Google Drive vs SharePoint: What are the differences?

Introduction

Google Drive and SharePoint are two popular solutions for file storage and collaboration. While they both serve similar purposes, there are several key differences between the two platforms that make them unique. In this article, we will discuss the top six differences between Google Drive and SharePoint.

1. Integration with Productivity Suites: Google Drive is tightly integrated with Google's productivity suite, including tools like Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. This seamless integration allows for real-time collaboration and simultaneous editing of documents. On the other hand, SharePoint is designed to work with Microsoft Office Suite, providing similar features and functionality for collaboration and document editing.

2. Pricing Structure: Google Drive offers a more straightforward and affordable pricing structure with various plans based on storage capacity. It provides free storage for personal accounts and competitive pricing for business needs. SharePoint, on the other hand, is primarily included in Microsoft Office 365 subscriptions, which can be more expensive, especially for small businesses.

3. Customization and Extensibility: SharePoint provides extensive customization options, allowing users to create custom workflows, build applications, and tailor the platform to fit specific business needs. It offers a wide range of development tools and supports integrations with third-party services. Google Drive, while less customizable, focuses on simplicity and ease of use, providing a streamlined experience for most users.

4. Collaboration Features: Google Drive emphasizes real-time collaboration, with features like comments, suggestions, and revision history. It allows multiple users to work on the same document simultaneously and provides easy sharing options. SharePoint has similar collaboration features but puts more emphasis on document management and version control, making it ideal for organizations with complex content management needs.

5. Social Collaboration and Intranet: SharePoint offers enhanced social collaboration features, such as social networking, community sites, and enterprise social networking capabilities. It includes features like newsfeeds, blogs, and wikis, providing a platform for social interaction and knowledge sharing within the organization. Google Drive, being more focused on file storage and sharing, lacks these social collaboration capabilities.

6. Search and Discovery: SharePoint has robust search capabilities, leveraging Microsoft's powerful search engine technology. It allows users to quickly find relevant documents and information based on keywords, metadata, and custom search filters. Google Drive, being part of the Google ecosystem, also provides efficient search functionality and leverages Google's search engine technology, enabling users to easily locate files and content.

In summary, Google Drive and SharePoint have several key differences. Google Drive provides seamless integration with Google's productivity suite, offers a more straightforward pricing structure, and focuses on simplicity and real-time collaboration. On the other hand, SharePoint provides extensive customization options, emphasizes document management and version control, offers enhanced social collaboration features, and utilizes powerful search capabilities.