There are a lot of features in SharePoint 2016. When I am talking to one of my consulting clients about SharePoint installation, I ask them if they plan on installing SharePoint Server 2016 Standard or Enterprise. Usually there response is, “what is the difference?” If they are not clear about the differences then I explain how the two editions differ. When I am teaching SharePoint Server classes, the same question comes up. I usually prepare a handy cheat sheet of feature comparison for my clients and students. It’s essentially the same information provided by Microsoft on their Web site, or in an Excel spreadsheet, but I make it more readable for myself and for others. My recommendation is always to install the SharePoint Server Enterprise Edition, unless the client either won’t benefit from all the features in the Enterprise Edition, or it is cost prohibitive. About 95% of the time the client decides to go with the Enterprise Edition because all the really cool features are in the Enterprise version of most server software and that’s why it costs more.
Here are the features available in SharePoint Server 2016 Standard Edition and SharePoint Server 2016 Enterprise Edition. These features are listed in an Excel spreadsheet provided by Microsoft. However, keep in mind that Microsoft may move this file to another location without redirecting it, in which case the link will be broken. That’s one of the reasons why I document this type of valuable information in my articles. Another reason is that when Microsoft will release the next version of SharePoint Server, most Microsoft links referring to the previous versions will be replaced with the links for the new version and again this valuable information will no longer be available to the public on Microsoft’s Web site. Your only hope at that point will be bloggers who might have saved this information for the public. Please note that Microsoft may update the information in this Excel file in the future, and that’s why I always point out that you should visit Microsoft’s Web site for the latest information and not rely on bloggers, like me, because only Microsoft can guarantee you the latest information.
Here are the features available in SharePoint Server 2016 Standard Edition and SharePoint Server 2016 Enterprise Edition. I have broken down these features into sections in this article for your convenience, but I have also made the entire list available for download as a PDF file.
Content Features
| Content Features |
SharePoint Server 2016 Standard |
SharePoint Server 2016 Enterprise |
| Accessibility Standards Support |
Yes |
Yes |
| Asset Library Enhancements/Video Support |
Yes |
Yes |
| Auditing |
Yes |
Yes |
| Auditing & Reporting (e.g. doc edits, policy edits, deletes) |
Yes |
Yes |
| Content Organizer |
Yes |
Yes |
| Design Manager |
Yes |
Yes |
| Document Sets |
Yes |
Yes |
| Document Translation in Word Online |
Yes |
Yes |
| eDiscovery Search |
Yes |
Yes |
| eDiscovery Hold |
No |
Yes |
| eDiscovery Export |
No |
Yes |
| Email enabled lists and libraries |
Yes |
Yes |
| External Sharing: External Access |
No |
No |
| External Sharing: Guest Link |
No |
No |
| Folder Sync |
Yes |
Yes |
| IRM using Azure Rights Management |
Yes |
Yes |
| IRM using Windows Server AD RMS |
