Box alternatives are sought by teams that find a content-management platform where a shared drive would do, by organisations that want end-to-end encryption or self-hosting that Box does not offer on its standard plans, and by buyers put off by the three-user minimum and the step-up to enterprise tiers. They move to lighter team drives, suite-bundled storage, or encrypted and self-hosted tools.
Tomasz WierzbickiData & Market Research
Elena Marchetti
Niels AbrahamsenShort answer: The closest replacements for Box in our cloud storage ranking are Dropbox, Google Drive and Egnyte. Choose Dropbox if the team wants a familiar sync-and-share drive without a content-governance layer. All 11 alternatives below are ranked products from Best Cloud Storage for Business in 2026, and each says where it differs from Box.
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Box lists business plans with a minimum of three users. Business Starter is $5 per user per month with 100 GB of storage and a 2 GB upload limit. Unlimited storage starts on the Business plan, and the largest upload limits (50 GB and more) sit on the Enterprise plans. A small team that wants generous storage ends up on the tier above the entry plan, which is where comparisons with flat-priced drives begin.
Box documents FedRAMP High, ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA support, plus regional storage through Box Zones across 10 regions. That is valuable for regulated organisations. A business that needs shared folders and external links is paying for a platform whose strengths it never touches.
Box states that it uses TLS 1.3 in transit and 256-bit AES at rest. That is standard, but it is not end-to-end encryption in which the provider cannot read files. Teams whose threat model excludes the storage provider look at tools built on zero-knowledge encryption or at software they host themselves.
| Alternative | Headquarters | Free option | Pricing | Key difference | Switch if | Our rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dropbox | United States | No free tier | Per user per month, published | The sync engine everyone else copied | the team wants a familiar sync-and-share drive without a content-governance layer | #14 |
| Google Drive | United States | No free tier | Per user per month with Workspace, published | Storage as part of the document suite | the organisation already runs on Google Workspace and storage is a side requirement | #13 |
| Egnyte | United States | No free tier | Per user per month, published from $10 on the Team plan; top Ultimate tier quoted | Governance and hybrid storage for regulated industries | you need governed content with ransomware recovery and classification, from a different vendor | #11 |
| ShareFile | United States | No free tier | Per user per month, published; minimum of three users | Client file exchange and approvals for accountants and law firms | you exchange documents with clients and want portals and signatures included | #12 |
| Nextcloud | Germany | Yes | Free self-hosted; enterprise subscriptions per user per year, published | Self-hosted, so the data never leaves | you want to run file sharing on your own servers or with a German host | #4 |
| Zoho WorkDrive | India | Yes | Free 5 GB plan; paid per user per month, minimum three users, published | Team folders and file sync at a low per-user price | you use Zoho applications and want team storage that fits the same login | #10 |
| Tresorit | Switzerland | No free tier | Per user per month, published | Encrypted storage built for regulated work | the provider itself must be unable to read your files | #3 |
| Proton Drive | Switzerland | Yes | Free tier; paid per user per month, published | End-to-end encrypted storage from a privacy company | you want private storage for a small team and already use Proton for mail | #5 |
| Sync.com | Canada | Yes | Free 5 GB plan; Teams per user per month, minimum three users, published | Zero-knowledge encryption as the default | you want encrypted team storage at a low per-user price and no governance features | #2 |
| pCloud | Switzerland | No free tier | Per month, per year or one-off lifetime, published | Lifetime plans from a Swiss company, stored in the US or EU | you are one person or a very small team that prefers paying once | #1 |
| Internxt | Spain | Yes | Free 1 GB plan; paid per year or one-off lifetime, published | Open source encrypted storage from the EU | you want inexpensive encrypted storage and need no document workflows | #9 |
United States · Per user per month, published
Dropbox is the nearest mainstream replacement for everyday team file sharing. Plans are priced per user (Standard €12 per user per month billed monthly, Advanced €18 with a three-user minimum) with storage pooled for the team, from 3 TB. The free Basic plan holds 2 GB. It offers less of Box's compliance and records tooling.
Switch from Box if the team wants a familiar sync-and-share drive without a content-governance layer.
United States · Per user per month with Workspace, published
Google Drive is bought as part of Google Workspace, priced per user per month, with 30 GB per person on Starter, 2 TB on Standard and 5 TB on Plus. It makes sense where Docs, Sheets and Gmail are already in use. It is storage inside a suite, not a standalone content platform with separate admin controls.
Switch from Box if the organisation already runs on Google Workspace and storage is a side requirement.
United States · Per user per month, published from $10 on the Team plan; top Ultimate tier quoted
Egnyte targets the same governed-content buyer as Box, priced per user from $22 per month on the Business plan (billed annually), which is capped at 100 users and 100 GB uploads. Higher tiers add ransomware detection, workflows and data classification. It is a close substitute, not a cheaper or simpler one.
Switch from Box if you need governed content with ransomware recovery and classification, from a different vendor.
