Box (Personal) Review | PCMag

Box is a dependable cloud storage and file-sharing service focused more on the former than the latter. It works differently than many competitors because it's designed for browser use, with desktop functionality treated as an add-on. This strategy is terrific for businesses primarily working in the cloud, as it leverages Box's collaboration and integration features. For home users—the focus of this review—Box's paid subscription doesn't offer a lot of storage for the price. The free service tier is a good option if you mostly store text documents and small image files. Otherwise, you're better off with one of our Editors' Choice winners, Google Drive, IDrive, or Microsoft OneDrive.

Box has a free version with an impressive 10GB of storage. That's twice the amount offered by similar tiers of iCloud, IDrive, and OneDrive (5GB), and five times as much as Dropbox (2GB). However, there's a 250MB limit on individual files, making Box's free version useless for anyone working with video or large audio files, such as podcast recordings. Box's free version is perfectly serviceable if you mostly stick to documents and smaller images.

Box Personal Pro costs $14 per month (or $120 per year) and offers a relatively small 100GB of storage with a 5GB file size limit. With Google One, you get 100GB of storage for only $1.99 per month. iCloud lacks a 100GB tier, but you can snag 200GB for $2.99 per month—that's twice as much as Box for almost one-fifth the cost. Even Dropbox's 2TB plan ($11.99 per month or $119.88 annually) costs less than what Box charges for 100GB.

It doesn't help that Box's 5GB file size limit is lower than most competitors, too—a real problem if you work with big files. Dropbox's limit is 2TB; Google Drive's is a staggering 5TB; iCloud's is 50GB; and OneDrive's is 250GB.

Box's business plans fare better against the competition, but they're not our focus here. Read our Box for Business review for more on that version.

You must create a Box account, even if you use the free version. Simply head to Box.com to choose a plan, but note that the personal options are hidden. To find them, click the Individuals and Teams banner at the top of the screen. After that, you’ll see the free tier and the Personal Pro plan.

As mentioned, Box is designed to run in a web browser. It supports the two most recent versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari.

You can add desktop functionality by installing Box's two desktop apps: Box Drive and Box Tools. Box Drive lets you browse and access files from your PC's system file explorer. Box Tools opens the corresponding desktop app when you open a file from the web browser.

According to a Box representative, the apps work with the two most recent versions of both major operating systems (macOS Sequoia and Sonoma, Windows 11 and 10). It's a little confusing that these are two separate tools, but it's a minor complaint. We'll explore those apps later.

Unlike most file-sharing services, Box does not prompt you to install desktop software after you set up an account. Instead, it takes you straight to a web version. You upload files and folders by dragging them from your computer's file manager into the browser window. It's an effortless experience that recalls Google Drive.

Clicking the New icon lets you create Apple iWork and Microsoft Office documents, which open in the online versions of those respective applications. You can also create Google Docs files, although the resulting file functions as a link to a document stored in Google Drive.

Click a file to see its preview, assuming it's a format supported by Box. Most images, documents, media, and 3D file formats work. Box Personal Pro gives you access to the 10 most recent file versions in the web interface, but the free version lacks that feature.

Sidebar icons let you add a file description, chat with collaborators, quickly start a Zoom meeting, or share the document with Gmail or Outlook using integrations (more on those in a bit). Box uses Word Online and other supported web apps for viewing and editing files. You fill out PDFs using Adobe Acrobat's web version.

On the desktop side, Box Tools is a useful option if you want to integrate traditional desktop software into the mix, like Adobe Creative Suite or CAD. Any file you store in Box can be opened using the file's respective desktop app. Saved desktop work is uploaded to Box. If you collaborate with others, Box stores their comments in your account so you can see them without opening the file. It's a cool, best-of-both-worlds approach.

Box Drive is for people who'd rather avoid the web version entirely. With it, you browse files using File Explorer on Windows or Finder on Mac. This app is necessary to sync files to your computer for offline use. Just right-click a file and select Make Available Offline.

Frustratingly, you can't configure Box's location Drive; there's no way to set up a Box folder on a secondary hard drive. Still, one of these apps will probably do the job for most people.

Sharing is simple. The default option is to create a public link—anyone with that link can look at and download the file, even if they don't have a Box account. Paid users have more options, including setting a link expiration date. There's also direct sharing with specific people, including permission to edit files, though that feature requires the recipients to have a Box account, too. Box is a far easier form of file sharing than iCloud, an app that requires all parties to have an Apple account.

Box has mobile applications for Android and iOS. I tested mobile Box primarily on an iPhone and found it easy to browse and upload files.

Like Google Drive and many other cloud storage and file-sharing apps, Box lets you scan documents using your phone's camera. You can also snap photos and record audio and video directly to your account. An optional feature called Continuous Capture launches the camera when you open Box, which is ideal if you use the mobile app to scan documents or upload images.

For added security, lock the mobile app with a PIN or biometrics (fingerprint, facial recognition).

Box's App Center has integrations with more than 1,500 applications, meaning there's a good chance the service works with apps and services you already use. A few app integrations work by default, such as the web versions of Apple Pages and Microsoft Word. Other integrations let you upload files to Vimeo directly from Box, securely share files in Microsoft Teams or Slack, and sign documents using DocuSign.

Box isn't alone in providing these kinds of integrations. Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive also have extensive marketplaces of third-party apps. So does Dropbox, which has its an e-signature tool, Dropbox Sign.

Box works well. It's reliable, easy to use, and integrates with many useful web apps. The service has a few flaws, however. The free version has generous storage, but a low limit for individual files offsets that generosity. In addition, Box's paid individual plan is expensive, considering the amount of storage it offers. You get a better deal with Editors' Choice winners Google Drive, IDrive, and Microsoft OneDrive, services with more storage than Box for less money (and office apps in some instances). If you want to dabble in Box for anything other than small files, we suggest signing up for the business version.

Box, a browser-focused cloud storage app, offers generous free storage, but its paid plan is a bit expensive for what you get.

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Justin Pot believes technology is a tool, not a way of life. He writes tutorials and essays that inform and entertain. He loves beer, technology, nature, and people, not necessarily in that order. Learn more at JustinPot.com.

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