Home/M-Files/Comparisons/M-Files or SharePoint
ComparisonM-Files or SharePoint: when do you need what?
SharePoint is excellent for collaboration, team sites and intranets. M-Files adds document management on top: documents organised by what they are, approvals that decide which version is valid, and access that follows the customer or project. Often the answer is both.
See when to choose what Talk to an expert
Illustrative example
In short
SharePoint and M-Files solve different problems. SharePoint is Microsoft’s platform for team sites, intranets and collaboration, with libraries, folders and metadata columns that you configure yourself. M-Files is a document management system that organises documents by metadata, links them to customers, projects and contracts, controls approvals and versions, and sets access automatically. Since July 2025, M-Files Cloud stores documents in SharePoint Embedded inside your own Microsoft 365 tenant, so the two work together.
Three situations, three answers
It is rarely a choice between the two. The question is which documents need more than SharePoint gives you out of the box.
Collaboration is the goal
Team sites, intranet, shared working documents and co-authoring, with a manageable number of documents and few formal rules.
- Teams and intranet
- Co-authoring
- Simple folder structures
Documents carry responsibility
Most commonContracts, procedures, client and project files that need approvals, a valid version, automatic access and an audit trail, while people keep working in Microsoft 365.
- Metadata instead of folders
- Approval and version states
- Access that follows the context
Different jobs, one tenant
SharePoint stays the intranet and collaboration space. M-Files manages the documents that must be controlled, and can show content from SharePoint and network drives in its views.
- Intranet in SharePoint
- Controlled documents in M-Files
- One Microsoft 365 experience
M-Files runs on Microsoft’s own storage
Since July 2025, M-Files Cloud stores documents in SharePoint Embedded, inside your own Microsoft 365 tenant. Documents keep Microsoft 365 co-authoring, Teams and Microsoft Purview, while M-Files adds the metadata, workflows and permissions.
So the real question is not M-Files or Microsoft. It is whether your important documents need structure and control beyond a library with folders.
- Storage in your own Microsoft 365 tenant (M-Files Cloud)
- Work in Teams, Outlook and Office
- Microsoft Purview stays available
- On-premises M-Files keeps working as before
SharePoint alone, or M-Files with Microsoft 365
What each option does out of the box. Much is possible in SharePoint too, but you build and maintain it yourself.
| Topic | SharePoint alone | M-Files with Microsoft 365 |
|---|---|---|
| Organisation | Sites, libraries and folders, with metadata columns you configure | Organised by what a document is, shown in dynamic views |
| One document, several contexts | A copy or a link in each place | One document, visible under customer, project and contract |
| Versions | Version history with restore | Version history with restore, plus approval states that mark the valid version |
| Workflows | Power Automate flows that you build and maintain | Workflow states built into the document’s lifecycle |
| Permissions | Per site, library, folder or item, with inheritance you manage | Rules on metadata: access follows customer, project or status |
| Retention | Microsoft Purview retention labels, depending on licence | Retention rules on metadata, alongside Purview |
| AI | Microsoft 365 Copilot; AI metadata extraction with a paid Microsoft 365 add-on | M-Files Aino suggests metadata and answers questions within M-Files permissions, alongside Copilot |
| Other repositories | Content stored in SharePoint and OneDrive | Can show content from network drives and other systems without moving it all |
| Collaboration and intranet | Strong: Teams, co-authoring, intranet sites | Uses the same Microsoft 365 co-authoring and Teams |
Is SharePoint enough for your documents?
Answer these five questions for your most important documents. Two or more answers with yes usually mean that M-Files pays off.
- Must documents be linked to customers, projects or contracts?
- Does an approval decide which version is valid?
- Do auditors or regulators ask for evidence?
- Do documents also live outside SharePoint?
- Is nobody really maintaining the folder structure and permissions?
Discovery: we find out together which platform fits
Two yes answers, or none, and still not sure? In Discovery we look at how your documents really flow and give you honest advice: SharePoint with MacroView, M-Files with Microsoft 365, or both side by side. We work with both, so the advice follows your documents.
Discover Discovery- A half-day session, on site or remote
- Platform advice per type of document, with a plan to start
- The report is yours, also without a follow-up
Questions about M-Files and SharePoint
Does M-Files replace SharePoint?
No. Most organisations keep SharePoint for collaboration and the intranet, and use M-Files for the documents that must be controlled.
Where does M-Files store our documents?
M-Files Cloud stores them in SharePoint Embedded inside your own Microsoft 365 tenant. On-premises installations keep their own storage.
Can we keep the documents that are in SharePoint now?
Yes. Documents can stay where they are and be shown in M-Files views, or be moved into M-Files with metadata when they need to be controlled.
Do we still need Power Automate?
Not for document workflows in M-Files: approvals and lifecycles are built in. Power Automate stays useful for other Microsoft 365 processes.
Is SharePoint not cheaper?
SharePoint is included in many Microsoft 365 licences. The real cost is in building and maintaining structure, workflows and permissions. M-Files is priced per user and edition; the price calculator gives an estimate.
Not sure which fits your documents?
In 30 minutes we look at your documents and tell you honestly whether SharePoint is enough or M-Files adds value.