M-Files vs Microsoft SharePoint

M-Files

Scanner and drag-and-drop intake with conversion to searchable PDF is documented, emails are archived automatically via the Outlook Pro add-on, and the metadata-driven architecture classifies documents automatically. I found no public information on reading XRechnung or ZUGFeRD e-invoices as structured data, on a validation step, or on duplicate detection — which is exactly the e-invoice intake I am shopping for.

Microsoft SharePoint

The SharePoint pages confirm document libraries with version history, access control and file management between OneDrive and SharePoint, so documents clearly have a home. But on how a document gets in and becomes data we found no public information: nothing on scanning or mailbox intake, no OCR, no classification or field extraction, and nothing on XRechnung or ZUGFeRD being read as structured data — which is exactly what my incoming invoices need.

M-Files

Check-out for documents, an Event Log of vault changes and workflow modifications, version control in both plans, and at Enterprise an extended audit log with exports and federated authentication are documented. I found no public information on rights per folder or department, on logging of reads, exports and deletions, or on restoring earlier versions.

Microsoft SharePoint

Document libraries with version history and access control are stated outright, plus basic and policy-based identity management for up to 300 users, which comfortably covers my forty people. Restore of earlier versions, check-out, role detail per folder and any audit log of reads and changes are not described in the captures.

M-Files

Governance for compliance with retention policies is mentioned and PDF/A appears in a support note on a signature fix, but I found no public information on how archived documents are protected against change, on configurable retention periods, or on GoBD, an auditor's report or a Verfahrensdokumentation. For a German tax audit I cannot assess this from the captured pages.

Microsoft SharePoint

Microsoft 365 Archive is presented as cost-effective, compliant cold storage for inactive SharePoint content, with FAQ entries on archiving whole sites, on searchability of archived content and on legal hold, and a retention page that automates alerts and scheduled deletions against HIPAA, GDPR and SOX. On GoBD and revisionssichere Archivierung we found no public information, nor on how archived documents are protected against change, on a Verfahrensdokumentation or on an auditor's report — for a German tax audit that is the gap that matters.

M-Files

Automated graphical workflows are in both plans, approval assignments exist down to the API level, and the connector set is broad — SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce, OpenText — plus an Adobe Acrobat Sign e-signature package without a separate Adobe contract. I found no public information on a DATEV connector or an invoice workflow with handover to accounting, and one support article states workflow scripting is out of support scope and may require hiring a consultant.

Microsoft SharePoint

The plumbing is documented impressively: Microsoft Graph REST API with SDKs and a single endpoint, change notifications into Azure Event Hubs, Teams bots that can notify employees about required actions, PowerShell automation and a free developer subscription. But on what I would actually run the office with we found no public information: no approval or invoice workflow with tasks, deadlines or escalation, no graphical designer, and no connector to DATEV or any accounting system.

M-Files

Search is real: quick search, latest searches, and saved searches that become renameable views, with a reporting add-on sending metadata to a separate database. I found no public information on bulk export of documents with their metadata, on mobile access, or on the exit when a contract ends; the Smart Migration tool is documented only for moves between M-Files server versions.

Microsoft SharePoint

Search is sold broadly — external and Microsoft 365 content surfaced together, natural-language Copilot Search, archived SharePoint content that stays searchable, with web and mobile access. On the way out, the one documented fact is hard: all associated data is deleted when the subscription is cancelled, and beyond that we found no public information on bulk export of documents with metadata and versions, or on an import path from another system.

M-Files

An on-premises edition, a data-processing agreement in four languages, GDPR roles as processor and controller, ISO/SOC certification, a linked qualified-subcontractor list and a Data Residency add-on are documented. Where the standard cloud stores my documents and where the AI processes them is unstated; Microsoft Azure is named only as the host of the optional Premium Cloud add-on.

Microsoft SharePoint

The German legal notice names Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, USA as the provider of record and states expressly that Microsoft Deutschland GmbH is neither provider nor authorized to accept service; Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited appears in the same notice only as a group entity, and the Irish contracting entity named for EU customers in the page sourcing is not confirmed on the captured pages themselves. Where documents and their metadata are stored, which subprocessors — including any AI provider — read them, and whether an on-premises option exists: on all of that we found no public information.

M-Files

One of the two editions carries a public price — "€65 monthly / per seat" for Essentials, with inclusions listed and an upgrade path to Enterprise. I found no public prices for the Enterprise edition, for the add-ons (OCR is a separately licensed module), for storage or for on-premises licensing, so I cannot compute my forty-seat cost before talking to a partner.

Microsoft SharePoint

For a forty-person shop this is largely computable: Microsoft 365 Business Basic at 6,07 € per user per month with annual billing, Business Standard with Copilot at 20,36 €, Business Premium with Copilot at 27,73 €, Teams Essentials standalone at 3,50 €, all excluding VAT, with 1 TB of storage per user, cancellation any time via the admin centre and a 7-day withdrawal right with proportional refund. What I still cannot price out from these pages: storage overage, an on-premises licence, onboarding or partner fees, and the standalone Copilot add-on beyond its first-year discount terms — its agents run on a separate Azure subscription billed by consumption.