Microsoft Office SharePoint Server vs Office 365 comparison

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server vs. Office 365

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Office SharePoint...

Ranking in Content Collaboration Platforms

5th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

4.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Office 365

Ranking in Content Collaboration Platforms

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.1

Number of Reviews

153

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Content Collaboration Platforms category, the mindshare of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server is 3.3%, down from 7.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Office 365 is 8.6%, up from 6.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Content Collaboration Platforms Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Office 365	8.6%
Microsoft Office SharePoint Server	3.3%
Other	88.1%

Content Collaboration Platforms

Featured Reviews

Daniel Giacomelli

Security and Compliance at a outsourcing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Has transformed how I manage documents through metadata and automation while enabling structured collaboration

Microsoft should restore some functionalities from older versions of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2003 and 2010. Specifically, bringing back something similar to SharePoint Designer would be beneficial. SharePoint Designer was both advantageous and challenging - developers found it limiting and preferred Visual Studio, while non-developers struggled to use it effectively. A new tool for configuring webpage design and development for content pages would be valuable. The current system is too basic. While integration of filtered lists and libraries is possible, it requires knowledge of Python or jQuery. A WYSIWYG editor would be preferable to requiring programming knowledge or Visual Studio.

Read full review

Anubrata Ghosh

Technical Manager at Landmark Group

Teams streamlines collaboration but Outlook experiences occasional slowness on Mac

Teams is a really good collaboration tool. You can work basically at any part of the world and communicate and collaborate with anybody, as long as they are connected to the internet. It helps with remote work, and although I don't work remotely, I have offices in Dubai and different geographical locations. It helps me connect with my colleagues and team who are not in the same geography as I am in Bangalore. Teams can facilitate team meetings, screen sharing, and organizing meetings.Regarding security, we have two-factor authentication governed by organizational policy. When trying to login to Office 365, Teams, or any Office 365 app, we are required to provide a password and use Microsoft Authenticator to sign in using a code. This is how two-factor authentication is implemented in our organization. Office 365 offers a suite of apps including OneNote, though I don't use it very often. In terms of integration with Microsoft ecosystem, it offers everything needed to get work done without any hassle.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"If you choose the cloud, the most valuable aspect of the solution is the fact that it doesn't require coding."

"The solution's most valuable aspects are its collaboration capabilities, its communications site and the innovation within the product itself."

"Enhanced user access management features fully integrated with Active Directory allowed us to gain the trust of the users and they use SharePoint to store and share all company digital content created by them."

"The forms aspect of the solution, for example, the creation of surveys, is its most valuable aspect."

"The support from Microsoft is very quick and they are very proactive."

"I believe the control and the restrictions, accesses that we can have once we decide to share any document through Microsoft Office SharePoint Server, are the most beneficial aspects for me."

"It's a very robust product."

"The online version doesn't have any bugs or glitches, doesn't crash or fail, doesn't need any infrastructure or virtual machine as it's completely online, and the cloud keeps it very stable."

More Microsoft Office SharePoint Server pros

"Office 365 is a pretty stable solution; it is in the cloud, so I can use all the documents that I have anywhere I want."

"Frankly, the features packed by Microsoft and the compatibility with Microsoft operating systems provides you the best options when compared with other options available in market."

"The biggest benefit of Office 365 is having everything in one place with well-integrated tools, leading to time savings as everything is housed in a single environment, facilitating communication, data processing, data input, and data saving."

"I recommend going ahead and using Office 365 as it is fast, easy to navigate, and does not require technical expertise to operate, while the user-friendliness and experience are both great."

"Office 365 significantly improves our operational efficiency by consolidating our phone system, file storage, and email into one ecosystem."

"Overall, Office 365 brings organization efficiency, as these tools are very helpful for every organization to maintain their records, organization data, compliance, and collaborations."

"I find the extensive list of features in Office 365 tremendously valuable, including Teams, Exchange, Outlook, SharePoint, Power Application, and Power Apps."

"Using Office 365 has allowed us to go digital and onboard people seamlessly for working at home during the COVID pandemic."

More Office 365 pros

Cons

"The product is behind in development and lacks some features."

"The solution requires a lot of hardware capacity for high availability and performance."

"Microsoft Office SharePoint Server is more accessible for the average user, but it lacks certain features that more advanced users would look for, making it seem unnecessarily complicated to do simple things or things one expects to be simple."

"From Microsoft, the support normally takes longer than we need and it's not a route we appreciate."

