Four tools dominate the OneDrive for Business to SharePoint Online migration space. Here is how they compare before you commit to one.
| Criteria | SPMT | Migration Manager | ShareGate | MigrationWiz |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Free (included in M365) | Paid (per seat) | Paid (per user) |
| Requires local agent | Yes (Windows PC) | No (cloud-based) | Yes (desktop app) | No (cloud-based) |
| OneDrive as source | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cross-tenant support | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Metadata fidelity | Partial | Partial | High | High |
| Pre-migration analysis | Basic report | Built-in assessment | Detailed reporting | Yes |
| Best suited for | File shares, SP on-prem, OneDrive | Cloud-to-cloud OneDrive | Full tenant migrations | Multi-workload MSP migrations |
What "OneDrive to SharePoint Migration" Actually Means
This phrase covers a specific scenario: moving content stored in OneDrive for Business (personal Microsoft 365 storage) into a SharePoint Online team site or document library. Common drivers include:
- Employee departures. A leaver's OneDrive content needs to move to a shared team site before the account is deprovisioned. Microsoft 365 admin controls allow temporary access delegation, but a migration tool handles bulk transfer cleanly.
- Team consolidation. Files that were stored in individual OneDrives need to become shared documents under a project or department site.
- Governance policy change. An organisation is moving from a file-centric personal storage model to structured team sites, and wants to consolidate historical personal content in a central location.
The destination is always a SharePoint Online document library. The challenge is preserving file metadata (created date, modified date, author) and handling large volumes efficiently.
The Free Options: SPMT and Migration Manager
Microsoft-built / No licence cost
Both tools are provided by Microsoft and are included with Microsoft 365 at no additional cost. They cover the majority of within-tenant OneDrive consolidation scenarios.
SharePoint Migration Tool (SPMT) is a Windows desktop application that runs locally on an agent machine. It connects to both the source OneDrive and the destination SharePoint site, then transfers files in batches. SPMT is well-suited to migrations originating from file shares or SharePoint on-premises, but also supports OneDrive as a source. Its main limitation is that it requires a local Windows machine to run the agent, which can create infrastructure overhead for large operations.
Migration Manager is the newer, preferred Microsoft tool for cloud-to-cloud migrations. It is managed entirely from the Microsoft 365 admin center under Setup > Migration. No desktop agent is needed for OneDrive migrations. It supports OneDrive, file shares, Box, Dropbox, Egnyte, and Google Workspace as sources. The built-in assessment report identifies files that may have problems before the migration starts, which reduces surprises mid-job.
Both tools preserve core metadata: created date, modified date, and the original file path. Neither tool handles SharePoint permission replication or list structure copies. For straightforward file consolidation within the same Microsoft 365 tenant, they are often sufficient.
The Paid Options: ShareGate and MigrationWiz
Enterprise / MSP tier
ShareGate is a desktop tool with deep SharePoint expertise. It supports OneDrive for Business as a source and can move content to any SharePoint Online destination, including sites in a different tenant. ShareGate's reporting is significantly more detailed than the free Microsoft tools: pre-migration content analysis, column mapping controls, and post-migration verification reports. It is well suited to medium-to-large migrations where metadata accuracy is non-negotiable or where a consultancy needs auditable migration records.
MigrationWiz (by BitTitan) takes a multi-workload approach. It handles Exchange mailboxes, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, and Google Workspace all within a single platform. This makes it especially attractive to MSPs running complete tenant-to-tenant migrations that span email, storage, and SharePoint simultaneously. MigrationWiz is cloud-based, requires no local agent, and scales well for migrations covering hundreds or thousands of users.
Both tools support cross-tenant migrations. Both carry a per-user or per-licence cost that adds up quickly for large headcounts, so the investment is best justified when the free Microsoft tools fall short on metadata fidelity or cross-tenant scope.
Decision Matrix: Which Tool for Which Scenario
| Scenario | Recommended tool | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Single employee departure, content to team site | Migration Manager | Cloud-to-cloud, no agent, quick setup |
| Bulk OneDrive consolidation, same tenant, 50-500 users | Migration Manager | Built-in assessment, handles batches, no extra cost |
| File shares AND OneDrive in one migration project | SPMT or Migration Manager | Both handle mixed sources; Migration Manager is easier for cloud sources |
| Full metadata fidelity required, auditable records needed | ShareGate | Detailed pre/post reporting and column mapping |
| Cross-tenant OneDrive migration (tenant merger) | ShareGate or MigrationWiz | Free Microsoft tools do not support cross-tenant |
| Mixed workload: email + OneDrive + SharePoint in one project | MigrationWiz | Single platform for all workloads; MSP billing model |
When You Need a SharePoint Site Migration Instead
OneDrive consolidation moves files from personal storage into a SharePoint document library. That is distinct from migrating SharePoint sites themselves: team sites, communication sites, hub sites, with their lists, metadata, pages, and structural elements.
Once OneDrive content has landed in SharePoint Online, follow-on tasks often include restructuring that content into proper site collections, reorganising library structures, or moving entire sites between Microsoft 365 tenants as part of a larger tenant merger. These SharePoint-to-SharePoint moves are a separate operation from OneDrive consolidation.
For cross-tenant SharePoint site migrations: copying full sites, document libraries, lists, and their metadata between Microsoft 365 tenants, see how Clone Master approaches tenant-to-tenant SharePoint migrations. For the file-to-file OneDrive move, the tools above are the right starting point.
See also: Clone Master vs ShareGate vs Migration Manager for SharePoint site migrations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between SPMT and Migration Manager?
SPMT runs as a desktop agent on a local Windows machine and is suited to on-premises or file-share sources. Migration Manager is cloud-based and managed from the Microsoft 365 admin center, making it the preferred choice for cloud-to-cloud OneDrive migrations. For most OneDrive to SharePoint consolidations within Microsoft 365, Migration Manager is the simpler starting point.
Does Microsoft SPMT support OneDrive for Business as a source?
Yes. SPMT supports OneDrive for Business as a migration source. For cloud-to-cloud OneDrive migrations, Microsoft recommends Migration Manager as the primary tool because it requires no local agent and integrates directly into the Microsoft 365 admin center.
Can I migrate OneDrive content to a SharePoint site in a different tenant?
The free Microsoft tools are designed for within-tenant migrations only. For cross-tenant scenarios, paid tools such as ShareGate or MigrationWiz support moving OneDrive content to a SharePoint destination in another tenant. Once that content is in SharePoint Online, cross-tenant SharePoint site moves are a separate step handled by SharePoint-specialist migration tools.
Is ShareGate free?
No. ShareGate is a paid tool sold on a per-seat or volume licence basis and offers a free trial period. Its main advantages over the free Microsoft tools are higher metadata fidelity, detailed pre-migration analysis reports, and dedicated product support.