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Alfresco vs SharePoint comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Alfresco
Ranking in Enterprise Content Management
9th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
Document Management Software (4th)
SharePoint
Ranking in Enterprise Content Management
1st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
158
Ranking in other categories
Web Content Management (2nd), Corporate Portals (Enterprise Information Portals) (1st), Enterprise Intranet (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Enterprise Content Management category, the mindshare of Alfresco is 7.7%, down from 8.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SharePoint is 16.7%, down from 20.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Content Management
 

Q&A Highlights

AS
Apr 04, 2023
 

Featured Reviews

Karthi Keyan - PeerSpot reviewer
Streamlining document management with enhanced digitalization features needed
We used Alfresco as a document management system for automating and digitizing manual forms. Those were the main use cases The digitalization of workflow, forms, operations, and business processes has improved our organization. The most valuable features of Alfresco include its integration with…
Sanil Paul - PeerSpot reviewer
Streamlined collaboration through seamless integration and customization
I have been an administrator for SharePoint and have used it as an end-user for document storage. Predominantly, I've been involved in administration SharePoint helps a lot since we've moved from using it directly to using it as a backend for Teams, which makes collaboration easier. It supports…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Alfresco allows broad searches with many index fields that you can search on, although the created fields and their values may not be intuitive."
"Alfresco's technical support is very fast and professional."
"Document repository."
"The digitalization of workflow, forms, operations, and business processes is also significant."
"I like the ease of use, sections, and calendar."
"The most valuable feature is the flexibility of the searching elements of the metadata."
"The product allows engineering teams and developers to introduce new things in a seamless and easy way."
"The most valuable features of Alfresco include its integration with the scanning solution, the ability to search, and the capability to store and index to capture metadata."
"I do like the collaboration around documents. The versioning history has proven useful in some instances as well."
"We can arrange all our documents on one platform and see the document's changes and edits."
"The most valuable aspect of SharePoint is its integration with Teams. T"
"Helps with document collaboration and workflow."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to easily build intranet sites for communicating within teams, storing documentation, product information, pricing policies, updates on product infrastructure, and other related news."
"What I like about SharePoint is that they keep up with a lot of updates, and they bring out new features. I also like that the system is integrated with the Microsoft 365 suite of apps."
"The ability to take Excel files and make them dynamic SharePoint lists with instant reporting capabilities has been a major benefit."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is file sharing or information sharing."
 

Cons

"I think the presentation layer could be improved - currently, it's too complex, and there are too many features cluttered all over the screen."
"I would like them to consider document capture functionality."
"Alfresco has a very steep learning curve, and unfortunately, during the learning process, it's very easy to make errors, which often are unforgiving."
"The configuration of Alfresco is a big challenge."
"The setup process for Alfresco was complex."
"Metadata, auto class, disposition log, and legal hold."
"Alfresco could improve workflow digitalization and enhance artificial intelligence capabilities."
"Currently, documents in Alfresco are stored on a file server, which, while good for performance, is a security risk."
"It is too heavy. MS should not have paid foreign coders dollars per each row of code. They wasted the stability and reliability in the end."
"Integration needs to be more straightforward, particularly with Azure. SharePoint also needs a more comprehensive introductory course for users."
"SharePoint is not always intuitive to use and can be overwhelming for non-tech-savvy users."
"The product must provide more automation."
"The initial setup process is not intuitive."
"Emails stored now do not display metadata in native format."
"Document management and the ability to easily integrate single sign-on (SSO) are areas for improvement in SharePoint."
"Allow more functionalities for the on-premise version. Do not force the move of content to a non-private cloud."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The license for Alfresco is expensive - not the maximum, but close. There are also extra costs once you start building integrations, as implementation seems to be very costly."
"It is cheaper compared to head-to-head competitors."
"There are costs for any upgrade or additional functions."
"If you buy Alfresco through a partner, there is usually a OEM licensing option."
"The product is reasonably priced."
"The solution's pricing is relatively expensive because it's bundled with other products."
"It comes bundled with the Microsoft 365 pricing plans."
"As usual, Microsoft’s licensing structures don’t really seem to fit the needs of their products. This leads to always paying for a project you will never use fully or always be adding to."
"The pricing is competitive."
"We have purchased add-ons to handle multiple site collections, form creation, and design."
"The pricing works for us."
"The cost is expensive, but worthwhile."
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Comparison Review

it_user8925 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 23, 2013
Jive vs Sharepoint vs Drupal Commons
At Mediacurrent we often get requests to compare Drupal to other platforms used for intranet sites and social business platforms (like https://dev.twitter.com/ for example). This is often referred to as “Social Business Software”, which has grown in popularity in recent years. I decided to do a…
 

Answers from the Community

AS
Apr 4, 2023
Apr 4, 2023
Alfresco scores are high on all features of an ECM solution and tools. Back office processing, rated as 3.36 good. Business Process Application 3.55 Good to excellent. Document Management 4.12 Excellent. Records Management 3.81 Good to Excellent. Team Productivity 3.66 Good. Compared with Sharepoint the ratings are as below. Back office Operations 3.29. Business Process Application 3...
2 out of 8 answers
Aug 4, 2014
Hi, Sorry but I am not familiar with Alfresco. We have experience with the followings: WebSphere CMS, Sharepoint and Drupal. Thank you, Jacob (Kobi) Welber CTO
it_user71736 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 4, 2014
www.springcm.com routinely solves this problem and there now is an "easy button" on ECM and we have lots of clients to prove it, plus it includes some pre-configured apps that are very quick to deploy and derive value from. ok, commercial over... two quick questions: 1- do you need to integrate with salesforce.com? 2- what is the primary challenge with sharepoint?
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Government
13%
Computer Software Company
10%
Insurance Company
9%
Government
13%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Would Alfresco give an organization more benefits in terms of cost, features & security as compared to Sharepoint?
Alfresco scores are high on all features of an ECM solution and tools. Back office processing, rated as 3.36 good. Business Process Application 3.55 Good to excellent. Document Management 4.12...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Alfresco?
Pricing is considered mid-range, and there are considerations regarding the cost of licensing.
What needs improvement with Alfresco?
Alfresco could improve workflow digitalization and enhance artificial intelligence capabilities.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SharePoint?
With SharePoint, we save by not needing multiple external licenses. Unlike Drupal ( /products/drupal-reviews ), all necessary applications are included in the Microsoft license, making it cost-effe...
What needs improvement with SharePoint?
When working on a website with SharePoint Online, not many people can edit simultaneously. If I am editing one section, my colleague cannot edit it at the same time. A chat support or chatbot featu...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
SharePoint 2007, SharePoint 2010
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Over 1,300 companies from 180 different countries. Including EuroStar, Saks Fifth Avenue, NASA Langley Research Center, and KLM.
Toyota, Aeroports de Paris, ASBBank Ltd., Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals, CambridgeshireConstabulary, D&M Group, NPL Construction Company, and The Regional Municipality of Niagara.
Find out what your peers are saying about Alfresco vs. SharePoint and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.