Dropbox or Box.Net, Which Cloud Storage is Better?
By jobister
What is Cloud Storage?
In the new age of the Internet were data is readily available and needed at an instance Online Storage has been a key component. No longer do you have to carry around a USB dongle with you where ever you go. Now you can access your data from any computer, any mobile device. As long as you are connected to the Internet you have access to your data. So which storage options available today are good? This hub is going to compare Dropbox.com and its offerings with that of Box.Net. Both of these are the cream of the crop when it comes to online storage and back up.
Price: Box.net vs. Dropbox
Prices:
Box.net offers a free storage space of 5 Gigabytes with a maximum file size of 25 Megabytes that can be transferred to your Box.net storage. Meanwhile, Dropbox only offers 2 Gigabytes of storage for free. If you are looking for a free account with maximum storage then 5 Gigabytes of storage should be plenty for storing documents. Although wait till you read about the features both of these sites have to offer.
Dropbox offers 50 GB of space for $9.99 / Month. Not bad considering for the same price of $9.99 Box.net offers only 25 GB of space. If you are willing to pay up to $9.99 / month for online storage then I would highly recommend you go with Dropbox.
However, if you need more storage than 50 GB, then both of these online storage providers have an answer for you. Dropbox offers 100 GB of space for $19.99 / Month. This is clearly aimed at heavy users who constantly need documents on the go and can update documents without having to be attached to their work computer. Box.net also has a business solution. In their business offering Box.net gives 500 GB of space for $15 / Month. The catch is that the price is based on per user. So if you have a business and you want all your employees to use Box.net then it can run your bill a little but you do not have to worry about hard drives crashing or computers malfunctioning in case of a data emergency. Your data will always be available.
So for a pure price perspective in my opinion Box.net wins because their price points are clearly lower than Dropbox and offer more storage overall with their highest price point when compared to Dropbox.
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Features: Box.net vs. Dropbox
Box.net works in similar fashion as other online backup systems from the past. You upload documents to a website and they store it for you. No USB drives or CDs to worry about. Both Box and Dropbox offer similar features there are a few differences. Box works based on a web based interface. You go to Box.net and log in and upload files or manage folders. You don't have to install any special application, just a browser and an Internet connection. benefit of this is that you can access your files in seconds and begin downloading, uploading, collaborating with others you choose to share the files with. Enterprise & Business users get an added benefit of Box Sync. With Box Sync you can directly sync folders, files from your desktop without having to go to the Box.net website.
Dropbox also has a folder syncing feature which it offers for FREE! All you have to do is download the Dropbox application your computer and you can sync files between computers and these files will be stored all in the cloud. To me this is an important feature I wish Box.net gave away for free. I don't plan on using more than 2GB of data ever and with the ability to just drop my files into a folder and they are magically synced to the cloud takes the task of me having to upload the files to a website away. Dropbox also offers file sharing with others and similar to Box.net, Dropbox also has Mobile applications for iOS and Android devices. In my opinion Dropbox wins this battle because I prefer just saving my files into a folder on my computer than having to first save the file and then perform a backup by going to a website.
Do you use cloud storage? Which online storage provider do you use?
To check out the more on additional features offered by Dropbox click here. If you want to check out the additional features offered by Box.net click here.
Comments
I used to use dropbox till my company decided to block their website for some ridiculous reason. I've been using box.net for now. Seems to be working, although I miss the ease of use with Dropbox.
I've been trying to decide between these two options. Your hub was very helpful in laying out the pros and cons of each. Thanks!
Dropbox is awesome, its so easy to use! Hooking up my USB cable to my computer and phone is just too hard. lol :)
well with the recent change sin the dropbox TOS i am pretty sure there wil be less praise to dropbox in this comments section
If you're an enterprise and you (or your legal counsel) cares about Intellecutal Property Protection, security of Healthcare data, Personnel data (PII), credit card. source code, M&A, or any other sensitive data, then box.net is your only option as it has a more mature encryption and rights management model. If you "don't care," then go with dropbox for it's windows folder integration/syncining.
I have been used Dropbox before.
But I built another cloud system now - SelfCloud.
Because with Dropbox or Box.net, users have to upload their personal contents on the 3th party server.
In my company and my friends now using the SelfCloud.
Hi, Jason.
Do you think mature encryption can guarantee all of the security? I don't think so.
Thanks for info.
I'm using box.net but it's difficult on iPad 2.
A handy tip for signing up to DropBox… If you want some extra storage from the start
use my referral link to sign up
Both Dropbox users ( you and I) get an extra 250MB on top of the free 2GB.
Once Joined you can then refer others and receive an extra 250MB per referral up to a max of 8Gig… Free.
Thank you for the info. I'm using dropbox.com and have had no issues using it with my playbook.
Box.net allows you to map a network drive mapping so it's like a local drive. It works in both Mac and windows. I find this feature is a lot better than drop box sync feature as it doesn't replicate the same file on all my machines taking up space. Plus with the box mobile apps it makes it great for on the go.
Cool...
Dropbox has become one of those
services that I can't do without. One of those "It just works"
services. I use it to keep my files in sync across my desktop, laptop,
android phone and iPad. It's fast and I like knowing I have the added
security of my files stored securely online.
One neat feature
which has saved me in more than one occasion is the undelete feature. I
can restore any file that was accidentally deleted.
If you don't
use the service I highly recommend trying it out. Please feel free to
use my referral link to sign up. If you do you'll get an additional 500
MB...and so will I :-)
I have used both services. Ultimately, I have landed on Drop Box because of its simplicity. If you are interested in Drop Box and want a 250 MB referral bonus, sign up using this link. http://db.tt/tKQEVDni
I am one of those "50 GB free" BOX users who later found out that Box considers a simple sync tool "premium". I don't know why they give people such a high expectation but only disappoint them badly later. How can people fill up a 50 GB space by uploading files after files manually? Isn't it the best way to drive people away from Box? I don't know what Arron Levi learned from his MBA at Marshall. Perhaps he skipped all classes to start Box in his dorm room. :-) This "50 GB free" campaign only brings more "pain" to new users - just check out users' comments for their Box Sync for Windows app. Box will learn their lesson dearly. Netflix alienates their subscribers only after it becomes so big. Box does the same act of stupidity barely after they raised 81 million of new funding.
Among Dropbox,I use Dropbox since it is simple to use.You should remember that Dropbox is to cloud as Youtube is to video as it is the easiest to use.
I am also suggesting a New cloud Service "Bitcasa" to You which may be a Revolution in Cloud Computing.They streams data to your desktop similar to Video streaming in Youtube.Also they Offers Infinite Storage
Check Bitcasa here - http://www.bitcasa.com/
I have used box before - in fact I was able to get the 50 GB free. However, after signing up I realize that I would need to pay for a syncing functionality. Dropbox has proved to be both simple and powerful. It keeps all my digital files in sync.
Click the link below, sign up, and you can get and extra 250 MB for free!
Depending on whether you want to use DropBox for consumer or businesses purposes, it may or may not be right for you. For businesses in many regulated industries, DropBox is not compliant. Their website clearly states this:
https://www.dropbox.com/help/238
Dropbox Enterprise File Transfer from Thru is the secure solution for businesses and enterprises. Their solutions have been working for large businesses for ten years without a single security breach.
Consumer dropbox solutions are convenient but lack necessary security for businesses and enterprises. Michael Osterman, President of Osterman Research, discusses this topic.
LSpel 16 months ago
I use dropbox, I am not sure about box.net, but thank you for the information!