Remote and distributed teams, the need for rapid change, and a customer-centric approach are the reasons why there’s a strong emphasis on solutions that offer powerful features for employee collaboration, document management, and team productivity.

SharePoint from Microsoft is one platform with core elements centered around project management and team collaboration, providing businesses with a tool to help teams work together, adapt to new market conditions, and serve customers better.

Due to its complexities, cost, and other limitations, however, what’s intended to make collaboration easier for your organization might become a hindrance to the team’s productivity. So it makes sense if you’re considering an alternative to SharePoint.

This article provides an overview of SharePoint, explores its alternatives, and discusses the top 8 alternatives to the app in 2024. Let’s get started.

What Is Microsoft SharePoint?

Microsoft SharePoint is an enterprise-level content management system that has existed since 2001, and organizations use it to share and manage content and knowledge. The Microsoft web-based application can be used to manage documents, videos, tasks, links, lists of data, and more.

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Since its inception in 2012, the software has undergone many changes and revisions. The SharePoint 2013 version saw an update that took the platform online as part of Office 365. Before this major update, companies had to install and configure SharePoint in their physical data spaces requiring physical servers and hardware.

The availability of cloud-based SharePoint means companies don’t have to invest in expensive hardware servers and IT people to support and maintain the system.

While it's still possible to install the SharePoint on-premise version, the need for it has become less frequent over the years due to the costs and productivity benefits provided by the cloud-based experience, SharePoint Online.

What To Look for In a SharePoint Alternative?

SharePoint is flexible in its use case. It can be used as a document-sharing platform, content management system, or to create static web pages containing knowledge resources & self-service portals. Due to cost, lack of certain features, and deployment complexities, many users seek other options.

When moving away to a SharePoint alternative for project and task collaboration, document management, and team productivity, here are things to keep in mind.

Cloud-based Solution

Having content and data management in the cloud provides companies and organizations with cost benefits. These businesses don’t have to install expensive hardware or IT infrastructure on-premise. Plus, they only pay for resources used.

Cloud-based experience also means clients and internal teams of an organization can interact from a web portal or mobile app from anywhere in the world. This remote benefit enables on-demand access to data and applications.

White Labeling

When choosing a SharePoint alternative, white labeling capabilities are essential if your business values brand consistency. A platform that allows you to customize the user interface with your logo, brand colors, and domain name can create a more seamless experience for both your team and clients. This feature is particularly useful for organizations that provide client-facing portals, ensuring that every interaction reflects your brand's identity.

Secure File Sharing

Security is paramount when it comes to file sharing and collaboration. Ensure that the SharePoint alternative you select offers robust security features such as encryption, secure access controls, and compliance with industry standards like GDPR or HIPAA. Secure file sharing ensures that sensitive data is protected, reducing the risk of breaches and maintaining the trust of your clients and partners.

User-Friendly Interface

A SharePoint alternative should not only be feature-rich but also user-friendly. A platform with an intuitive interface minimizes the learning curve, enabling your team to quickly adopt the new system and start benefiting from its features. Look for software that offers simple navigation, clear labeling, and easy access to essential tools, which can enhance overall productivity and user satisfaction.

Clinked Client Portal Software

Integration Capabilities

Regardless of what alternative to SharePoint software you choose, there will still be some additional features your business requires especially as it grows. So ensure that a SharePoint alternative you finally commit to has an API that you can use to connect to other software, web services, or productivity tools. This way you wouldn't have to constantly be out there looking for the next best solution for your business.

Collaboration Tracking Tools

Most SharePoint-like apps come with features for tracking projects and tasks. Ensure that a SharePoint alternative can track changes made to shared files, show communication history within the platform, and track team productivity time, to name a few.

Costs

There’s no doubt that a software application for document sharing, task management, and project collaboration wouldn’t be the only resource in which your business will have to invest. So make sure the app you finally buy is priced just right for what it offers so you can have resources available for other business needs. Cost-savings could mean buying, for instance, a tier 1 subscription of a software application instead of its tier 3 subscription since the lower tier has all the features you need.

