Apple iCloud vs. Box

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Apple iCloud
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
Apple iCloud is a document management software offering from Apple. It includes features such as access to music, photos, calendars, contacts, and documents, and it is built into every new iOS device.
$0.99
per month
Box
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Box is an online cloud content management solution that caters to individual users as well as businesses.
$5
Per Month (Paid Annually) per user (minimum of 3 users)
Pricing
Apple iCloudBox
Editions & Modules
50GB
$0.99
per month
200GB
$2.99
per month
2TB
$9.99
per month
Business Starter
$5
Per Month (Paid Annually) per user (minimum of 3 users)
Business
$15
Per Month (Paid Annually) per user (minimum of 3 users)
Business Plus
$25
Per Month (Paid Annually) per user (minimum of 3 users)
Enterprise
$35
Per Month (Paid Annually) per user (minimum of 3 users)
Enterprise Plus
Custom
Contact Us
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Apple iCloudBox
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional DetailsBox is available as an annual subscription. Many customers opt for either the Digital Workplace or Digital Business suite, which includes the baseline software plat (Box Enterprise) plus multiple additional features including Box Shield for data loss prevention and threat detection, Box Governance for retention management and legal holds, Box Relay for no-code workflow, and Premier Services. Customers are eligible for discounting beyond volume list prices, depending on a number of conditions.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Apple iCloudBox
Considered Both Products
Apple iCloud
Chose Apple iCloud
I'm using all of these apps along with iCloud. But iCloud gives me the ability to keep all my contacts and mail up to date on all my devices. The others, Dropbox, Box and Google Drive are good for large files where you have to send it quickly or even access the file from the …
Chose Apple iCloud
Apple iCloud is great for keeping me on the same page with all of my devices as far as photos, contacts, calendars, etc., are concerned. However, Box or Dropbox are easier to use for collaboration. I like the ability in Dropbox or Box to have a folder on my desktop that …
Chose Apple iCloud
Apple iCloud is more user-friendly and universal than either Box or Dropbox because most people already have an Apple product and an Apple account. Other products are fine to use, but they require that all users create a unique account and login, and that isn't always ideal, …
Chose Apple iCloud
Overall, iCloud performs quite well against some of its larger competitors. In my opinion, iCloud may be better suited for personal and social sharing compared to business cloud platforms like OneDrive and Google Drive. iCloud is incredibly strong if your organization is fully …
Box
Chose Box
Box is a professional tool that has a rich suite of features that go head to head with Google and has many more use cases [than] iCloud. For the price, Box is a great alternative to other cloud storage and data asset management software offers. Box is a great addition to any …
Chose Box
Box has excellent file sharing options and easy link creation. Most of the file share companies are top-notch, but Box is more user-friendly than Dropbox, and an interface that’s easier to navigate than Google Drive's. In my industry, I have to be versatile and able to use …
Chose Box
Box was superior to all of the cloud file storage systems I've used. It is easier to use, has more space available, and we rarely had any problems. Unfortunately, budget was the deciding factor that pushed us to a different product, but I have found myself wishing that weren't …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Apple iCloudBox
File Sharing & Management
Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Product A and Product B
Apple iCloud
9.1
74 Ratings
8% above category average
Box
-
Ratings
Versioning8.750 Ratings00 Ratings
Video files9.270 Ratings00 Ratings
Audio files9.267 Ratings00 Ratings
Document collaboration8.963 Ratings00 Ratings
Access control8.461 Ratings00 Ratings
File search9.766 Ratings00 Ratings
Device sync9.473 Ratings00 Ratings
Cloud Storage Security & Administration
Comparison of Cloud Storage Security & Administration features of Product A and Product B
Apple iCloud
8.7
70 Ratings
1% above category average
Box
-
Ratings
User and role management8.654 Ratings00 Ratings
File organization8.266 Ratings00 Ratings
Device management9.367 Ratings00 Ratings
Cloud Storage Platform
Comparison of Cloud Storage Platform features of Product A and Product B
Apple iCloud
9.4
74 Ratings
10% above category average
Box
-
Ratings
Performance9.674 Ratings00 Ratings
Reliability9.674 Ratings00 Ratings
Storage Reports9.158 Ratings00 Ratings
Enterprise Content Management
Comparison of Enterprise Content Management features of Product A and Product B
Apple iCloud
-
Ratings
Box
7.9
23 Ratings
4% below category average
Content capture & imaging00 Ratings7.519 Ratings
File sync, storage & archiving00 Ratings8.222 Ratings
Document management00 Ratings8.521 Ratings
Records management00 Ratings8.117 Ratings
Content search & retrieval00 Ratings7.521 Ratings
Enterprise content collaboration00 Ratings8.020 Ratings
Content publishing & creation00 Ratings7.014 Ratings
