Egnyte vs Microsoft OneDrive (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Microsoft OneDrive: it is third in our ranking of file storage and sync services, and it grades higher too, 3.4 against 2.0.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Microsoft OneDrive grades higher on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Egnyte
Business file sharing with governance and AI tools
Microsoft OneDrive
Microsoft's cloud storage, bundled with Microsoft 365 plans
Which one is for you
Pick Egnyte if
- Fits if you're a business that needs permissions and governance on shared files
- Works for a team of up to 10 that wants the $10 Team plan
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you want more than Team: Business is $22 a user and Elite is $48 billed annually
- Skip it if you want a free plan, as there is none
- Tight if you need e-signature or PDF markup: both start at Elite
- Watch out: Ultimate has no published price, the Team plan stops at 10 users and the trial length isn't stated
Pick Microsoft OneDrive if
- Fits if you already pay for Microsoft 365, since the storage comes with Word, Excel and PowerPoint
- Works for work teams on Teams and SharePoint, which OneDrive ties into
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're on Linux, as Microsoft lists no Linux client
- Tight if you're staying free, because 5 GB is all you get
- Pricey if you need a bit more than 100 GB, since the next step is 1 TB at $9.99 a month
- Watch out: Family and Premium plans started from October 8, 2026 share 2 TB between everyone, not 1 TB each
- Watch out: the one-month trial needs a card, and Copilot on Family and Premium works for the owner only
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAEgnyteFair | 3.4GPAMicrosoft OneDriveVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$10 a user for Team, capped at 10 people, but the main Business plan is $22, past the category's $16.50 dearest-tenth line. Elite is $48. | ABasic is $1.99 a month, or $19.99 for the year, for 100 GB, well under the $3.99 where this category's cheapest quarter starts. Personal at $9.99 is dearer, but that money also buys desktop Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, which no other storage plan here throws in. |
| Free plan and trial | DA free trial on each plan with no length stated, and no free plan. | C5 GB with a free Microsoft account, which your phone's camera roll will see off in a month or two. The way to try the bigger plans is a one-month trial of Personal, Family or Premium, and that asks for a credit card. |
| Features | CFile sharing, governance and AI tools, but e-signature, PDF markup and multi-document AI need Elite. | BIt covers the whole job: sync with offline files, Windows and camera roll backup, links with passwords and expiry dates, version history, ransomware detection and restore, and several people editing one Word or Excel file at once. Nothing core is missing, and nothing here is unique to it either. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, with an admin setup of folders, permissions and rules. | A4.7 from about 488,000 App Store ratings, top of this category at that sort of volume. Sign in with a Microsoft account and the phone app backs up photos and videos by itself, with OneDrive already sitting in Explorer on Windows. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android apps, and 6 integrations listed. | AWeb, Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android, wired into Teams, SharePoint, Outlook and the Office apps, with a public API behind it. Microsoft's own system requirements list no Linux client, which is the one hole. |
| Best for | business file sharing with governance rules | storage that comes with Word and Excel |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Egnyte and Microsoft OneDrive. How we grade
Price against what you get
Egnyte starts at $10 a month for each person and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Microsoft OneDrive starts at $1.67 a month when paid by the year and scores 3.7.
Microsoft OneDrive scores higher and starts $8.33 a month lower. Of the other file storage and sync services on the chart, 12 score higher than Egnyte for less, and none scores higher than Microsoft OneDrive for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Egnyte also covers AI search and workflow automation.
At a glance
| Egnyte | Microsoft OneDrive | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $10 per user / month, billed annually | $1.99 per month, or $19.99 per year |
| Free plan | None | 5 GB of free cloud storage with a Microsoft account. |
| Free trial | Free trial on each plan; length not stated on the pricing page | One-month free trial of Microsoft 365 Personal, Family or Premium; a credit card is required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Egnyte, Inc. | Microsoft |
| Price read from | egnyte.com | microsoft.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Egnyte
- No free plan; the Team plan is limited to 1 to 10 users.
- The prices shown are for annual payment, and the page notes a multi-year discount on all plans.
- E-signature, PDF markup and multi-document AI start at Elite.
- Ultimate has no published price and is quoted by sales.
Microsoft OneDrive
- The free allowance is 5 GB. Family and Premium subscriptions started from October 7, 2026 share 2 TB between all members, where each person used to get 1 TB.
