Microsoft SharePoint alternatives: 8 document management tools compared
Organisations look past SharePoint when the toolkit never became a system: libraries have grown into folders nobody understands, or an auditor has asked for retention that the current licence does not cover. They move to a finished document management product, either a small one bought at a published price or an archiving suite implemented by a partner.
Pricing: Per user per month, published; included in most Microsoft 365 plans
Established in: United States
Built for: Microsoft 365 organisations with someone willing to design the structure
Not for: Firms without an administrator or with strict EU jurisdiction needs
01
Why buyers look past Microsoft SharePoint
01
A toolkit that waits for a designer
SharePoint does nothing until someone designs sites, libraries, content types and permissions. Companies without that person end up with a shared drive with extra steps. Those buyers want a product that arrives with its structure, approvals and retention already in a usable shape, such as Folderit, where workflows and automated retention policies are part of a listed plan.
02
Records features on a higher licence
Microsoft's licensing guidance grants retention policies and basic retention labels with Business Premium, E3 and above. Declaring items as records, disposition reviews and event-based retention need E5 or a Purview add-on. The moment compliance becomes serious, at the level of M-Files or Laserfiche, is the moment 'already paid for' stops being accurate.
03
Jurisdiction follows the vendor
Microsoft is an American company, and American jurisdiction applies whatever data region is selected. For firms with strict jurisdiction requirements, or with statutory archiving duties that a national auditor has to recognise, that can rule SharePoint out regardless of how well the features fit.
Free community edition; professional and cloud editions quoted
#5
documents must sit on your own infrastructure and a technical team can run it
03
What each one does differently
1
M-Files
Finland · Essentials per seat per month, published at EUR 65, billed annually; Enterprise priced on request
M-Files removes the folder tree that SharePoint libraries tend to drift back into: a document is described by its properties and appears wherever they apply. It works inside Microsoft 365 apps and runs in the cloud or self-hosted. The Essentials plan is listed at EUR 65 per seat monthly; Enterprise is quoted.
Switch from Microsoft SharePoint if retrieval is the real problem and you will invest in designing the metadata.
Estonia · Per month by plan, published: Mini EUR 45 for 5 users, Medium EUR 85 for 10 users, Tailor from EUR 113
Folderit is the finished small system that SharePoint is not. Mini is listed at EUR 45 a month for 5 users and 150 GB with OCR search, versioning and audit trails; Medium, at EUR 85 for 10 users and 500 GB, adds approval workflows, automated retention and custom metadata. API access and single sign-on sit on the Tailor plan.
Switch from Microsoft SharePoint if you are a small organisation with nobody to design and administer SharePoint.
Germany · Quoted through partners; cloud plans by user and document volume
DocuWare leads with audit-proof archiving and invoice capture, keeping records unalterable for statutory periods in a form an auditor recognises, where SharePoint leads with co-authoring. It is sold through partners, and implementation is scoped and billed separately from the licence.
Switch from Microsoft SharePoint if incoming invoices and statutory archiving are the requirement, not collaboration.
United States · Quoted per organisation; partner-led implementation
Laserfiche combines retention schedules and disposition with a forms-driven workflow engine, records depth that SharePoint reaches only on higher licences. Everything arrives through a partner, and the system assumes a records manager that small organisations do not employ.
Switch from Microsoft SharePoint if you are a public body or regulated organisation with a formal records function.
United States · Per user per month by licence tier, published, from USD 25; volume discounts; onboarding charged separately
Revver supplies what SharePoint leaves to you: folder templates that impose structure, retention rules, simple workflow and a client portal. It is bought at published per-user tiers, from USD 25 per user per month on Basic to USD 87 on Full, with no account minimum; implementation is charged separately.
Switch from Microsoft SharePoint if a small service firm wants structure out of the box and a client portal.
Fabasoft Cloud, from a listed Austrian company, keeps documents only in audited data centres in Austria, Germany or Switzerland, with BSI C5 and SOC 2 attestations. That answers the jurisdiction point SharePoint cannot. Workspaces suit cross-company sharing, and pricing is quoted.
Switch from Microsoft SharePoint if data residency and attestations are conditions of doing business with your clients.
United States · Quoted per user; annual agreements
NetDocuments organises everything by client and matter, with ethical walls and security profiles designed for professional firms, a model SharePoint would need someone to build. It is cloud only and priced per user after a sales conversation.
Switch from Microsoft SharePoint if you run a law or advisory firm that files by matter.
Spain · Free community edition; professional and cloud editions quoted
OpenKM runs on your own server with metadata, workflow and records management in a free community edition, the reverse of SharePoint's vendor-hosted bundle. Recent community releases ship without published source, and the paid editions have no published price.
Switch from Microsoft SharePoint if documents must sit on your own infrastructure and a technical team can run it.
When Microsoft SharePoint is still the right choice
SharePoint remains the sensible choice for a Microsoft 365 organisation with someone willing to design the structure. It is included in most plans, Office co-authoring works, and versioning, metadata columns and retention labels cover ordinary needs on Business Premium or E3. Every product listed here adds a second bill and a migration. If the design work gets done, many companies never need one.
05
What moving off Microsoft SharePoint involves
01
The metadata has to come with the files
An export that yields a folder tree of files leaves the columns behind. Before committing, move a hundred real documents and confirm that properties, version history and audit records arrive in a form the new system can map, not as something requested separately.
02
Protect the co-authoring habit
Staff edit Office files together inside SharePoint every day. The archiving-led systems lead with records, not collaboration. Consider leaving working documents in Microsoft 365 and moving only finished records, which avoids asking people to give up the feature they use most.
03
Retention labels must be restated
Purview labels belong to Microsoft's estate, and labels that mark items as records block editing and deletion. Write out each retention period with the rule behind it, rebuild them in the target, and check that scheduled deletion is automatic and logged. Do this before migrating, because retention shapes how the new system stores documents.
06
Questions about replacing Microsoft SharePoint
5 answers
Is SharePoint a real document management system?
It has the parts: versioning, metadata columns, Office co-authoring and Purview retention. It is a toolkit, not a finished system. Without designed sites, content types and permissions it behaves like a shared drive, which is why buyers compare Folderit, M-Files and DocuWare.
What is the best SharePoint alternative for a small business?
Folderit is priced per organisation: EUR 45 a month for 5 users, or EUR 85 for 10 users with approval workflows and automated retention.
Revver is the other direct-purchase option, from USD 25 per user per month, with client portals. Both are lighter than the partner-sold archiving suites.
Which SharePoint alternatives come from vendors outside the United States?
Several: Fabasoft Cloud and Therefore in Austria, DocuWare, d.velop and ELO Digital Office in Germany, M-Files in Finland, Folderit in Estonia and OpenKM in Spain. OpenKM can also be self-hosted, which keeps the documents on servers you run yourself.
Is M-Files better than SharePoint?
M-Files takes metadata furthest by removing folders altogether, so a document appears wherever its properties are relevant, and it works inside Microsoft 365 apps.
It only pays off with a carefully designed model. Essentials is listed at EUR 65 per seat monthly, while the Enterprise plan for regulated environments is quoted.
Do you need Microsoft 365 E5 for records management in SharePoint?
For the full version, yes. Microsoft's licensing guidance covers retention policies and ordinary retention labels with Business Premium or E3. Marking items as records, disposition reviews, event-based retention and adaptive scopes need E5 or a Purview add-on licence for the users who benefit.
