Best Intranet Software in 2026: 13 Platforms Compared

The short answer

There is no single best intranet software in 2026. There is a best fit for your stack and your workforce. Here is where to start:

• Microsoft 365 organizations: Jint, whose Jint for SharePoint product runs inside your tenant and whose Jint Mobile App reaches frontline staff, or Powell Software for a low-code approach.
• Frontline-heavy workforces: Staffbase, Blink, Workvivo or Appspace, all built around a mobile app.
• Large global enterprises: Unily, LumApps or Interact, for targeting and governance at scale.
• Google Workspace or a mixed stack: LumApps.
• Mid-sized companies that want published pricing: ThoughtFarmer, with per-user prices on its site.
• One platform for intranet, employee communications and advocacy: Haiilo, with hosting in the EU or the US.
• Franchises and multi-location networks: Claromentis, with hubs built around locations.

Pick two to four names from the profile that fits you, then use the five questions further down to narrow the list. The right intranet software isn't the one with the longest feature list. It's the one your people actually open every day.

Not sure which category you need? Our overview of the types of intranet (SharePoint-based, standalone SaaS, mobile app, custom) frames the choice before you compare vendors.

The market doesn't make this easy. The ClearBox 2026 report, published in January 2026, scores 37 intranet, employee app and internal communications platforms. Every one of them promises engagement, AI and mobile. Not every one delivers in your context.

And the stakes are real. According to Microsoft's 2025 Work Trend Index, the most-pinged Microsoft 365 users are interrupted every two minutes during core hours, up to 275 times a day. A poorly chosen intranet adds to that noise. A well-chosen one cuts through it.

This guide does three jobs. It explains what intranet software is and what it should do for you. It reviews 13 intranet software platforms that US and UK buyers put on their shortlists, with strengths, limits, pricing and scores by criterion. Then it helps you choose: five questions, a decision grid, verified list prices, a security checklist, a feature checklist and a step-by-step selection method.

What is intranet software?

Intranet software is a private platform, open only to a company's employees, that brings internal news, documents, knowledge, tools and people together in one place. It gives every employee a single front door to the organization: where to find a policy, who to ask, what changed this week, which app to open for a given task.

The term covers very different products. Some are standalone platforms with their own hosting, identity and content store. Others run inside a productivity suite such as Microsoft 365 and reuse its identity, permissions and documents. A third group is mobile-first, built for employees who never sit at a desk. That's why "best intranet software" lists rarely agree: they often compare tools that don't solve the same problem.

What does intranet software do?

• Publish company news and announcements, targeted by site, department, role or language.
• Organize knowledge: policies, procedures, HR content and document libraries, with a search engine that actually finds them.
• Connect people through an employee directory, an org chart, profiles and communities.
• Reach every employee on desktop, in Microsoft Teams or Slack, on mobile, by newsletter and by push notification.
• Open the door to everyday tools and services from a single entry point.
• Answer questions with AI grounded in governed company content.
• Measure reach and engagement, so communicators know what was read, and by whom.

Intranet software vs. SharePoint, Teams and employee experience platforms

SharePoint is the content platform of Microsoft 365. It can host an intranet, but out of the box it gives you building blocks, not a finished employee experience: information architecture, design, targeting, a mobile experience and governance are still on you. Microsoft Teams is where conversations happen. Messages move fast there, and they're hard to find six months later. An intranet holds what must stay official and findable.

Employee experience platforms (EXPs) go further than the classic intranet by adding engagement, recognition, surveys and frontline tools. In practice the categories are merging, and most vendors in this comparison sell themselves as both. What matters for you is whether the platform covers three core jobs: inform, help people find what they need, and reach everyone. To see what that looks like in real organizations, browse these corporate intranet examples.

How we built this list

We reviewed the platforms that come up most often when US and UK organizations shortlist intranet software: in analyst coverage (the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Intranet Packaged Solutions, ClearBox 2026, Lecko), in vendors' public documentation and in the projects we see in the field.

• Six criteria, scored 1 to 5: Microsoft 365 integration, mobile and frontline reach, AI, ease of use, design, and data governance. The scoring table follows the reviews.
• Prices from official pages only, checked on November 2 and 9, 2026. When a vendor doesn't publish prices, we say so instead of guessing.
• Security claims from vendors' own security pages, with the date we read them. Where a vendor doesn't name a hosting region, we tell you to ask.

In the interest of transparency: Jint is our product. We list it first, limitations included, and we explain where it isn't the right fit. Before comparing, make sure you're clear on the benefits of an intranet for your organization.

The 13 best intranet software platforms in 2026

1. Jint

The intranet and internal communications platform for Microsoft 365 organizations, built to reach every employee, at the office and in the field.

Best for: mid-sized and large organizations that run on Microsoft 365 and want a modern intranet that reaches desk-based and frontline employees, without adding a separate content store.