- Home plans jump from 100 GB on Basic ($1.99 a month) to 1 TB on Personal ($9.99 a month), with no tier in between.
- Microsoft's system requirements list Windows, macOS, iOS and Android apps but no Linux client.
- Copilot features in the Family and Premium plans apply to the subscription owner only and cannot be shared.
Key features
Egnyte
- Shared cloud storage
- Files are reached through a web app, Windows and macOS desktop apps, and iOS and Android mobile apps.
- External sharing controls
- External user accounts, email-validated sharing and, on higher plans, dynamic watermarking limit what outside recipients can do.
- AI assistant and search
- Plans include single-document Q&A. Multi-document assistant, AI Search and AI Workflows start at Elite.
- Ransomware and governance tools
- Ransomware detection, suspicious login alerts, lifecycle policies and snapshot recovery are spread across Enterprise Lite, Elite and Ultimate.
- Industry options
- Optional modules cover construction project hubs, financial services document rooms and life sciences records.
Microsoft OneDrive
- Sync and offline files
- The plan comparison lists advanced sync between PC, Mac and the cloud, along with files and folders that can be kept available offline.
- Windows and camera roll backup
- Windows backup and camera roll backup are listed as key features, and the mobile app can automatically back up a phone's photos and videos.
- Co-editing in Microsoft 365 apps
- Files stored in OneDrive can be edited from anywhere with real-time collaboration in Word, Excel and PowerPoint on the web, desktop and mobile.
- Sharing links
- Files and folders are shared by link, and the plan comparison lists password-protected and expiring link settings among the OneDrive features.
- Version history and ransomware recovery
- Version history plus ransomware detection and file restore appear in the plan comparison, and Microsoft 365 Basic names OneDrive ransomware protection as an inclusion.
- Copilot in OneDrive
- On the business page, Copilot can summarize or compare files and turn them into audio overviews from inside OneDrive. Work accounts can also upload files of up to 100 GB.
Plans
Egnyte
Team$10
per user / month, billed annually
For 1 to 10 users: secure link sharing, external user accounts, email-validated sharing and single-document AI Q&A.
Business$22
per user / month, billed annually
Single-document AI Q&A, discretionary permissions, Google Workspace integration and Microsoft 365 co-editing.
Enterprise Lite$39
per user / month, billed annually
Adds artifact-based ransomware detection, suspicious login detection, content lifecycle policies and advanced workflows.
Elite$48
per user / month, billed annually
Adds AI Assistant, AI Search and AI Workflows, PDF markup, e-signature, dynamic watermarking and auto-remediation.
UltimateCustom
Adds document and sensitive data classification, ransomware detection with snapshot recovery and DLP integration. Quote only.
Microsoft OneDrive
Free$0
5 GB of cloud storage with a free Microsoft account.
Microsoft 365 Basic$1.99
per month, or $19.99 per year
For 1 person: 100 GB of cloud storage, ad-free Outlook email and OneDrive ransomware protection.
Microsoft 365 Personal$9.99
per month, or $99.99 per year
For 1 person: 1 TB of cloud storage and the desktop Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook apps with Copilot, on up to 5 devices at once.
Microsoft 365 Family$12.99
per month, or $129.99 per year
For 1 to 6 people: 2 TB of cloud storage shared between them, plus everything in Personal.
Microsoft 365 Premium$19.99
per month, or $199.99 per year
For up to 6 people sharing 2 TB of storage: everything in Family plus extensive Copilot usage and agentic AI features for the subscription owner.
Ways to pay less
Egnyte
- Other savings
Multi-year discount on all plans
The pricing page notes that a multi-year discount is available on every plan; the amount is not stated.
Microsoft OneDrive
- Annual discount
About 16% lower with yearly billing
Paying yearly costs $19.99 for Basic, $99.99 for Personal, $129.99 for Family and $199.99 for Premium, against $1.99, $9.99, $12.99 and $19.99 a month.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Egnyte or Microsoft OneDrive?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Egnyte starts at $10 per user / month, billed annually, and Microsoft OneDrive starts at $1.99 per month, or $19.99 per year. One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Egnyte or Microsoft OneDrive?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Microsoft OneDrive has a free plan. Egnyte does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.