SharePoint vs OneDrive: Which to Use for What

If you use Microsoft 365, you have both SharePoint and OneDrive, and it isn’t always obvious which one a file should live in. They look similar, both store documents in the cloud, and both can appear as folders on your computer. But they’re designed for different jobs, and using the wrong one causes real problems, especially when someone leaves.

The Short Answer

OneDrive is for your files. SharePoint is for the team’s files.

If a document belongs to you and you’re the main person working on it, OneDrive is the right place. If it belongs to the business or a team, and other people need to find it, edit it or keep it after you’ve gone, it belongs in SharePoint.

What OneDrive Is For

OneDrive is your personal work storage. Think of it as your own desk drawer, backed up to the cloud. It’s ideal for:

• Drafts and work in progress
• Files only you need
• Documents you want to share with one or two people now and then
• Keeping your Desktop and Documents folders backed up automatically

Files in OneDrive are private by default. Other people only see them if you share them.

What SharePoint Is For

SharePoint is shared storage for teams and the whole business, organised into sites, with each site holding its own document libraries. Think of it as the office filing cabinet. It’s the right place for:

• Company documents, templates and policies
• Client and project files several people work on
• Anything a team needs to find without asking one person for it
• Files that need to stay put when staff come and go

Access is set at the site or library level, so a whole team can be given access in one go, rather than files being shared one at a time.

Where Microsoft Teams Fits In

This is where a lot of the confusion comes from. Files shared in a Teams channel are actually stored in SharePoint, in the site that sits behind that team. Files shared in a private chat are stored in the sender’s OneDrive. So if your team shares important files in chats rather than channels, those files are living in one person’s OneDrive, often without anyone realising.

To add to the confusion, the OneDrive app on your computer can also sync SharePoint libraries, so both can appear side by side in File Explorer even though they’re quite different underneath.

The Mistakes We See Most Often

Business files kept in one person’s OneDrive. This is the big one. When that person leaves and their account is removed, their OneDrive is deleted after a set period unless someone steps in to keep the files. Important company documents can disappear with them.

One giant SharePoint site. When businesses move off an old file server, it’s tempting to copy the whole folder structure into a single SharePoint site. It works, but it makes permissions hard to manage and files hard to find. A few sensibly organised sites, usually by team or function, work much better.

Oversharing. “Anyone with the link” sharing is convenient, but it means anyone who gets hold of that link can open the file. For anything sensitive, share with specific people instead.

Nobody checking who has access. Permissions build up over time. A periodic check of who can see what in SharePoint is worth doing, particularly after staff changes.

Moving Off an Old File Server?

SharePoint and OneDrive are often the natural replacement for an old office file server. If yours is running Windows Server 2016, its support ends in January 2027, which makes this a good time to plan the move. Our cloud services page explains how a move works.

Where CCSW Comes In

We help businesses set up SharePoint and OneDrive properly: planning sensible sites and permissions, moving files across from old servers, and making sure leavers’ files are kept. It’s part of our Microsoft 365 support. If your files have ended up scattered across OneDrive accounts, chats and old folders, get in touch and we’ll help you get them organised.