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Box vs ownCloud comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Box
Ranking in Content Collaboration Platforms
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Content Management (6th), Cloud Storage (12th), Digital Asset Management (3rd), Document Management Software (2nd)
ownCloud
Ranking in Content Collaboration Platforms
20th
Average Rating
10.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Content Collaboration Platforms category, the mindshare of Box is 9.5%, up from 8.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ownCloud is 1.0%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Content Collaboration Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

Parthasarathy Chellapillai - PeerSpot reviewer
Used for data storage and data collaboration, but its data security could be improved
If I have restricted access within an organization by keeping the data in Box, there are other applications through which I can barge into the data. If anyone wants to keep a file restricted to four people, I can access it because it's available in the cloud. I can directly access the file and pull in the data by entering the file's name. Someone from outside the organization can't access it. However, someone from within the organization who is not supposed to access the data can access it, provided it is in Box. Box is almost like a folder structure outside your system. The solution uses the cloud, and you don't need any separate storage in your system. Even if your system crashes down, the data will be saved. Overall, I rate the solution a six out of ten.
SC
Self-hosted file sync tool used to deploy custom web UIs.
I think it’s probably the best self-hosted file sync tool on the market. It’s a full web application platform, an indispensable tool for a business of any size that needs to deploy any kind of custom web UI. If you build an ownCloud app, you’ve got authentication, storage, security, caching, and database layers already fully baked for you. You just need to build your UI and custom logic. Your app doesn’t even need to interact with files, sync, or interact with other ownCloud features. Any web UI can be included without ownCloud. It can even be a portal to web interfaces of other applications within a business using the external app to display external sites within ownCloud. This is the case as long as that site allows itself to be displayed within a frame.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Sharing and collaborating across files and folders has been a massive game changer."
"It is a very user-friendly product."
"You can upload your bin, upload your files quickly, and download your files quickly. It provides a lot of other alternatives."
"Governance and ease of use are why I think a lot of people like Box, including ourselves. Basically, we're concerned about what information is being sent to Box, so we use a lot of the Box governance features to make sure that what is being sent to Box is appropriate. If it is not appropriate, it is not allowed to be sent. It is also pretty easy to use. It is the easiest to use for customers and for technologists."
"I like the ease of use."
"I like that Box makes it easy to deploy virtual machines."
"File sharing, authorization on the back, its ease of use and reliable uptime performance are valuable features of this solution."
"The interface is very good."
"I think it’s probably the best self-hosted file sync tool on the market."
 

Cons

"Improvements in speed - Box's high level of security impacts performance, especially when compared with other similar services."
"I haven't really come across a case where we're not able to use it for what it is, so I don't really have anything holding us up or any customers holding us up at this point that I know of. There are always some limitations, but as a technologist, I just live with them, and there is always room for improvement, but I don't have anything quantifiable."
"I would love to see the ability to invite collaborators extended to a file level, not just the folder level."
"Like all cloud platforms, there are always areas of improvement around sync to local devices."
"The UI should be faster. Sometimes it lags when switching between documents."
"The price must be lowered."
"In future releases, there could be encryption, to have better security."
"One thing that Box would benefit from is a records management component."
"Even with fast disks, it still takes a fair bit of time to write most schema changes to multi-GB tables."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There's a free version that allows you to use it with almost full-feature access. Even in the free version, it gives you all you need."
"They are very price competitive when pushed. Initially, they come out with a standard list price, but they are willing to be very competitive. The Box price was pretty much equal to or lower than the Citrix price, and Box has more features."
"Our pricing and licensing is excellent. I'd tell all Higher Ed customers to talk with Internet2 for excellent pricing and support."
"Box needs to improve with their pricing in terms of licensing costs."
"A business account has a minimum of three users. If you are more than three people in-house, go for the Enterprise version. All the external users are free of charge."
"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."
"Box's pricing is excellent."
"I believe Box is cheaper than SharePoint."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
59%
Computer Software Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
4%
Healthcare Company
3%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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.
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Comparisons

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

GE, Toyota, P&G, Caterpillar, Flex, Schneider Electric, Sally Beauty, Eurostar, AstraZeneca, AirBnB, Whirlpool, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Nationwide, Aeropostale etc
CERN, Joy Global, Sciebo, Bauhaus, datto
Find out what your peers are saying about Dropbox, Microsoft, Google and others in Content Collaboration Platforms. Updated: December 2024.
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