Is Box or Google Drive better?

Neither clearly leads. Box starts at Free and Google Drive at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Box or Google Drive?

Box starts at Free and Google Drive at Free.

Does Box or Google Drive run on more platforms?

Box runs on Web. Google Drive runs on iOS, Android, Web, Windows, macOS.

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 Google Drive is typically brought in for.

What can Box do that Google Drive cannot?

Google Drive covers Cloud file storage and sync, Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Shared drives and permissions, Offline access.

File Storage · head to head

Box vs Google Drive

Box

File Storage

Cloud content management for the enterprise

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Google Drive

File Storage

Google's consumer cloud storage app, sharing the same 15GB quota as Gmail and Google Photos

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Box pricing not disclosed for Personal Pro, Business Plus, Enterprise, and Enterprise Plus tiers; Google Drive free storage is a 15GB pool shared with Gmail and Google Photos, so heavy use of any one of those services reduces what is left for the others.
Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Box and Google Drive actually diverge.

Attributes where Box and Google Drive differ
Attribute	Box	Google Drive
Pricing model	subscription	Free tier plus paid storage add-on
Platforms	Web	iOS, Android, Web, Windows, macOS

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 Google Drive does not also cover.

Only in Google Drive

Cloud file storage and sync
Google Docs, Sheets, Slides
Shared drives and permissions
Offline access
Version history
Third party format support

What people use each for

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

Box

Enterprise cloud file storage and collaborationnot Google Drive
Document management with AI capabilitiesnot Google Drive
API integration for business automationnot Google Drive

Google Drive

Backing up and syncing personal files across a phone, laptop and desktopnot Box
Collaborating on a document, spreadsheet or presentation in real time with othersnot Box
Sharing a folder of files with specific permission levels with a defined groupnot Box
Storing large attachments to send by link instead of email attachment size limitsnot 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

Google Drive

Free storage is a 15GB pool shared with Gmail and Google Photos, so heavy use of any one of those services reduces what is left for the others.
Version history and recovery for accidentally deleted files has limits, and permanently deleted items are unrecoverable after a set retention period passes.
Sharing links can be misconfigured to be more open than intended, and Google's permission model has been a source of accidental oversharing for organisations and individuals alike.
Native Google Docs format files do not export perfectly to Microsoft Office formats in all cases, and complex formatting can shift on conversion.
This is the consumer product with consumer-grade support; organisations needing admin controls, audit logs and larger storage pools need the separate paid Google Workspace product instead.

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

Google Drive

Free

FreeFree
- 15GB shared across Gmail, Drive and Photos
Google One 100GB$1.99/month
- 100GB shared storage across the same Google services
Google One 2TB$9.99/month
- 2TB shared storage

Which should you pick?

Choose Box if

You want to start without paying.

Box review

Choose Google Drive if

You need cloud file storage and sync.
You want to start without paying.
You work on iOS, Android, Web, Windows, macOS.
You also want google docs, sheets, slides.

Google Drive review

Questions people ask

Is Box or Google Drive better?: Neither clearly leads. Box starts at Free and Google Drive at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Box or Google Drive?: Box starts at Free and Google Drive at Free.
Does Box or Google Drive run on more platforms?: Box runs on Web. Google Drive runs on iOS, Android, Web, Windows, macOS.
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 Google Drive is typically brought in for.
What can Box do that Google Drive cannot?: Google Drive covers Cloud file storage and sync, Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Shared drives and permissions, Offline access.

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.

Source

Google Drive: Is Google Drive free?

Yes, up to a 15GB storage pool shared with Gmail and Google Photos; more storage requires a paid Google One subscription.

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.

Source

Google Drive: Is this the same as the Save to Google Drive browser extension?

No, that is a separate browser extension for saving web pages directly into Drive; this entry covers the storage and document app itself.

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).

Source

Google Drive: Do I need Google Workspace for business use?

For individual or informal use the free or Google One consumer tiers work, but organisations wanting admin controls and larger pooled storage need Google Workspace.

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.

Source

Box vs Google Drive

Box

Google Drive

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Box

Only in Google Drive

What people use each for

Box

Google Drive

Where each one falls short

Box

Google Drive

Pricing, plan by plan

Box

Google Drive

Which should you pick?

Choose Box if

Choose Google Drive if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Box

More on Google Drive

Keep looking

Other head to heads