"The velocity and speed of information retrieval in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server could be improved."

"The solution is like a CRM, so the initial setup is complex. It takes a few days to deploy the solution and the length of time depends on how large the company's topology is and what the client's demands are."

"The areas around security, such as protection, need to be included."

"The search feature needs improvement. I can never find the information I need when I use it."

More Microsoft Office SharePoint Server cons

"They should reduce the license fees....otherwise its the best office solution till date from the Microsoft."

"Improvements can be made to the products generic offering. It's not customized for health care. It doesn't understand the meaning of health care related concepts. Providing a greater degree of industry specificity would make the tool much more unique and valuable."

"Using Visual Basic, I have had a lot of trouble with relative paths when programming for Excel, and sometimes it is very difficult to debug programs."

"The language feature in Copilot for Arabic specifically needs more machine learning enhancement, and the tables in Microsoft Word need to be more flexible, similar to those in Microsoft Excel."

"Certain features such as the Planner and dashboards don't work as efficiently with the iPad version, the iOS version."

"I have issues with call licensing problems, and there is a lack of good information about PBX and IT integration with Teams."

"Regarding Excel processing a lot of data, I'm currently working with an Excel sheet that has approximately 10,000 lines, and I really see it struggling to process due to the many functions it contains, leading to downtime and loading problems."

"Office 365 is costly for individuals and small businesses."

More Office 365 cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are some aggressive discounts offered by Microsoft for organizations that are not for profit, which we are, and it makes it quite attractive to consider."

"Pricing plans may be flexible depending on volume usage and your corporate relationship with Microsoft."

"It can be expensive for on-premises deployments, especially when you have to support SQL Server as your backend database. That's where the cost comes into play. SQL Server has its own licensing, which Microsoft keeps on changing. Therefore, it can become costly. In the earlier versions of SharePoint, version 2007 or 2010, they had an express version where the SQL Server licensing was free. It wasn't like a full-blown SharePoint. It was only a slimmed-down version. It used to be whatever your hardware costs. You would install the free software and work with it, but you were very limited in what you could do in SharePoint. If you wanted the SharePoint Enterprise Server with all the bells and whistles, then you had to pay more to get the SQL Server license based on the number of users or servers. The subscription model is different for cloud deployments. Licensing is per user and per month. The cost also depends on the storage required. If you have a lot of sites or documents, then you need to expand it based on your needs."

"One of the reasons why we don't recommend the cloud version of SharePoint is the cost. With the on premise version, you pay for the license once. For the cloud version, there is a recurring fee. It is very expensive. They expect everyone to pay $20 or $30 per user per month."

"I would rate the solution 3 out of 5 for the price. I think Microsoft presents a good solution concerning the price."

"The pricing is good for all the features that we receive, e.g., Skype for Business."

"Most of the time, we purchase Microsoft Exchange licenses, which are less expensive and provide only an email platform and 50 gigabytes of email storage for free."

"The pricing/licensing is easy to manage."

"The price of Office 365 is very expensive."

"The pricing is high and has actually caused us to limit the number of licenses we purchase due to budgeting."

"We have a license to use this solution. We have an E3 license which covers many different solutions."

"For the moment, we are paying on a monthly basis because we are still adapting the support and how we want to proceed. I think we will move to paying for the annual license."

More Office 365 pricing and cost advice

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893,164 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

Marketing Services Firm

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

10%

Construction Company

Outsourcing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	13
Midsize Enterprise	13
Large Enterprise	17

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	62
Midsize Enterprise	30
Large Enterprise	70

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server?

I am not aware of the pricing, so I cannot say if the solution is expensive or quite affordable.

What needs improvement with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server?

My expectation when I start using a Microsoft product is that it would be easy to incorporate diagrams and such from other Microsoft Office products. Incorporating a diagram I've embedded in a slid...

What is your primary use case for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server?

I produce content about the work I'm doing inside the company, making information about IT architecture, work processes within IT architecture, and security reviews of applications or infrastructur...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Office 365?

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Office 365 is that it is moderate.

What needs improvement with Office 365?

Office 365 could be improved or enhanced in some ways. It would be better if it were more simple to find the points, or sometimes there are so many possible configurations that it makes you confuse...

What is your primary use case for Office 365?

Teams and Outlook are important for us, and Teams is central to our operations. I utilize Power Automate for streamlining repetitive tasks in our organization, but not for large tasks. For tasks su...