Jint is a digital workplace platform that helps organizations improve internal communication, collaboration and employee engagement through a range of complementary solutions. Employees find company information and knowledge, work together in shared spaces, and receive the messages that concern them on the channel that suits them: intranet, Microsoft Teams, mobile app, newsletter or notification.

The range covers the whole employee journey. Jint SharePoint, the historic product, is SharePoint-native: it installs in your Microsoft 365 tenant, with design, targeting and search built in. Documents stay in your tenant, identities and permissions run through Microsoft Entra ID, and Jint holds no sensitive data. Jint Teams and Web is a ready-to-use intranet in Microsoft Teams and the browser, for Teams-first organizations. The Jint Mobile App, white-labeled to your brand and available on the app stores, reaches frontline employees, including those without a Microsoft 365 license. Jint Newsletter Studio, Jint Translator and Jint AI cover targeted newsletters, multilingual content and AI assistants that answer from your own documentation.

More than one million users and 300 customers, including Michelin and Universal, rely on Jint. At APF France handicap, staff save 30 minutes a day on information search. MFR saw daily traffic rise 40% after launch, and Elogie-Siemp reached more than 80% active users one month after going live. Jint is recommended by Microsoft, ranked a leader by Lecko, and backed by more than 100 customer reviews across review sites.

Strengths

• Jint SharePoint is SharePoint-native: content stays in your tenant, with no second content store
• One platform for every channel: intranet, Teams, mobile app, newsletter and notifications
• Frontline access through a white-label mobile app, even without a Microsoft 365 license
• Jint AI assistants that answer from your governed content
• Targeting by site, role and language, with built-in translation
• ISO 27001 certified and GDPR compliant
• Rollout without custom development

Limitations

• Built for organizations on Microsoft 365
• AI assistants need a short setup phase to choose sources and models

Pricing: custom pricing on annual plans, quote on request (Jint pricing).

2. LumApps

A global intranet for large multi-site organizations, with AI, micro-apps and advanced personalization.

Best for: large multi-site enterprises on Google Workspace or a mixed Google and Microsoft stack.

LumApps connects employees across Google and Microsoft environments. Its strengths are personalized journeys, internal campaign management and a conversational AI assistant, LumApps Companion. Since folding in Beekeeper, it also sells a frontline offer, now listed as "Frontline Workers (formerly Beekeeper)". LumApps announced a Leader placement in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Intranet Packaged Solutions, its fourth in a row. See how LumApps compares to Jint.

Strengths

• Strong audience targeting
• More than 100 connectors
• Multilingual and multi-device
• Frontline offer built on Beekeeper

Limitations

• Heavier to deploy than packaged Microsoft 365 options
• Less suited to smaller organizations

Pricing: no public price list on the vendor's site (November 2026); quote on request.

3. Powell Software

A turnkey intranet for Microsoft 365, customizable with a low-code approach.

Best for: organizations on Microsoft 365 that want to build pages with a low-code studio.

Powell Intranet builds on SharePoint, Teams and Viva to turn Microsoft 365 into a communication platform. Its low-code studio lets you create custom pages and collaboration spaces. The built-in AI assistant, Powell Buddy, helps manage content and automate FAQs and knowledge bases. Powell suits mid-sized companies already committed to the Microsoft ecosystem. See how Powell compares to Jint.

Strengths

• AI tailored to business use cases
• Works with Teams and Viva
• Responsive design

Limitations

• Only works with Microsoft 365
• Less flexible for third-party integrations

Pricing: no public price list on the vendor's site (November 2026); quote on request.

4. Staffbase

A mobile-first employee communications platform for frontline workforces and large-scale campaigns.

Best for: organizations where most employees are deskless and top-down communication comes first.

Staffbase combines an employee app, an intranet and email in one multichannel communication platform, with centralized content management and results-oriented analytics. Its sub-processor list (third quarter of 2026) places hosting with Microsoft Azure and AWS in the EU (Germany), the US or Australia: UK buyers should confirm which region applies to them. See how Staffbase compares to Jint.

Strengths

• Mature mobile app
• Multichannel delivery: app, intranet, email
• Strong campaign orientation

Limitations

• Search could be stronger
• Less depth for collaborative use cases

Pricing: custom quote, priced on your mix of frontline and desk-based employees (Staffbase pricing).

5. Simpplr

A packaged SaaS intranet, quick to deploy, with a modern interface.

Best for: comms or HR teams that want to roll out a standard SaaS tool fast, without depending on IT.

Simpplr stands out for its ease of deployment and plug-and-play logic. It brings content management, team pages, news feeds and governance tools together without heavy IT involvement, an approach built for US mid-market and enterprise comms teams. Its security page (September 2026) lists hosting with Salesforce and AWS in the US and the EU. See how Simpplr compares to Jint.

Strengths

• Intuitive user experience
• Built-in analytics
• Fast deployment

Limitations

• Less customizable
• Limited non-standard integrations

Pricing: quote on request, with volume discounts from 500 employees (Simpplr pricing).

6. Unily

A premium intranet for large enterprises with high organizational complexity.

