, or command-line. Amazon EFS can grow to petabytes and deliver consistent low latencies and high levels of throughput. This...
What do you like most about Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)?
The product's initial setup phase is easy, as per the configurations.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Amazon EFS (Elastic File System)?
Amazon EFS is more costly compared to other storage options available from AWS.
What do you like most about Box?
The solution is used for data storage and any kind of visualization.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Box?
The solution is expensive when it comes to API calls.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Arcesium, Atlassian, Seeking Alpha, Zend
GE, Toyota, P&G, Caterpillar, Flex, Schneider Electric, Sally Beauty, Eurostar, AstraZeneca, AirBnB, Whirlpool, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Nationwide, Aeropostale etc
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon EFS (Elastic File System) vs. Box and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
846,617 professionals have used our research since 2012.