Comparison
SharePoint alternative: document storage and search with Nexoria
Project_agreement.pdf · Section “Next steps”
Related documents and context from your workspace.
Related documents and context from your workspace.
Which tasks and file formats need to fit?
Which data flows and permissions apply?
Which features, requirements and costs are relevant?
Nexoria combines document storage, semantic search and AI answers in one work platform. Your team manages files in Nexoria Drive, organises sharing through workspaces and asks Nex for information from the indexed content, with source references. For the switch from SharePoint, first choose a document collection and align permissions and workflows with your day-to-day work.
Files, the knowledge index and semantic search are located in Germany. For AI answers, Nex sends relevant content to the Mistral AI API. Other services and enabled integrations must be considered separately.
Editorially updated on
Use cases: how to use your company knowledge with Nexoria
SharePoint is rarely used the same way in any two organisations. That is why this page starts with the question of what you actually use SharePoint for. The cases show how to bring together document storage, search and existing processes for your team.
- 01 · Nexoria takes over
You essentially use SharePoint as file storage
Nexoria Drive provides file storage with workspaces and indexed content. Before the switch, decide which SharePoint columns, version histories and individual permissions you still need, and check export and indexing on a test collection.
- 02 · Document search and Nex
Your team wants to find existing knowledge faster
Document search finds content semantically in a workspace's shared content and names the source for every result. Nex answers questions from the same content and works only with the material that the workspace makes available.
- 03 · Running in parallel with SharePoint
You run an intranet with communication sites, a home site and hub sites
For building an intranet, Microsoft explicitly lists communication sites, a home site as the organisation's landing page, hub sites and the News web part. You continue to run this intranet in SharePoint. You store the documents your team searches in Nexoria Drive: there, they can be queried with source references through document search and Nex.
- 04 · Running in parallel with SharePoint
Your SharePoint lists are a data application
If inventories, requests, risk registers or project overviews run as lists with columns, views and permissions, that is an application, not file storage. You continue to run these lists in SharePoint. Nexoria makes the associated documents in Nexoria Drive searchable.
- 05 · Running in parallel with SharePoint
Your processes run on Power Automate workflows and forms
You continue to run approval chains, deadline processes and form flows with Power Automate and your forms solution. Nexoria adds file storage and semantic search across the associated documents.
Nexoria describes its own automations with instructions to Nex, platform events and chatbot conversations as triggers. Check which of your Power Automate workflows can be transferred on the basis of the specific process. More about automations.
Wiki and knowledge pages
If your team maintains knowledge as pages, the Confluence comparison and the Notion comparison will help you put this in context. For personal file storage, see the OneDrive comparison.
Evidence
As building blocks of a SharePoint intranet, Microsoft names, among other things, communication sites, the home site as the organisation's landing page, hub sites for organising related sites and the News web part.
Before switching: check library, permissions and document versions
A SharePoint library comprises more than the visible files. Microsoft also documents version histories, metadata columns and permissions down to individual items. For a selected area, therefore, define what must be preserved during the switch.
- Capture files and additional information. Select an approved test collection and its valid document versions. Note required column values and older versions separately. Check export and indexing with your actual files and record which additional information you will carry over.
- Reassign access. Also record any differing permissions on individual files. Use this to plan sharing through Nexoria Workspaces and check the results with authorised and unauthorised test accounts.
- Define the primary storage location. If SharePoint continues to exist in parallel, decide where changes are made and who keeps the searchable content up to date.
SharePoint, OneDrive and Google Drive can be connected as knowledge sources on request. We set up the integration depending on your environment and permissions. On request, we also look into connecting other storage, CRM, ERP and in-house systems.
View integrations. We agree the scope, updates and permissions for your integration based on the test collection.
The test tasks for document search then help you assess results, sources and access using your own content.
Microsoft sources, checked on 25 September 2026: Version history, Metadata columns and Permission inheritance.
