File Storage · head to head
Box vs IDrive e2
IDrive e2
File Storage
Low cost S3-compatible object storage with egress included up to a multiple of what you store
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Box pricing not disclosed for Personal Pro, Business Plus, Enterprise, and Enterprise Plus tiers; IDrive e2 the included egress is capped as a multiple of stored data, so a small bucket that serves a lot of traffic exhausts the allowance quickly and the economics stop looking cheap exactly where a CDN backed store would still be free.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Box and IDrive e2 actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (File Storage).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Box
Nothing recorded that IDrive e2 does not also cover.
Only in IDrive e2
- S3-compatible endpoints
- Included egress allowance
- Object lock
- Versioning
- Regional endpoints
- Cross region replication
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Box
- Enterprise cloud file storage and collaborationnot IDrive e2
- Document management with AI capabilitiesnot IDrive e2
- API integration for business automationnot IDrive e2
IDrive e2
- The offsite copy in a three two one backup chain driven by Veeam, restic or a NAS backup clientnot Box
- Replacing an S3 bucket whose cost is dominated by storage rather than by requestsnot Box
- Small teams who want predictable monthly object storage billing with no request line itemsnot Box
- Archiving media or logs that must stay accessible without a retrieval delaynot Box
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Box
- Pricing not disclosed for Personal Pro, Business Plus, Enterprise, and Enterprise Plus tiers
- Enterprise Advanced requires quote and minimum purchase commitments
- File upload limits vary from 250 MB to 500 GB across tiers
- Business plan requires minimum 3 users
IDrive e2
- The included egress is capped as a multiple of stored data, so a small bucket that serves a lot of traffic exhausts the allowance quickly and the economics stop looking cheap exactly where a CDN backed store would still be free.
- The region list is short compared with the hyperscalers, so data residency requirements outside the main markets are hard to satisfy and multi region designs have fewer options.
- S3 compatibility covers the common calls but not the long tail, so software that relies on less common features can fail in ways that are hard to diagnose against a provider with thin public documentation.
- Support is organised around a consumer and small business backup product rather than a platform engineering organisation, so escalating a storage layer problem takes longer than it would with a specialist provider.
- IDrive publishes far less about the underlying architecture, durability engineering and incident history than its competitors, so due diligence on the storage layer is largely taking the vendor at its word.
Pricing, plan by plan
Box
Free- IndividualFree
- 10 GB storage
- 250 MB file upload limit
- 1 file version
- Business$5/month
- Unlimited storage
- 5 GB file upload
- 25 file versions
- Enterprise$null/month
- Unlimited storage
- 50 GB file upload
- 1,000 AI Units per month
- Enterprise Plus$null/month
- Unlimited storage
- 150 GB file upload
- 2,000 AI Units per month
IDrive e2
Free- FreeFree
- 10 GB stored
- S3 API access
- Egress within the included allowance
- Pay as you go$4/month
- Roughly 4 USD per terabyte stored per month
- Egress included up to a multiple of stored data
- No per operation charge on standard usage
Which should you pick?
Choose IDrive e2 if
- You need s3-compatible endpoints.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, API.
- You also want included egress allowance.
Questions people ask
- Is Box or IDrive e2 better?
- Neither clearly leads. Box starts at Free and IDrive e2 at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Box or IDrive e2?
- Box starts at Free and IDrive e2 at Free.
- Does Box or IDrive e2 run on more platforms?
- Box runs on Web. IDrive e2 runs on Web, API.
- Can I use Box for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Box best used for?
- Box is most often used for enterprise cloud file storage and collaboration, document management with ai capabilities, api integration for business automation. Of those, enterprise cloud file storage and collaboration and document management with ai capabilities are not what IDrive e2 is typically brought in for.
- What can Box do that IDrive e2 cannot?
- IDrive e2 covers S3-compatible endpoints, Included egress allowance, Object lock, Versioning.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Box: What is the starting price for Box Business plan?
Business plan starts at $5 per user per month with unlimited storage, 5 GB file uploads, and Box AI included.
SourceIDrive e2: Is the egress genuinely free?
It is included up to an allowance tied to how much you store, not unlimited. Read heavy workloads on a small bucket will exceed it.
Box: Does the free plan support file sharing?
Yes, Individual free plan includes 10 GB storage, 250 MB file uploads, and 5 Box Sign signature requests per month.
SourceIDrive e2: Does it work with Veeam and restic?
Yes, both treat it as a standard S3 endpoint, and object lock is supported for immutable backup chains.
Box: What are the file upload limits by tier?
File upload limits are 250 MB (Individual), 5 GB (Business), 50 GB (Enterprise), 150 GB (Enterprise Plus), and 500 GB (Enterprise Advanced).
SourceIDrive e2: Is there a minimum retention period?
No fixed minimum retention charge on standard storage, which is a real difference from providers that bill ninety days on early deletion.
Box: How is AI priced in Box?
Business plan includes Box AI at no extra cost; Enterprise tiers include 1,000-20,000 AI Units per month depending on plan level.
SourceIDrive e2: How does it compare with Backblaze B2?
The rates are close. B2 is the better documented and more widely integrated service; e2 is cheaper at list and has a different egress allowance model.
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