A SharePoint alternative built for document management
SharePoint is an excellent collaboration platform, and most organizations that look for an alternative are not replacing it — they are moving a specific body of documents out of it. Claims, invoices, personnel files, and matters need structured index fields on every document, security that follows those values, capture from scanners, print, and email, and staged workflows with queues. That can be assembled in SharePoint with enough design and governance; DocuPro is a document management system where it is the starting point. Users stay on Windows and sign in with the same Microsoft Entra ID accounts.
About SharePoint.Microsoft SharePoint is a collaboration and content platform included with many Microsoft 365 plans, widely used for team sites, intranets, and document libraries. Details below about SharePoint are general and vary by edition, module, and licensing; confirm specifics with Microsoft.
Why teams look for a SharePoint alternative
Top SharePoint alternatives
SharePoint is rarely replaced outright. It is compared with dedicated document management products when a specific body of documents needs structure it does not provide on its own — usually DocuWare, Laserfiche, M-Files, or OnBase, with smaller vendors appearing for departmental use. DocuPro is the option on this list that keeps users on their Microsoft Entra ID accounts while adding required index fields, capture, and staged workflow. The list below covers each of them on the same four points, with links to the full comparisons where we have them.
- 01DocuProDocuPro (GoDocuPro)
- Best for
- Departments whose work runs on typed documents — claims, invoices, personnel files, matters — and whose own administrators want to own the configuration.
- Deployment
- Cloud-hosted and managed; Windows client with Microsoft Entra ID single sign-on.
- Strength
- Index-based security rules and staged workflows configured in the application, with bulk import jobs that migrate an existing archive and retry failures.
- Confirm
- Scope: it is a document management system, not a forms, records-management, or collaboration platform.
- 02DocuWareDocuWare
- Best for
- Mid-size organizations, especially for invoice processing and HR files.
- Deployment
- Cloud and on-premises editions.
- Strength
- Pre-configured solutions for common processes get a department live quickly.
- Confirm
- Feature parity between editions, and how far the pre-configured solutions bend to a process that does not fit the template.
- 03LaserficheLaserfiche
- Best for
- Government, education, and financial services organizations that want document management together with electronic forms, records management, and process automation.
- Deployment
- Cloud and self-hosted editions.
- Strength
- Platform breadth and a long record in public-sector and regulated environments.
- Confirm
- How much of the platform you will actually use, and whether rollouts and later changes are partner-led.
- 04M-FilesM-Files
- Best for
- Organizations that want to organize documents by metadata rather than folders, often knowledge-work and professional-services teams.
- Deployment
- Cloud and on-premises editions.
- Strength
- A flexible metadata model and views that present the same document in several contexts.
- Confirm
- Who will maintain the metadata model as it grows, and how security rules follow metadata values.
- 05OnBaseHyland
- Best for
- Large organizations in insurance, healthcare, government, and financial services that want content, case management, and process automation on one enterprise platform.
- Deployment
- Cloud and on-premises editions.
- Strength
- Breadth: a deep module catalogue and a large partner ecosystem for complex, multi-department rollouts.
- Confirm
- Which modules your use case needs, how each is licensed, and what your team can change without a partner.
- 06RevverRevver (formerly eFileCabinet)
- Best for
- Small and mid-size businesses, often accounting, HR, and professional-services teams, that want document management with built-in automation.
- Deployment
- Cloud.
- Strength
- Templates and automation aimed at smaller teams without a dedicated IT department.
- Confirm
- Capture options for high-volume scanning, and how permissions and workflows handle department-specific document types.
- 07DokmeeOffice Gemini
- Best for
- Small and mid-size organizations that want a straightforward document management and capture product.
- Deployment
- Cloud and on-premises editions.
- Strength
- A compact feature set centred on capture, indexing, and retrieval, with a companion capture product.
- Confirm
- Workflow depth, metadata-driven security, and single sign-on options for your edition.
