SharePoint intranet approaches compared

A side-by-side view of the three main options for building a SharePoint intranet

	Native SharePoint	In-a-box product	Custom build
Typical cost	Included in M365 licence. Internal time is the main cost — information architecture, design, content migration, and ongoing management.	Annual licence fee (typically £2–8 per user/year) plus implementation. Significantly lower total cost of ownership than custom for most organisations.	Highest upfront investment. Development, testing, and deployment typically £50k–£200k+. Ongoing maintenance and support costs do not stop at launch.
Time to launch	Fastest to start, but building a good intranet (not just a site) takes longer than most teams expect. 2–4 months for a structured rollout.	Typically 4–8 weeks for a structured launch with guided implementation. The product does the heavy lifting on features; your time goes into content and IA.	3–9 months depending on scope. Every feature is built from scratch, so timelines are harder to predict and more vulnerable to scope creep.
Content governance	Limited No built-in content lifecycle management. Freshness tracking, review reminders, and ownership enforcement all require manual processes or third-party tools.	Strong Most in-a-box products include content review workflows, freshness indicators, ownership assignment, and automated reminders out of the box.	Variable Can be built to any specification, but every governance feature must be designed, developed, and maintained. Often deprioritised in favour of visible features.
Personalisation and UX	Basic Audience targeting covers simple scenarios. No role-based dashboards, personalised quick links, or curated homepage experiences without significant custom development.	Strong Personalised homepages, role-based content, targeted navigation, and branded experiences typically included. Configurable without code.	Flexible Can build exactly what you need, but every personalisation feature is a development effort. Ongoing changes require developer involvement.
Analytics	Basic SharePoint usage reports show page views and unique visitors with a 90-day retention limit. No intranet-level engagement metrics, content performance, or adoption trends.	Strong Intranet-specific dashboards covering engagement depth, search effectiveness, content performance, and adoption trends. Data retained beyond 90 days.	Variable Can integrate any analytics platform, but must be built and maintained. Often an afterthought that gets descoped.
Ongoing maintenance	Low Microsoft maintains the platform. Your effort goes into content management and governance — which is where most intranets succeed or fail regardless of approach.	Low-medium Vendor maintains the product and releases updates. Your effort goes into content and adoption. No custom code to maintain.	High You own every line of code. Updates, bug fixes, compatibility with SharePoint changes, and security patches are all your responsibility — or your developer's.

Note: Many organisations use a hybrid approach — native SharePoint with selective customisation in one or two areas. The right answer depends on your organisation's size, internal capabilities, and what your intranet needs to do. For a personalised assessment, take the free intranet health check.