Box has no Workspace importer. Files are downloaded from Drive and uploaded into Box; you also need a separate plan for the email and office apps Workspace included.
Only on the storage line: Box Starter is $2 a seat cheaper, $5 against $7, but Box has no email, Docs, Sheets or Meet, so you have to replace those first.
You'd gain Box Sign and 100 GB per user instead of 30 GB per person, and Box Starter needs 3 to 10 users. The piece people underestimate is file format. Native Google Docs, Sheets and Slides aren't ordinary files, so they get converted to other formats on the way out, and complex spreadsheets with formulas, scripts or comment threads can lose pieces in the process. Export a handful of your most complicated files and open them before you plan the rest. And don't cancel Workspace until your email has a new home, because your domain's mail runs through it.
My read of the verified data on this page, checked against vendor sources on September 23, 2026. Disagree or spot an error? Tell Bill
Most buyers only budget for the new subscription. This estimates the hidden labor, data-cleanup, and retraining cost of actually making the switch.
Estimate assumes: 1 hour of data-mapping/cleaning labor per 2,000 records, a blended $75/hr ops rate, tiered migration & cleaning tooling fees, and 4 hours of retraining per seat at a $45/hr fully-loaded rate.
100 GB pooled vs 30 GB at Workspace Starter.
Box Sign bundled in.
Purpose-built for document workflow.
You lose Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Meet unless you keep or separately buy them — Box includes none of them.
| Step | What you do |
|---|---|
| 1Map your folder structure | List top-level folders, who owns each, and which are shared externally. |
| 2Set up the new account | Create your Box Business account, add your 3–10 users, and set up folder structure and permission groups. |
| 3Move your files | Download the working folder tree from the old provider’s desktop app or web export, then upload it into the new tool’s desktop sync folder or web interface. For large libraries, a third-party cloud-to-cloud transfer tool can move files directly without a local download step. |
| 4Rebuild sharing links and permissions | Recreate external share links and collaborator access; none of this carries over automatically. |
| 5Point your team’s desktop sync at the new tool | Install the new sync client on each machine and confirm files are syncing before removing the old one. |
| 6Cancel the old plan | Once every team member confirms their files are in the new tool, cancel the old subscription. |
What this path doesn’t do for you:
Business email, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Meet have no Box equivalent at any tier; plan a separate email and office-apps solution before cancelling Workspace.
| Plan | Google Workspace | Box |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing basis | Per user, no published minimum | Per user (3–10 on Starter) |
| Entry price | Business Starter $7/user/mo (annual) | Business Starter $5/user/mo (annual) |
| Storage | 30 GB pooled per person | 100 GB pooled per user |
| E-signature | Not at Starter | Box Sign included |
| Email/office apps | Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet included | Not included |
Business-plan prices checked on each vendor’s pricing page on September 23, 2026.
| Capability | Google Workspace | Box |
|---|---|---|
| Email included | Yes (Gmail) | No |
| Office apps | Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet | No |
| Storage | 30 GB pooled/person | 100 GB pooled/user |
| E-signature | Not at Starter | Box Sign included |
| Price | $7/user/mo | $5/user/mo |
Going the other direction, or want the full comparison first?
Read the Box vs Google Workspace comparison Switching from Box to Google Workspace instead?Security, offline and access rules that differ between Google Workspace and Box. Rows where both tools are the same (6) are left out; the full side-by-side is on each tool’s page: Google Workspace, Box.
| What changes | Google Workspace (today) | Box (after) |
|---|---|---|
| Other certifications | Not published | 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 |
| HIPAA (BAA) | BAA availablesource | BAA availableEnterprisesource |
| Single sign-on (SAML/OIDC) | YesBusiness Startersource | YesBusinesssource |
| Two-factor authentication | YesEnforcement: Business Startersource | Yessource |
| Admin audit log | YesBusiness Startersource | Yessource |
| Data residency choices | US, EUBusiness Standardsource | Australia, Canada, EU, France, Israel, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, UK, USEnterprise Plus (add-on)source |
| Encryption | AES-256 at rest and in transit for Drive/Docs filessource | 256-bit AES at rest (with AES-256 key wrapping); TLS 1.2 in transitsource |
| Offline limits | Offline editing needs Chrome or Edge (not private browsing) and the Google Docs Offline extension, set up while online.source | Admins control Mark for Offline: on for all managed users by default, or limited to select users (up to 100), or disabled.source |
| IP allowlisting | YesEnterprisesource | Not published |
| Device & session controls | YesBusiness StarterFundamental endpoint management on all Business editions (remote account sign-out and mobile account wipe, block devices, endpoint verification); Business Plus adds advanced mobile management and remote device wipe; Enterprise adds context-aware access and enterprise endpoint management.source | 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 |
| Office & room hardware | Google sells Google Meet Hardware for meeting rooms as a separate add-on; room booking ('Browse and reserve conference rooms') is on all plans.source | — |
No, at any tier. Keep or separately buy a business email product before switching.
On the storage line alone, $2 a seat — but you’ll need to account for replacing email and office apps.
Yes, Box has no video-meeting product; pair it with a separate tool if your team relies on Meet.
No. Sharing links, folder permissions and collaborator lists are specific to each platform and are rebuilt by hand as you recreate the folder structure in the new tool.
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.
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.
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.
Cite this page: HelpCompare, “Switching from Google Workspace to Box”, helpcompare.com/google-workspace-to-box-migration/ (updated ).
Source links on this site are checked every month; last check . How sources are checked.
Plain-language guides: the steps, what to check before you buy, common mistakes, and every tool it takes with verified prices.
Verified prices costed for your team size, a check against your must-have requirements, the questions to settle before you sign, and a source for every figure. Print it, or paste it into an email to whoever approves the spend.
Built for the leader who owns the selection, answers for the spend, drives the rollout, and lives with the results. HelpCompare covers the whole decision, not just the first step.