8 Top SharePoint Alternatives

Potential alternatives to SharePoint include Clinked, ClickUp, Huddle, Glasscubes, Igloo, Confluence, and Google Workspace. Each of these solutions provides capabilities similar to SharePoint, while also featuring their own unique features. The pros and cons, best use case, pricing, and G2 rating of each software are also included.

1. Clinked for Client Portal and Information Management

Clinked's Files Dashboard

Clinked is a client portal solution designed for small-scale businesses and enterprises looking for a platform to collaborate with clients, securely share files, and improve team productivity.

Clinked is a great SharePoint alternative because it comes out of the box with options for file sharing, instant messaging, a mobile app, analytics, and an integration module.

Secure file sharing between your business and clients means confidential and sensitive files can be exchanged with peace of mind for the client and your business. Team members can invite one another to store and share documents in the cloud.

Uploading single or multiple files at once is made easier with Clinked. You can drag and drop files from your computer, upload via email, or use G Suite integration to get your files on the secure portal. Clinked document management feature also comes with an option allowing you to preview a file before downloading it. You can add tags to files for easy future referencing.

In terms of collaboration and team productivity, Clinked has a project management module with features that help monitor the progress of your team on each task. The time tracking feature automatically tracks the amount of time spent on a project from when a project is set to “In Progress” to when it's marked “Completed.” Use the time tracking and other collaboration features like the @mentions feature to ensure timely updates for optimal team collaboration and productivity.

Clinked's task management feature

Clinked’s document management, client collaboration, and team productivity features make it a potential SharePoint alternative for those looking to move away from the Microsoft app. Especially for client-facing businesses and enterprises, Clinked may be the best option.

Pros:

• Robust features for collaboration and management
• White-label solution
• Clean and organized interface
• Portal solution that can be adapted as a collaboration and management tool for all kinds of projects
• Security

Cons:

• Access to features is limited on the mobile app
• May not be suited for all types of businesses

What you need to know:

• Use it for: Communicating, collaborating, and sharing files between clients and team members
• Paid plans start at: $119/month
• Free trial: 10 days
• G2 customer rating: 4.8 stars

 2. ClickUp for Project Management

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If you're looking for a SharePoint alternative for task management and document collaboration, then ClickUp may suit your needs.

ClickUp Docs lets you create a document and simultaneously edit it with other team members. You can add comments, embed files/links, and do many more with a document. You can also link a Doc together with a task. The platform allows you to create tasks, subtasks, and nested tasks. Use this hierarchy function to provide organization for any cross-functional team working on the same project or feature.

ClickUp comes with a time-tracking feature that can be seen inside any task card. Use this timing function to log time manually or set timing for any particular task.

Managing resources is crucial to project management and ClickUp offers two views to help you see what’s going into a project.

The team view displays a breakdown of your project resources. This view lets you see people on the team, their assigned tasks, completed tasks, and a progress chart.

The other display, Workload View, provides a more traditional view of resource allocation. Every task is put on a timeline with color coding highlighting resources underallocation or overallocation.

Pros:

• Robust project management features
• The platform is generous with features even with the lower-tier plans
• Chat view for team collaboration

Cons:

• The automation builder can use some improvements
• Fewer integrations compared to competitors
• Customization can be overwhelming for new users

What you need to know:

• Use it for: Project-specific and customizable project management tool
• Paid plans start at: $10/user/month
• Free trial: 14 days on the paid plans
• G2 customer rating: 4.7 stars

3. Huddle for File Collaboration

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For a collaboration tool suitable for document management and file sharing, Ideagen Huddle may be a good option for your needs. Though there are features for task management, they are not as prominent as those for document management and file sharing.

Huddle lets you create multiple file requests at once. Use this feature to collect information from multiple members in the workspace to which you’re sending the request. You are also allowed to put a due date on the request.

Huddle is a great SharePoint alternative because it integrates with existing Microsoft 365 and SharePoint. It allows you to edit Microsoft 365 documents without changing the file extension. The software also claims to be a suitable option for companies in highly regulated industries for secure collaboration and sharing of sensitive files.

When creating a task, you can add both start and due dates, attach a file, and assign as many members as you want. If you have information you'd like to let those working on the task know about, simply use the task comment feature.

