Box vs. Smartsheet

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Box
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Box is an online Intelligent Content Management solution that caters to individual users as well as businesses.
$21
per month 3 users (minimum)
Smartsheet
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Smartsheet is an online project management and collaboration tool. It includes automated alerts, instantaneous updating and sharing across team members, resource management, nested tasks organized in a hierarchy, a Gantt chart view, exportable and automated reports, and integration with email.
$12
per month per user (up to 10 users)
Pricing
BoxSmartsheet
Editions & Modules
Business Starter
$7
per month per user (3 minimum)
Business
$20
per month per user (3 minimum)
Business Plus
$33
per month per user (3 minimum)
Enterprise
$47
per month per user (3 minimum)
Enterprise Plus
$50
per month (billed annually) per user (3 minimum)
Enterprise Advanced
Contact us
per month per user (35 minimum)
Pro
$12
per month per user (up to 10 users)
Business
$24
per month per user (3 user minimum)
Enterprise
Contact Sales
Advanced Work Management
Contact Sales
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BoxSmartsheet
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional DetailsA discount is available for annual pricing.A discount is offered for annual billing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BoxSmartsheet
Considered Both Products
Box
Chose Box
Box is similar to Smartsheet with the sharing capabilities. With Smartsheet however, all users can edit and upload newer versions on the documents. I would say Box is more of a storage platform, where Smartsheet is more of a shared workspace. It all depends on your business …
Smartsheet
Chose Smartsheet
We do not use Gmail as our company email service, so Google Sheets does not offer the same level of file security as Smartsheet. Smartsheet offers other features that Google Sheets does not, such as attaching files to a sheet. Although Google Sheets has a more modern look to …
Features
BoxSmartsheet
Enterprise Content Management
Comparison of Enterprise Content Management features of Product A and Product B
Box
7.5
26 Ratings
7% below category average
Smartsheet
-
Ratings
Content capture & imaging8.119 Ratings00 Ratings
File sync, storage & archiving9.725 Ratings00 Ratings
Document management8.324 Ratings00 Ratings
Records management7.020 Ratings00 Ratings
Content search & retrieval8.224 Ratings00 Ratings
Enterprise content collaboration8.021 Ratings00 Ratings
Content publishing & creation5.015 Ratings00 Ratings
Security, risk management & information governance8.126 Ratings00 Ratings
Contract lifecycle management8.712 Ratings00 Ratings
Automated workflows8.714 Ratings00 Ratings
Artificial intelligence2.011 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile support6.623 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration9.523 Ratings00 Ratings
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Box
-
Ratings
Smartsheet
9.1
129 Ratings
16% above category average
Task Management00 Ratings9.8126 Ratings
Resource Management00 Ratings9.9108 Ratings
Gantt Charts00 Ratings9.0109 Ratings
Scheduling00 Ratings9.8111 Ratings
Workflow Automation00 Ratings9.1100 Ratings
Team Collaboration00 Ratings10.0122 Ratings
Support for Agile Methodology00 Ratings8.781 Ratings
Support for Waterfall Methodology00 Ratings9.079 Ratings
Document Management00 Ratings9.2101 Ratings
Email integration00 Ratings9.1100 Ratings
Mobile Access00 Ratings8.096 Ratings
Timesheet Tracking00 Ratings9.762 Ratings
Change request and Case Management00 Ratings8.169 Ratings
Budget and Expense Management00 Ratings8.175 Ratings
Professional Services Automation
Comparison of Professional Services Automation features of Product A and Product B
Box
-
Ratings
Smartsheet
8.0
66 Ratings
3% above category average
Quotes/estimates00 Ratings8.144 Ratings
Invoicing00 Ratings7.737 Ratings
Project & financial reporting00 Ratings8.760 Ratings
Integration with accounting software00 Ratings7.732 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BoxSmartsheet
Small Businesses
Square 9 Softworks
Square 9 Softworks
Score 9.7 out of 10
Stackby
Stackby
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
MediaValet
MediaValet
Score 9.0 out of 10
InEight
InEight
Score 8.5 out of 10
Enterprises
MediaValet
MediaValet
Score 9.0 out of 10
InEight
InEight
Score 8.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BoxSmartsheet
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(154 ratings)
9.4
(146 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(12 ratings)
9.0
(24 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(21 ratings)
9.2
(17 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.1
(12 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
8.5
(29 ratings)
8.1
(45 ratings)
In-Person Training
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
10.0
(3 ratings)
7.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(6 ratings)
10.0
(6 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
BoxSmartsheet
Likelihood to Recommend
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
Read full review
Smartsheet
Smartsheet shines for collaboration. When you have multiple people involved with planning events Smartsheet makes it easy to share and collaborate. For instance, multiple people can be in Smartsheet working at the same time. Also setting permissions for exactly those who need to know is quite easy with Smartsheet. For data analytics and general spreadsheet purposes Excel is better but for project management and event planning Smartsheet is superior
Read full review
Pros
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
Smartsheet
  • Its hard to overstate the value of familiarity. Being able to use a tool that has some familiarity takes away the time needed to train and orient employees on a new tool and allows an organization to hit the ground running.
