Box.com pricing: Discount negotiation tips that work

How much does Box cost?

With the exception of its Enterprise Plus plan, which is quote-based and priced according to usage requirements, Box is relatively transparent with its costs across its other three business plans, with prices starting from $15 per user, per month on an annual basis.

Here’s the thing though — these prices aren’t necessarily set in stone.

According to our own data, the company offers relatively high discounts to businesses looking to renew or purchase its software. You just need the right negotiation strategy.

Before we discuss what this is and how you can obtain a discount, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the plans listed on the Box pricing page.

Individual and Teams

Individual users looking to store and share files for personal use can access 10GB of storage for free, as well as limited file versions and e-sign capabilities. Alternatively, users looking for more advanced storage of up to 100GB can pay $14 per user per month, or $10 a month when billed annually.

Starter business teams of up to 10 users can pay $7 per user per month for a minimum of 3 users, or $5 a month when billed annually. The business starter tier includes further file versions and some basic management capabilities.

Business Plans

Advanced business users have access to a number of different Box pricing plans, each offering unlimited file storage and a range of collaboration features.

The first, simply called Business, permits organizational collaboration with basic content management capabilities, priced at $20 per user per month or $15 a month when billed annually. The next tier, the Business Plus plan, offers further data and search features for $33 per user per month, or $25 when billed annually.

Alternatively, the standard Enterprise plan caters for larger file uploads and is priced at $47 per user per month, or $35 when billed annually.

Box Enterprise Plus pricing

The Box Enterprise Plus plan includes everything from the standard Enterprise offering, in addition to a higher capacity for file uploads, 24/7 product support, and more add-ons.

However, as pricing for Enterprise Plus is not publicly listed, it’s difficult to find out what you’ll be expected to pay for this tier of subscription.

One way to source this information is to search third-party online forums for anecdotal insight.

For example, this article from RevPilots states that the minimum cost businesses will pay for an Enterprise Plus plan is $1,925 per month, based on the minimum of 35 seats needed to qualify for the plan at a starting monthly price of $55 per user, per month.

The problem is, there’s no guarantee this information is up-to-date or even accurate, and the lack of any other online accounts of what companies are paying further illustrates the issue with pricing transparency in SaaS.

So, what’s the solution?

How to get a discount on Box pricing

We’ve already mentioned that Box tends to offer notable discounts on its pricing, but our data further indicates that the company also has a low pricing parity rating. In other words, there are inconsistencies between the prices paid by customers of a similar profile.

This suggests that with sufficient leverage and a healthy vendor rapport, you may be able to negotiate a discount or more favorable contract terms for your business.

After all, the average company overpays for its software subscriptions by 20-30% — the average discount for business operations software providers is even higher at 32% — so applying the right negotiation techniques could be key to minimizing company spend.

The question is, how do you effectively negotiate a software contract?

These are some of our top recommendations.

Negotiation strategies for a Box.com discount

Consider a longer subscription term

While Box already offers a 25% discount for companies that commit to an annual plan, you may yield further savings by signing up for a multi-year subscription.

According to our data, SaaS vendors in general typically offer an extra 5% discount for every additional year a user signs up to, so if you’re confident that you’ll still be using the platform in the coming years, a longer-term deal could translate into significant SaaS savings for your organization.

Leverage pricing benchmark data

While it’s important to be aware of Box’s pricing plans ahead of any discussions, it’s also worth entering into these conversations equipped with insight into the competitor pricing points.

Whether it’s Dropbox, OneDrive or Google Drive, there are many SaaS solutions that rival Box in the cloud storage space, so if you’ve found a competitive price or better contract terms, you might propose that Box matches these to secure your purchase or renewal.

Competitor pricing is only one part of the picture though. The best leverage for negotiations is ultimately intel into what other similar companies are paying.

But how can you find these pricing benchmarks?

Put simply, by talking to Vertice.

Let Vertice negotiate on your behalf

At Vertice, we act as an intermediary and negotiate contracts on your behalf. This helps to create a sense of impartiality that can facilitate productive negotiations, helping both you and the vendor reach an agreement that you’re happy with.

With access to pricing and transactional data from over 13,000 global vendors, we can gain insight into what companies similar to yours are paying for their software contracts. Our team of expert negotiators can then leverage this data, as well as their years of industry experience, to secure you the best possible price and contract terms on any purchase or renewal.

To see how much you could save on your annual SaaS spend, use our free cost savings analysis tool today. Alternatively, search through our vendor database and access exclusive pricing insights for thousands of software providers.