Adding a comment automatically sends a notification to you and other assignees. From the task tab, you've got a pie chart with an overview of in-progress, complete, and yet-to-begin tasks.

Pros:

• Document sharing is simple
• Tracking on collaboration is excellent
• Accessing workspaces is through invitation, adding an extra layer of security for sensitive information

Cons:

• The learning curve can be challenging for non-technical users
• No feature for simultaneous file editing
• The desktop app can sometimes be unreliable

What you need to know:

• Use it for: Collaboration tool for managing documents and sharing files
• Paid plans start at: $10/month
• Free trial: 30 days
• G2 customer rating: 4.2 stars

4. Glasscubes for Team Collaborations

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Glasscubes markets itself as the No. 1 SharePoint alternative with capabilities similar to SharePoint but differentiates itself by simplicity of setup and usability.

Glasscubes may be a great collaborative tool for both internal and external teams, depending on your organization's needs. Without the technicality that comes with Microsoft SharePoint, Glasscubes offers a range of collaboration features such as customizable workspaces, file sharing, and project management.

The Workspace serves as a housing for almost everything you do on the platform. In a workspace, you can share files, manage projects or tasks, organize events, and perform other collaborative actions.

The platform comes with custom forms with signature boxes. Create forms, customize the appearance, configure the settings, and add a signature field. There are several ways to let a recipient add a signature—they can draw it, type their name with a font of choice, or upload their signature. 

There is an option to customize the first page you see, i.e., the dashboard and the activity feed gives a real-time summary of happenings across your account. Use the feature to get the latest updates about team activities and progress on tasks.

Pros:

• User-friendly interface with shortcuts for easy navigation
• Excellent organization of resources
• No steep learning curve

Cons:

• Some sections are not intuitive and take time to understand
• Issues navigating between different requests
• Getting notifications on set tasks can sometimes be challenging

What you need to know:

• Use it for: File sharing, collaboration, and document management
• Paid plans start at: £30/month
• Free trial: 30 days
• G2 customer rating: 4.7 stars

5. Igloo for Cloud-base Workspace

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Igloo is an enterprise digital workspace solution that can serve as an alternative to SharePoint. It has robust team collaboration features such as Blogs, Forums, Tasks, File Sharing, Calendars, Wikis, Integrations, and Spaces. The Spaces come in different configurations and are dedicated areas within the platform where you can coordinate and manage projects.

In a Space, you can publish tasks, share files and documents, add updates, and include meetings and deadlines to calendars. Use the Calendar feature to update team members about the next meeting regarding a project or task everyone has been collaborating on. When scheduling a meeting, you can add attendees and change attendance status.

Use the Wiki functionality as a customizable intranet solution for an enterprise knowledge base. A knowledge resource can contain standards, best practices on work execution, and company policies. 

As a complement to the Wiki, use the Blogs to share updates about leadership, culture stories, and other information that will benefit your team and clients.

Pros:

• Provision for internal communication and information sharing
• Excellent knowledge management features
• File sharing, meeting schedule, and task control for teams

Cons:

• Steep learning curve for new users
• Theme customization heavily relies on CSS knowledge
• Issues while adding documents via the desktop version

What you need to know:

• Use it for: A digital workspace for collaborative intranet solutions
• Paid plans start at: Upon request
• Free trial: None
• G2 customer rating: 4.2 stars

6. Confluence for Team Collaboration

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Atlassian Confluence is a collaborative software solution that your team members can use to interact when working on projects. Project collaboration and knowledge management are two major areas where the tool excels.

Live editing for documents and pages lets multiple users make changes to the page at the same time. The changes are instant and everyone else can see who's currently making changes.

As mentioned above, project collaboration and knowledge sharing are at the core of Confluence. Team Spaces is one of the features provided by the platform to support collaboration and resource sharing.

In a Space, you can include things like directory listings of members and their contact information, a calendar of important events, a file request box, and “Resources.” Use the resource section to link to important documents and files.

Pre-made templates provided by the platform make it easy to configure team spaces quickly. Also, Integration with Jira software is a nice addition for agile teams looking for a planning and tracking solution for tasks. 