Best for: multinationals with 10,000 or more employees, several brands and a dedicated project team.

Unily positions itself at the high end of the market. It serves multinational companies that manage many collaboration spaces at scale, with multilingual content management, advanced segmentation and centralized administration. A UK vendor, it often appears on enterprise shortlists in the UK and the US.

Strengths

• Fine-grained customization at scale
• Works in hybrid environments
• Multi-site, multi-brand, multi-audience management
• Strong user experience and built-in analytics

Limitations

• Complex deployment
• Less suited to small and mid-sized businesses
• Less flexible for fast-moving projects

Pricing: custom package, with a base package plus optional add-ons (Unily pricing).

7. Workvivo

A social intranet focused on community, recognition and dynamic content.

Best for: organizations where culture and social engagement come first, and that already run on Zoom.

Now part of Zoom, Workvivo works like an internal social network. Its news feed, recognition features, comments and posts encourage engagement, especially in distributed or fast-growing organizations. Its security page lists ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2 without naming a hosting region, so ask for it in writing.

Strengths

• Strong community engagement features
• A good fit for culture-driven companies
• Zoom integration for live events
• Polished mobile experience

Limitations

• Lighter on document management
• Limited business features beyond communication
• Less suited to a structured, administrative intranet

Pricing: custom quote based on the number of licenses and your needs (Workvivo pricing).

8. Interact

A mature intranet for large enterprises that need automation, governance and a strong user experience.

Best for: large regulated organizations (healthcare, financial services, retail) with strict governance.

Interact is a UK-based intranet vendor known for steady product releases and a service-led approach. It offers contextual content management, workflows, AI built into user journeys and a flexible architecture. Interact announced its fourth consecutive Leader placement in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Intranet Packaged Solutions. Its trust center states hosting on AWS, with the region shared on request. See how Interact compares to Jint.

Strengths

• AI built into processes
• Strong information and access rights management
• Responsive customer support
• Several deployment options

Limitations

• Needs internal onboarding effort
• No deep sector-specific editions

Pricing: tailored quote (Interact pricing).

9. Appspace (formerly Igloo)

An intranet, employee app and workplace suite that adds digital signage, desk booking and visitor management.

Best for: organizations that want to reach office and frontline employees across screens, mobile and the intranet, and manage workplace services in the same suite.

Appspace acquired Igloo Software in 2025 and says existing Igloo customers keep full support for their product, with access to the wider Appspace platform. Its intranet offers a personalized news feed by role, location and interest, targeted campaigns with read tracking, and a mobile app with "no company email required". The same platform covers digital signage, space and desk booking and visitor management. AI features cover content generation, summaries, translation and a conversational assistant. Appspace works as an experience layer on top of SharePoint and gives access to its content from Teams.

Strengths

• One suite for intranet, mobile app, signage and workplace booking
• Frontline mobile access without a company email
• AI included, according to the vendor, with no separate license
• SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 listed on its intranet page

Limitations

• On Microsoft 365, it adds a layer over SharePoint rather than installing in your tenant
• Hosting is described as regional storage, without a named region: ask for it in writing
• Igloo customers should get a written roadmap before planning a migration

Pricing: no public price list on the intranet page (November 2026); quote on request.

10. Blink

A mobile-first employee app for frontline teams, with a news feed, an intranet hub and AI tools.

Best for: organizations where most employees don't sit at a desk, such as hospitality, retail, healthcare and logistics.

Blink calls itself "the employee communication platform built for frontline teams". Communicators target posts by team or by individual, send mandatory reads with read receipts and automate employee journeys. Employees use iOS and Android apps, or the desktop and web apps, and sign in with the email address or phone number their employer registered, through a one-time code, SAML single sign-on or a password: no corporate email account is needed. Each user can connect their own Microsoft 365 account to bring Outlook, OneDrive and SharePoint content into Blink search and the Hub, and Google Calendar, Gmail and Drive connect the same way. AI features include Blink Assist for writing, smart search and an AI assistant on the Pro plan, plus real-time translation of content.

According to its security page, Blink runs on AWS and is ISO 27001 certified, and each customer chooses where its data is stored: Ireland, Sydney or Oregon (Blink help center). In May 2026, Blink announced a $17 million raise from Enlightened Hospitality Investments (Business Wire). Its customers include McDonald's, Domino's, easyJet and Carrefour.

Strengths

• Built for frontline work: mandatory reads, read receipts and automated journeys
• Sign-in with an email address or a phone number, without a corporate account
• Per-user prices published in US dollars, pounds sterling, euros and Australian dollars
• Choice of hosting region: Ireland, Australia or the US

Limitations

• Microsoft 365 is connected user by user, not installed in your tenant, and Teams is used for meetings only
• Translation and the AI assistant start on the Pro plan, and API access on Enterprise

Pricing: Core at $3.75 and Pro at $5.00 per user per month on annual billing (£2.95 and £3.75), Enterprise on quote (Blink pricing, checked November 9, 2026).