Head to head:DocuWare vs SharePoint
Product names belong to their respective owners and are used only to identify the products. Descriptions are general; editions, modules, and licensing vary, so confirm specifics with each vendor.
DocuPro vs. SharePoint: what to compare
| Criterion | DocuPro | SharePoint |
|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | Document management: capture, index, secure, route, and retrieve business documents. | Collaboration and content platform: team sites, intranets, and document libraries. Document management is one of many uses. |
| Document structure | Document groups, types, required index fields, and external lookups configured by your administrators through the application. | Libraries, content types, and columns. Capable, and dependent on information-architecture design and ongoing governance to stay consistent. |
| Capture | Direct upload, GoDocuPro VPD print driver, Patch-T batch scanning, Outlook add-in, per-user import email, bulk import jobs with retry. | Upload, sync, and email-based options; production scanning and separator-sheet capture typically rely on third-party or additional Microsoft tooling. Confirm what your plan includes. |
| Security | User groups, folder permissions, and index-based security rules applied consistently to search, queues, printing, and export. | Site, library, folder, and item-level permissions with inheritance. Rules driven by metadata values generally require additional design. |
| Workflow | Linear workflows with stages, queues, custom tasks, rule-based / round-robin routing, Stage Manager, and SMTP notifications with conditions. | Workflow is typically built with Power Automate; licensing and connector availability vary by plan. |
| Viewer & page tools | Built-in viewer with annotations, stamps, signatures, manage/replace pages, separator & merge, version history with revert; original always retained. | Browser and Office previews with version history; page-level tools such as split, merge, and stamps usually come from other applications. |
| Identity | Microsoft Entra ID single sign-on; provisioning and deprovisioning stay in your tenant. | Microsoft Entra ID, native to Microsoft 365. |
| Migration path | Bulk import jobs map existing library columns onto DocuPro index fields, run in parallel, and retry failed uploads. | — |
| Pricing | Request a demo for a quote based on your document types, users, and capture needs. | Often included in Microsoft 365 plans; count the cost of add-ons, third-party capture, workflow licensing, and the design and governance effort for a like-for-like comparison. |
Migrating from SharePoint
Export documents and their column metadata from the SharePoint libraries you are moving, map the columns onto DocuPro document types and index fields, and load them with bulk import jobs. Jobs run in parallel against your hardware, list failed uploads, and retry them. Libraries used for day-to-day collaboration can stay exactly where they are.
More on bulk import jobs →- Export documents and metadata from SharePoint.
- Define DocuPro document groups, types, and index fields to receive them.
- Map source fields → DocuPro index / keyword fields.
- Run a pilot bulk import job; verify search, security rules, and viewer.
- Run the full job in parallel; review and retry any failed uploads.
- Cut users over with Entra ID SSO; keep SharePoint read-only until verified.
Frequently asked questions
Is DocuPro a SharePoint alternative?
For document management, yes. DocuPro is a dedicated document management system with required index fields, index-based security, built-in capture, staged workflows, and a document viewer. Many organizations keep SharePoint for collaboration and intranet use and move their transactional documents — claims, invoices, personnel files — into DocuPro.
Do we have to stop using SharePoint or Microsoft 365?
No. DocuPro runs alongside Microsoft 365. Users sign in with the same Microsoft Entra ID accounts, and the Outlook add-in files mail and attachments directly into DocuPro.
Can DocuPro import documents from SharePoint libraries?
Yes. Exported documents and their column metadata are mapped onto DocuPro document types and index fields and loaded with parallel bulk import jobs with retry.
How is a document management system different from SharePoint folders?
Folders store files; a DMS indexes them. DocuPro attaches structured index fields to every document, enforces security by those values, and moves documents through workflows with tasks and notifications.
Is this page endorsed by Microsoft?
No. SharePoint, Microsoft 365, Power Automate, and Microsoft Entra ID are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. Microsoft has not reviewed or endorsed this comparison; the names are used only to identify the products being compared.