Box vs Dropbox Business: Which Cloud Storage Tool Fits Your Business in 2026?

Both are per-user business storage plans, not consumer file sync. Box starts cheaper per seat but caps its entry tier at 10 users; Dropbox Business Standard costs more per seat with no seat minimum or cap, and a 3 TB shared pool from the first user.

By Bill Belcamino · Last updated September 23, 2026 · Our methodologyResearched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team

Business Starter $5/user/mo (annual, 3-user minimum, up to 10 users)

Box

Standard $15/user/mo (annual), no seat minimum

Dropbox Business

Run the cost calculator Compare pricing tiers

Box vs Dropbox BusinessVerified Sep 23, 2026

Bottom line up frontby Bill Belcamino, founder of HelpCompare

Editorial assessment

Bottom line up front: Box or Dropbox Business for a team of under 10 people?

For 3 to 10 users, Box Business Starter fits on price at $5/user/mo against $15 for Dropbox Business Standard, both annual, but outside that range the answer changes.

Box Starter needs at least 3 users and stops at 10, and past that Box Business is $15/user, the same as Dropbox. Storage splits the other way: Box Starter gives 100 GB per user, while Dropbox gives the whole team 3 TB pooled from the first user, which matters if you handle video or big design files. Whichever you pick, decide now where company files live when someone leaves. Put shared work in team-owned folders from day one, not in personal accounts, because offboarding is quick when files already belong to the company and messy when they sit in an ex-employee's space. Also check whether you'd really use Box Sign, since Dropbox sells e-signature separately.

My read of the verified data on this page, checked against vendor sources on September 23, 2026. Disagree or spot an error? Tell Bill

Verified data

Box vs Dropbox Business: quick facts

At a glance	Box	Dropbox Business
Category	Cloud Storage
Entry price	Business Starter $5/user/mo (annual, 3-user minimum, up to 10 users)	Standard $15/user/mo (annual), no seat minimum
Free plan	No business free plan — 10 GB personal-only free tier exists separately	No free plan for Dropbox Business — Dropbox Basic (personal, 2 GB) is a separate product

Is Box cheaper than Dropbox Business?

Box, for teams of 3 to 10 users: $5 a seat a month against $15 for Dropbox. Above 10 users, Box moves to its Business plan at $15/seat — the same price as Dropbox Business Standard — so the gap closes once a team outgrows Box Starter.

Verified data

Box vs Dropbox Business at a glance

Category	Box	Dropbox Business
Entry price	Business Starter $5/user/mo (annual)	Standard $15/user/mo (annual)
Seat minimum / cap	3-user minimum, capped at 10 on Starter	None
Storage	Business Starter: 100 GB per user pool	3 TB pooled team storage from the first user
Admin console	Yes, all business tiers	Yes, all business tiers
Higher tier	Business $15/user (unlimited storage, no user cap)	Advanced $24/user/mo (annual, 3+ users; checked Oct 5, 2026)
E-signature	Box Sign included	Not a core feature; DocSend/HelloSign are separate Dropbox products
Built for	Content management, workflow, e-signature	File sync and sharing for teams
G2 rating	4.2/5 (5,256 reviews)	Not recorded on this site

Verified September 23, 2026Prices recorded from each vendor’s own pricing page. See sources

Explore the numbers

Box vs Dropbox Business: the prices as a chart

Box and Dropbox Business: plan prices side by side

Plan price: US dollars per seat per month, annual billing

Box · Business Starter$5
Dropbox Business · Standard$15

BoxDropbox Business

Prices exactly as printed in the comparison table on this page (annual billing), in the table’s own tier order: Entry price.

What Box and Dropbox Business cost per month for a team

5 seats: monthly cost = seats × the per-seat price on this page (annual billing)

Box · Business Starter: 5 × $5$25
Dropbox Business · Standard: 5 × $15$75

10 seats: monthly cost = seats × the per-seat price on this page (annual billing)

Box · Business Starter: 10 × $5$50
Dropbox Business · Standard: 10 × $15$150

25 seats: monthly cost = seats × the per-seat price on this page (annual billing)

Box · Business Starter: 25 × $5$125
Dropbox Business · Standard: 25 × $15$375

50 seats: monthly cost = seats × the per-seat price on this page (annual billing)

Box · Business Starter: 50 × $5$250
Dropbox Business · Standard: 50 × $15$750

BoxDropbox Business

An example, not a quote: team size times the per-seat prices printed on this page. It leaves out tax, add-ons, discounts and any plan limits. Where a plan has a minimum number of seats, the minimum is used.

