5 Best Easy-to-Use SharePoint Software Alternatives for SMBs

Pritam Tamang profile picture
By Pritam Tamang

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10 min read

Businesses can use SharePoint in multiple ways: as a content management solution, as a file sharing app, or as a team communication tool. It's a popular, multipurpose collaboration software tool, recommended highly by Capterra users. They give the solution a 4 out of 5 star rating.

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However, the price of SharePoint rises quickly when you need to add new users. This could be a burden for small businesses. For instance, SharePoint Online bundle's annual pricing starts at $20 per user per month. The basic version costs $5 per user per month, but has limited team collaboration functionalities, as it doesn't offer Teams, Skype, Microsoft Office 365 suite, and other tools.

Therefore, SharePoint may not exactly fit the bill for small businesses that need an affordable collaboration and file management solution to handle project documents.

Fortunately, there are many less expensive SharePoint alternatives. Based on Capterra users' recommendations and ratings, we've included some of these alternatives in this report. These alternatives can help your teams easily collaborate and share project documents.

This article looks at five highly rated SharePoint alternatives. See the full list of SharePoint alternatives here.

To create this list, we looked for collaboration tools that met the following criteria:

  • Must offer file sharing and storage—like SharePoint does with OneDrive—so that users can share project files.

  • Must offer group chat—like SharePoint does with Teams—so that users can easily communicate with one another.

  • Must have 20 reviews or more on Capterra, with an ease-of-use rating of at least 4 out of 5.

  • Must cost less than $20 per user per month.

Read on to learn what Capterra users have to say about the top five SharePoint alternatives. To learn about the features and pricing of similar tools that aren't listed here, visit our collaboration software category page.

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Check out the top 5 easy to use SharePoint alternatives

It's common knowledge that SharePoint targets large teams and enterprise businesses that have the resources to purchase and use it.

Small businesses that want an affordable tool, which their teams can use without weeks of training or change management, should check out these SharePoint alternatives.

Let's look at the alternatives in detail below!

1. Flock: Facilitate team communication with collaborative messaging app

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Team discussions in Flock (Source)

Flock is a collaborative tool for teams that frequently communicate. It offers features such as instant text messaging, video/audio calling, screen sharing, file sharing, and automated task notifications.

Flock is similar to SharePoint, allowing teams to start direct chats, share files, and create employee directories. The tool integrates with popular project management solutions, such as Trello and Asana, making it apt for handling project-related communication.

What Capterra reviewers like about the system

  • Users find the tool simple and easy to use, with an intuitive interface that makes team communication easy.

  • Users like the third-party integrations with tools such as Dropbox, Jira, and Github, which are useful for expanding Flock's functionality.

  • They like the team collaboration features such as instant screen sharing and video/audio calling capabilities.

Improvements customers want

  • Improve the file searching and sharing controls so that users can easily find new files and make certain files private.

  • Add more features such as custom themes as well as the ability to download notes and record audio calls.

  • Have the ability to control incoming message notifications so that their inbox isn't flooded with irrelevant discussions.

Pricing

  • Flock offers a basic, free plan for small teams but with limitations such as up to 10,000 messages and 10 GB of file storage for the entire team.

  • The Pro plan doesn't have a cap on the number of messages and gives 10 GB of file storage for each user. It's priced at $5 per user per month when billed annually.

  • The Enterprise plan has custom pricing and a dedicated 20 GB of file storage per licensed user

2. Glasscubes: Improve knowledge sharing with online workspaces

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Custom online workspace in Glasscubes (Source)

Glasscubes is designed to help teams share knowledge via online workspaces, also known as an intranet. The tool offers features such as team messaging, file sharing, and digital whiteboards on which teams can write ideas and share with colleagues.

As a SharePoint alternative, GlassCubes offers similar document management features such as the ability to build wikis and knowledge bases to capture employee knowledge. Its advanced features include offline synchronization of files, single sign-on (SSO), and two-factor authentication.

What Capterra reviewers like about the system

  • Users like the many functionalities that the tool offers such as file sharing, task management, notifications, and chat.

  • They like its comprehensive technical documentation and responsive customer support.

  • They like its cross-platform compatibility, which makes it easy to access the tool from iOS and Android devices.

Improvements customers want

  • Add custom pricing options such as a per workspace model rather than just a per user one.

  • Improve the document editing features so that users can easily review documents.

  • Enhance the document tagging functionality so that users can easily label multiple files.

Pricing

Glasscubes has three pricing plans that can suit teams of all different sizes. Here is sample pricing for a team when billed annually:

  • The Team plan offers 10 GB of storage, six workspaces, and maximum file upload size of 2 GB. Price starts at $35 for five users per month.

  • The Workgroup plan offers 500 GB of storage and has no limit on the file size or workspaces. It starts at $70 for five users per month

  • The Enterprise plan provides unlimited storage and advanced features. It starts at $140 per month and offers bespoke solutions. For that reason, user fees is determined by your organization's unique requirements.

3. G Suite: Enhance team collaboration with multipurpose solution

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Creating slides using G Suite (Source)

G Suite offers different software modules that come in handy for team collaboration. Its features include document management, email, chat, video calling, team calendars, and contact management.