  • Smartsheet covers most of the basics of a project management tool, the usual tasks, milestones and project viewing options.
  • For data viewing, you get multiple data viewing options including a calendar view (good for marketing teams and those who work around scheduling), Kanban, Gaant etc
Read full review
Cons
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.
Read full review
Smartsheet
  • Smartsheet set up is similar to Excel, yet when you upload an Excel file, things like conditional formatting are lost. Smartsheet has its own conditional formatting, and you have to reinstate the rules. It would be great if those would apply automatically once a file is uploaded
  • Some Smartsheet management and access rules can take some tweaking to work properly. This may be a case of offering more info to admins so they can apply these better and with more efficiency
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
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
Read full review
Smartsheet
It definitely meets our needs as far as organizing and archiving our tasks and files. As we train more staff to view it, I see opportunities for more improvement, which I am sure this program can handle. I look forward to seeing continued improvement from Smartsheet on their capabilities and functionality.
Read full review
Usability
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!
Read full review
Smartsheet
Smartsheet is very easy to learn. However, while I have been able to pick it easily, Microsoft Excel and Project super users that I have trained on Smartsheet get bogged down in the differences and can find it frustrating. Explaining the differences ahead of time and why Smartsheet is being chosen instead of a different software seems to counteract those reactions
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
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
Smartsheet
No answers on this topic
Performance
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
Read full review
Smartsheet
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
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.
Read full review
Smartsheet
I give this rating because it fills a niche in the market. MS Project scares many away from proper task management but there are limited tools our there, especially cloud-based that are mobile-friendly. Smartsheet fills this market gap, especially for small to medium-sized businesses. IT is not fair to compare it to MS Project, but fairer to see what gaps it fills.
Read full review
In-Person Training
Box
The in person training was done in house and I helped with the training, people seem to respond well.
Read full review
Smartsheet
No answers on this topic
Online Training
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.
Read full review
Smartsheet
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
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.
Read full review
Smartsheet
It's absolutely paramount to take a few minutes to actually play with the software. It's nearly impossible to do anything wrong or make a mistake which cannot be fixed easily. Under the help menu is Live Training option. After you familiarize yourself with the commands, watch the live training for some in depth understanding of how to make the software fit your needs perfectly.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
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).
Read full review
Smartsheet
Jira and Redmine are much more robust and technologically advanced project management solutions. I enjoy using either when managing a very large project. However, I prefer to use Smartsheet for my smaller to medium sized projects. As for Google Drive - I would say that Google sheets and Smartsheet are almost identical in my opinion when it comes to functionality. Personally I prefer to manage smaller projects via Google Drive, but it is a personal preference!
Read full review
Scalability
Box
It's great, as we put more files on there it's done very well.
Read full review
Smartsheet
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
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
Smartsheet
  • This has really opened up collaboration across teams. A lot less working in silos.
  • It hasn't fully replaced any one tool so it means having to go to another place. Hopefully, we can eliminate a tool or two in the next six months.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Box Screenshots

Screenshot of an overview of Box's intelligent content management platform. It provides a unified, AI-powered approach to managing and securing your unstructured data, or content. ICM provides organizations with collaboration, AI, security, compliance, and workflow tools, interoperable and customizable, to get the most from their content.Screenshot of how with Box AI, AI can be accessed right where enterprise content exists. While that work can reside within Microsoft, Google, Apple, and other productivity suites, Box helps users to tap the full potential of AI for unstructured data.Screenshot of how Box creates a central workspace to edit, review, and assign tasks. Users can automate business processes and centralize content workflows in Box, including a configurable content submission, unlimited e-signatures, user-drive no-code workflow, and task assignment to power approvals.Screenshot of how Box secures content from threats, including malware and ransomware, and recover from attacks if they happen. This helps to maintain a zero trust architecture to ensure proper usage of corporate data, and prevent data theft.Screenshot of how Box can connect to any productivity suite, including Microsoft, Google, and Apple. This extends any existing security investments with integrations into key DLP, SIEM, and network security tools. Thus, seamless experiences can be built for users in any system they use, whether that’s a business tool like Salesforce or ServiceNow, or communications engines like Zoom and Slack.Screenshot of an overview describing Box's scalability. With unlimited storage capabilities Box has an exabyte (1,000PB) of customer data plus 1 gigabit per second upload and download speed. At its core, Box is a multi-tenant global SaaS platform with enterprise-grade reliability and end-to-end encryption to secure content.