United States · Per user per month, published; minimum of three users
ShareFile, owned by Progress Software, is built for client-facing work in professional services. Plans start at $16.50 per user per month billed annually with three users minimum and 3 TB of pooled storage, and Premium adds client portals, e-signature and forms. It has fewer enterprise integrations than Box.
Switch from Box if you exchange documents with clients and want portals and signatures included.
Germany · Free self-hosted; enterprise subscriptions per user per year, published
Nextcloud is open source (AGPL) software that the customer hosts, so the data stays on infrastructure you control. Enterprise subscriptions start at €71.29 per user per year with a 100-user minimum; smaller organisations can use the managed Nextcloud One hosted in Germany. You or your host operate it, where Box operates itself.
Switch from Box if you want to run file sharing on your own servers or with a German host.
India · Free 5 GB plan; paid per user per month, minimum three users, published
Zoho WorkDrive sells team plans with a three-user minimum and storage pooled from 1 TB, with upload limits of 10 GB, 50 GB and 250 GB by tier, and a free 5 GB individual plan. It integrates with the Zoho Office suite. Its third-party integration list is smaller than Box's 1,500 listed integrations.
Switch from Box if you use Zoho applications and want team storage that fits the same login.
Switzerland · Per user per month, published
Tresorit stores files with end-to-end encryption and a zero-knowledge design, so the provider cannot read them. Business plans start at three users with 2 TB per user, and Business Pro adds dynamic watermarks. It is built for confidentiality first, with a narrower integration and editing ecosystem than Box.
Switch from Box if the provider itself must be unable to read your files.
Switzerland · Free tier; paid per user per month, published
Proton Drive is end-to-end encrypted and offers a free 5 GB plan, with Drive Professional for businesses at 1 TB per user. It sits alongside Proton's mail and calendar products. It has far fewer integrations, workflow features and compliance programmes than Box.
Switch from Box if you want private storage for a small team and already use Proton for mail.
Canada · Free 5 GB plan; Teams per user per month, minimum three users, published
Sync.com offers end-to-end encrypted Teams plans per user, with a three-user minimum: 1 TB at $3 per user per month billed annually, 2 TB at $4.50 and 10 TB at $7.50. The pricing is well under Box's tiers. The product is simple sharing and sync, without the workflow and metadata tools Box sells.
Switch from Box if you want encrypted team storage at a low per-user price and no governance features.
Switzerland · Per month, per year or one-off lifetime, published
pCloud sells lifetime plans as a one-off payment (500 GB for €219, 2 TB for €499 at the time of checking) instead of a per-user subscription, and states 256-bit AES encryption and Swiss privacy protection. The lifetime model suits individuals and very small teams, not organisations that need user management.
Switch from Box if you are one person or a very small team that prefers paying once.
Spain · Free 1 GB plan; paid per year or one-off lifetime, published
Internxt offers zero-knowledge encrypted storage with a free 1 GB tier, plans of 1 TB, 2 TB and 5 TB sold annually or as lifetime purchases, and lists GDPR, HIPAA, ISO 27001 and SOC 2 compliance. It is aimed at privacy-minded individuals and small teams and has far less collaboration tooling than Box.
Switch from Box if you want inexpensive encrypted storage and need no document workflows.
Box remains the right choice when content governance is the requirement: regulated records, external collaboration with unlimited collaborators on business plans, regional storage through Box Zones, and the listed certifications including FedRAMP High. If those controls are why you bought it, and your integrations (Box lists over 1,500) run through it, a plain drive replaces the storage but not the controls.
Shared links, folder collaborators and their roles are stored in Box. Export a list of who has access to what before you move, and expect to re-invite external collaborators in the new tool. Old links stop working at cutover, so tell the people who use them.
Box plans differ widely in maximum file size, from 2 GB on Business Starter to hundreds of gigabytes on the top tiers. Find your largest files before choosing, since several alternatives cap uploads lower (Zoho WorkDrive, for example, limits uploads from 10 GB by plan).
Box lists over 1,500 integrations and its governance features. Inventory the ones in daily use, such as e-signature or CRM attachments, and any retention policies or legal holds, and confirm each has an equivalent before you migrate.
Sync.com Teams starts at $3 per user per month billed annually for 1 TB. Box Business Starter is $5 per user per month for 100 GB. Internxt and pCloud sell lifetime plans, which are cheap but built for individuals and small groups.
Yes. Tresorit, Sync.com, Proton Drive and Internxt each state end-to-end or zero-knowledge encryption. Box states TLS 1.3 in transit and 256-bit AES at rest, which does not prevent Box from accessing the data.
Nextcloud is open source under the AGPL and is run by the customer. Subscriptions start at 100 users, and the managed Nextcloud One is hosted in Germany for smaller organisations.
ShareFile includes client portals, e-signature and forms on its Premium plan. Egnyte and Dropbox also support external sharing. Check the e-signature and portal terms on the plan you will buy.
Yes, the individual plan has 10 GB of storage and a 250 MB upload limit. Business plans require at least three users.
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Written by Tomasz Wierzbicki, edited by Elena Marchetti and fact-checked by Niels Abrahamsen. Last reviewed 8 October 2026. How we review.
