# SharePoint vs Google Drive: Which Fits Your Business? | AvantIT > SharePoint or Google Drive for your SME? A side-by-side comparison table, when to choose each, where OneDrive fits, and what to plan before you migrate. Canonical: https://www.avantit.pt/en/blog/sharepoint-vs-google-drive-business/ Source: AvantIT — https://www.avantit.pt (Microsoft Partner, Matosinhos, Portugal) --- [Back to blog](https://www.avantit.pt/en/blog/) ![SME team organizing shared documents in a document management portal] [SharePoint](https://www.avantit.pt/en/blog/category/sharepoint/) # SharePoint or Google Drive: Which Is Better for Your Company's Document Management? ![Arsénio Ferraz] Arsénio Ferraz 2026-10-16 9 min The short answer: Google Drive is an excellent way to store and share files, and for small teams that work almost entirely in the browser it may be all they need. SharePoint is a document management platform: sites, libraries, metadata, permissions by area, retention and an intranet. If your company already works with Microsoft 365, Windows and Office, or needs to organize documents with clear rules, SharePoint is usually the stronger choice. And OneDrive is not the alternative to SharePoint: it is the personal side of the same system. ## Why this comparison is harder than it looks “SharePoint or Google Drive?” actually compares two different things. Google Drive is the file service in Google Workspace, designed to store, share and co-edit documents with minimal setup. SharePoint is the Microsoft 365 service that hosts team sites, document libraries, lists and the company intranet. It is also where the files from Teams channels are stored. So the decision is rarely just about “where to keep files”. It is about how the company wants to organize information, control access, meet retention rules and, increasingly, prepare its data for AI assistants. In most cases the real decision is Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace , and document storage follows from it. ## Comparison table: SharePoint vs Google Drive Criterion SharePoint (Microsoft 365) Google Drive (Google Workspace) **Structure** Sites per team, department or project, each with document libraries, lists and pages. Supports metadata columns, content types and filtered views. Folders and shared drives. Organization mainly through folder hierarchy and labels. Very easy to get started. **Permissions and external sharing** Permissions per site, library, folder or file, usually managed through Microsoft 365 groups. External sharing controllable at organization and site level. Permissions per shared drive, folder or file. External sharing controlled by the admin. Very intuitive for end users. **Versioning, retention and records** Version history in libraries, retention policies and retention labels through Microsoft Purview (depending on plan). File version history. Retention and legal holds through Google Vault, in the editions that include it. **Search** Microsoft Search across SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams and Outlook; metadata lets users filter and refine results. Google search inside Drive, fast and effective on full text. **Integration** Word, Excel and PowerPoint (desktop and web), Teams, Outlook, Power Automate and Power Apps. Docs, Sheets, Slides, Gmail and Meet; opens and edits Office files, with some formatting differences. **Intranet** Communication sites, news, global navigation and pages: an intranet platform out of the box. Google Sites supports simple internal pages; not an intranet platform of the same depth. **Compliance** Sensitivity labels, DLP and eDiscovery through Microsoft Purview, depending on plan (for example, Microsoft 365 Business Premium). DLP and sharing rules in higher editions; eDiscovery and retention with Google Vault. **AI assistant** Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat included with Business plans; the full Microsoft 365 Copilot, grounded in company data, is an add-on licence. Gemini built into Business plans, with features varying by edition. **Typical fit** Companies already on Office/Windows that need structure, an intranet, processes and compliance. Small, browser-first teams with simple document needs. A note on storage, as of October 2026: on Microsoft 365 Business plans, each user gets 1 TB of OneDrive storage by default, and the organization gets 1 TB of SharePoint storage plus 10 GB per licence purchased. In Google Workspace, storage is pooled across the organization: 30 GB per user on Business Starter, 2 TB on Business Standard and 5 TB on Business Plus. For most SMEs, space is not the deciding factor; organization is. ## OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams: what is the difference? This is probably the most common confusion we see in companies using Microsoft 365. All three show up as places where “the files are”, but they play different roles: - OneDrive: my files. Each user’s personal space. Use it for drafts, individual work and files that don’t yet belong to a team. You can share from it, but if the employee leaves, the files stay tied to their account. - SharePoint: team and company files. Where documents that belong to a department, project or process live: contracts, procedures, approved proposals. It has collective ownership, permissions by area and retention rules. - Teams: the collaboration surface. Teams is where people talk and work together. When you open the “Files” tab in a channel, you are actually looking at a SharePoint library. When you attach a file in a private chat, it is stored in the sender’s OneDrive. The practical rule is simple: personal work lives in OneDrive, team work lives in SharePoint, and Teams is the front door to both. Without this rule you end up with “FINAL_v3” files scattered across chats, as we explained in our article on [file and version chaos in Teams](https://www.avantit.pt/en/blog/teams-file-chaos-versioning/). In Google Workspace the equivalent logic is “My Drive” (personal) versus shared drives (team). The difference is that in Microsoft 365 the team level is a full SharePoint site, with pages, lists and metadata, not just a shared folder. ## When to choose each ### Google Drive (Google Workspace) can be the right choice when - The company is small and works almost exclusively in the browser, on Chromebooks or a mix of devices. - It already uses Gmail, Google Calendar and Meet, with no dependency on advanced Excel, macros or complex Office files. - Document needs are simple: share, co-edit and find files, without approval processes or metadata. - Above all, it values simplicity of administration and adoption. There is nothing wrong with this choice. Google Workspace is a mature product, and browser co-editing is very good. ### SharePoint (Microsoft 365) wins when - The company already works with Windows, Outlook, Word and Excel, and clients and suppliers exchange Office files. - It needs structured document management : metadata (client, status, document type), filtered views, templates and approval flows