Yes |
Yes |
| Managed Metadata Service |
Yes |
Yes |
| Metadata-driven Navigation |
Yes |
Yes |
| Multi-blog Disposition |
Yes |
Yes |
| Office Online (edit) |
Yes |
Yes |
| Office Online (view) |
Yes |
Yes |
| Office Web Apps Server integration |
Yes |
Yes |
| PowerPoint Automation Services |
Yes |
Yes |
| Preservation hold library |
No |
Yes |
| Quick Edit |
Yes |
Yes |
| Records management |
Yes |
Yes |
| Recycle Bin (SharePoint admin center) |
No |
No |
| Recycle Bin (site collection) |
Yes |
Yes |
| Related Items |
Yes |
Yes |
| Rich Media Management |
Yes |
Yes |
| Shared Content Types |
Yes |
Yes |
| SharePoint Translation Services |
Yes |
Yes |
| Site mailbox |
Yes |
Yes |
| Surveys |
Yes |
Yes |
| Unique Document IDs |
Yes |
Yes |
| Video Search |
No |
Yes |
| WCM: Analytics |
Yes |
Yes |
| WCM: Catalog |
Yes |
Yes |
| WCM: Search Web Parts |
No |
Yes |
| WCM: Cross-Site Publishing |
Yes |
Yes |
| WCM: Designer Tools |
Yes |
Yes |
| WCM: Faceted navigation |
Yes |
Yes |
| WCM: Image Renditions |
Yes |
Yes |
| WCM: Managed navigation |
Yes |
Yes |
| WCM: Mobile and Device Rendering |
Yes |
Yes |
| WCM: Multiple Domains |
Yes |
Yes |
| WCM: Recommendations |
Yes |
Yes |
| WCM: Search Engine Optimizations (SEO) |
Yes |
Yes |
| Word Automation Services |
Yes |
Yes |
Insights Features
| Insights Features |
SharePoint Server 2016 Standard |
SharePoint Server 2016 Enterprise |
| Business Intelligence Center |
No |
Yes |
| Data Connection Library |
No |
Yes |
| Excel Services |
No |
Yes |
| Excel Web Part for SharePoint |
No |
Yes |
| ODC file support |
No |
Yes |
| PerformancePoint Services |
No |
Yes |
| PerformancePoint Services (PPS) Dashboard Migration |
No |
Yes |
| Power View for Excel in SharePoint |
No |
Yes |
| PowerPivot for Excel in SharePoint |
No |
Yes |
| Scorecards & Dashboards |
No |
Yes |
| Scheduled data refresh |
No |
Yes |
| SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) Integrated Mode |
No |
Yes |
| User-defined function assemblies |
No |
Yes |
| Using another workbook’s model as a data source |
No |
Yes |
| Visio Services |
No |
Yes |
Search Features
| Search Features |
SharePoint Server 2016 Standard |
SharePoint Server 2016 Enterprise |
| Advanced Content Processing |
Yes |
Yes |
| Continuous crawls |
Yes |
Yes |
| Custom entity extraction |
No |
Yes |
| Deep links |
Yes |
Yes |
| Event-based relevancy |
Yes |
Yes |
| Expertise Search |
Yes |
Yes |
| Extensible content processing |
No |
Yes |
| Graphical refiners |
Yes |
Yes |
| Hybrid search |
Yes |
Yes |
| Manage search schema |
Yes |
Yes |
| On-premises search index |
Yes |
Yes |
| Phonetic name matching |
Yes |
Yes |
| Query rules—Add promoted results |
Yes |
Yes |
| Query rules—advanced actions |
No |
Yes |
| Query spelling correction |
Yes |
Yes |
| Query suggestions |
Yes |
Yes |
| Query throttling |
Yes |
Yes |
| Quick preview |
Yes |
Yes |
| Ranking models |
Yes |
Yes |
| Refiners |
Yes |
Yes |
| RESTful Query API/Query OM |
Yes |
Yes |
| Result sources |
Yes |
Yes |
| Search connector framework |
Yes |
Yes |
| Search results sorting |
Yes |
Yes |
| Search vertical: “Conversations” |
Yes |
Yes |
| Search vertical: “People” |
Yes |
Yes |
| Search vertical: “Video” |
No |
Yes |
| “This List” searches |
