Overview
SharePoint is Microsoft's document management and intranet platform, sold primarily as part of Microsoft 365 and Office 365 subscriptions, with an on-premises edition (SharePoint Server Subscription Edition) for organisations that retain self-hosted requirements. It powers team sites, communication sites, document libraries, lists, and the underlying file storage for Microsoft Teams, OneDrive for Business, and Loop. SharePoint is the most widely deployed enterprise content management platform in the world by user count, largely because most Microsoft 365 commercial subscriptions include a SharePoint allocation.
Microsoft is consolidating its standalone SharePoint Online Plan 1 and Plan 2 SKUs. New sales of these plans cease on 31 May 2026, and renewals end in January 2027, with service continuing through December 2029. Buyers are being directed to Microsoft 365 Business and Enterprise bundles. The platform is broad but rarely the strongest in any specific ECM capability; it competes most directly with Box for collaboration and with Hyland, OpenText, and M-Files for structured records and document-centric workflow.
Key Features
- Document libraries with versioning, check-in/check-out, and co-authoring
- Team and communication sites with modern page authoring
- Microsoft Lists for structured data and lightweight applications
- Records management and retention through Microsoft Purview
- SharePoint Syntex AI for metadata extraction and document classification
- Power Automate workflows and Power Apps for citizen-developed forms
- Search across SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, and Exchange via Microsoft Search
- Tight integration with Teams, Outlook, and Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Sensitivity labels, DLP, and Conditional Access via Entra ID
- External sharing with B2B guest accounts and anonymous links (configurable)
- Hub sites and site templates for governed information architecture
- REST APIs, Microsoft Graph, and SharePoint Framework (SPFx) for custom development
Pricing
| Plan | Model | Typical Cost |
|---|---|---|
| SharePoint (Plan 1) — retiring | Per user/month, annual | $5/user/month |
| SharePoint (Plan 2) — retiring | Per user/month, annual | $10/user/month |
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard (includes SharePoint) | Per user/month, annual | $12.50/user/month |
| Microsoft 365 E3 (includes SharePoint Plan 2) | Per user/month, annual | $36/user/month |
Pricing verified from microsoft.com May 2026. Standalone SharePoint Plan 1 and Plan 2 sales end 31 May 2026. SharePoint Server Subscription Edition uses CAL plus server licence model and is sold via Volume Licensing.
Strengths
- Already paid for in most Microsoft 365 commercial tenants — effective marginal cost is zero
- Tight integration with Teams, Outlook, Office apps, and Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Microsoft Purview provides enterprise-grade information protection, DLP, and records retention
- Mature compliance certifications including FedRAMP High, IL5, HIPAA, ISO 27001, and GDPR controls
- Large partner ecosystem and the broadest skills pool of any ECM platform
- Microsoft Graph and SPFx provide rich extensibility for custom solutions
Limitations
- Records management capabilities require Microsoft Purview Premium licensing, which is rarely bundled
- Governance overhead is significant — uncontrolled site sprawl is the most common SharePoint complaint
- Search relevance and metadata configuration lag dedicated ECM platforms like M-Files and OpenText
- Heavy-file or fixed-content scenarios (engineering drawings, medical imaging) are not well served
- Migration off SharePoint is difficult once Teams, Loop, and Lists are entrenched