11. Haiilo

An employee communications platform that brings an intranet, a mobile app and employee advocacy together.

Best for: organizations of around 500 employees or more that want intranet, internal communications and AI features in one platform, outside a single productivity suite.

Haiilo presents its intranet as "a single digital home" for information, updates and context. It offers targeted news and a mobile app for deskless and frontline teams, and employees without an email address sign in with a login name and a password set by an administrator. On Microsoft 365, Haiilo connects through Entra ID single sign-on and user and group sync, attaches SharePoint files to posts with their permissions kept, syncs Outlook events and offers a Teams app, while running as its own SaaS, in a public or private cloud (Haiilo help center). Its AI layer, AVA, covers a writing assistant, AI search, summaries and spoken articles, with a Microsoft Copilot integration and the option to bring your own AI provider. Translation runs on DeepL.

Its security page lists ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification, SOC 2 Type II compliance and Cyber Essentials, with hosting in the EU (Germany) or the US at the customer's choice. L'Oréal and Vorwerk are among its published customers.

Strengths

• Intranet, mobile app and employee advocacy in one platform
• A broad AI set, with a Copilot integration and a bring-your-own-AI option
• Choice of EU (Germany) or US hosting
• ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II and Cyber Essentials listed

Limitations

• On Microsoft 365, it runs as a separate SaaS, and some Office features need an extra module
• The hosting provider is not named: ask for it in writing

Pricing: no public price list for the intranet (November 2026); pricing depends on your size, setup and features. Its employee advocacy offer starts from $15 per seat per month (Haiilo pricing).

12. ThoughtFarmer

A complete intranet for mid-sized organizations, with prices published on its site.

Best for: organizations of 100 to 2,000 employees that want a full-featured intranet and a predictable per-user price.

ThoughtFarmer, based in Vancouver, sells one complete intranet platform rather than tiers of features: its pricing page lists more than 240 features in every plan, a mobile app at no extra cost, integrations with Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, and a dedicated customer success manager. ThoughtFarmer AI is optional. According to its security sheet, the platform is hosted on AWS in data centers in the US, Canada and Ireland. It offers a 30-day trial on a site configured for your organization and a 90-day guarantee.

Strengths

• Public, per-user pricing that drops with headcount
• Every feature in every plan, mobile app included
• Works with Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace
• Trial and guarantee reduce buying risk

Limitations

• Professional services (implementation, training) are an add-on with no published price
• Above 2,000 users, pricing moves to an enterprise quote
• Standard pricing starts at 50 employees, and the 50 to 99 band is quoted case by case

Pricing: from $10 per user per month (100 to 199 users) down to $5 (1,000 to 1,999 users), in US dollars (ThoughtFarmer pricing, page updated October 30, 2026).

13. Claromentis

A UK intranet and digital workplace suite organized into franchise, enablement and charity hubs.

Best for: franchise networks, growing businesses and nonprofits that want intranet, e-learning and process automation in one suite, with an on-premise option.

Claromentis sells "secure, AI-powered software suites" in three hubs: Franchise, Enablement and Charity. Its intranet covers news and blogs, targeted internal communications, e-learning and process automation, with AI search, an AI policy manager, Q&A chatbots and no-code AI agents. Claromentis 11, released in June 2026, added AI search, an AI chat assistant and a Locations dashboard (British Franchise Association). On Microsoft 365, it offers Entra ID single sign-on and provisioning plus a Microsoft Graph mail driver, and describes itself as "completely tenant-independent": Teams, OneDrive and Outlook keep running alongside it.

According to its security page, Claromentis runs on Google Cloud Platform with data in the US, the UK or Europe, and holds ISO 9001 and ISO 27001. An on-premise deployment is also available. The NHS, Guinness World Records and Belvoir appear among its customers.

Strengths

• Intranet, e-learning and process automation in one suite
• Built for multi-location networks, with a Locations dashboard
• Hosting in the US, the UK or Europe, or on-premise
• ISO 27001 and ISO 9001

Limitations

• No documented SharePoint or Teams integration beyond sign-in and mail
• Custom mobile apps are priced as an extra, and there is no public price list

Pricing: no public price list (November 2026). The Franchise Hub is priced on the number of locations, the Enablement Hub on the number of applications, and charities get a discount (Claromentis pricing).

How we score intranet software: ratings by criterion

To make the comparison easier to read, we scored each platform on six criteria, from 1 (weak) to 5 (excellent). The overall score is the average of the six. These scores reflect our reading of independent research, vendor documentation and what we see on customer projects. They help you spot profiles, not crown a universal winner: a platform scored 2 on Microsoft 365 integration can be the best pick if you don't use Microsoft 365.

• M365 integration: SharePoint, Teams, Microsoft identity and documents.
• Mobile and frontline: app, targeted push notifications, sign-in without a corporate email address.
• AI: assistant, search, writing help and content translation.
• Ease of use: rollout and day-to-day administration without depending on IT.
• Design: layouts, branding, user experience.
• Data: permissions governance, transparency on hosting location, content security.