with Power Automate. - It wants an intranet : internal news, procedures, onboarding, a staff directory and access to tools from a single portal. - It has compliance requirements: GDPR, document retention, audits, confidential information that must not leave the company. - It uses Teams as its main collaboration tool; SharePoint is already behind every team. - It is preparing for Copilot. Copilot answers based on the documents each user can access, so a well-defined SharePoint structure and permissions are the foundation for AI that is both useful and safe. We cover this in our article on [SharePoint and knowledge management in 2026](https://www.avantit.pt/en/blog/sharepoint-2026-knowledge-management/). If your company already pays for Microsoft 365 but keeps documents in Google Drive (or the other way round), you are probably paying twice for storage and splitting information across two places. It is worth making a decision. ## Migrating from Google Drive to SharePoint: what to plan Microsoft provides Migration Manager in the SharePoint admin center, which supports migrating Google Drive to OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams at no additional licensing cost. The process follows these steps: connect to Google Workspace (by installing Microsoft’s migration app), scan and assess drives, add them to a migration list, review destination paths, map identities, and finally migrate and monitor. Files are copied, and the originals remain in Google Drive until you decide to retire them. The tool handles the copy. What determines success is what happens before it: - Structure first. Don’t replicate the Drive folder tree as it is. Define sites (by department, project or client) and libraries before migrating. A migration is the best opportunity to tidy up. Our [guide to creating a SharePoint site](https://www.avantit.pt/en/blog/create-sharepoint-site/) helps with this stage. - Permissions. Map who needs access to what and use Microsoft 365 groups instead of file-by-file sharing. Use the opportunity to review old external shares. - Metadata. Identify where a folder name is doing the job of a label (for example, “Client X / 2025 / Invoices”) and turn it into searchable columns. - Native Google files. Docs, Sheets and Slides need converting to Office formats; review the scan report to identify files and formats that need attention. - Communication and training. Tell teams when the switch happens, where their files will be and where to save each type of document from that day on. For a broader view of phases, risks and governance, see our [SharePoint Online migration guide](https://www.avantit.pt/en/blog/sharepoint-migration-cloud-strategy-guide/). ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the difference between OneDrive and SharePoint? OneDrive is each user’s personal space; SharePoint is the shared space for teams and the company. They run on the same technology, but OneDrive belongs to a person and SharePoint belongs to a team or area, with its own permissions and rules. ### Is Google Drive good enough for company document management? It is good for storing, sharing and co-editing files, and for small teams it may be enough. For metadata, approval flows, an intranet and structured retention, SharePoint offers more capability out of the box. ### Are Teams files stored in SharePoint? Yes. Files shared in a team channel are stored in the library of the SharePoint site connected to that team. Files shared in private chats are stored in the OneDrive of the person who shared them. ### Can I migrate from Google Drive to SharePoint without losing information? Yes, with planning. Microsoft’s Migration Manager supports Google Drive as a source and copies files without deleting the originals. The key is to define the target structure, permissions and handling of native Google files beforehand. ### Do I need to pay extra for Copilot to use AI on SharePoint documents? As of October 2026, Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is included at no additional cost with Microsoft 365 Business plans. The full Microsoft 365 Copilot, which works with company documents, emails and meetings inside the apps, is an add-on licence. ## Next step If you are deciding between SharePoint and Google Drive, or you already have Microsoft 365 but documents are still scattered, the starting point is structure. AvantIT designs and implements [SharePoint solutions for SMEs](https://www.avantit.pt/en/services/modern-work/intranets/), from information architecture to migration and intranet. You can explore our [industry SharePoint intranet templates](https://www.avantit.pt/en/sharepoint-templates/) to see what a ready-to-use structure looks like, or [book a demo](https://www.avantit.pt/en/book-a-demo/) and we will look at your company’s case with you. #### Editorial Policy At Avantit, we value authenticity and human expertise. This article was written and reviewed by our experts, ensuring technical accuracy grounded in real-world projects. We do not publish content generated exclusively by AI without validation by one of our consultants. ### Share and Comment Share: [Comment on LinkedIn](https://linkedin.com/company/avantitlda) ### Related Topics sharepoint vs google drive sharepoint or google drive onedrive vs sharepoint difference microsoft 365 vs google workspace for small business company document management migrate google drive to sharepoint onedrive vs sharepoint vs teams ## Keep reading More articles on this topic. [Find Any File in SharePoint: A Practical Search Guide for Teams If your team wastes time hunting for documents in SharePoint, the problem is not the tool — it is how they search. A practical advanced-search guide, with examples, for decision-makers and teams. 12 min](https://www.avantit.pt/en/blog/sharepoint-kql-search-guide/)[An Intranet in Days, Not Months: How SharePoint Templates Accelerate Implementation How to use industry-specific SharePoint templates to launch a professional intranet in days. Template vs custom comparison, AvantIT's 22 templates, and the implementation process. 8 min](https://www.avantit.pt/en/blog/sharepoint-templates-fast-intranet/)[SharePoint in 2026 Is Not a File Manager — It's Your Company's Brain Learn how to use SharePoint as a knowledge management system in 2026: Microsoft Semantic Index, Copilot, and 4 practical use cases for SMEs that want to adopt AI successfully. 7 min](https://www.avantit.pt/en/blog/sharepoint-2026-knowledge-management/) [See every article on SharePoint](https://www.avantit.pt/en/blog/category/sharepoint/) If this sounds familiar because it is your problem, not just curiosity: [SharePoint and Modern Work services](https://www.avantit.pt/en/services/modern-work/) ### Enjoyed this article? Subscribe to our newsletter to receive more content like this or contact us to learn how we can implement these solutions in your company. ### Send us a message Fill out the form below and we will get back to you shortly. 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