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Product Reports

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server

Download Microsoft Office SharePoint Server product report

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server report

Office 365

Download Office 365 product report

Also Known As

Office SharePoint Server, MS Office SharePoint Server

Microsoft Office 365, Office 365 Enterprise, Office 365 Enterprise E1, Office 365 Enterprise E3, Office 365 Enterprise E5, Office 365 ProPlus, Office 365 Business, Office 365 Business Essentials, Office 365 Business Premium, Office 365 F1

Overview

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server enhances collaboration, document management, and version control while integrating seamlessly with Office apps, Teams, and OneDrive for efficient communication and content sharing.

Offering automation, workflow management, and effective metadata usage, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server improves operational efficiency. It's user-friendly with low-code and no-code capabilities, ensuring accessibility for organizations. Robust security measures and access control with Active Directory integration provide secure data handling, while real-time editing allows multiple users to collaborate productively. Its search functionality streamlines information retrieval, although enhancing this feature could further improve usability. Addressing the need for a more intuitive interface, distinct integration between Team and SharePoint sites, workflow simplification, as well as improved performance with large data handling, would add to its practicality. Better third-party application integration, enhanced document sharing, and increased licensing flexibility are areas for potential development.

What are the key features?

Collaboration: Enables seamless team collaboration with integrated Office apps and Teams.
Document Management: Advanced version control and document sharing capabilities.
Automation: Streamlines processes with workflow management and metadata usage.
Security: Robust access control with Active Directory integration.
Real-Time Editing: Allows multiple users to edit documents simultaneously.
Search Functionality: Assists in swift information retrieval.

What benefits or ROI should users consider?

Improved Productivity: Real-time editing and seamless integration enhance work efficiency.
Security Assurance: Strong access control supports safe data management.
User Accessibility: Low-code and no-code features increase ease of use.
Operational Efficiency: Automates workflows and optimizes document handling.

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server is utilized in industries such as healthcare, finance, and manufacturing for document sharing, collaboration, and internal communications. It supports project management, custom application development, and acts as an enterprise content management system. Organizations leverage its integration with Microsoft Teams for coordination and use it as a corporate portal. It facilitates data management, serves as a document library, and supports workflows with advanced capabilities like integration with Power Apps and Power BI for enhanced data visualization and interaction.

Microsoft

Office 365 integrates cloud services for efficient collaboration, offering a set of tools like Teams, SharePoint, and Outlook. Designed for productivity with multi-device access, it supports automation and remote work through its cloud-based features.

Office 365 enhances business efficiency by providing a comprehensive suite of applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, crucial for document creation and management. It offers seamless communication and collaboration via Outlook for email and Teams for meetings. The integration with SharePoint and OneDrive ensures robust document management and storage, facilitating remote access while supporting advanced security and automation features like Power Apps and Copilot. Despite its extensive capabilities, users note room for improvement in areas like cost, external connectivity, and upgrade disruptions. There's a need for better integration with third-party apps, enhanced Excel performance on Mac, and improved AI functionalities to simplify usage.

What are the most valuable Office 365 features?

Integration: Connects various Microsoft services for improved workflows.
Cloud Collaboration: Facilitates teamwork through Teams and SharePoint.
Advanced Security: Includes features ensuring data protection.
Real-time Editing: Allows simultaneous document work.
Automatic Updates: Ensures up-to-date software without manual intervention.
Multi-device Access: Supports various devices for versatility.
OneDrive Storage: Offers scalable cloud storage solutions.
Automation Tools: Power Apps and Copilot increase efficiency.

What benefits and ROI should organizations consider?

Productivity Boost: Streamlined tools for efficient task completion.
Global Accessibility: Work can be conducted from any location.
Cost Management: Flexible licensing aligns with business needs.
Security Assurance: Mitigates risks and protects data integrity.
Support for Remote Work: Enhances collaboration across distances.

In industries such as healthcare, finance, and education, Office 365 is used to manage documents securely, facilitate meetings through Teams, and store sensitive information on OneDrive. Its user-friendly tools support teaching and learning, enhancing productivity and providing robust solutions for document sharing and communication.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Del Monte Foods, Unicredit Leasing, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, Nokia Czech Republic, Perkins Eastman, JLL, ICA, óxito Software, Dorset Software, PKP Cargo, Arcapita Bank B.S.C., AVE CZ, Chesapeake Energy

Me & the Bees Lemonade

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server vs. Office 365