Yes |
Yes |
Site Features
| Site Features |
SharePoint Server 2016 Standard |
SharePoint Server 2016 Enterprise |
| Change the look |
Yes |
Yes |
| Connections to Microsoft Office Clients |
Yes |
Yes |
| Cross Browser Support |
Yes |
Yes |
| Custom Managed Paths |
Yes |
Yes |
| Governance |
Yes |
Yes |
| Large List Scalability and Management |
Yes |
Yes |
| Mobile Connectivity |
Yes |
Yes |
| Multi-Lingual User Interface |
Yes |
Yes |
| My Tasks |
Yes |
Yes |
| OOTB Web Parts |
Yes |
Yes |
| Permissions Management |
Yes |
Yes |
| Project functionality for team sites |
Yes |
Yes |
| Project site template |
Yes |
Yes |
| Project Summary Web part |
No |
Yes |
| Project workspace |
Yes |
Yes |
| SharePoint Lists |
Yes |
Yes |
| SharePoint Ribbon |
Yes |
Yes |
| Site folders |
Yes |
Yes |
| Task list |
Yes |
Yes |
| Team Site: Drag & Drop |
Yes |
Yes |
| Team Site: Notebook |
Yes |
Yes |
| Team Site: Simplified Access |
Yes |
Yes |
| Templates |
Yes |
Yes |
| Themes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Variations |
Yes |
Yes |
| Usage Analytics |
No |
Yes |
| Work Management Service |
Yes |
Yes |
Social Features
| Social Features |
SharePoint Server 2016 Standard |
SharePoint Server 2016 Enterprise |
| Ask Me About |
Yes |
Yes |
| Blogs |
Yes |
Yes |
| Communities Reputation, Badging, and Moderation |
Yes |
Yes |
| Community |
Yes |
Yes |
| Company Feed |
Yes |
Yes |
| Document Conversations with Yammer |
No |
No |
| Follow |
Yes |
Yes |
| Microblogging |
Yes |
Yes |
| Newsfeed |
Yes |
Yes |
| One Click Sharing |
Yes |
Yes |
| People, Sites, Document Recommendations |
Yes |
Yes |
| Personal Site |
Yes |
Yes |
| Photos and Presence |
Yes |
Yes |
| Profile |
Yes |
Yes |
| Ratings |
Yes |
Yes |
| Shared with Me |
No |
No |
| Site Feed |
Yes |
Yes |
| OneDrive for Business |
Yes |
Yes |
| Tag profiles |
Yes |
Yes |
| Tasks integrated with Outlook |
Yes |
Yes |
| Trending Tags |
Yes |
Yes |
| Wikis |
Yes |
Yes |
SharePoint Add-Ons
| Add-Ons |
SharePoint Server 2016 Standard |
SharePoint Server 2016 Enterprise |
| Additional Storage |
Yes |
Yes |
| Azure Provisioned Apps: Access Services |
No |
No |
| Azure Provisioned Apps: Custom Code in Azure LWR |
No |
No |
| Duet Online |
No |
No |
IT Professional Features
| IT Professional Features |
SharePoint Server 2016 Standard |
SharePoint Server 2016 Enterprise |
| Active Directory Synchronization |
Yes |
Yes |
| Alternate Access Mapping (AAM) |
Yes |
Yes |
| Analytics Platform |
Yes |
Yes |
| Anti-malware protection |
No |
No |
| Claims-Based Authentication Support |
Yes |
Yes |
| Configuration Wizards |
Yes |
Yes |
| Deferred Site Collection upgrade |
Yes |
Yes |
| Distributed Cache |
Yes |
Yes |
| Data loss prevention |
No |
Yes |
| Encryption at rest |
No |
No |
| Host Header Site Collections |
Yes |
Yes |
| Improved Permissions Management |
Yes |
Yes |
| Improved Self-Service Site Creation |
Yes |
Yes |
| Managed Accounts |
Yes |
Yes |
| Minimal Download Strategy (MDS) |
Yes |
Yes |
| OAuth |
Yes |
Yes |
| Patch Management |
Yes |
Yes |
| Quota Templates |
Yes |
Yes |
| Read-Only Database Support |
Yes |
Yes |
| Remote BLOB Storage |
Yes |
Yes |
| Request Management |
Yes |
Yes |
| Request throttling |
Yes |
Yes |
| Resource throttling |
Yes |
Yes |
