Microsoft SharePoint vs. OneNote

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
SharePoint
Score 7.7 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
OneNote
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft's OneNote is a digital note-taking app, supporting photos, annotating, web page clipping, emailing, and synchronizing notes across devices.N/A
Pricing
Microsoft SharePointOneNote
Editions & Modules
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
Microsoft OneNote
Free
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
SharePointOneNote
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft SharePointOneNote
Considered Both Products
SharePoint
Chose Microsoft SharePoint
Atlassian Confluence isn't as robust with document storage but it does provide a good way to share detailed information in article or Wiki format. Microsoft SharePoint is more like a lightweight webpage creation tool while Confluence more like an enhanced notebook. Microsoft …
Chose Microsoft SharePoint
I think SharePoint has been around the longest, at least it's the first cloud-based collaboration tool I used many years ago. It has a very Microsoft feel which has its perks and drawbacks. Reminds me of when I used Microsoft mobile OS and how it felt like Windows on a phone. …
Chose Microsoft SharePoint
we have tried Confluence as a collaboration tool as well. Confluence does have a steep learning curve in my opinion. I think SharePoint is easier to adapt to because it builds off of other Microsoft habits, but neither is super intuitive. If I were to pick one it would be …
Chose Microsoft SharePoint
I personally haven't seen anything else that compares to SharePoint. There are other tools out there that do a small portion of what SharePoint does, and in some cases, it still makes sense to use some of those, if the requirements are there. For example, the Task list in …
Chose Microsoft SharePoint
While SharePoint isn't as easy to use as Igloo or Squarespace, it comes bundled with Office 365 and drives the backend of those tools. I don't see SharePoint as a place people want to go and see stuff, but rather as a glue that supports all the other Office Products. If we …
Chose Microsoft SharePoint
We also had an advanced homemade web form used that was gradually becoming outdated and the upkeep was becoming too intense. This being said, the technical support from Microsoft SharePoint has been exceptional as well.
OneNote
Chose OneNote
OneNote is part of the Microsoft stack, so it integrates well if you are already using that. It is quick to use and works on multiple devices like desktop and phone.

Confluence may be better for things like wikis and more robust for content it can display. I remember being able …
Chose OneNote
Because many of our organizations use Windows and Microsoft Office suite as business tools, it makes sense to choose OneNote for notetaking and storing information. Other tools don't integrate as well with the Office desktop.
Chose OneNote
SharePoint is another Microsoft product that could be adapted and used similar to OneNote. However, if you are looking for a simple system with the flexibility for any user to start it up and build their own information repository, OneNote is your solution. OneNote also …
User Ratings
Microsoft SharePointOneNote
Likelihood to Recommend
7.9
(269 ratings)
8.3
(74 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.8
(26 ratings)
10.0
(13 ratings)
Usability
8.1
(31 ratings)
7.7
(14 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
8.8
(3 ratings)
Support Rating
8.8
(13 ratings)
8.7
(10 ratings)
In-Person Training
4.5
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
6.4
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
6.0
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft SharePointOneNote
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft
SharePoint Document Management excels as a central repository for storing, organising, and retrieving documents. It supports version control, metadata tagging, secure access, and integration with tools like Power Automate. At our organisation, it's used for managing contracts, policies, and supplier documents. SharePoint Workflow Automation integrates with Power Automate to streamline approvals, gather feedback, and automate recurring tasks. This reduces reliance on email chains and manual trackers.
Read full review
Microsoft
In my opinion OneNote is a must for anyone who does business. It’s versatile, stable and sustainable. It can keep private information private - like passwords. It can be used for collaborative work - like standard operating procedures. It is fairly easy to use and far superior to pen and paper. When used for meeting notes, it can be flagged with icons that are searchable - like ideas or important items. You can even create Outlook tasks on the fly
Read full review
Pros
Microsoft
  • We track employees' performance sheets, which are accessible to the employee, his manager, and HR, and this helps with transparency.
  • We maintain technical process documents and SOPs, which help us quickly provide relevant documents during audits.
  • We maintain incident documents change request forms in SharePoint, which helps us in tracking the changes.
Read full review
Microsoft
  • Because of its flexibility and ability to hold different types of content (text, images, tables), it is a great tool for collecting content from different resources and organizing it in one place.