Security, risk management & information governance00 Ratings7.823 Ratings
Contract lifecycle management00 Ratings7.510 Ratings
Automated workflows00 Ratings8.212 Ratings
Artificial intelligence00 Ratings8.110 Ratings
Mobile support00 Ratings7.921 Ratings
Integration00 Ratings8.021 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Apple iCloudBox
Small Businesses
SugarSync
SugarSync
Score 10.0 out of 10
Square 9 Softworks
Square 9 Softworks
Score 9.7 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Druva Data Resiliency Cloud
Druva Data Resiliency Cloud
Score 9.6 out of 10
MediaValet
MediaValet
Score 9.8 out of 10
Enterprises
Druva Data Resiliency Cloud
Druva Data Resiliency Cloud
Score 9.6 out of 10
MediaValet
MediaValet
Score 9.8 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Apple iCloudBox
Likelihood to Recommend
9.2
(74 ratings)
8.0
(151 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(4 ratings)
8.0
(12 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(21 ratings)
9.0
(18 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(5 ratings)
Performance
8.2
(12 ratings)
9.1
(12 ratings)
Support Rating
7.5
(20 ratings)
8.5
(29 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(3 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(6 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Apple iCloudBox
Likelihood to Recommend
Apple
iCloud is also great to keep access to photos synced across devices. Ex: I can snap a photo at a job site and have access to that photo on my desktop when I return to my office. I can then drop the photo into a document that is stored in iCloud and have instant access to that document on my iPad at a client's office later in the day. Seamless transitions make life much easier.
Read full review
Box
I think Box is great for research teams or anyone that has a large number of files that need to be securely stored. Particularly in the case of social science research, where it is important to protect identifying data, Box is a great option. In cases where teams need a more reliable means for real-time collaboration, I would probably consider a different alternative
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Pros
Apple
  • Syncing files, appointments, Notes and contacts. If I'm away from home, and set an appointment using my phone, that appointment automatically updates real time to my home laptop and vice-versa.
  • It stores files (e.g photos) nicely
  • Once it's set up, it's fairly easy to use.
Read full review
Box
  • The main feature that I like the most in Box is that it makes collaboration seamless, workers can easily check the documents any time and make changes according to the needs.
  • Box manages and backs up all of your files on its cloud servers, and provides a very nice interface for creating, viewing, editing, and collaborating on the most commonly used file types (PDF, XLS, DOC, etc.).
  • Over the past few years, Box has built on top of its basic cloud storage management with a host of other tools, such as workflows, AI, monitoring, and analytics.
  • It is helping us to make good connections with clients and our workers themselves as to its syncing and viewing feature to all is very much helpful and easy to go.
Read full review
Cons
Apple
  • Customization - iCloud is great at the stuff it does well. But it lacks features that some competitors (in Google Drive or Dropbox) do really well. API support for third-party apps is really great for some other people.
  • Remote use - Managing or accessing information from iCloud while not on one of your logged-in apple devices can sometimes be an issue. From a work computer for example. It doable, but the experience is much less user-friendly.
  • Ability to edit documents on the cloud similar to google docs or some other competitors
Read full review
Box
  • The graphic design of the dashboard should be simpler and more tangible that can be changed to the liking of the Admin.
  • Sometimes there are some syncing issues in the background.
  • The product has very limited functionality in some areas which could be a bit frustrating at times.
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Likelihood to Renew
Apple
It's so seamless that I can't imagine another product doing a better job synchronizing all of my devices. I simply do not think about it at all. Everything happens behind the scenes and I'm confident that Apple keeps my data safe and secure. I'm a happy customer as far as this is concerned. I have not had a bad experience with this service.
Read full review
Box
I like the security features and I like the website. It's easy to use and create and move things around as needed. The main reason for a lower rating is because the Box Sync app is just not a good program. It's a memory hog, it's slow, transfer speeds are slow, and it's not the most efficient route. If you have a large Box account and you need to get a computer up to speed on a large amount of data within Box, you are in for the long haul. Last time I had to do this, it took 3 days to sync all of the files and we are talking around 100 GB worth of data
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Usability
Apple
While it may be great to use with other Apple products, I find it's an absolutist-style workflow to be debilitating and to lead to many problems. When you sign into the cloud, it completely takes over your device in many ways that you don't notice at first until there is a problem.