The comparison matrix
One criterion per row, with the source for the Microsoft information alongside.
| Criterion | Microsoft SharePoint | Nexoria | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product category | Document management, intranet, lists, workflows and permission management on sites. For the intranet, Microsoft explicitly names various site types and hub sites. | European work platform with Nexoria Drive, document search, Nex, workspaces and the Office applications Doc, Calc and Slides. | Introduction to SharePoint and OneDrive in Microsoft 365 for administrators checked on |
| Storage per organisation | Microsoft 365 Business Basic/Standard/Premium: 1 TB plus 10 GB per purchased licence; additional storage in 1 GB increments. Other plans may differ. | Base: 10 GB per company; Pro: 20 GB per company. Beyond that, €1.00 per GB per month, calculated on the source bytes transferred. | SharePoint limits, Service Descriptions checked on |
| Storage per site | A maximum of 25 TB per site or site collection, up to 2 million sites per organisation. | Workspaces on top of shared storage, with permissions per workspace. | SharePoint limits, Service Descriptions checked on |
| Scale per library | Up to 30 million files and folders per library, 2,000 lists and libraries per site collection, upload limit of 250 GB per file. | The available storage depends on the plan: Base 10 GB, Pro 20 GB per company; additional storage can be booked. | SharePoint limits, Service Descriptions checked on |
| Retention and archiving | Retention policies and retention labels via Microsoft Purview, a Preservation Hold library for modified and deleted content, and marking items as records. | Existing archiving processes and retention obligations are aligned with knowledge search during the rollout. | Learn about retention for SharePoint and OneDrive checked on |
| Search across document content | Search is part of the service. Microsoft describes crawling, the search index and queries against this index. Classic and modern search use the same search index. | Semantic document search across a workspace's content with a source reference for each result, included in the base price. | Overview of search in SharePoint checked on |
| AI in the licensing model | Web-grounded Copilot Chat is included in eligible Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Work-grounded chat requires a Copilot licence. | Nex is part of the core product, not a second licence. | License Options for Microsoft Copilot checked on |
| Commitment to Germany as the storage location | Commitments for customer data at rest depend on the sign-up region, contractual terms and booked options. Microsoft describes the Product Terms, Advanced Data Residency and Multi-Geo; the requirements must be checked for the specific tenant. | Files, the knowledge index and semantic search are located in Germany. To generate answers, Nex sends relevant content to the Mistral AI API. Other services and enabled integrations must be considered separately. | Data Residency for SharePoint and OneDrive checked on |
To distinguish between archiving, search and wiki: Enterprise search, DMS or wiki: which does what?
Where Nexoria goes beyond file storage
Two points, and both concern not file storage but what happens to the content afterwards.
First, the search. Document search works semantically across the content of a workspace's files and names the source for every result. If you are looking for the contract that contains a particular notice period, you do not need to know what the file is called or which library it is in.
Second, the AI's level of access. Nex answers from the indexed content and works only with the material that the respective workspace makes available. Your sharing permissions define the area of knowledge. You can see this directly when testing with your own documents and roles: place a document in a workspace that a test user is not a member of, and have them ask specifically about it.
Evidence
Web-grounded Copilot Chat is included in eligible Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Work-grounded chat requires a Copilot licence. With Nexoria, Nex is part of the core product.
The product descriptions explain the document search with source citations and the Workspaces and access permissions.
Pricing at a glance
Nexoria costs €29 per user per month with 10 GB of storage per company and 3 million AI tokens per user. The package for 5 users costs €299 per month with 20 GB of storage per company and 5 million AI tokens per user, and each additional user €20 per month. Additional storage costs €1.00 per GB per month, calculated on the source bytes transferred. Nex, Nexoria Drive, document search, the Office apps and the workspaces are included; Mail and Meet are a paid add-on. All prices are net.
Microsoft lists SharePoint as part of Microsoft 365 packages and documents standalone SharePoint plans. As pricing examples for packages with SharePoint, the German Microsoft page states on 25 September 2026: Business Basic with Teams €6.07, Business Standard with Teams and Copilot Business €20.36 per user per month. Without Teams, Business Basic EEA is listed at €4.67 and Business Standard EEA with Copilot Business at €17.58. These prices apply to annual billing with an annual subscription and automatic renewal, plus VAT in each case. Check the package scope and conditions before ordering.
