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Document management software · head to head

Microsoft SharePoint vs Google Drive

Priya Nandakumar Written by Priya Nandakumar · Edited by Sebastiaan Smits · Fact-checked by Connor Blake · Published September 30, 2026 · Updated September 30, 2026

Both arrive bundled with an office suite, so most buyers inherit one. The real gap is document control: SharePoint has check-out, content types and required metadata, while Google Drive has labels it does not enforce and approvals limited to its top editions. Microsoft 365 companies with compliance duties stay on SharePoint; Workspace companies with modest ones manage on Drive.

Side by side

Microsoft SharePointGoogle Drive
What it isDocument libraries and intranet within Microsoft 365Workspace file storage with real-time co-editing
Best forMicrosoft 365 organizationsGoogle Workspace companies
HeadquartersUnited StatesUnited States
Pricing modelPer user / monthPer user / month
PricingIncluded in most Microsoft 365 business plans priced per user; SharePoint Premium and Purview compliance features cost extra or need higher plans.Included in Google Workspace plans priced per user; Vault retention comes with Business Plus and Enterprise or as an add-on license, and file approvals need an Enterprise edition.
Free optionFree trialFree trial
List price
as listed on September 30, 2026		$7.00 per user per month, paid yearly (Microsoft 365 Business Basic, which includes SharePoint)€6.80 per user per month, excluding tax (Business Starter; introductory discounts shown for new customers)
Place in our document management software ranking#4 of 16#12 of 16
Websitemicrosoft.comworkspace.google.com

Both are reviewed in full in Best Document Management Software in 2026. Position in that ranking can be paid for; the wording of a review or of this comparison cannot. Placement disclosure.

Which one to choose

Choose Microsoft SharePoint if

your company runs on Microsoft 365 and needs controlled revisions with check-out, required metadata per document type, and an administrator is available to keep the site structure in order.

Microsoft SharePoint, #4 in the ranking · Visit Microsoft SharePoint →

Choose Google Drive if

your company runs on Google Workspace, works mostly in Google formats, has modest compliance needs and will keep a disciplined shared drive structure rather than formal document control.

Google Drive, #12 in the ranking · Visit Google Drive →

Where they differ

Controlled revisions

SharePoint lets an editor check a file out so nobody else can change it, and libraries keep up to 50,000 major and 511 minor versions. Google Drive keeps version history, but an older version of an uploaded file can be deleted after 30 days or 100 newer versions unless pinned. Drive's approvals and file lock are limited to Enterprise and Education Plus accounts. For procedures and quality documents, SharePoint qualifies.

Edge: Microsoft SharePoint

Enforcing metadata

SharePoint content types and required columns can stop a document from being saved without its metadata. Google Drive labels are available from Business Standard upward, and a field can be marked required, but Google states that users are not blocked from using, sharing or editing a file when they leave it empty; they only see a reminder. Where classification has to be complete, SharePoint enforces it.

Edge: Microsoft SharePoint

Editing together, and in which formats

Real-time co-editing is the thing Google Drive does best, with the caveat that non-Google formats are second-class for editing. SharePoint's co-authoring runs through Word and Excel and works well there. So the answer follows your file types: a company living in Office documents is better off in SharePoint, one living in Google Docs and Sheets in Drive.

Edge: even

Finding a document

Drive's search reads inside documents and scans without anyone having tagged them first. SharePoint search, as the site's review of it notes, is only as good as the metadata discipline behind it, and empty metadata is a known failure when governance slips. For a team that will never fill in fields reliably, Drive returns the file more often.

Edge: Google Drive

Retention and the plan it requires

Both can hold records for a set period, and both reserve that for upper tiers. Microsoft grants SharePoint retention policy rights with Business Premium, E3, E5 or SharePoint Plan 2, not with Business Basic or Standard. Google includes Vault, its retention and legal hold service, in Business Plus and Enterprise editions and sells it as an add-on license for others. Neither entry plan covers it.

Edge: even

Tally: Microsoft SharePoint 2, Google Drive 1, even 2.

When neither fits

Neither suits an organization audited on controlled documents that cannot rely on staff discipline or a strong administrator. M-Files enforces metadata-driven filing with workflow and compliance controls, and Laserfiche is a records, forms and workflow platform common in local government and education.

See M-Files and Laserfiche among the 16 products in Best Document Management Software in 2026.

Questions and answers

Does Google Drive have check-out like Microsoft SharePoint?

Not in the same form. SharePoint has check-out in its libraries, which blocks other editors until the file is checked in. Google Drive offers a file lock tied to its approvals feature, and Google limits that feature to Enterprise and Education Plus accounts. Standard Workspace editions rely on version history.

What do Microsoft SharePoint and Google Drive cost at the entry level?

SharePoint comes with Microsoft 365 Business Basic at $7.00 per user per month, paid yearly, with 1 TB of cloud storage per user. Google Workspace Business Starter is listed at €6.80 per user per month with 30 GB of pooled storage per user; Business Standard at €13.60 raises that to 2 TB.

How large can files and libraries get in Microsoft SharePoint and Google Drive?

SharePoint accepts files up to 250 GB, and a library can hold up to 30 million files and folders. Google Drive accepts files up to 5 TB, but a shared drive is capped at 500,000 items and each user can upload 750 GB per 24 hours.

How do the AI assistants in Microsoft SharePoint and Google Drive compare?

Copilot can summarize and search SharePoint library content, and Gemini can summarize long files and answer questions across a shared drive. In both cases the result is bound to permissions: Gemini works within what each user can already see, and Copilot's quality depends on permissions being set correctly.

Sources

Prices, plan limits and product facts on this page were checked against the vendors' own pages on September 30, 2026. Vendors change both without notice, so treat the figures as of that date.