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Box
Everything with Box is seamless. It can be integrated into virtually any other software or application. You can even get the app for your phone or tablet to work on the go. File syncing is so quick. The only reason I gave it a 9 is the issue I discussed earlier about the local file application rebooting and not continuing to sync files. Other than that, it's great!
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Reliability and Availability
Apple
No answers on this topic
Box
Yeah, it's always worked, I've never had any kind of connection issues, the only issues I've had it I've been on our end when the Internet hasn't worked.
Read full review
Performance
Apple
Occasionally, large files that haven't yet been synced require a few minutes to pull down but I've rarely noticed delays. It does a good job of keeping data cached on my local machines while updating them with changes from other machines transparently.
Read full review
Box
The general operation and management of Box is very efficient, both when accessing the account, and when adding files, downloading or modifying any document directly. The web platform, mobile and desktop versions work really well and quickly, making all the work and process flow smoothly and without setbacks. So far I have not been able to observe any inconvenience
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Support Rating
Apple
Apple customer service is fantastic. iCloud is built with Apple in mind and its design is extremely intuitive and user-friendly. Additionally, whenever our team has encountered issues, the speed of Apple support has been more than timely in addressing our issues and solving our request. We have encountered relatively few issues in my time with the platform and this only improves our overall score for those who keep the platform stable.
Read full review
Box
I found their support community lacking in clarity when I experienced a login issue. The error messaging was poor on my Box Sync application. I did not reach out to support staff for help, instead, I reasoned that I should try downloading the Box Sync application again and reinstall it. That fixed my issue, thankfully. I think a less computer-savvy user would've been much more frustrated.
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In-Person Training
Apple
No answers on this topic
Box
The in person training was done in house and I helped with the training, people seem to respond well.
Read full review
Online Training
Apple
No answers on this topic
Box
The documentation is good. Since Box is a popular service, there were also a number of YouTube videos and other sources that were helpful as we were considering the product and planning for deployment. Also, the ability to try the free version helped to prepare us.
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Implementation Rating
Apple
No answers on this topic
Box
Be careful with settings. It is easy to get overwhelmed with updates. For example, you don’t want to be updated when doing historical data uploads. I recommend taking off notifications initially and then turn on post you have done your historical data upload.
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Alternatives Considered
Apple
Apple does offer an alternative to Office & the Google Docs family but trusting to use it with both internal and external parties is tough. Google is more universal and easier for 3rd parties to collaborate with. Apple works well for a closed internal group that is native to Apple's ecosystem. Google offers more storage space than Apple
Read full review
Box
They are kind of the same. And both of them do their job as promised. But for company and project wise I think that Box slightly wins for some points. Which [makes him] win over Google Drive (don't forget that Google Drive is very easy to use and has a lot [of] nice features too).
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Scalability
Apple
No answers on this topic
Box
It's great, as we put more files on there it's done very well.
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Return on Investment
Apple
  • If I lose track of my credentials or my continuing education documentation, I could end up not being able to renew my certification. This would lead to a major loss in revenue.
  • Time is money and having all of my required documents easily accessible in iCloud saves me time and allows me to work more efficiently.
  • My Apple devices were certainly not cheap purchases. iCloud has allowed me to maximize my productivity through synchronizing my work no matter which device I'm working on.
Read full review
Box
  • Box has been an only positive experience. It provides a seamless way for me and my team to collaborate on documents in such a way where we're not sending the document back/forth via email. It's a huge timesaver.
  • Box reduces the risk of sharing a sensitive document to the wrong person via email.
  • Box has provided a platform where my team can share notes in meetings - this has helped streamline and organize our meetings. Our meetings are more productive and actionable.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Box Screenshots

Screenshot of In the Content Cloud, you get a single, secure, easy-to-use platform built for the entire content lifecycle, from file creation and sharing, to editing, signature, and retention.Screenshot of Keep your files safe with cloud-native security and compliance capabilities like granular access controls, watermarking, and classification. Stay proactive with Box Shield’s machine learning and the ability to set policies that detect threats.Screenshot of Power secure collaboration from anywhere with a central workspace to edit, review, and assign tasks.Screenshot of Integrate your tech stack across 1,500+ best-of-breed apps.Screenshot of Get e-signatures right where your content lives in Box. Power a simple, seamless signing experience for critical business documents like sales contracts and offer letters.Screenshot of Create workflows in minutes, so you spend more time on what matters most.