List prices from this page’s own comparison table, not a quote. Plans differ in what they include.

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Business-plan prices in USD from box.com/pricing and dropbox.com/business/pricing, both checked September 23, 2026. Business/team plan prices, not personal plans — Dropbox and Google Drive are tracked elsewhere on this site at their cheaper personal-plan prices, which do not include shared team storage or an admin console. For every Dropbox plan side by side (Plus, Standard, Advanced and the older names), see Dropbox Business vs Personal vs Standard.

Editorial assessment

How they actually differ

Both are per-user business storage with an admin console, but Box leans toward content management and workflow, while Dropbox Business is closer to a straightforward team file-sync product.

What’s bundled in

Box Business Starter bundles Box Sign (e-signature) and workflow automation tools at its entry tier; Dropbox Business Standard is centered on file sync, sharing and a shared team storage pool, with e-signature and other document tools sold as separate Dropbox products rather than bundled into Standard.

How storage is allocated

Box Starter gives each of your (3–10) users 100 GB in a pooled allowance; Dropbox Business Standard gives the whole team 3 TB pooled from day one, regardless of headcount, which can be more generous for a small team with large files.

Moving between them

Files themselves rarely have to be re-uploaded by hand: all three offer a desktop sync client, so once the new account is set up, moving the working copies means downloading from the old provider and uploading to the new one, or using a third-party cloud-to-cloud transfer tool if the folder tree is large. Sharing links and permissions do not carry over and are rebuilt by hand.

Editorial assessment

Pros & cons

Box

Pros

$10 a seat cheaper at entry
E-signature (Box Sign) bundled in
Workflow automation tools included
Strong G2 rating (4.2/5, 5,256 reviews)

Cons

3-user minimum, 10-user cap on Starter
Smaller storage pool per user at entry
Business tier ($15/user) matches Dropbox’s price once you outgrow Starter
No business free plan

Dropbox Business

Pros

No seat minimum or maximum
3 TB pooled storage from the first user
Simple, established file-sync product
Desktop and mobile sync well regarded

Cons

$10 a seat more than Box Starter
No e-signature or workflow tools bundled at Standard
No business free plan
Advanced tier jumps to $24/user/mo with a 3-user minimum

Verified data

Cost calculator: what does your team actually pay?

People who need a login

Box plan

Dropbox Business plan

Box

$0/mo

Dropbox Business

$0/mo

Business-plan list prices, billed annually, checked September 23, 2026. Box Business Starter is not available above 10 users; Dropbox Business Standard has no published user cap. Promotions and taxes are not included.

Choose Box if…

Your team is 3–10 people, you want e-signature and workflow tools bundled in, or you want the lower per-seat price.

Choose Dropbox Business if…

Your team is 1–2 people or larger than 10, you want a large shared storage pool from day one, or you want a simpler file-sync-first product.

Total cost over time

Uses your selections above. Estimate excludes add-ons, overages, and negotiated discounts.

Contract length

Ready to pick your cloud storage tool?

Both offer a trial of their business plans. Upload a real folder structure with your actual sharing permissions to each before committing a team.

See Box pricing See Dropbox Business pricing

Verified data

Box vs Dropbox Business: security, offline & remote work

How Box and Dropbox Business compare on compliance reports, sign-in controls, offline access and the setup details that matter for remote, hybrid and in-office teams. Every value links to the vendor page it came from.