In the interest of transparency: Jint is our product. Its score reflects what it does well on Microsoft 365. It isn't built for organizations outside that ecosystem.

Intranet software comparison table: 13 platforms side by side

The summary at a glance of the 13 platforms reviewed above, with how frontline-ready each one is and how it publishes its pricing.

How to choose the best intranet software in 2026

Answer these five questions, in this order. Each answer rules out part of the market, and your shortlist builds itself.

1. What tech stack do you run on?

This is the question that settles the most. If your teams live in Microsoft 365, a platform that installs in your tenant reuses your identity, permissions and documents. No second content store, no sync jobs to babysit. On Google Workspace or a mixed stack, an independent platform with connectors to both worlds makes more sense. With no productivity suite imposed, you get the widest choice, and the most integration work.

2. Who do you need to reach, and on what device?

Count your deskless employees: stores, plants, warehouses, job sites, care facilities. If they're more than half your workforce, the mobile app is the project, not an add-on. Check three things in every demo: targeted push notifications, sign-in without a corporate email address, and offline reading. For a deeper look, compare a mobile intranet and a traditional intranet.

3. Where does your data live, and who can reach it?

Regulated industries, public sector, healthcare: compliance filters the market quickly. Ask every vendor one plain question: does my content leave my environment? A platform that keeps everything inside your own Microsoft 365 tenant adds no new store for your documents. A standalone platform with its own hosting can meet other requirements, such as a specific region or a dedicated cloud. Both approaches are defensible. What matters is knowing which one you're buying. The security checklist further down lists the five points to get in writing.

4. What should AI do, and on which data?

Every vendor now ships an AI assistant. The real question is what content that assistant can reach. An AI agent is only as good as the information it reads: scattered or outdated content, and it answers wrong. A structured, governed intranet is the foundation that makes Microsoft 365 Copilot and AI agents useful. In demos, ask to query the assistant on a real document from your organization, not on a prepared dataset. Our guide to the intranet chatbot covers what to test.

5. What will it really cost over three years?

The license is one line in the budget. Add implementation, training, content operations, integrations and maintenance. Some platforms with low license fees are expensive to run, and the reverse is true too. Compare total cost of ownership over three years, and use our breakdown of how much an intranet costs.

Need the full process, from requirements to final selection? Follow the step-by-step method further down, and bring our 40 questions to ask before choosing an intranet to every demo.

Which intranet software fits your profile?

Start with the row that looks most like you. It gives you two to four platforms to demo, not a verdict.

What is the best intranet for a small business?

For a small business, the best intranet is the one you can launch in weeks and run without a dedicated administrator. If you already pay for Microsoft 365, start there: SharePoint and Teams come with Microsoft 365 Business Basic, listed at $7 per user per month in the US since July 1, 2026, and £5.40 per user per month excluding VAT in the UK. A ready-to-use platform such as Jint Teams and Web then gives you news, a directory and targeted content without development. If you don't use Microsoft 365, look for published per-user pricing, a free trial and a mobile app included in the base plan. Platforms built for 10,000-employee rollouts are designed, and priced, for large organizations.

How much does intranet software cost in 2026?

The price of intranet software depends less on the vendor than on your project: number of users, share of frontline employees, languages, integrations and level of support. Most vendors don't publish a price list and quote on request. To compare offers, look at three things: the pricing model, the cost items and what drives the bill up or down.

Public prices we could verify (November 2026)

Most enterprise vendors don't publish prices. A few do, and Microsoft's own price list sets the floor for any Microsoft 365-based intranet. The table below lists what we found on official pricing pages on November 2, 2026, per user per month on annual billing unless stated otherwise. US Microsoft prices are those in effect since July 1, 2026, according to Microsoft's licensing announcement of December 4, 2025. UK prices come from Microsoft's UK business plans page and exclude VAT. Viva prices come from Microsoft's Viva price list. Other figures come from the Blink, ThoughtFarmer, MangoApps and Axero pricing pages.

What do these numbers tell you? Among vendors that publish per-user prices, intranet licenses sit between about $3.75 and $10 per user per month, and the unit price drops as headcount grows. Enterprise platforms that quote on request usually price on headcount, the share of frontline users, the products or modules you take (mobile app, AI, translation, analytics) and services. A Microsoft 365-based intranet starts from licenses most companies already pay for, so the real question becomes what you add on top, not what you rebuild.

How Jint is priced

Jint uses custom pricing on annual plans, with discounts for multi-year commitments. Your quote depends on the products you choose (Jint SharePoint, Jint Teams and Web, Jint Mobile App, Jint Newsletter Studio, Jint Translator, Jint AI), your number of users and the rollout support you need. The details are on the Jint pricing page.

