What is the Difference between SharePoint and OneDrive | 2023

• Is SharePoint the Same as OneDrive?
• What is the Difference between SharePoint and OneDrive?
• Bonus Tip: Sync SharePoint Online with OneDrive via MultCloud
• Conclusion

Is SharePoint the Same as OneDrive?

Both SharePoint and OneDrive are designed by Microsoft and can be used to store files. However, they are not the same. You can look through the OneDrive vs SharePoint comparison below to find out their main differences.

SharePoint is a web-based collaboration and document management platform. It provides a centralized location for big organizations to manage documents, projects, team sites, and other stuff. The primary use cases of SharePoint are Intranet Portals and Document Management. Also, it includes multiple tools and features like workflows, lists, and calendars. Compared to personal use, it tends to be business or team use.

On the other hand, OneDrive is a cloud-based file management service. You can access the files on OneDrive from any device online. OneDrive can be used to store and share files and can integrate them with Microsoft products like Office 365 and Microsoft Teams. It also has some features such as syncing files between devices and collaborating documents in real time. OneDrive serves individuals, businesses, and organizations.

In a word, SharePoint is a collaboration platform while OneDrive is a cloud storage service. Besides, SharePoint is offered to larger teams compared to OneDrive.

What is the Difference between SharePoint and OneDrive?

The above section tells that SharePoint is different from OneDrive and this section will show the differences between them from 5 perspectives: price and storage, user experience, ownership of data, content organization and management, and customization and integration. After reading this part, you may have a further understanding of the differences between SharePoint and OneDrive.

Price and Storage

OneDrive provides not only personal services as OneDrive but also business services as OneDrive for Business. The price and storage are different between them. When you sign up and become a new OneDrive user, you can get 5 GB of free storage. If you want more, you have to upgrade to its paid plan and the basic one costs $1.99 per month for 100 GB of storage.

OneDrive for Business doesn’t have free storage. So, if you want to use it, you have to purchase the paid plan which you would at least spend $5 per month to get 1 TB of storage. Or you can buy the plan called Microsoft 365 Business Basic and spend $6 /month to get 1 TB of storage. But you can enjoy more services such as Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, and Yammer from this plan.

SharePoint also doesn’t have free storage and the basic paid plan needs you to pay $5 per month for 1 TB of storage. However, this paid plan can be applied to SharePoint, OneDrive, and Lists. If you want limited storage, you can upgrade to SharePoint Online (Plan 2) which costs $10 /month.

User Experience

For a new user who just start using these 2 services, you may find that using SharePoint is more complex than using OneDrive since SharePoint has more features. OneDrive, on the other hand, is easier to master its usage. OneDrive is designed for personal use, so it doesn’t have as many functions as SharePoint.

Ownership of Data

Because SharePoint is mainly used for organizational collaboration, it allows various users to work on files, manage file versions, and control access to files. The data belongs to everyone who has access permission and they can edit or share the data together. Besides, the number of members in a SharePoint group is not fixed. It means if more people join this group, the files will belong to more people.

However, OneDrive is mainly used for personal storage. Every file that you store on OneDrive is private and only belongs to the owner of a specific OneDrive account. Except for the OneDrive owner, no one can edit or share the files. If others want to view the files, they need to receive a grant from the OneDrive owner.

Content Organization and Management

SharePoint users can create sites to collect content like web pages. Therefore, it can organize the files by a specific project, department, or function. Besides, it provides tools for creating and managing lists and libraries. Lists serve to manage structured data and libraries are used to store content like documents and images. You can also set permissions and access controls to decide who can access and edit the files on SharePoint.

However, the ways that OneDrive uses to organize and manage files can be also realized on SharePoint, such as managing files by a file structure, metadata, or searching.

Customization and Integration

SharePoint can collaborate with other systems, including custom workflows, web parts, and apps. It can also integrate with other Microsoft tools such as Planner and Power Automate. But OneDrive is basically integrated with Microsoft 365 tools like Office 365. Thus, it has fewer customized options.

Summary

All in all, if you want to use a cloud drive for an organization or a team, you can choose SharePoint. SharePoint offers more storage and all of your team members can access the files stored on it simply. Besides, the ways that SharePoint uses to organize and manage files are more plentiful. Also, SharePoint has more features and integrates with more products.

But if you just want to find one cloud drive for personal use, OneDrive is a good choice. OneDrive offers free storage and it is easier for you to start using. In addition, because no one else can access your files on OneDrive without your grant, it will be more secure in this regard.

Bonus Tip: Sync SharePoint Online with OneDrive via MultCloud

If you decide to try both of them after learning the difference between OneDrive and SharePoint or if you already have both of these 2 clouds, you can sync SharePoint with OneDrive to connect them. You can benefit from the connection in managing the files together and updating the same files automatically. In this regard, you can use MultCloud to achieve the synchronization easily.

MultCloud is used to manage your multiple clouds. Cloud Sync is one of its popular functions which is used to sync one cloud with another cloud with a few clicks. The steps of syncing SharePoint Online with OneDrive by MultCloud Cloud Sync are as follows.

Step 1: Open the MultCloud website and click “Sign up Free”.

Step 2: Click “Add Cloud” and tap the SharePoint Online and OneDrive icons. Then you should log in to your accounts.

Step 3: Choose Cloud Sync and select which cloud you are willing to sync from/to by clicking each box. Then click the button “Sync Now” and the files in SharePoint Online will be synced to OneDrive.

Conclusion

You can learn what is the difference between SharePoint and OneDrive from 5 aspects of this post. In conclusion, SharePoint and OneDrive differ in price and storage, user experience, ownership of data, content organization and management, and customization and integration. If you want to sync these 2 clouds, the bonus tip also introduces you an efficient way to do so by MultCloud Cloud Sync.

Additionally, MultCloud Cloud Sync can be used for more cloud drives like syncing Box and Dropbox. Also, you can try Cloud Transfer, Cloud Backup, Share, or Remote Upload on MultCloud which are helpful to manage your various clouds.