G Suite comes closest to matching all of SharePoint's features. For instance, you can create slide presentations similar to PowerPoint, text documents like on Word, and spreadsheets like those on Excel. You can also share these documents with team members and keep track of the document versions.

What Capterra reviewers like about the system

  • Users like the calendar application that helps them organize events and invite colleagues to online meetings.

  • They like the different add-ons and third-party integrations that enhance G Suite's offerings.

  • They like the file sharing features that allow them to keep documents private or share publicly.

Improvements customers want

  • Offer better support services for quicker resolution of user tickets.

  • Improve the features of Sheets and Docs so that users can easily customize headers and use advanced formatting styles.

  • Enhance the automatic data synchronization when importing phone contacts to the Gmail application.

Pricing

G Suite comes in the following three pricing plans:

  • Basic starts at $5 per user per month and has a 30 GB cloud storage limit.

  • Business starts at $10 per user per month and offers unlimited cloud storage and data archiving.

  • Enterprise starts at $25 per user per month. It includes advanced features such as audit reports of user activity and log analysis.

4. Samepage: Centralize content sharing and team communication

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Collaboration dashboard in Samepage (Source)

As the name implies, Samepage puts your entire team on one page, with tasks, chat, and documents all visible at once. It's kind of like navigating a web page, except that you can fully interact with the page. Direct messages, group chat, and voice or video calls are the various collaboration options on this tool.

You can even draw diagrams in real time as your teammates watch. Samepage offers a full menu of apps and integrations to fit your individual needs. Beyond collaboration and document management, it offers advanced features such as shared calendars and content management.

What Capterra reviewers like about the system

  • They like the customer support, which is responsive to feedback and quick to resolve issues.

  • The centralized features allow them to modify roles/permission, assign tasks, and do more on a single page.

  • Users find the solution's interface intuitive and easy for creating team pages, accessing files, and starting conversations.

Improvements customers want

  • Work on the Android mobile app to make navigation easy and intuitive.

  • Offer ready-to-use workflow templates that help in identifying operational inefficiencies. Currently, users have to build the templates themselves.

  • Add advanced features such as the ability to color code User IDs and automatic date/time stamps in comments.

Pricing

  • Samepage's free version is available for unlimited users. However, you are limited to 10 teams, 10 pages, 1 GB of storage, and 100 stored files.

  • The Pro version allows unlimited teams and pages, 1TB of storage, and a lot more. It's offered at $7 per user per month when billed annually or $8 per user per month when billed monthly. The vendor offers discounts for educational institutions and nonprofit organizations.

5. Slack: Automate team communication with bots

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Using a chatbot in Slack (Source)

Slack is a specialized tool for team communication. It has a drag-and-drop chat interface that allows team members to easily share project files and communicate in real-time. Teams can create “channels," or shared online workspaces, to organize communication based on departments, projects, etc.

Slack offers a substantial directory of third-party apps and bots. These add-ons, such as a project management chatbot, can help teams automate collaborative tasks such as content sharing and scheduling meetings.

What Capterra reviewers like about the system

  • Users like Slack's third-party integrations, open API, and chatbots that allow them to enhance the tool's functionality.

  • They like the ability to create private channels and quickly find, tag, and chat with members using "@" and "#" mentions.

  • It's easy to organize team communication into clustered unread messages and tag the important threads with stars.

Improvements customers want

  • Allow configuring the chat permissions and notification settings to reduce irrelevant discussions in the channels.

  • Improve the load time so that Slack doesn't crash during video and voice calls.

  • Enhance the search functionality so that users can easily locate archived conversations.

Pricing

  • Slack offers a free version for small teams and discounted rates for educational institutions and nonprofit organizations.

  • The Standard plan is offered at $8 per user per month or $80 per user per year. It includes features such as 10 GB storage per member, unlimited message search, group calls with screen sharing and two-factor authentication.

  • The Plus plan expands storage to 20 GB per member and adds SSO, compliance exports as well as 24/7 support with a guaranteed response time of 4 hours or less. It costs $15 per user per month, or $150 per user peryear.

Which SharePoint alternative is best for your small business?

Let's review the alternatives with a quick breakdown of their top offerings and benefits. This will help you understand the right SharePoint alternative for your business.

  • Flock: This is a communication tool suitable for teams that are geographically dispersed and need constant communication on their projects.

  • Glasscubes: This solution will help teams build organizational wikis to facilitate knowledge-sharing among employees.

  • G Suite: It's a multipurpose solution that helps small businesses manage documents and collaborate in real time.

  • Samepage: The solution is designed for businesses that want a single solution for consolidating project-related documents and communication.

  • Slack: This tool for real-time communication has an interactive chat interface and third-party integrations to automate project reporting, task scheduling, etc.

Want more collaboration tools for small teams? Check out our collaboration software category page for similar easy-to-use tools that could be the right SharePoint alternative for your business.

Also, check out these other articles that list similar tools:



Looking for Project Management software? Check out Capterra's list of the best Project Management software solutions.

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About the Author

Pritam Tamang profile picture

Content writer at Capterra, passionate about digital content marketing and technology trends. MA, University of Delhi. Based in New Delhi, India. I love the music of the 60’s and 70’s, and goofing around with a book.

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