Cloud file storage and sharing · Comparison
Box vs Dropbox vs Google Drive
3 products compared side by side: what you pay for with each one first, then the five access facts, entry prices, recorded plan limits and the bottom line of each review. The evidence note under the table says how each product was checked.
Side by side
| Metric | Box | Dropbox | Google Drive |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you're paying for | Saves engineering timeUnlimited storage with single sign-on, e-signatures and Box AI from the Business plan, and HIPAA and FedRAMP support on Enterprise. | Easy to adoptTeam storage built for sharing with clients: link passwords, expiry dates, download blocking and 180-day recovery on the entry team plan. | Worth the priceTeam storage bundled with business email, meetings and documents in one seat, with SSO, Drive activity logs and a HIPAA BAA on every Business plan. |
| Overall score | 7.3 | 7.6Best | 7.4 |
| Free option | Free plan | Free plan | Free plan |
| Card to start | –Not measured | –Not measured | –Not measured |
| Getting access | Self-serve | Self-serve | Self-serve |
| Starter priceCheapest paid plan | $5/user/mo | $15/user/mo | $7/user/mo |
| Pricing model | Per seat | Per seat | Per seat |
| Pricing page | Public prices | Public prices | Public prices |
| Billing unit | Per user per month, 3 users minimum | Per license per month; storage pooled for the team | Per user per month; storage pooled across the organization |
| Free option | Individual plan, 10 GB; 14-day trial of business plans | Dropbox Basic, 2 GB; free trial of Standard and Advanced (30 days per the plans page) | Google account, 15 GB; 14-day Workspace trial |
| Reference scenario (10 users, 2 TB, annual) | $150/mo on Business ($15 × 10), computed | $150/mo on Standard ($15 × 10), computed | $140/mo on Business Standard ($14 × 10), computed |
| Month-to-month price | $20 per user on Business ($7 / $20 / $33 / $47 from Business Starter to Enterprise) | $18 per user on Standard ($18 / $30 for Standard and Advanced) | $16.80 per user on Business Standard flexible ($8.40 / $16.80 / $26.40) |
| Storage on the scenario plan | Unlimited; Business Starter has 100 GB | 3 TB plus 1 TB per additional active license, pooled (12 TB for 10) | 2 TB per user, pooled (20 TB for 10) |
| Restore deleted files | 30 days by default, adjustable by admins; 50 file versions | 180 days on Standard, 1 year on Advanced | 30 days in the trash; admins can restore 25 days more |
| Password and expiring links | All paid plans | Standard and up | No link passwords; access expiry for eligible work accounts |
| SOC 2 / ISO 27001 | SOC 1 and 2 Type II (under NDA); ISO 27001:2022 | SOC 2 report and ISO 27001 certificate cover Standard and up | SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 (Workspace in scope) |
| HIPAA BAA | Enterprise and up ($35) | Standard and up; US admins sign it in the Admin Console | Accepted by admins in the Admin console |
| EU data storage | Box Zones add-on, no listed price; checked on Enterprise Plus | By support request: 10+ licenses, annual billing, billing address outside the current region | Data region policy from Business Standard |
| SSO | Business and up | Advanced and up ($24) | Third-party identity provider on every Business plan |
| Admin activity log | Full user activity tracking from Business Plus ($25) | Audit logs with file event tracking on Advanced; Standard admins see 180 days of activity | Drive log events on every Business plan |
| Bottom line | From its public pages, Box Business gives unlimited storage, SSO, link controls and e-signatures for $15 per user. External collaborators, activity tracking and HIPAA move you up the plan ladder, and several add-ons have no listed price. | From its public pages, Dropbox Standard is a complete sharing plan for teams: link controls, file requests, 180-day recovery and a HIPAA BAA at $15 per user. SSO and audit logs need Advanced, and Enterprise and extra storage are priced outside the plans page. | From its public pages, Google Drive in Workspace ties with OneDrive for the top compliance and admin scores here, for $14 per user with email and documents included. Its sharing tools are simpler: no link passwords or file requests, and a 30-day trash. |
Evidence: Box: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Dropbox: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Google Drive: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run. Prices in USD as listed, excluding tax. "–" means not recorded.
When to pick each
In the words of each review, with the date its facts were checked.
From our Box review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Box when
- You want unlimited storage and single sign-on at $15 per user.
- Pick Dropbox when
- You want a HIPAA BAA, 180-day recovery and remote wipe on the $15 Standard plan.
From our Box review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Box when
- You need link passwords, expiry dates, file requests and e-signatures in a storage platform.
- Pick Google Drive when
- You want email, meetings and documents with storage, and SSO, activity logs, a BAA and EU storage on a $14 seat.
From our Dropbox review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Dropbox when
- You want a HIPAA BAA, 180-day recovery and remote wipe on a $15 plan.
- Pick Box when
- You want unlimited storage and single sign-on at the same $15 per user, billed annually.
From our Dropbox review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Dropbox when
- You share with clients and need password links, file requests and 180-day recovery.
- Pick Google Drive when
- You also want business email, meetings and documents, with SSO and an activity log on a $14 seat.
From our Google Drive review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Google Drive when
- You want business email, meetings and documents with SSO and an activity log on a $14 seat.
- Pick Dropbox when
- You share with clients and need password links, file requests and 180-day recovery.
From our Google Drive review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Google Drive when
- You want SSO, activity logs, a HIPAA BAA and EU storage on the same seat.
- Pick Box when
- You want unlimited storage, link passwords and expiry dates, and e-signatures in a storage platform.
Entry price
Baseline: each product's cheapest paid plan, per month. Included usage differs, so read the line under each price.
- BoxLowest priceBusiness Starter$5/user/moBilled annually; $7 monthly; 3 to 10 users
- 100 GB of storage, 2 GB uploads
- 25 file versions
- 10 Box Sign requests a month
- DropboxStandard$15/user/moBilled yearly; $18 billed monthly; no minimum team size
- 3 TB for the first license plus 1 TB per additional active license, shared
- Password-protected and expiring links, download blocking, viewer history
- 180 days to restore deleted files and versions
- Admin console, team sharing controls, HIPAA BAA
- Google DriveBusiness Starter$7/user/mo1-year commitment; $8.40 flexible; up to 300 users
- 30 GB pooled storage per user
- Gmail with your domain, Meet for 100 participants
- SSO, Drive log events, remote account wipe
Prices as listed on each pricing page, in USD per month, excluding tax. Observed: Box 2026-10-16, Dropbox 2026-10-16, Google Drive 2026-10-16.
Which one fits
- If you need to start today without a sales call
- DropboxSelf-serve sign-up; the highest score of the 3 self-serve products here (7.6/10).
- Lowest starter price
- Box$5/user/mo for the Business Starter (billed annually) plan.
- Highest overall score
- Dropbox7.6/10 (Good). The review shows the score breakdown and the run behind it.
Picked by fixed rules from the table above, not by hand. How we score
Full reviews
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