ExpressionEngine vs. Microsoft SharePoint

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
ExpressionEngine
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
ExpressionEngine is a content management system from EllisLab in 2002, a successor to pMachine Pro, a blogging system, which is written in object-oriented PHP and uses MySQL for data storage. ExpressionEngine is their flagship Content Delivery Platform.
$299
One Time Fee
SharePoint
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft's SharePoint is an Intranet solution that enables users to share and manage content, knowledge, and applications to empower teamwork, quickly find information, and collaborate across the organization.
$5
Per User Per Month
Pricing
ExpressionEngineMicrosoft SharePoint
Editions & Modules
License
$299.00
One Time Fee
Plan 1
$5.00
Per User Per Month
Plan 2
$10.00
Per User Per Month
Office 365 E3
$20.00
Per User Per Month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ExpressionEngineSharePoint
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
ExpressionEngineMicrosoft SharePoint
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
ExpressionEngineMicrosoft SharePoint
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
ExpressionEngine
10.0
33 Ratings
22% above category average
Microsoft SharePoint
-
Ratings
Role-based user permissions10.033 Ratings00 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure
Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Product A and Product B
ExpressionEngine
8.5
27 Ratings
10% above category average
Microsoft SharePoint
-
Ratings
API9.024 Ratings00 Ratings
Internationalization / multi-language8.021 Ratings00 Ratings
Web Content Creation
Comparison of Web Content Creation features of Product A and Product B
ExpressionEngine
8.6
33 Ratings
12% above category average
Microsoft SharePoint
-
Ratings
WYSIWYG editor10.030 Ratings00 Ratings
Code quality / cleanliness10.032 Ratings00 Ratings
Admin section10.032 Ratings00 Ratings
Page templates8.028 Ratings00 Ratings
Library of website themes7.011 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile optimization / responsive design9.015 Ratings00 Ratings
Publishing workflow9.025 Ratings00 Ratings
Form generator6.018 Ratings00 Ratings
Web Content Management
Comparison of Web Content Management features of Product A and Product B
ExpressionEngine
9.4
33 Ratings
25% above category average
Microsoft SharePoint
-
Ratings
Content taxonomy10.025 Ratings00 Ratings
SEO support10.025 Ratings00 Ratings
Bulk management10.027 Ratings00 Ratings
Availability / breadth of extensions8.032 Ratings00 Ratings
Community / comment management9.030 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
ExpressionEngineMicrosoft SharePoint
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Score 9.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
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Score 9.5 out of 10
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Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
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Score 9.0 out of 10
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Score 9.0 out of 10
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User Ratings
ExpressionEngineMicrosoft SharePoint
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(61 ratings)
6.5
(192 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.2
(36 ratings)
9.8
(21 ratings)
Usability
5.3
(6 ratings)
8.2
(17 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
2.8
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
6.2
(4 ratings)
8.6
(11 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
4.5
(1 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
6.4
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
6.9
(3 ratings)
6.0
(4 ratings)
Product Scalability
1.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
ExpressionEngineMicrosoft SharePoint
Likelihood to Recommend
Open Source
ExpressionEngine is a very powerful and flexible content management system. It can handle a simple small business website all the way to a large corporation's website. If you are a business with multiple websites ExpresionEngine can handle that as well with it's Multiple Site Manager. I think ExpressionEngine would be less appropriate for a global large scale business with a magnitude of sites with different regions and languages.
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Microsoft
Very user friendly. If you're already using M365 products it offers great integration! If you're using Azure AD it offers SSO for IAM and integrates nicely with Azure AD Groups which can then be used for Access management. As our IT / Azure Administrator, I particularly like the "sharing link" options where you can send a link with an expiration date and not have to remember to remove the link / access after a project / business case scenario is over.
Read full review
Pros
Open Source
  • Content structuring. You can set up channels and fields to hold just about any kind of information imaginable; text, images, videos, numbers, code, etc. You can structure this information any way you want and in any order. You literally create your own information database just the way you want it using a clear, easy online interface.
  • Template system. Utter freedom. Need I say more?
  • Exensible. There are a lot of add-ons, extensions, and other external modules that extend the core functionality of ExpressionEngine. Need a user management system? Check out the User module at http://solspace.com.
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Microsoft
  • Making collaboration easier via a better connection between accounts. You can share anything from a file to events with just a couple of clicks.
  • All services are connected and switching between services is a breeze[.]
  • Solutions to the majority of everyday business problems.
Read full review
Cons
Open Source
  • For me, one of the greatest strengths of ExpressionEngine is also one of their weaknesses. There are so many add-ons available (some free, some not) for ExpressionEngine to allow you to do just about anything you want. However, the more add-ons that you use the more you have to deal with when performing updates. For instance, is the add-on compatible with the new version of ExpressionEngine - or even another add-on? What if that add-on gets abandoned by the developer - is there another that can perform the same functionality?
  • I think that ExpressionEngine needs to offer more out of the box than it does. Yes, you can get add-ons for just about anything but this adds to the cost. I have a list of add-ons that I use on almost every site which can raise the cost of getting started with a new site by $100-300. So add that to the cost of a license and you're at $400-600 and you haven't even started working on it yet. For instance, I shouldn't have to buy an add-on to allow me to customize the menu for my end-users.
  • The membership management feature is seriously lacking. Fortunately, there are add-ons (for an additional cost) to allow you to manage things better.