What we checked	Box	Dropbox Business
Security & compliance
SOC 2 report	SOC 2 Type IIsource	SOC 2 Type IIsource
ISO/IEC 27001	Certifiedsource	Certifiedsource
Other certifications	ISO/IEC 27017, ISO/IEC 27018, ISO/IEC 27701, FedRAMP High, DoD IL4, C5, IRAP, ISMAP, HDS, PCI DSS, HIPAA/HITECH, SOC 3, FIPS 140-2source	ISO/IEC 27017, ISO/IEC 27018, ISO/IEC 27701, ISO 22301, CSA STAR Level 2, SOC 3, ISMAPsource
HIPAA (BAA)	BAA availableEnterprisesource	BAA availableStandardsource
GDPR data processing agreement	DPA offeredsource	DPA offeredsource
Single sign-on (SAML/OIDC)	YesBusinesssource	YesAdvancedsource
SCIM user provisioning	Not published	Yessource
Two-factor authentication	Yessource	Yessource
Admin audit log	Yessource	YesStandardsource
Data residency choices	Australia, Canada, EU, France, Israel, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, UK, USEnterprise Plus (add-on)source	US, Australia, EU, Japan, UKStandardsource
Encryption	256-bit AES at rest (with AES-256 key wrapping); TLS 1.2 in transitsource	256-bit AES at rest; SSL/TLS in transitsource
Self-hosting option	Not published	Not published
Offline access
Offline mode	Works offlineIn Box Drive (desktop), folders marked 'Always keep on device' are downloaded and can be edited offline; changes upload automatically when back online, and conflicting edits by collaborators must be resolved manually.source	Works offlineFiles and folders marked 'Make available offline' in the desktop app (and files, or whole folders on eligible plans, in the mobile app) can be opened and edited offline; changes sync to all devices automatically when you reconnect.source
Desktop apps	Windows, macOSsource	Windows, macOS, Linuxsource
Mobile apps	iOS, Androidsource	iOS, Androidsource
Offline limits	Admins control Mark for Offline: on for all managed users by default, or limited to select users (up to 100), or disabled.source	Whole-folder offline on mobile requires Plus, Family, Professional, Standard, Advanced or Enterprise; single files can be made offline on any plan.Standardsource
Remote, hybrid & in-office
IP allowlisting	Not published	Not published
Device & session controls	YesDevice Trust minimum requirements (OS version, antivirus, firewall, full disk encryption), device pinning, EDR-triggered session termination and device blocking, and EMM/MDM support for the mobile apps.source	YesStandardDevice approvals let admins limit how many desktop and mobile devices each member can link (Standard and above); Dropbox help also documents remote wipe of a member's device.source

Editorial assessment

What this means for your team

Audit reports: both publish a SOC 2 report, and Box and Dropbox Business also hold ISO/IEC 27001. Ask each vendor for the report under NDA before you sign; security reviews usually want the latest one.
Single sign-on: Box includes it on Business; Dropbox Business includes it on Advanced. If your team signs in through Okta, Microsoft Entra ID or Google, price the plan that includes SSO, not the entry plan.
Health data: Box and Dropbox Business will sign a HIPAA business associate agreement (Box: Enterprise; Dropbox Business: Standard).
Working offline: Box and Dropbox Business let you keep working without a connection. Details are in the Offline mode row above.
Where your data lives: Box lets you choose Australia, Canada, EU, France, Israel, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, UK, US on Enterprise Plus (add-on); Dropbox Business lets you choose US, Australia, EU, Japan, UK on Standard. This matters for teams hiring across the EU, UK or Australia.

Box: worth knowing

SecurityBox Zones (in-region data storage) is an add-on for Enterprise Plus and Enterprise Advanced, covering ten regions. source
RemoteFor Device Trust checks in the web app, Windows and macOS laptops must have Box Tools installed, so unmanaged home computers may be blocked. source
OfflineOffline edits in Box Drive upload automatically on reconnect, and Box Drive resumes pending syncs where it left off. source
OfficeBox Zones customers with France or Canada users had to add new Zone-specific endpoints to office firewall and proxy configurations by September 15, 2026. source

Dropbox Business: worth knowing

OfficeOn Enterprise, network control lets IT block personal or other-team Dropbox accounts on the corporate network via a proxy or CASB that adds custom HTTP headers. source
SecurityMoving a team's data to a non-US region is by support request only (10+ licenses, annual billing, billing address in another region), is reviewed case by case and can't be undone. source
OfflineOffline edits sync automatically across all your devices once you are back online. source
RemoteThe desktop app also runs on Linux (officially Ubuntu 18.04+ and Fedora 28+, 64-bit), so it suits mixed-OS remote teams. source

Checked September 24, 2026 against each vendor’s own trust center, help docs and app pages. Hover or tap “source” to see the exact wording we relied on. “Not published” means we could not find the vendor saying it on its own site; it doesn’t mean the feature is missing. Plan names are the lowest plan the vendor says includes the feature. Security · Offline · Remote vs office · Download the data

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Box cheaper than Dropbox Business?