Pricing models

• Per-user SaaS subscription: the most common model. The unit price usually drops as the number of users grows, as ThoughtFarmer's public grid shows.
• Tiered flat fee by headcount: a fixed price per employee band, easier to budget, as with Axero Go.
• Minimum seat count: some vendors set a floor, such as 200 employees at MangoApps.
• On-premise license and hosting: offered by a few vendors, such as Interact, Claromentis or Axero. Upfront cost is higher, and hosting and maintenance are on you.

Cost items to plan for

• The license or subscription.
• Implementation: configuration, design, integrations with your tools (HRIS, directory, business apps).
• Migration of existing content.
• Contributor training and change management.
• Ongoing content operations, often underestimated.
• Maintenance, support and upgrades.
• Add-ons: dedicated mobile app, AI modules, translation, advanced analytics, professional services.

What drives the bill

A Microsoft 365-based intranet builds on licenses you already pay for: identity, storage, security and SharePoint are part of your Microsoft subscription. You avoid a second content store and a second permissions layer. A standalone platform bundles those pieces into its price, which makes sense if you're not on Microsoft 365. Either way, ask for a three-year quote that includes implementation and content operations. Our breakdown of how much an intranet costs covers each item, and our guide to what an intranet really costs helps you build the three-year view.

Security, data residency and compliance: what to check

The most secure intranet software is the one that adds the fewest new places where your data lives, and leaves your IT team in control of identity, permissions and location. Security reviews often take longer than the demos, so start them early. Have IT and your privacy lead sign off on five points before any contract.

1. Where content is stored. Does the platform keep content in your own Microsoft 365 tenant, or copy it into the vendor's cloud? Every copy is one more store to secure, govern and declare in your records of processing.
2. Which region hosts it. Microsoft 365 lets you commit data to a location: Multi-Geo and Advanced Data Residency cover Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams data in a chosen geography. A standalone vendor should give you the same level of detail, in writing.
3. How people sign in. Single sign-on through Microsoft Entra ID, Okta or your identity provider, automatic provisioning and deprovisioning (SCIM), and a clear answer for frontline employees who have no corporate account.
4. How permissions are enforced. The intranet, and its AI assistant, should only show each employee what they're already allowed to see. Test it in the demo with a restricted document.
5. Which certifications apply. SOC 2 Type II or ISO 27001 reports for the vendor, the certifications inherited from its cloud provider, and whatever your sector requires.

What US buyers should ask for

US security reviews usually start with the vendor's SOC 2 Type II report and a completed security questionnaire. Healthcare organizations need HIPAA safeguards and a business associate agreement where protected health information could be involved. Public sector buyers often run on Microsoft 365 Government Community Cloud (GCC): check that the intranet platform supports your cloud environment before the first demo, not after. Our guide to setting up a public sector intranet walks through the other steps.

What UK buyers should ask for

In the UK, employee data falls under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Ask each vendor where data is hosted, which sub-processors can access it, and which transfer mechanism applies if data leaves the UK. Read sub-processor lists closely: Staffbase, for example, lists hosting in the EU (Germany), the US and Australia, and Simpplr lists the US and the EU. Neither option is wrong, but your data protection impact assessment should record which one applies to you.

Why keeping data in your Microsoft 365 tenant matters

An intranet that installs in Microsoft 365 reads and writes content where it already lives: SharePoint sites, document libraries, Entra ID groups. Nothing is duplicated into a second database. Your retention policies, sensitivity labels and eDiscovery keep applying to that content, and your security team doesn't have to assess a new store for your documents. That's the model behind Jint SharePoint: it relies on Microsoft's infrastructure, your documents stay in your tenant, and Jint holds no sensitive data. Jint is ISO 27001 certified and complies with GDPR, as its security page explains. For day-to-day hygiene, see our intranet security best practices.

EU employees, GDPR and the CLOUD Act

If you also run teams in the European Union, two topics come up in every security review. The first is the EU GDPR, which covers employee data as much as customer data. The second is the US CLOUD Act, enacted in March 2018, which gives US authorities a legal route to data held by US-based providers, including data stored abroad. Microsoft answers with its EU Data Boundary, under which customer data and personal data of in-scope EU and EFTA tenants are stored and processed inside the EU. Keep in mind that hosting location and legal jurisdiction are two separate questions. Ask both.

US, UK or European vendor: does it matter?

The platforms in this comparison come from several countries: the US (Simpplr), the UK (Unily, Interact, Blink, Claromentis), Ireland (Workvivo, now part of Zoom), Germany (Staffbase), Canada (ThoughtFarmer) and France (Jint, LumApps, Powell Software), among others. A local vendor often brings support in your time zone and a partner network nearby. A European vendor often brings strong GDPR expertise and EU hosting options, which matters if you run teams in Europe. But the vendor's home country covers very different models:

• You run on Microsoft 365: Jint and Powell Software build on your Microsoft environment. With Jint SharePoint, your content stays in your tenant, with no new external storage.
• You want a standalone intranet: Simpplr, Interact, Appspace, ThoughtFarmer, Blink, Haiilo and Claromentis each host the platform with their own provider, in the regions they document.
• You're on Google Workspace or a mixed stack: LumApps connects both ecosystems and targets large multi-site enterprises.

