Box vs Dropbox: which one fits your team, and your budget?
Dropbox is the better pick for one person or a small team that wants lots of storage for a flat price: Plus is $9.99 a month (billed yearly) for 2 TB. Box is the better pick for a business that wants unlimited storage, tight admin controls and e-signatures, from $15 per user a month on the Business plan (billed annually, minimum 3 users). Box is also more generous for free: 10 GB against Dropbox’s 2 GB.
Key takeaways
✓ Prices checked October 14, 2026
| Box | Dropbox | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Individual: 10 GB, 250 MB upload limit, 1 file version | Basic: 2 GB |
| Personal paid plan | Personal Pro: $10/mo (Box also shows $14; check billing period at checkout), 100 GB, 5 GB upload, 10 versions | Plus: $9.99/mo billed yearly (monthly: see current price), 2 TB, transfers up to 50 GB, 30-day restore |
| Entry team plan | Business Starter: $5/user/mo annually ($7 monthly), 3 to 10 users, 100 GB, 2 GB upload, 25 versions | Standard: $15/user/mo billed yearly, 1 user or more, starts at 3 TB for the team, 180-day history |
| Main business plan | Business: $15/user/mo annually ($20 monthly), min. 3 users, unlimited storage, 5 GB upload, 50 versions | Advanced: $24/user/mo billed yearly, 3 users or more, starts at 15 TB for the team, 1-year history |
| Higher tiers | Business Plus $25 ($33 monthly), 15 GB upload; Enterprise $35 ($47 monthly), 50 GB upload; Enterprise Plus $50 annually, 150 GB upload; Enterprise Advanced: contact sales | Enterprise: contact sales |
| Storage model | Unlimited on Business and above | Pooled team storage that starts at 3 TB or 15 TB |
| Largest file | 250 MB free up to 150 GB (Enterprise Plus) and 500 GB (Enterprise Advanced) | Transfers up to 50 GB (Plus) or 100 GB (Standard, Advanced) |
| Version history | Counted in versions: 1, 10, 25, 50, 100, then unlimited | Counted in days: 30, 180, then 365 |
| E-signatures | Box Sign (Business Starter: 10 signature requests a month) | Unlimited self-signing, 3 signature requests a month |
| Trial | “Try for free” on team plans | “Try for free” on Standard and Advanced |
| See Box price → | See Dropbox price → |
Price: Dropbox wins for one person, Box for unlimited storage
For a single user the numbers are lopsided. Dropbox Plus is $9.99 a month on yearly billing for 2 TB. Box Personal Pro is $10 a month on annual billing for 100 GB. Same money, twenty times the space at Dropbox.
For a team the picture changes. Box Business is $15 per user a month (annual) with no storage cap. Dropbox Standard is also $15 per user a month (yearly) but storage is a pool that starts at 3 TB for the whole team. If your team stores a lot of video or design files, Box’s unlimited storage can be worth more than Dropbox’s richer feature set.
Box’s cheapest team plan, Business Starter, is $5 per user a month (annual), but it is capped at 10 users and 100 GB, with a 2 GB upload limit. Treat it as a starter for a very small office, not a long-term home.
Both companies charge more for monthly billing. Box shows its monthly prices next to the annual ones ($20 instead of $15 on Business, for example). Dropbox’s page shows yearly prices by default.
File size and version history
These two are where the plans differ most, and they matter if you work with big media files or need to roll back mistakes.
- Upload size: Box sets a hard limit per plan: 250 MB on the free plan, 5 GB on Personal Pro and Business, 15 GB on Business Plus, 50 GB on Enterprise, 150 GB on Enterprise Plus. Dropbox lists how large a file you can send with its transfer tool: 50 GB on Plus, 100 GB on Standard and Advanced.
- Version history: Box counts versions per file (10 on Personal Pro, 50 on Business, 100 on Enterprise, unlimited on Enterprise Plus). Dropbox counts days (30 on Plus, 180 on Standard, one year on Advanced) and uses the same window to restore deleted files.
If one file gets edited hundreds of times, Dropbox’s day-based history keeps more of them. If files sit untouched for years, Box’s version count never runs out of days.
Features: collaboration vs control
Dropbox’s plan page leans into creative and everyday work: PDF editing, video commenting and captions, image search, transfers with branding and passwords, and AI features (Standard starts at 250 AI credits a month, Advanced at 750). Advanced adds single sign-on, tiered admin roles, audit logs and end-to-end encryption.
Box leans into business control: unlimited storage from the Business tier up, native e-signatures with Box Sign, and plans that scale to Enterprise Advanced with 500 GB uploads. Enterprise Plus adds 24-hour enhanced support. If your IT team wants one vendor that scales to large enterprise plans, Box is built around that.
Verdict: who should pick which
- Pick Dropbox if you are one person or a small creative team, want the most storage per dollar, send large files to clients, or want PDF and video tools in the same app.
- Pick Box if you are a business of three or more people that wants unlimited storage, native e-signatures and room to grow into enterprise tiers, or if you only need a free plan (10 GB beats 2 GB).
Still comparing? See Google Drive vs Dropbox, Dropbox vs OneDrive, SharePoint vs OneDrive, or every service on the cloud storage plans page.
Box vs Dropbox FAQ
Is Box cheaper than Dropbox?
For teams, the main plans cost the same: $15 per user a month on annual billing for Box Business and Dropbox Standard, as of October 14, 2026. Box gives unlimited storage at that price; Dropbox gives a 3 TB team pool. For one person, Dropbox Plus is $9.99 for 2 TB versus $10 for 100 GB on Box Personal Pro.
Which has the better free plan, Box or Dropbox?
Box. Its free Individual plan has 10 GB of storage, though files are limited to 250 MB each. Dropbox Basic has 2 GB.
Does Box really have unlimited storage?
Yes, Box lists unlimited storage on Business, Business Plus and Enterprise. The limit you will hit is the per-file upload size: 5 GB on Business.
Is Box or Dropbox better for large files?
Dropbox, on cheaper plans: transfers go up to 50 GB on Plus and 100 GB on Standard. Box allows 5 GB uploads on Business and only reaches 50 GB or more on Enterprise tiers.
Is Box more secure than Dropbox?
Both sell security by tier, so compare the plan, not the brand. Dropbox lists 256-bit AES and SSL/TLS encryption on every paid plan, and adds end-to-end encryption, advanced key management, single sign-on and audit logs on Advanced. Box adds larger uploads, more versions and enhanced 24-hour support as you move up to Enterprise Plus.
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