At the entry tier, yes: $5/user/mo against $15/user/mo, both billed annually. Box Starter requires 3–10 users; above 10, Box’s Business plan is $15/user, matching Dropbox. Prices checked September 23, 2026.

Does Box include e-signature?

Yes, Box Sign is bundled into Business Starter. Dropbox sells e-signature as a separate product, not bundled into Business Standard.

How much storage do I get?

Box Starter pools 100 GB per user (3–10 users); Dropbox Business Standard gives the whole team 3 TB pooled, regardless of headcount.

Can I start with fewer than 3 users on Box?

Not on Business Starter — it requires a 3-user minimum. Dropbox Business Standard has no seat minimum.

Migration Guides

Already decided? Here’s how to actually switch.

Step-by-step migration guides covering what transfers automatically, what doesn’t, and how to handle the gap — in both directions.

Switching from Box to Dropbox Business Switching from Dropbox Business to Box

Editorial assessment

When to Buy — and When to Walk Away

Every “best cloud storage tool” listicle tells you why to buy. Here’s the other half: the specific conditions under which Box or Dropbox Business is the wrong purchase for your team.

Box

Buy Box if:

Your team is 3–10 people
You want e-signature and workflow tools included
You want the lower per-seat price

Do NOT buy Box if:

You have 1–2 users (below the minimum)
You need a large storage pool immediately
You want file sync only, no extra tools

Dropbox Business

Buy Dropbox Business if:

You have fewer than 3 or more than 10 users
You want a large shared storage pool from day one
You want a straightforward file-sync product

Do NOT buy Dropbox Business if:

You want the lowest per-seat price
You want e-signature bundled in
You need workflow automation tools

Canonical data for the tools on this page

Every pricing fact, rating, AI billing model and switching guide we hold on each tool, on one page, with the date each figure was last verified.

BoxPricing, free plan, AI cost & every comparison›

Dropbox BusinessPricing, free plan, AI cost & every comparison›

Dropbox Business vs Personal vs StandardHead-to-head comparison Box vs Google WorkspaceHead-to-head comparison Dropbox Business vs Google WorkspaceHead-to-head comparison OneDrive vs Google DriveHead-to-head comparison Dropbox vs Google DriveHead-to-head comparison

Sources

Prices on this page were recorded from each vendor’s own pricing page on the date shown at the top of the page. Vendors change pricing often — check the live source before you buy.

Box pricing (box.com)
Dropbox Business pricing (dropbox.com)

Every figure is also in our open dataset (JSON and CSV, CC BY 4.0), with its source page and verification date. See how we research pricing.

Source links on this site are checked every month; last check October 4, 2026. How sources are checked.

Box vs Dropbox Business: Which Cloud Storage Tool Fits Your Business in 2026?

Box

Dropbox Business

Bottom line up front: Box or Dropbox Business for a team of under 10 people?

Box vs Dropbox Business: quick facts

Is Box cheaper than Dropbox Business?

Box vs Dropbox Business at a glance

Box vs Dropbox Business: the prices as a chart

How they actually differ

What’s bundled in

How storage is allocated

Moving between them

Pros & cons

Box

Pros

Cons

Dropbox Business

Pros

Cons

Cost calculator: what does your team actually pay?

Box

Dropbox Business

Choose Box if…

Choose Dropbox Business if…

Total cost over time

Ready to pick your cloud storage tool?

Box vs Dropbox Business: security, offline & remote work

What this means for your team

Box: worth knowing

Dropbox Business: worth knowing

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Box cheaper than Dropbox Business?

Does Box include e-signature?

How much storage do I get?

Can I start with fewer than 3 users on Box?

Already decided? Here’s how to actually switch.

When to Buy — and When to Walk Away

Box

Dropbox Business

Canonical data for the tools on this page

Related comparisons

Sources

Guides for the jobs this software does

Turn this into a one-page decision brief

From shortlist to switched

Bill Belcamino