One thing to watch: a vendor's nationality doesn't tell you where your data lives. A platform built on Microsoft 365 stores your content with Microsoft, in your tenant's region. A standalone vendor hosts it with its own provider. Ask every vendor, and have the answer checked by your IT security or privacy lead.

Must-have intranet software features: a checklist

Feature lists all look alike. Depth is what separates platforms. Use this checklist to turn each feature into a test: mark it must-have, nice-to-have or not needed, then ask every vendor to show it live, on your content. For the full list with examples, read our guide to the 20 must-have intranet features.

Two items on this list deserve extra attention in 2026. Multilingual content first: if your teams work in several languages, ask how translation is triggered and who validates it (our guide to the multilingual intranet covers the options). Analytics next: a communicator should be able to answer "who read the safety update at site 12?" in two clicks.

Intranet software for frontline and deskless employees

A frontline intranet has to work on a personal phone, between two tasks, for someone who may not have a corporate email address. That's a different product from a desktop portal shrunk to fit a screen. In retail, manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, hospitality or local government, frontline employees are often the majority of the workforce, and the people a desk-first intranet misses.

Missing them has a cost. Gallup's State of the Global Workplace 2026 report finds that global employee engagement fell to 20% in 2025, its lowest level since 2020, at an estimated cost of $10 trillion in lost productivity, or 9% of global GDP. Employees who never receive company news can't act on it, and they rarely feel part of the company. For sector-specific advice, see our guide to the retail intranet.

Five tests for a frontline intranet

1. Let employees sign in without a corporate account. Can someone without a Microsoft 365 license or a company email get in, securely? Microsoft's F1 frontline license is listed at $3 per user per month in the US since July 2026; some platforms reach frontline staff without one.
2. Target push notifications by site, shift, role and language, instead of one broadcast to everyone.
3. Confirm that critical messages were read: safety instructions, policy changes, crisis updates.
4. Work offline on sites with poor coverage.
5. Show your brand with a white-label app, so employees recognize it among their personal apps.

Jint answers these needs with the Jint Mobile App: a white-label app connected to your intranet, open to employees without a Microsoft 365 license. Organizations with large field workforces, such as APF France handicap, use it to connect their frontline teams. For the communication side, read our guide to frontline worker communication.

Alternatives to a dedicated intranet platform

Not every organization needs a new platform. Before you shortlist vendors, check whether one of these options covers your needs.

SharePoint on its own

If you have Microsoft 365, you already own SharePoint. Communication sites, a SharePoint home site and news give you the bones of an intranet at no extra license cost. The trade-off is effort: information architecture, design, audience targeting, a real mobile experience for frontline staff and analytics take configuration, development or extra products. Small teams with simple needs can live with that. Organizations that want an intranet employees actually adopt usually add a platform on top. We compare both routes in Jint vs. SharePoint on its own, and our SharePoint intranet examples show what a finished result looks like.

Microsoft Viva and the SharePoint app in Teams

Microsoft Viva adds employee experience apps to Microsoft 365. The SharePoint app in Teams (formerly Viva Connections) brings your home site, news and a dashboard into Teams. Microsoft 365 includes one such experience; running several requires a Viva Employee Communications and Communities or Viva Suite license, listed from $2 and $12 per user per month. Viva Engage covers communities, Viva Amplify covers campaigns. Viva gives you solid building blocks, not a designed, branded intranet on its own. More in our guide to Microsoft Viva.

Google Sites and Google Workspace

On Google Workspace, Google Sites publishes simple internal pages quickly. Targeting, newsletters, analytics and a frontline app are limited or missing, so Google-first companies that outgrow it usually move to a platform with Google connectors, such as LumApps, ThoughtFarmer or Happeo.

A custom build or an open-source intranet

A custom or open-source intranet gives you full control, and full responsibility: hosting, security patches, upgrades and every new feature are on your team. The license is free; the project isn't. Choose this route only if a development team is ready to own it for years.

Other platforms US and UK buyers often shortlist

Our 13 reviews don't cover every vendor. Depending on your context, you may also meet Happeo (an intranet built for Google Workspace), Oak Engage (a UK intranet for office and frontline staff), Jostle (an employee directory-led intranet), Firstup (employee communications for large distributed workforces), MangoApps (intranet plus frontline operations tools), Axero (an intranet for mid-sized organizations with flat pricing) and Akumina (a SharePoint-based digital workplace, see Jint vs. Akumina). If you run teams in France or need a sovereign European platform, Jalios and Jamespot are worth a look too: see Jint vs. Jalios and Jint vs. Jamespot. Put every one of them through the same five questions.

