Updated July 5, 2023
If your small business needs a collaboration platform and intranet software, many people will suggest Microsoft SharePoint. But there are plenty of SharePoint alternatives out there―including options that give you a better price, easier adoption, and tailored templates.
In this guide, we’ll list some of the top trending SharePoint alternatives―and we’ll tell you all about our handpicked favorite SharePoint competitors.
And if you don’t find the right SharePoint alternative for your business, check out our Collaboration Software Guide for plenty more options to pick from.
In this article...
Top Microsoft SharePoint alternatives
Google Workspace is best for giving you both collaboration and productivity tools.
Huddle is best for communicating and sharing with external collaborators.
Igloo is best for sharing info with and managing deskless workers.
Confluence by Atlassian is best for affordable plans that can work with many budgets.
Intranet Connections is best for hosting your own on-premise intranet.
Google Workspace: Best for productivity
Pros
Cons
Google Workspace offers a free trial.
Business Starter starts at $5.40 per user per month, billed annually.
Business Standard starts at $10.80 per user per month, billed annually.
Business Plus starts at $18 per user per month, billed annually.
Enterprise Edition requires custom pricing.
Storage: Workspace includes tons of file storage―up to 5 TB per user on the Business plan. (That makes it a great alternative for teams trying to decide between SharePoint vs. OneDrive.)
Apps: All plans give you access to 12 different apps. With options for document creation, task management file sharing, and more, Google Workspace can replace Microsoft Office―not just SharePoint.
Communication: Use Google Workspace to stay in touch with local and remote teams. Email, instant messaging, audio calling, and videoconferencing allow for easy team communication.
Google Workspace gives you business versions of the free Google apps you probably already know. It includes Google Chat, Drive, Docs, Gmail Sheets, Sites, Slides, and more.
With so many apps, you can easily use Google Workspace as a SharePoint alternative. Need document collaboration? Use Google Docs. Want cloud storage and file sharing? Google Drive works great. But unlike Microsoft SharePoint, you can also use Google Workspace for just about any other productivity needs you have―from team communication to data reporting to creating files for public use. In other words, Google Workspace can take on double duty for your team.
Also read: Google Workspace Product Overview
Huddle: Best for external collaboration
Pros
Cons
Huddle offers a free trial.
Essential plan starts at $15 per user per month.
Plus plan starts at $30 per user per month.
Team Starter plan starts at $150 per month.
Premier plan requires custom pricing.
Client portals: Huddle lets you create custom portals for external clients. Give clients access to exactly what they need and nothing they don’t―and Huddle will create an audit trail on the way.
Activity tracking: Keep an eye on your files with Huddle activity tracking. You’ll know who’s viewing, editing, and downloading files (and how often).
FedRAMP security: Huddle’s collaboration platform has FedRAMP Authority to operate―meaning it meets government security requirements for encryption and data storage.
Huddle is a cloud-based collaboration software that includes file sharing, document collaboration, and knowledge management. Huddle is designed for highly regulated industries, so it also comes with tight security.
That security makes Huddle an excellent choice for external collaboration. You can share your data (and your clients can share their data) with full encryption. Plus, Huddle includes tools like branded client portals, activity tracking for your pages and files, and granular user permissions. So whether you use Huddle for external or just team collaboration, you’ll know you’re safely sharing with just the people you want to share with.
Also read: Huddle Product Overview
Igloo offers both out-of-the-box and tailored pricing to fit your business needs and structure.
Mobile app: While other SharePoint alternatives have mobile apps, Igloo makes its phone and tablet apps a focus rather than an afterthought. Computer-less employees will have full intranet access.
Tasks: Igloo includes essential project management tools. It lets you create to-do lists (complete with task assignments) and remind users of upcoming tasks.
Read tracking: Make sure your employees actually see and read important documents. Igloo read tracking makes users acknowledge that they’ve received and read a document.
Igloo is another cloud-based intranet software, but it focuses mostly on internal communication and collaboration. It prides itself on being a turnkey software solution, so you can get up and running in no time.
While Igloo has tools for all kinds of internal communication (like easy wikis and file sharing), it has some especially good features for deskless workers. For instance, Igloo has a full-featured mobile app, so your employees don’t need a computer to access it. Likewise, Igloo includes task management tools, making it a good way to communicate actual to-do lists for employees that don’t sit at a desk all day.
