SharePoint Security Groups vs. Microsoft Security Groups: What’s the Difference?

What Are SharePoint Security Groups?

SharePoint Security Groups are site-specific permission groups. You manage them directly within the SharePoint site, and they determine what users can do in that site—view, edit, or manage.

Every SharePoint site starts with three default groups:

• Owners – Full control
• Members – Edit access
• Visitors – Read-only access

Site owners can create more groups as needed to manage different roles.

What Are Microsoft Security Groups?

Microsoft Security Groups (used to be called Office 365 Security Groups) are managed in Microsoft Entra ID. These groups aren’t tied to a single SharePoint site—they’re used across the entire Microsoft ecosystem.

You can use Microsoft Security Groups to control access to:

• SharePoint sites and libraries
• Teams
• OneDrive
• Power BI
• Exchange resources

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Comparison Table

Feature	SharePoint Security Groups	Microsoft Security Groups
Scope	Single SharePoint site	Microsoft 365-wide
Managed In	SharePoint UI	Entra ID
Membership Types	Users, M365 Groups	Users, Devices (Static or Dynamic)
Best For	Site-specific permissions	Org-wide or multi-site roles
Custom Roles	Yes (via SharePoint permissions)	No (mapped roles needed in SharePoint)
Supports Nested Groups	Partial	Yes
Self-Service	Yes (by site owners)	No (usually IT-managed)

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When to Use Each Group

Use SharePoint Groups when:

• You need granular permissions for lists, libraries, or folders.
• Site owners should manage access.
• You want a simple setup for one SharePoint site.

Use Microsoft Security Groups when:

• You need to manage access across multiple services or sites.
• You want centralized, IT-controlled management.
• You’re using dynamic rules (e.g., auto-assign based on department).

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Can They Work Together?

Absolutely. A common best practice is to add Microsoft Security Groups to SharePoint Groups. That way:

• IT manages group membership globally
• Site owners control what that group can access inside SharePoint

This gives you the best of both worlds: centralized identity with local permission control.

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Common Mistakes to Avoid

• ❌ Adding too many individual users to SharePoint groups
  ➡️ Use Microsoft Security Groups to manage at scale.
• ❌ Confusing Microsoft 365 Groups with Security Groups
  ➡️ Microsoft 365 Groups create Teams, mailboxes, etc.—not always ideal for permissions.
• ❌ Not using naming conventions
  ➡️ Clear names make it easier to manage groups long-term.

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Both SharePoint Security Groups and Microsoft Security Groups have a place in a well-managed Microsoft 365 environment.

• Use SharePoint Groups for flexible, site-level permissions.
• Use Microsoft Security Groups for broad, scalable access control.

Together, they offer a powerful access management strategy for any SharePoint administrator or Microsoft 365 tenant.