Alternatives to Box
Enterprise content platform with governance and compliance controls. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Box
Enterprise content platform with governance and compliance controls.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Box.
Dropbox
The original file sync service, with clients on every platform.
Dropbox adds a Linux client and smart sync for large libraries, but drops the retention, classification and audit controls Box builds for regulated organisations.
Google Drive
Google's cloud storage and file sharing service with desktop sync and mobile apps.
Google Drive offers 15 GB free and close integration with Docs, Sheets and Slides, but lacks the compliance focus of Box, and its files are not end-to-end encrypted by default.
Microsoft OneDrive
Microsoft's cloud storage, built into Windows and Microsoft 365.
Microsoft OneDrive is built into Windows and Microsoft 365 with Files On-Demand, and storage comes with a Microsoft 365 subscription, but there is no Linux client from Microsoft.
Tresorit
Swiss zero-knowledge encrypted storage aimed at businesses.
Tresorit keeps enterprise access controls and logging while adding zero-knowledge encryption and European data residency, at a higher price with no meaningful free tier.
Nextcloud
A file sync and collaboration server you run yourself, with desktop and mobile clients that behave like Dropbox.
Nextcloud is open source under GPL-2.0 and runs on your own server, so data stays on your hardware, but updates, backups and certificates become your job.
Pydio Cells
Self-hosted document sharing and management platform.
Pydio Cells keeps granular permissions, workflows and audit trails for shared documents, but it is AGPL-3.0 software you host yourself, with enterprise features paid.
ownCloud
Self-hosted file sync and share platform for teams.
ownCloud is an open-source self-hosted sync and share platform for teams with clients on every major platform, and its enterprise features and support cost extra.
Seafile
Self-hosted file sync and share with optional client-side encryption.
Seafile is self-hosted and open source, with block-level sync, deduplication and per-library client-side encryption, though some features require the paid Professional edition.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Box as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
odrive
Desktop sync client that keeps Procore and other cloud documents in sync on Windows and Mac.
Box offers an enterprise content platform with governance controls and a Drive client that mounts the library, replacing multi-cloud sync with a single provider.
Zoho WorkDrive
Online file storage and collaboration platform for teams, with a desktop app and Android app.
Box also targets organisations, adding retention, classification and audit controls for regulated teams plus desktop and iOS clients, though its personal free tier caps file size tightly.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Rclone
A command line tool that syncs, copies and mounts files across more than seventy cloud storage services.
FileRun
Self-hosted file manager and sync server that uses your existing folders.
Sync.com
Canadian zero-knowledge encrypted cloud storage.
OpenCloud
An open-source, self-hosted platform for file management, sharing and collaboration from the Heinlein Group.
Insync
A desktop sync client for Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox on Linux, Windows and macOS.