Pros:

• Excellent features for shared collaborative tasks
• Offers lots of templates to simplify task creation
• Features integrated space module that serve as a central location for all pages and information

Cons:

• Advanced functionalities cost a premium
• Software interfaces can be confusing, especially for new users
• Load times could be improved as the app often seems laggy

What you need to know:

• Use it for: Project collaboration between teams
• Paid plans start at: $4.89/user/month
• Free trial: 30 days
• G2 customer rating: 4.1 stars

7. Same-Page for Collaboration and Document Management

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Same-Page can be used as an alternative to SharePoint with its collaboration features. As the name implies, Same-Page provides a modular page containing everything required for managing a task or project. Each Page can contain uploaded files, a meeting agenda, a table, and many more. Use the table feature to create a spreadsheet file containing different types of information.

For Events, there is a chat functionality that lets you ask questions and discuss things about an event. After creating a meeting, use the comment feature to provide more information for attendees. The @mention can be used to quickly get the attention of a team member for updates not only for events but also for project progress.

Samepage integrates with Dropbox, OneDrive, and other cloud storage solutions in such a way that you can link your documents on the cloud storage to a Page Document for easy viewing and access.

You can also upload files to chat messages or as file documents. Download files for local editing or use the direct file editing feature to make changes on the platform.

Pros:

• Excellent meeting agenda-setting feature
• Support for different file types
• Built-in audio and video conferencing tool

Cons:

• No markup or comment feature for document files
• Fewer templates to work with
• Locating resources within its interface can sometimes be confusing

What you need to know:

• Use it for: Collaborating with teams on projects
• Paid plans start at: $7.50/user/month
• Free trial: 30 days
• G2 customer rating: 4.5 stars

8. Google Workspace for Productivity and Collaboration

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Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) is a collection of tools that makes collaboration and productivity for teams easy.

Included in the solution are collaboration tools like Gmail, Spreadsheets, Calendar, Chat, Docs, Drive, Forms, Sites, Meet, and more.

These tools are seamlessly integrated across locations and devices, allowing your team members to collaborate effectively and efficiently.

From spreadsheets and file storage to communication, you can build an entire functioning business and teams around Google Workspace. And to enhance the out-of-the-box features, you can integrate Google Workspace with many custom or third-party apps.

Pros:

• Seamless integration of Google-based tools
• Features for real-time team collaborations
• User-friendly interface

Cons:

• Restrictions with external file sharing
• Limited capabilities compared to other collaboration and productivity solutions
• Data migration can be challenging

What you need to know:

• Use it for: Collaborating with business teams and file sharing 
• Paid plans start at: $6/user/month
• Free trial: 14 days
• G2 customer rating: 4.6 stars

How Clinked Can Help You Achieve Your Goals

Portal solutions built on the Clinked infrastructure can be customized to suit the specific needs of a business. 

Part of the reason many choose Clinked is the white-label offering. This feature lets you have control over the branding elements of your portal.

Overall feature customization is another provision by Clinked. The dashboard and other sections of your portal can be customized to complement the most important processes of your business.

Below are some of the collaboration, productivity, and functional features included in every Clinked solution:

• Cloud-based, web interface
• White-label
• Mobile iOS/Android app
• User and role management
• File sharing
• Analytics
• Instant messaging
• Audit Trail
• Document collaboration
• File versioning
• File request
• E-Signature
• Project management
• Invoicing and billing
• Time tracking
• Integrations

To see how we can help customize one or several of these features for your business needs, reach out to the team at Clinked to discuss your goals. Our experts will help you map a realistic plan for your portal solution and get it done in no time.

Conclusion

When moving from SharePoint to an alternative solution, cloud-based experience, integration with other web services, productivity tracking features, and associated costs are factors to consider.

This resource covered 8 potential alternatives to SharePoint.

While there are software apps that strive to be comprehensive software solutions, some are big on team collaboration, while others are more geared toward project management.

For a portal solution that lets team members manage projects and clients or external parties collaborate with internal teams, Clinked has a comprehensive solution. Clinked customization means the portal can be customized to support the most important process or workflow of your business. For inquiries or to request a product demo, contact us today.