  • Technical support analysts are using sections for their support case analysis; they paste pieces of logs, screen-shots, document their steps in troubleshooting etc., all in one section, to get the full picture yet stay organized.
  • The logic of content structure; Notebook>Section>Page>Paragraph, allows you to manage and collect all needed information by the areas of the user's responsibility. For example; each of my projects has its own section, in which each page is a task.
Read full review
Cons
Microsoft
  • Windows Explorer users have some difficulty having to constantly UPLOAD / DOWNLOAD files. Specifically on the DOWNLOAD when they are used to Drag & Drop in & out of LOCAL folders via Window's explorer.
  • Microsoft SharePoint supports multiple "library" types. When implementing our "image" library the search function is done via "tags" and boolean logic. This is challenging to most end users. I'd like our users to be able to search our Microsoft SharePoint image library without having to enter KEYWORD or other BOOLEAN logic.
  • Microsoft SharePoint can also be an internal website for each department or company wide communication tool but I believe these features are geared for much larger organizations. Since we are a SMB we really aren't using these features. So maybe something more useful to SMBs would be nice.
Read full review
Microsoft
  • The table editing tools are too simplistic and lack the features found in other Office products.
  • Some content loses its rich text formatting when being pasted into OneNote. A workaround is to paste the content first into Outlook or Word and then copy/pasting that into OneNote.
  • Microsoft is moving away from a local install of OneNote, which means notebooks have to be in the cloud in Office 2019. This will actually reduce the usefulness of OneNote in some environments and opens the door to competitor products.
  • Update: Microsoft has now announced that it will continue to support OneNote 2016 through 2023. https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Office-365-Blog/Your-OneNote/ba-p/954922
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
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.
Read full review
Microsoft
As this is not a compulsory tool in our organization, I would say all depends on the decision makers, however since this is a part of MS Office, I am sure we will have it for as long as we will possibly need it. However, I would not be so sure, if it was a separate product
Read full review
Usability
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
Read full review
Microsoft
I find OneNote incredibly usable. I'm fairly middle of the road when it comes to tech savvy-ness. The platform was very easy to learn and explore. I like that OneNote is no clunky and offers a clean interface. This is important when it comes to deciding if a tool is usable for multiple people.
Read full review
Performance
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
Overall, I rate OneNote's performance highly. In general, notebooks, sections and pages load quickly. OneNote integrates with other apps and info ca easily be shared/copied to and from the tool to other tools. Moreover, Notebooks tend to sync quickly meaning shared notebooks are up to date almost immediately provided there are no syncing issues.
Read full review
Support Rating
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.
Read full review
Microsoft
Since it is part of Microsoft Office and used across the globe there are a lot of support options available. It's quickest to just do a google search which will have plenty of articles to help you since there are so many OneNote users but as an Office customer you also have access to Microsoft support and I have had good experiences with their support (probably because I'm with a large company who is a large customer to them).
Read full review
In-Person Training
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.
Read full review
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Online Training
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.
Read full review
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Microsoft
Planning to the last detail would be advised. SharePoint is a very large application that takes a lot of finesse to get operational
Read full review
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
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.
Read full review
Microsoft
I tried using Evernote and it is an equally usable tool, however, I prefer the interface and capabilities of OneNote. OneNote seems much easier to use and understand. I think that may primarily be because OneNote is a Microsoft application and I am very used to using Microsoft applications such as Word, Excel, etc. I also use OneNote to keep my grocery list. It does as good of a job as the grocery list applications out there, only I like the flexibility I have with OneNote and how I specifically do my shopping.
Read full review
Return on Investment
Microsoft
  • It comes with Office 365. It won't cost you any additional charges.
  • It will help you to streamline your communication and work as a central hub for all tasks, files[,] and events[.]
  • Setting it up will need a bit [of] planning. If you jump blindly it will become a confusing place for your team members and make them frustrated[.]
Read full review
Microsoft
  • OneNote has become our organizational standard method of taking electronic notes (though some still prefer pen and paper.) It has been a zero cost outlay due to its freely available nature.
  • Its integration with other Microsoft Office products makes it easy to share notes and content between products, allowing for easy collaboration where needed.
  • OneNote's integration with OneDrive ensures that individual's notes are always safe and secure, taking away the tedious responsibility of backup from the user, and makes it happen seamlessly in the background.
Read full review
ScreenShots