Delve vs Confluence: Which Knowledge Base Tool is Right for You?

Compare Delve and Confluence for team documentation and knowledge management. See pricing, features, and which tool fits your team's needs.

Updated 2026-09 · 2026

Delve

Microsoft 365's intelligent content discovery and organization tool

Included with Microsoft 365user/month

Strengths

+Included free with Microsoft 365 subscriptions
+Deep integration with Office apps and SharePoint
+AI-powered content discovery and recommendations

Weaknesses

-Requires Microsoft 365 subscription to access
-Limited customization compared to dedicated wikis
-Less structured than purpose-built knowledge bases

Best for

Teams already using Microsoft 365 who need intelligent content discovery without additional tools

Confluence

Atlassian's collaborative workspace for team documentation and knowledge sharing

$5.16user/month

Strengths

+Purpose-built for structured documentation and wikis
+Rich editing with templates and macros
+Strong integration with Jira and Atlassian suite

Weaknesses

-Can become expensive as team grows
-Steeper learning curve for new users
-Performance issues with large instances

Best for

Teams needing a dedicated knowledge base with structured documentation and Atlassian ecosystem integration

Feature Comparison

Feature	Delve	Confluence
Free Tier	Included with Microsoft 365 (from $6/user/month)	Free for up to 10 users
Document Editing	Basic viewing and discovery, editing in Office apps	Rich WYSIWYG editor with templates and macros
Content Organization	AI-powered automatic organization	Manual spaces, pages, and hierarchical structure
Search Capabilities	AI-enhanced search across Microsoft 365 content	Full-text search with filters and labels
Collaboration	Comments and sharing via Office apps	Real-time editing, comments, @mentions, reactions
Integrations	Native Microsoft 365 ecosystem only	1000+ apps via Atlassian Marketplace
Templates	Limited, relies on Office templates	Extensive template library for various use cases
Mobile Apps	iOS and Android via Microsoft 365 app	Dedicated iOS and Android apps
Permissions	Microsoft 365 permissions model	Granular space and page-level permissions
Version History	Via SharePoint versioning	Full page version history with compare
API Access	Microsoft Graph API	REST API for custom integrations
Offline Access	Limited via Office mobile apps	Limited mobile offline viewing

The Verdict

Choose Delve if you're already invested in Microsoft 365 and need intelligent content discovery without additional costs. Choose Confluence if you need a purpose-built knowledge base with structured documentation, especially if you're using Jira or need the free tier for small teams up to 10 users.

How to switch from Delve to Confluence

1Locate your content in SharePoint and OneDrive (since Delve has no export of its own) and bulk-download document libraries as ZIP files from the SharePoint admin center, or use the Microsoft SharePoint Migration Tool for larger sets of files.
2Convert key documents to Confluence-friendly formats (Word, PDF, or HTML) and import them into new Confluence spaces using Confluence's built-in Word/PDF importer or the Import feature under Space Settings.
3Recreate your information architecture: turn SharePoint sites/folders into Confluence spaces, and OneDrive folder structures into page hierarchies, since Delve's auto-organization has no direct equivalent.
4Rebuild integrations that relied on the Microsoft 365 ecosystem — set up the Confluence apps for Outlook, Teams, and OneDrive from the Atlassian Marketplace to keep notifications and file linking working.
5Set up spaces, page permissions, and templates in Confluence before inviting the team, so structure exists on day one instead of relying on search/discovery like Delve did.
6Run both systems in parallel for 2–4 weeks, redirect internal links and bookmarks to Confluence pages, then turn off reliance on Delve as your team's default search.

Delve vs Confluence: common questions

How do I export my data from Delve to Confluence?+

Delve itself doesn't store content — it's a discovery layer on top of SharePoint, OneDrive, and Exchange, so there's no native 'export' button. To migrate, pull the underlying files from the SharePoint admin center or OneDrive (bulk download as ZIP, or use the SharePoint Migration Tool for larger libraries), then import the documents into Confluence spaces using its built-in Word/PDF/HTML import or a third-party migration app like Zapier or Configure's SharePoint importer.

What features will I lose moving from Delve to Confluence?+

You'll lose Delve's AI-driven content surfacing that automatically shows documents based on who you work with, since Confluence relies on manual organization into spaces and pages instead. You also lose the tight, zero-setup tie-in to Office apps — Confluence has its own editor, so heavily Word/Excel-based workflows need to be rebuilt as native Confluence pages or embedded files.

Is Confluence's free tier enough for a small team?+

Confluence's free plan supports up to 10 users with core wiki features, unlimited pages, and 2GB of storage, which covers most small teams switching off Delve. If you need Jira integration, advanced permissions, or more storage, you'll need the Standard plan at $5.16/user/month.

Does Confluence integrate with the Microsoft 365 tools we already use?+

Yes — Confluence has apps in the Atlassian Marketplace for Outlook, Teams, and OneDrive/SharePoint, and you can embed Office files directly in pages. It's not as deeply woven into the Microsoft ecosystem as Delve, but the core workflows (sharing docs, linking files, notifications in Teams) are covered.

Will switching to Confluence cost more than staying on Delve long-term?+

Delve itself is free with any Microsoft 365 plan you already pay for, so Confluence is an added cost on top unless you stay under 10 users on the free tier. At $5.16/user/month on Standard, a 20-person team runs about $1,240/year — worth it if you need real documentation structure, but a real budget line you don't have with Delve.