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Box vs Packer

Box logo

Box

Software

Cloud content management for the enterprise

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
P

Packer

Software

Build automated machine images

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Packer has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Box all Business and Enterprise plans require a minimum of 3 users; Packer packer 1.10.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Box and Packer actually diverge.

Attributes where Box and Packer differ
AttributeBoxPacker
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionopen-source
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebLinux, Windows, Mac
FoundedUnknown2013

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Packer does not also cover.

Only in Packer

  • Image building
  • Multi-platform support
  • Provisioners
  • Builders
  • Post-processors
  • Variables
  • Data sources
  • Validation

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Box

No use cases recorded yet. See the Box review.

Packer

  • Building identical machine images for multiple clouds from one templatenot Box
  • Baking golden AMIs and VM images into a CI pipelinenot Box
  • Creating immutable infrastructure artifacts consumed by Terraformnot Box

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Box

  • All Business and Enterprise plans require a minimum of 3 users
  • Business Starter ($5/user/month) caps at 100 GB of shared storage across the whole account and a 2 GB per file upload limit
  • Enterprise Plus requires annual billing, and Enterprise Advanced's exact price is not published on the pricing page

Packer

  • Packer 1.10.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence
  • The Additional Use Grant forbids offering Packer to third parties on a hosted or embedded basis in a paid product that competes with IBM's paid versions of Packer
  • Each version converts to the MPL 2.0 Change License only four years after that version is first published, and the Change Date is set separately per version
  • Alternative licensing for uses outside the grant must be arranged with the licensor rather than taken under the public licence

Pricing, plan by plan

Box

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Box review.

Packer

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Multi-platform image building
    • Template-driven
    • Provisioner support

Which should you pick?

Choose Box if

Nothing in the data separates Box from Packer on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Box review

Choose Packer if

  • You need image building.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac.
  • You also want multi-platform support.
Packer review

Questions people ask

Is Box or Packer better?
Neither clearly leads. Box starts at On request and Packer at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Box or Packer?
Packer has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Box and Free for Packer.
Does Box or Packer run on more platforms?
Box runs on Web. Packer runs on Linux, Windows, Mac.
Can I use Packer for free?
Yes. Packer has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Box starts at On request.
What can Box do that Packer cannot?
Packer covers Image building, Multi-platform support, Provisioners, Builders.
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