How to run your intranet software selection, step by step

Choosing the best intranet software depends less on technology than on how clear your needs are. A requirements document, even a short one, keeps you from judging platforms on their flashiest demo. It sets your priorities, use cases and constraints, and it gets IT, internal communications and HR aligned before the first vendor call. Our intranet requirements checklist is a good starting point.

Save time with our free intranet specifications template. Budgeting is part of the same exercise: knowing what an intranet costs under each deployment model sets expectations from day one.

Here is the method we see work on customer projects. Most organizations need a few months from the first workshop to signature; skipping steps is what makes projects stall after launch.

1. Define the problems to solve. Information nobody finds, messages that never reach the field, too many tools? Write down three to five measurable goals, such as the share of employees reached by a critical message within 24 hours.
2. Bring IT, internal comms and HR to the same table. Each one can block the project: security, editorial workflow, employee data. Align them before the first vendor call.
3. Write a short requirements document. Use cases, audiences, integrations, constraints and budget, on a few pages.
4. Build a shortlist of two to four platforms. Use the five questions and the profile table above to rule out the rest.
5. Run scripted demos on your content. Give every vendor the same scenarios and the same real documents, and score them on the same grid.
6. Check security and references. Send the security questionnaire early, request the SOC 2 or ISO 27001 report, and talk to two customers of your size and sector.
7. Compare three-year total cost. License, implementation, content operations, support and every add-on.
8. Pilot before you roll out. A pilot on one site or one department shows adoption problems while they're cheap to fix.

Questions to ask in every intranet software demo

• Show me how a communicator targets a news post to one site and one language, without IT.
• Where is our content stored, in which region, and what is copied outside our environment?
• What can your AI assistant read, and how does it respect our permissions?
• How does an employee without a corporate email sign in to the mobile app?
• What does a typical rollout look like, how long does it take, and who does the work?
• Which report shows who read a critical message?
• Can you share your SOC 2 Type II or ISO 27001 report and your sub-processor list?
• What will the three-year cost be, with implementation, support and every add-on?

Want the full list? Download our 40 questions to ask before you choose an intranet.

How is the intranet software market evolving?

Three moves shaped the market in 2026.

Analysts agree the market is no longer won on feature lists. Gartner published its 2026 Magic Quadrant for Intranet Packaged Solutions on September 29, 2026. LumApps and Interact both announced Leader placements, for the fourth year in a row. The ClearBox 2026 report scores 37 platforms against real-life scenarios and names AI as the strongest trend of the year, with "even more AI capabilities added to products in the past year, many of which are genuinely useful". It also points to the intranet's return as the front door to the organization, more cautious budgets and longer purchasing cycles.

Vendors are consolidating. LumApps folded Beekeeper into its frontline offer. Appspace acquired Igloo Software in 2025. Workvivo is now part of Zoom. And since Meta announced it would shut down Workplace, ClearBox notes that more platforms have added social features to win its former users. For buyers, consolidation means one question to add to every demo: what does your roadmap look like for the product we're buying, three years from now?

The platforms that stand out share six traits. They can:

• Offer flexible content management spread across many contributors.
• Integrate with the document tools of Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace.
• Provide a collaboration space that works on every device.
• Switch on features as needed: FAQs, forums, HR journeys, knowledge base.
• Serve desk-based employees and frontline teams alike.
• Use AI to answer questions, suggest content and improve enterprise search.

Faced with these requirements, some organizations look at open-source intranet software. That route brings technical overhead and integration work that packaged platforms are built to avoid.

Conclusion: the best intranet software is the one your people open

There is no single best intranet. There is a platform that fits your tech stack, your workforce, your data requirements and your three-year budget. The five questions, the checklists and the selection method in this guide will get you there more reliably than any ranking, ours included.

One last piece of advice that applies to every platform in this comparison: treat your intranet as the foundation of your future AI use. Microsoft 365 Copilot and AI agents only answer well when information is organized, current and governed. That's exactly what a well-designed intranet does. On Microsoft 365, it's the approach behind Jint SharePoint: structure knowledge where it already lives, instead of copying it somewhere else.

To go further, cross-check this comparison with our intranet CMS comparison, or talk your project through with a Jint expert.

Key takeaways

• Choosing intranet software starts with your tech stack: Microsoft 365, Google Workspace or neither.
• Frontline teams require a real mobile app, with push notifications and sign-in without a corporate email.
• Knowing where your data lives, and under which rules (SOC 2, HIPAA, UK GDPR, GDPR), matters as much as the feature list.
• An AI assistant is only as good as the content it can reach: a structured intranet is its foundation.
• Compare platforms on three-year total cost, not on license price: published list prices run from about $3.75 to $10 per user per month, and most enterprise vendors quote on request.
• Run a scripted demo and a pilot on your own content before you sign.

Keep reading

• CMS Intranet: The Best CMS to Build an Intranet (2026 Comparison)
• How Much Does an Intranet Cost? Pricing and Hidden Costs (2026)
• Why Choose SharePoint for Your Intranet? (2026)
• Why Migrate to a SaaS Intranet Solution? (2026)