The Microsoft packages and Nexoria contain different applications. When comparing prices, also take data residency options into account: ADR is an add-on for eligible tenants. For commercial tenants, Microsoft requires coverage of all eligible purchased licences; existing Multi-Geo licences are credited according to the documented rules. Compare the costs based on your actual licence structure.
Evidence
For eligible tenants, ADR extends the data residency commitments for certain customer data at rest. For commercial tenants, full coverage of the eligible purchased licences applies; Microsoft describes how Multi-Geo licences are credited.
Data flow: where your data is stored
For Microsoft the commitments for customer data at rest depend on the sign-up region, contractual terms and booked options. In addition to the Product Terms, Microsoft describes Advanced Data Residency and Multi-Geo. For ADR, the region, licence coverage and provisioning of the SharePoint data, among other things, must meet the documented requirements. Germany is one of the supported local regions. A commitment on the storage location of data at rest does not automatically apply to every processing step. Check your actual tenant status and the agreements that apply to you.
For Nexoria the files, the knowledge index and semantic search are located in Germany. Answers are generated via the Mistral AI API, to which relevant content is transferred. External AI providers can be connected through a Nexoria MCP integration using your own customer account. Other services and enabled integrations are covered in the processing register documentation. Check the processing chain for your specific use case. You can find additional questions for procurement and data protection in the Evaluator FAQ.
Evidence
Files, the knowledge index and semantic search are located in Germany. To generate answers, Nex sends relevant content to the Mistral AI API. Other services and enabled integrations must be considered separately.
Frequently asked questions about the SharePoint alternative
Which SharePoint tasks is Nexoria suitable for?
Nexoria is suitable for teams that want to store documents together, find content and answer questions about their company knowledge with sources. Nexoria Drive appears as a drive in Windows File Explorer; workspaces organise sharing for the indexed content. When getting started, choose a specific document area and plan how your existing intranet, list and approval processes will work together with this workflow.
How does Nexoria combine storage, search and AI answers?
Document search finds content semantically in a workspace's shared content. For every result, it names the source document with a preview of where the match was found. The AI assistant Nex answers questions from the indexed content and works only with the material that the respective workspace makes available. The AI is part of the core product, not a second licence. Microsoft distinguishes between web-grounded Copilot Chat, which is included in eligible Microsoft 365 subscriptions, and work-grounded chat with a Copilot licence.
How much storage do I get in comparison?
For SharePoint in Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard and Premium, Microsoft documents 1 TB per tenant plus 10 GB per purchased licence. A maximum of 25 TB per site applies within the available quota. Additional storage can be added in 1 GB increments; other plans may differ. Nexoria includes 10 GB per company on the Base plan and 20 GB per company on the Pro plan; beyond that, storage costs €1.00 per GB per month, calculated on the source bytes transferred. The reason for the difference is the purpose: Nexoria combines file storage with the indexing of supported content and semantic search.
What happens to retention periods and legally compliant archiving?
Microsoft documents retention features through Microsoft Purview. During your rollout, we discuss how existing archiving processes and Nexoria's knowledge search work together. Your specific retention obligations form the basis for this. Enterprise search, DMS or wiki: which does what?
Which is better for me, SharePoint or OneDrive?
Microsoft assigns personal work files to OneDrive and shared team files to SharePoint. OneDrive files are initially private and can be shared. For team storage with sites and libraries, look at SharePoint; for personal file storage, OneDrive. OneDrive comparison
Is there an open-source SharePoint alternative?
If you are choosing by open-source status and operating model, you will find dedicated decision aids in the Nextcloud comparison and in our tool selection guide. Check there which tasks you want to replace and who will take on operation. Nextcloud comparison Free, open source or in a Microsoft 365 environment
Where is my data processed?
Files, the knowledge index and semantic search are located in Germany. The Mistral AI API processes relevant content to generate answers. Other services and enabled integrations are documented in the processing register. External AI providers can be connected through a Nexoria MCP integration using your own customer account. For SharePoint, data residency commitments depend on the tenant, the services and the data residency options booked.
How does a migration from SharePoint work?