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Microsoft
  • There are far too many good features to choose from, and advanced features are noticeably absent.
  • There is room for improvement in terms of integration with non-Microsoft products, as well as developer Story.
  • It is challenging to provide easier access via file explorer while also granting outside users and guests access.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Open Source
I'm satisfied with the way that my site runs on EE. My primary concern is that support is now a profit center for EE's publisher and so they've consequently gutted their community support boards. However, a good EE community is developing at StackExchange. At this stage, I don't think that EE is a good choice for an individual site owner. WordPress or SquareSpace would be a better choice unless you have a budget for support.
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Microsoft
It's integral to our business. It's already included with most of the Office 365 licensing we buy, so the cost is effectively zero. It stores our files, it is the foundation for custom applications, and Microsoft only continues to enhance its functionality and its connections to other Microsoft tools. SharePoint just keeps getting better and better.
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Usability
Open Source
ExpressionEngine is very powerful and flexible. With this flexibility comes a bit of a learning curve. There are some great online resources for getting up to speed with EE, but the control panel can be a bit daunting. A lot of EE's installation process involves settings, configurations and flipping of switches. It is tedious, but well worth it as you ultimately have a very robust, secure and scalable CMS. Also, as of version 2.9.2, the control panel isn't responsive natively. You'll want to have a big enough screen to see the full control panel UI. Personally, I think the control panel would benefit from a major overhaul. It would be nice to see the colors and UI controls "modernized" and be able to more effectively customize the layout. Yes, some of this is built-in, and there are third-party add-ons to help, but maybe we'll see more refinement in future versions.
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Microsoft
No usability issues reported. Individual teams also have allocated areas which replace legacy shared drives on local LANs. Access to Sharepoint resources is fully integrated with corporate Active Directory with additional two-factor authentication required for administrative users. Users have access to Microsoft Services Hub which allows you to create, manage, and track support requests while staying current on Microsoft technologies with access to select self-paced learning paths
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Reliability and Availability
Open Source
Never experienced an issue like this with it
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Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Performance
Open Source
The admin section would slow to a crawl the larger the tag section grew. There were many areas where better pagination would've helped improve performance. Nothing complicated, which made the lag so frustrating
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Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Open Source
I have personally never found any complications when trying to receive support from EllisLab in regards to ExpressionEngine when using the support plans they offer. I have always been responded to promptly and received satisfactory help with whatever my needs were in an extremely timely manner. This makes rating the support offered an easy job for me
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Microsoft
Support for SharePoint is quite good. Microsoft provides good support. Microsoft offers
  • Quick turnaround time for issues
  • A range of support services
  • Access to a network of resources
  • Escalation of issues
  • Ongoing development and commitment to produce enhancement
The majority of support is required for initial installation. Once complete and the system is operating we have had very few support issues.
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In-Person Training
Open Source
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
The face to face training I received was on SharePoint Administration. It was rushed as there was a lot of information to cover and the application of the labs weren't that great either. I like to be able to relate what I am learning to what I am currently doing.
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Online Training
Open Source
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
I like to learn at my own pace and online training allows for that. Additionally, you can skip through pieces of content that you already know or are already comfortable with. Microsoft actually offers great videos on their website for basic fundamental SharePoint Training. I have used these training videos in some of my own training sessions with end users.
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Implementation Rating
Open Source
After installing the system a few times, you can see a pattern of things that have to be done to work the way you want them (settings, paths, etc.). By knowing what you want, you can put together some scripts that prepare the file system for installation, adjust post installation configuration settings, and install initial templates.
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Microsoft
Planning to the last detail would be advised. SharePoint is a very large application that takes a lot of finesse to get operational
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Alternatives Considered
Open Source
ExpressionEngine is vastly more flexible than any other content management system I have used to date and the quality of the add-ons are significantly higher than what you find in other directories. The ExpressionEngine community is also very willing and helpful with if you have any questions or run into any issues.
Read full review
Microsoft
The reasons for selecting MS SharePoint are: SharePoint provides ease of use and web design assistance and support SharePoint helps you schedule your content for publishing. enables users to share documents with external parties and offers a better internal structure of the content and better indexing and searching capabilities.
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Scalability
Open Source
Maybe it's scale-able from the content user perspective, but it was very limited from the programmers perspective. So many custom hacks were necessary that it reached a point it would be impossible to upgrade to a newer version
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Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Open Source
  • Being able to be recognized as a leader within the ExpressionEngine development community has led to us being sought out by those customers seeking expert guidance.
  • We tend to specialize in using ExpressionEngine for our customers, so it has been easier to ramp new resources up on our development process, as well as be able to seek out independent experts to use as sub contractors or freelancers.
  • As we have been using ExpressionEngine almost exclusively for a number of years, we have built a reusable repository of proprietary code that makes our development process much more efficient and decreases the effort required for our projects.
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Microsoft
  • Increased collaboration - MS Sharepoint has increased knowledge share and collaboration between departments. This saves time and energy because of its efficient and effective communication
  • Increased document security - MS Sharepoint has increased our document security so we're safer knowing that our documents are security and access controlled appropriately. We are less prone to get in trouble by our customers due to the security provided by MS Sharepoint
  • Negative Impact Compared to other software - Not sure if the MS Sharepoint's main functionalities could've been met with other tools we currently have
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ScreenShots