How are SharePoint and OneDrive different?

But how are SharePoint and OneDrive different? And which one is best for you? Let's find out details through the following article!

1. Different target audiences

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Microsoft OneDrive is a cloud-based file storage service for individuals or small groups. You can use it as a personal storage space for confidential data that you share with a small group. Its seamless integration with Office applications makes it a great choice if you're a student, freelancer, or self-employed.

Microsoft SharePoint is a cloud-based content management system for streamlined team collaboration. You can create SharePoint sites to store files and make them available to specific departments or the entire organization. Individuals on a SharePoint site can view and, depending on permissions, edit the work of others.

Microsoft advertises these products in different ways. OneDrive is marketed as a cloud storage service for individuals and small businesses. In contrast, SharePoint is aimed at businesses and corporations, focusing on improving teamwork rather than just serving as a storage solution.

2. File sharing and collaboration

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Collaboration and file sharing are much smoother with Microsoft SharePoint. In OneDrive, only the file owner can control who views, edits, and shares files. SharePoint allows central administrators to assign different levels of access to each user or group.

SharePoint has an intuitive interface and features like status updates, deadline alerts, and project tracking notifications. These simplify project management in ways that OneDrive doesn't offer. You can also integrate Yammer - a social networking service - into SharePoint. Doing so allows team members to communicate directly.

While both platforms allow users to create file libraries to organize content, it's easier to manage and navigate them in SharePoint. This is a more important consideration as data volumes increase. So, if you prioritize easy collaboration and file sharing, SharePoint is the right choice.

Both OneDrive and SharePoint let you access your data from any device, regardless of your location. Both support syncing across devices, allowing you to transfer your data for local use on any device if needed. As such, both platforms offer essentially the same features in this aspect.

3. Security and privacy

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Microsoft has taken solid measures to ensure the security of both services. With real-time data encryption, you can back up your data on SharePoint and OneDrive. Furthermore, if you accidentally delete a file, you can restore it from the trash on both platforms. However, in SharePoint, you can only restore files that you can edit.

Microsoft uses virus detection tools to scan files uploaded to SharePoint and OneDrive. This helps protect your files and online storage space. If a file is detected to be infected with a virus, each service will immediately notify the user. SharePoint administrators can block user access to any infected files in the database.

Despite these security measures, you should be aware of potential risks when sharing files on either platform. Avoid accidentally sharing files with unauthorized members and carefully manage editing permissions to avoid data loss and theft. You should also limit oversharing to simplify data management and security.

4. Pricing and storage

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On the free plan, OneDrive offers 15GB of storage, which is enough for personal use. If you need more space, you have two options. You can subscribe to Microsoft 365 Basic, which offers 100GB for $1.99/month. Or you can choose Microsoft 365 Personal, which offers 1TB of storage for $6.99/month.

Note: OneDrive's standalone plan is called Microsoft 365 Basic. Keep this in mind to avoid any confusion.

In contrast, SharePoint does not offer a free plan. Its standalone plan costs $5/user/month, providing up to 1TB of storage per user. Additionally, you can purchase SharePoint as part of a Microsoft 365 Business plan. This provides administrators with up to 25TB of website storage.

SharePoint's price and storage make team collaboration more affordable. OneDrive, especially with the free plan, is better suited to individual needs.

5. More advanced features

SharePoint offers some advanced features that OneDrive does not. Its web publishing feature allows you to publish important documents directly on your company's external website using an integrated content management system. This allows employees or consumers to download those documents whenever they need them.

SharePoint also allows you to add applications to internal pages or websites, create employee portals, review forms, etc. It also allows you to automate tasks based on user actions, like emailing new files to a specific team or project leader. OneDrive does not provide this feature.

Should you use SharePoint or OneDrive?

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If you're an individual without a team or a small business owner who doesn't need extensive collaboration and large storage capacity, OneDrive can meet your needs. However, SharePoint is better if you manage a large team that requires frequent collaboration and more data storage.

You can also use both services because the SharePoint plan includes OneDrive. You can use OneDrive to store confidential company documents like business plans and financial records, while restricting access to certain members. Meanwhile, you can create a SharePoint site to collaborate on less sensitive documents like policies, schedules, and training data.

Additionally, you can sync OneDrive with SharePoint, making it more convenient to use both the tool and Microsoft Teams to improve team collaboration.

In short, OneDrive is best suited for personal use, while SharePoint is better suited for larger group collaboration.

David Pac

Update 26 March 2024