When comparing Box vs rsync, the Slant community recommends rsync for most people. In the question“What are the best personal file-syncing solutions?” rsync is ranked 2nd while Box is ranked 25th. The most important reason people chose rsync is:
Only the changed parts of files are synced. For instance, if a long log file increases by just a few lines of text, a small diff will be sent to and saved in the archive. Rsync also compresses data in transit.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Huge Data (10 GB) in free plan
Its free plan comes with 10 GB!
Pro Cross-platform desktop and mobile
Box is available for Windows, OS X, iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phones. Which mean access to ones files no matter the device or platform used.
Pro Sharing and privacy features built for business and IT users
Such as advanced sharing options, task assignment, notifications. Making an easy way to stay up to date on assigned tasks.
Pro Extendable via plugins
There are plug-ins for applications that allow interactions with Box.
Pro Salesforce and NetSuite support
Pro Fast and bandwidth efficient
Only the changed parts of files are synced. For instance, if a long log file increases by just a few lines of text, a small diff will be sent to and saved in the archive. Rsync also compresses data in transit.
Pro Works over SSH
SSH support allows sending files securely over the network by encrypting all communcation.
Pro Pre-installed on OSX and most Linux distributions
Many *nix systems bundle rsync so there's nothing to install. All you need to do is open up the terminal and start using rsync.
Pro Free and open source
Licensed under GNU.
Cons
Con Log in on every use
Any time the app is opened the user's log-in needs to be typed in, which can become annoying. While it is a nice privacy feature, an option to turn it off would be nice.
Con No Linux client
They are not willing to listen to Linux community. They've also deleted a bunch of messages from Linux users on their forum
Con Missing collaborative apps
Not being able to easily back up office works through an integrated office suite can be a set back when comparing to backup apps like Drive. While you can set certain apps to save their files to the Box folder, it is not as easy as using something like Google Docs, which not only saves while you are working but as soon as you are done, with no extra steps.
Con No official GUI
To use rsync, you have to know your way around the command line.