Confluence vs. SharePoint: Which One is Right for You?

If you’re looking for a collaboration and documentation tool, you’ve probably come across Confluence and SharePoint. Both platforms help teams organize content, collaborate, and store documents—but they do it in different ways.

This guide breaks down the key differences to help you choose the right one for your needs.

1. What Are They?

Confluence, developed by Atlassian, is a wiki-style documentation and collaboration tool. It’s popular among software teams, project managers, and content creators who need a centralized place for notes, documentation, and project planning.

SharePoint, created by Microsoft, is a document management and intranet platform. It’s widely used in large organizations for storing files, managing permissions, and creating company-wide portals for internal collaboration.

2. User Experience & Ease of Use

Confluence is designed for team collaboration and documentation. It feels like a wiki, where you can create pages, link content, and work together in real time. It uses a clean, modern editor with templates for easy content creation and is best for teams that need an easy way to document processes, meeting notes, and project updates.

SharePoint is designed for enterprise document storage and internal portals. It has a steeper learning curve due to its powerful but complex feature set. It works well for companies needing structured document management with deep integration into Microsoft 365. It’s best for organizations with IT teams that can manage setup and customization.

If you want an easy-to-use tool for collaborative documentation, Confluence is better. If you need a structured document management system, SharePoint is more powerful but requires more effort to set up and maintain.

3. Collaboration & Teamwork

Confluence is great for real-time collaboration. Multiple users can edit pages simultaneously, and inline comments and @mentions make discussions easy. It integrates well with Jira, Slack, and Trello for project tracking.

SharePoint is best for enterprise-level collaboration. It allows teams to create team sites for different departments and supports document version control and co-authoring in Microsoft Office files. It is deeply integrated with Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, and Outlook.

If you need a simple, wiki-style collaboration tool, Confluence wins. If your company is already using Microsoft 365 and needs document-heavy collaboration, SharePoint is a better fit.

4. Document Management & Organization

Confluence is best for documentation and knowledge sharing. Pages and spaces are organized like a wiki, making it easy to find and link information. It offers basic file storage but is not built for managing large document libraries and lacks advanced metadata tagging and permission controls.

SharePoint is an enterprise-level document management system. It is designed for storing, organizing, and securing files with advanced permission settings. It supports metadata, tagging, and search to quickly find documents and allows for structured workflows, approvals, and automation.

If you need a tool for team documentation, Confluence is better. If you need a robust document management system, SharePoint is the way to go.

5. Integration & Compatibility

Confluence works well with Atlassian products like Jira, Trello, and Bitbucket. It also supports integrations with Slack, Google Drive, and other third-party tools, but has limited Microsoft 365 compatibility.

SharePoint seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Office apps like Word, Excel, and Outlook. It works well with Teams, OneDrive, and Power Automate for workflow automation, but has limited support for non-Microsoft tools.

If you use Jira or Agile tools, go with Confluence. If your company is deep into the Microsoft ecosystem, SharePoint is the better choice.

6. Security & Permissions

Confluence offers simple but limited security features. It allows page- and space-level permissions, and its cloud-based security is managed by Atlassian. However, it lacks advanced enterprise security features.

SharePoint provides advanced enterprise security. It offers granular permissions for documents, folders, and sites, enterprise-grade compliance, encryption, and user management. It is best for businesses with strict security requirements.

If you need enterprise-level security, SharePoint is the stronger choice. If basic access controls are enough, Confluence works well.

Final Decision: Which One Should You Choose?

Feature	Confluence	SharePoint
Ease of Use	Simple & intuitive	Steep learning curve
Collaboration	Real-time editing & comments	Great for teams, but Microsoft-focused
Document Management	Basic storage, no advanced tagging	Enterprise-grade with metadata & workflows
Integrations	Jira, Trello, Slack	Microsoft 365 (Teams, OneDrive, Outlook)
Security	Basic access control	Advanced enterprise security

Choose Confluence if:

• You need an easy-to-use documentation and collaboration tool.
• Your team works with Jira, Trello, or Agile workflows.
• You want a wiki-style knowledge base with minimal setup.

Choose SharePoint if:

• You need a structured document management system.
• Your company already uses Microsoft 365 and needs deep integration.
• You require enterprise-level security, compliance, and workflows.

Both platforms are great, but the right choice depends on how your team works. If your focus is collaborative knowledge sharing, Confluence is ideal. If you need enterprise document management, SharePoint is the way to go.

Still unsure? Think about your company’s existing tools, security needs, and collaboration style, and the right solution will become clear.