| Service Application Platform |
Yes |
Yes |
| SharePoint Health Analyzer |
Yes |
Yes |
| SharePoint admin center |
No |
No |
| Shredded Storage |
Yes |
Yes |
| Site Collection Compliance Policies |
Yes |
Yes |
| Site Collection Health Checks |
Yes |
Yes |
| State Service |
Yes |
Yes |
| Streamlined Central Administration |
Yes |
Yes |
| System Status Notifications |
Yes |
Yes |
| Unattached Content Database Recovery |
Yes |
Yes |
| Upgrade evaluation site collections |
Yes |
Yes |
| Usage Reporting and Logging |
Yes |
Yes |
| Windows PowerShell Support |
Yes |
Yes |
Developer Features
| Developer Features |
SharePoint Server 2016 Standard |
SharePoint Server 2016 Enterprise |
| Access Services |
No |
Yes |
| App Catalog (SharePoint) |
Yes |
Yes |
| App Deployment: Cloud-Hosted Apps |
Yes |
Yes |
| App Deployment: SharePoint-Hosted Apps |
Yes |
Yes |
| App Management Services |
Yes |
Yes |
| BCS: Alerts for External Lists |
Yes |
Yes |
| BCS: App Scoped External Content Types (ECTs) |
Yes |
Yes |
| BCS: Business Data Web parts |
Yes |
Yes |
| BCS: External List |
Yes |
Yes |
| BCS: OData connector |
Yes |
Yes |
| BCS: Profile Pages |
Yes |
Yes |
| BCS: Rich Client Integration |
No |
Yes |
| BCS: Secure Store Service |
Yes |
Yes |
| BCS: Tenant-level external data log |
No |
Yes |
| Browser-based customizations |
Yes |
Yes |
| Client Object Model (OM) |
Yes |
Yes |
| Client-side rendering (CSR) |
Yes |
Yes |
| Custom Site Definitions |
Yes |
Yes |
| Custom Site Provisioning |
No |
Yes |
| Developer Site |
No |
No |
| Forms Based Applications |
Yes |
Yes |
| Full-Trust Solutions |
Yes |
Yes |
| InfoPath Forms Services |
No |
Yes |
| JavaScript Object Model |
Yes |
Yes |
| List and Library APIs |
Yes |
Yes |
| Remote Event Receive |
Yes |
Yes |
| REST API |
Yes |
Yes |
| Sandboxed Solutions |
Yes |
Yes |
| SharePoint Design Manager |
Yes |
Yes |
| SharePoint Designer |
Yes |
Yes |
| SharePoint Store |
Yes |
Yes |
| Workflow 2010 (.NET 3.5) |
Yes |
Yes |
| Workflow 2010 (out of the box) |
Yes |
Yes |
| Workflow 2013 |
Yes |
Yes |
| Workload API: ECM APIs |
Yes |
Yes |
| Workload API: Search APIs |
Yes |
Yes |
| Workload API: Social APIs |
Yes |
Yes |
Additional Resources
Updated: March 29, 2017
The Excel worksheet provided by Microsoft that lists all the features documented in this article has a minor error. The Date Loss Prevention feature is available in SharePoint Server 2016 Enterprise. Also, the WCM: Search Web Parts feature is not available in SharePoint Server 2016 Standard. The Excel worksheet is correct, but I incorrectly listed it as a “Yes” in my original article. Thanks to reader Alistair Hughes for pointing out these errors. I have updated this article and the PDF download file accordingly to fix both errors.
Copyright © 2016 SeattlePro Enterprises, LLC. All rights reserved.
This says No to DLP on both products. DLP is available in Enterprise. Also Search Web Parts are not in Standard.
Thanks for your feedback, Alistair. You are correct, DLP is available in SharePoint Server 2016 Enterprise and Search Web Parts are not available in SharePoint Server 2016 Standard. I have added an update section at the end of the article. I have fixed the errors in the article and the downloadable PDF file. I appreciate your feedback.