SharePoint vs OneDrive: Where Should You Save Your Files?

Which Is Better for Saving Files, SharePoint or OneDrive? Both of them Using the same Microsoft 365 account, you may use both OneDrive and SharePoint as online cloud storage apps. Users may become confused about which service to utilize to save their data because these two services sync internally.

We are contrasting SharePoint vs OneDrive based on the advantages of storage and access to assist you in making a choice.

Difference Between OneDrive and SharePoint

OneDrive and SharePoint vary primarily in that the former is a cloud storage repository for a single user with a single user ID and the latter is a document management system for a whole team.

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Their looks are really dissimilar. OneDrive appears and feels like any other online storage provider. Its user-friendly interface makes it easy to find documents, view them online, and move between files and folders.

On the other hand, SharePoint appears to be a “SharePoint site,” which is a template for a corporate website. You must first build an intranet, extranet, or customer portal site in order to access any saved files or folders. This is undoubtedly a highly special and distinctive method of document storage.

Notably, SharePoint Online is not compatible with a standard OneDrive account and cannot be accessed with a Microsoft 365 free, Basic, Personal, or Family subscription. Any of the three Microsoft 365 Business plans—Basic, Standard, or Premium—must always be in place in order to utilize SharePoint. Aside from the things below, that is crucial to consider when choosing between the two.

1. Collaboration:

The collaboration features of OneDrive are not as extensive as those of SharePoint. For instance, since a OneDrive account is associated with a single user ID, additional users are unable to co-author or modify a document in real time.

When you enable OneDrive’s Share option, which allows anybody with a link to edit an item, you can allow manual edits by other users. When you submit the edited version to your OneDrive account, it is handled differently.

SharePoint users can become co-authors and remotely update their documents to immediately impact any changes on the main site (without admin scrutiny), depending on their access levels on a site page. Imagine a web page that instantly refreshes when a client sends feedback or an employee fills out an appraisal.

Furthermore, SharePoint includes a versioning tool that allows you to maintain track of previous versions of various documents by automatically saving file versions. You have to repeatedly store every file version on OneDrive.

2. Workflow Differences:

Workflow-wise, SharePoint is more complicated than OneDrive. Initially, you must establish a SharePoint site using either your own custom domain or a SharePoint subdomain. The site administrator must then send emails to participants inviting them to their SharePoint site. This implies that they need to be “enrolled” on the website.

There are no usage restrictions for OneDrive. It is not necessary to add other team members to your OneDrive account in order to share documents. As long as they are signed into separate Microsoft accounts, they can access anything you share.

Setting the permissions for each site user will be your largest task as the site administrator of a SharePoint site. If they are merely site visitors or guests, for instance, you can limit them to a “read only” status. Certain users may have restricted editing access based on their positions within the company.

OneDrive accounts do not have SharePoint’s intricate system of rules because they are linked to a single user ID.

3. Storage Limits:

Microsoft 365 Business plans come with both SharePoint and OneDrive, however SharePoint has significantly larger storage capacities. When using OneDrive with a Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, or any of the business plans, the maximum storage capacity is 1024 GB (1 TB).

Compared to OneDrive, all SharePoint plans come with higher storage space. You can find that one site has at least 1.24 TB (1240 GB) of storage space if you check Active sites under the SharePoint admin center. The “site collection,” or total storage for all of your websites, can have a maximum capacity of 25 TB.

Note: To benefit from the extra storage, OneDrive and a SharePoint account can be synchronized with ease. One of the simplest ways to add SharePoint to Windows File Explorer is to use its Sync button.

4. File Size and File Upload Limits:

Large file storage and sharing are supported by SharePoint and OneDrive, with individual file upload caps of up to 250 GB for businesses. Both support compressed files with upload and download caps of 20 GB each, and they can sync files up to 250 GB in size.

Although the upload limits for files are the same, SharePoint provides more flexibility when it comes to file size limitations. Unlike OneDrive, which only enables lists of 50,000 items, it supports lists of 30 million files and folders. Compared to SharePoint’s 300,000 objects, OneDrive allows you to copy and paste up to 2500 things at once. Finally, there is a 300,000 item sync restriction on OneDrive. With SharePoint, these kinds of limitations won’t apply to you.

5. Ease of Use:

The Microsoft 365 apps dashboard lists the OneDrive and SharePoint apps under Apps or My Apps. When you select one of them, your Windows, Linux, or Mac web browser opens in a new tab.SharePoint does not come with any app bundles for iOS or Android, in contrast to OneDrive.

You can send large files via email using OneDrive or SharePoint. Additionally, you can make a sharable link and distribute them via the Outlook app based on its own set of restrictions. Your receiver needs to have a web email address in order to download SharePoint files; otherwise, they won’t get the notifications.

OneDrive enables several other ways in addition to emailing documents to you. OneDrive, for example, is available for download from the Mac App Store or Microsoft Store. Additionally, Linux integration is supported.

6. Licensing Costs:

OneDrive often has less expensive licensing fees and more flexible pricing. OneDrive accounts start at just $5 per gigabyte, and you can upgrade to a 50 GB plan for just $9.99 a year.

Entry-level SharePoint usage requires at least a Microsoft 365 Business Basic plan, which runs $6 a month. Each site may have up to 25 TB of flat storage, which is supported by all SharePoint subscriptions.

OneDrive files are not just less expensive, but they are also simpler to handle on non-Microsoft hardware. OneDrive files and folders can be shared with other chat programs like Wire, Telegram, Signal, WhatsApp, and others.

SharePoint Vs. OneDrive Vs. Teams: Where Should You Save Your Files

As previously mentioned, OneDrive and SharePoint each have perks of their own. Microsoft Teams, another Microsoft 365 app (Work account), has a 1 TB storage restriction per organization. Which option, out of these three, should you choose to save your files?

First, let’s recall that the storage capacity for a Teams Work account is provided by SharePoint. Actually, a Teams channel’s File tab opens up a direct access to a SharePoint folder. You truly use up your SharePoint storage allotment when you save a file in Teams.

Any files used in Teams can also be saved with OneDrive. To move any Teams documents to OneDrive, launch the Teams app on your Windows PC, select the Sync tab, and click the button. Teams may be integrated with SharePoint at a deeper level thanks to its more sophisticated features. For instance, adding a new team member would immediately enroll them in your SharePoint microsite if it is for a group of Microsoft 365 customers.

LAST WORD: Ultimately, your needs will determine whether you save your data on OneDrive or SharePoint. OneDrive is a superior option if all you need is a cloud-based file storage cabinet, mostly because it is less expensive. Moving your files and folders from OneDrive to SharePoint makes more sense, though, if they need any kind of cooperation.