Start with a selected library and record the files, required metadata, version histories and permissions. Use approved sample files to check what is exported and indexed in Nexoria Drive. Plan sharing through workspaces and test search and access with suitable test accounts. If you run in parallel, decide which storage location is the primary one and how changes reach the searchable content.
Folder structure that has grown over time: reorganise or make it searchable?
Choosing knowledge management software
Sources
As of
- Identify business requirements for SharePoint and OneDrive. Microsoft Corporation, 2023. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/business-requirements Retrieved on .Personal work files in OneDrive, shared files in SharePoint; sharing and collaboration.
- SharePoint limits, Service Descriptions. Microsoft Corporation, 2025. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/sharepoint-online-service-description/sharepoint-online-limits Retrieved on .Storage per organisation, maximum per site, additional storage in 1 GB increments, upload limit, items per library.
- Plan for SharePoint storage. Microsoft Corporation, 2026. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/sharepoint-storage-planning Retrieved on .Calculation of the storage quota and additional purchases in increments of one gigabyte.
- Introduction to SharePoint and OneDrive in Microsoft 365 for administrators. Microsoft Corporation, 2025. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/introduction Retrieved on .SharePoint as an intranet platform, site types, hub sites and the integration with Microsoft Teams.
- Plan an intelligent SharePoint intranet. Microsoft Corporation, 2026. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/plan-intranet Retrieved on .The building blocks of a SharePoint intranet: communication sites, home site, hub sites and the News web part.
- Overview of search in SharePoint. Microsoft Corporation, 2024. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/overview-of-search Retrieved on .How search works: crawler, search index, query and results page, as well as the shared index of both search experiences.
- Learn about retention for SharePoint and OneDrive. Microsoft Corporation, 2025. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/purview/retention-policies-sharepoint Retrieved on .Retention policies, the Preservation Hold library and the differences between locked, unlocked and regulatory records.
- Advanced data residency in Microsoft 365. Microsoft Corporation, 2026. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/enterprise/advanced-data-residency Retrieved on .ADR eligibility, coverage of eligible purchased licences, Multi-Geo crediting and consequences of insufficient coverage.
- Data Residency for SharePoint and OneDrive. Microsoft Corporation, 2025. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/enterprise/m365-dr-service-spo Retrieved on .Conditions of the residency commitment, the search index and how it behaves when the region changes.
- License Options for Microsoft Copilot. Microsoft Corporation, 2026. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/copilot/microsoft-365-copilot-licensing Retrieved on .Copilot licence requirements; included web chat and licence-based work-grounded chat.
- Microsoft 365: Business packages with OneDrive and SharePoint. Microsoft Corporation, 2026. https://www.microsoft.com/de-de/microsoft-365/onedrive/onedrive-business-plans-and-pricing Retrieved on .Pricing examples for Business Basic and Business Standard with Copilot Business, each with or without Teams; annual billing, annual subscription, plus VAT.
- Pricing. Nexoria Systems UG (haftungsbeschränkt), 2026. /preise Retrieved on .Plans, included storage, tokens and the price of additional storage.
- Security and privacy. Nexoria Systems UG (haftungsbeschränkt), 2026. /security Retrieved on .Processing locations per component, technical and organisational measures, error monitoring via Sentry.
- processing register. Nexoria Systems UG (haftungsbeschränkt), 2026. /legal/verzeichnis Retrieved on .Recipients named individually, including Sentry, Telnyx, Microsoft Corp. and Google LLC.
- About us. Nexoria Systems UG (haftungsbeschränkt), 2026. /about Retrieved on .Team and direct contacts.
The Microsoft information comes from the linked vendor sources. The retrieval date is given with each source; the addition on switching was editorially revised on 25 September 2026. Microsoft continuously develops its product, documentation and prices, so information may change. If any statement here seems outdated or incorrect to you, write to us using the contact form, and we will correct it.
Trademark notice
Microsoft, SharePoint, OneDrive, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Purview, Microsoft Copilot and Power Automate are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Nexoria and Nexoria Systems are designations of Nexoria Systems UG (haftungsbeschränkt). Third-party trademarks are mentioned solely for factual classification in the context of comparative advertising under Section 6 of the German Act Against Unfair Competition (UWG). There is no business relationship with Microsoft Corporation.