Confluence: Best for budget
Pros
Cons
Confluence offers free subscription for 10 users.
Standard plan starts at $5.75 per user per month.
Premium plan starts at $11 per user per month.
Enterprise plan requires custom pricing.
Free plan: Use Confluence’s free plan with up to 10 users. You get all the essential features―but with a limited number of users and less storage than other plans.
Integrations: Confluence has more than 1,000 software integrations, which lets it connect with just about every Microsoft Product, Google Workspace, OnlyOffice Workspace, and much, much more.
Templates: Get your collaboration platform ready faster with a Confluence template. It gives you over 75 options for everything from project management to style guides to team hubs.
Confluence is Atlassian’s team content collaboration tool. It includes features for knowledge management and project collaboration. While Confluence used to have an on-premise option, it now offers just cloud-based plans.
Those plans, though, can work within many team budgets. In fact, Confluence has a completely free plan for very small teams. If your team can’t use the free plan, its low-tier plan starts at well under $10 per user and gets you up to 20,000 users. Even if you decide to go Premium (for the 24/7 support and guaranteed uptime), Confluence isn’t that spendy compared to other SharePoint competitors. And don’t worry―all plans give you unlimited pages and team spaces.
Intranet Connections: Best for on-premise intranet
Pros
Cons
On-Premise starting at $19,000 for the first year ($3,800/year starting year two).
Cloud-Based starting at $9,500/year.
On-premise plan: Keep your intranet and your data on your own servers. With Intranet Connections’ on-premise option, you can use a local file server instead of cloud storage.
Push communication: Make sure your team sees important communications. Intranet Connections’ push communication tool sends messages via Slack, text, or email when you have important updates.
Segments: Not every team needs to see the same information. Intranet Connections’ modern intranet system lets you create segments that display different content for different teams.
Intranet Connections’ software includes document management, file sharing, an employee directory, and other social collaboration tools. It offers both a cloud-based plan and an on-premise plan.
Intranet Connections is one of the few SharePoint alternatives that offers an on-premise option. So if you’d considered SharePoint Server for your small business (instead of using SharePoint online), Intranet Connections could be just the solution you need. By maintaining your own intranet file server, you’ll keep more control over your data―and you won’t have to worry about an external file server outage.
Choosing the best SharePoint alternative
With all the SharePoint alternatives out there, which collaboration software will work best for your small business?
If you want team collaboration software that can double as a productivity solution, go with Google Workspace and its many apps.
If your business needs to share files and information with external collaborators, Huddle’s security and sharing tools are a great option.
If you have lots of deskless workers, Igloo includes a comprehensive mobile app with plenty of features for communicating with remote teams.
If you operate on a tight budget, Confluence includes both free and affordable paid plans for document collaboration.
If you want to keep your intranet local, Intranet Connections lets you host its software on a local file server instead of relying on its cloud servers.
Or, if none of these SharePoint competitors look quite right, take a look at our Collaboration Software Guide to explore even more options.
FAQ
What is SharePoint?
Microsoft SharePoint is a collaborative platform and intranet software. It offers features like document management, web publishing, team wikis, project management, and more.
What are the reasons to consider a SharePoint alternative?
Some reasons to consider a SharePoint alternative include cost and simplicity. SharePoint plans can get pricey―especially if you have to pay someone to manage your SharePoint intranet. And given its complexity, many teams do need a Microsoft SharePoint specialist. SharePoint alternatives may cost less, and many have simpler interfaces.
Featured partners
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Methodology and selection process
At TechnologyAdvice, we assess a wide range of factors before selecting our top choices for a given category. To make our selections, we rely on our extensive research, product information, vendor websites, competitor research, and first-hand experience. We then consider what makes a solution best for customer-specific needs.
By defining business needs, we can determine the essential PM dashboard features various sectors require, and select platforms that will cover all bases. Reputable providers known for their ease of use and customer satisfaction are added to our compilation list for further analysis.
We then evaluate each solution on the list based on the features they offer, considering the platform’s usability, integration capabilities, customization options, mobile access, and any other relevant functionalities. Price plans, hidden fees, customer reviews, and customer support are also assessed in the selection process.
Technology Advice writers will often take advantage of free trials and demos to get a first-hand user experience of available software. Finally, we curate a comprehensive list based on the previously stated factors, ensuring readers have the necessary tools to make an informed decision.
