List out all the differences between SP2010 VS SP2013 VS SP2016 VS SP 2019 VS SE

 List out all the differences between SP2010 VS SP2013 VS SP2016 VS SP 2019 VS SE

SharePoint 2010 vs SharePoint 2013 vs SharePoint 2016 vs SharePoint 2019 vs SharePoint Subscription Edition (SE)

This is one of the most important SharePoint Architect/Administrator interview topics.

Executive Summary

Feature	SP2010	SP2013	SP2016	SP2019	SharePoint SE
Release Year	2010	2012	2016	2018	2021+
Support Model	Fixed Lifecycle	Fixed Lifecycle	Fixed Lifecycle	Fixed Lifecycle	Continuous Updates
Modern Experience	No	No	Limited	Partial	Enhanced
MinRole	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Zero Downtime Patching	No	No	Yes	Improved	Best
OpenID Connect	No	No	No	No	Yes
TLS 1.2 Support	Limited	Partial	Yes	Yes	Native
SPFx Support	No	No	Limited	Yes	Full
Workflow Manager	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	SharePoint Workflow Manager
PowerApps Integration	No	No	Limited	Yes	Better
Power Automate Integration	No	No	Limited	Yes	Better
Modern Lists/Libraries	No	No	Limited	Yes	Enhanced
Subscription Updates	No	No	No	No	Yes

 

SharePoint 2010

Architecture

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Key Features

• Ribbon UI introduced
• Service Applications introduced
• Managed Metadata Service
• User Profile Service
• Business Connectivity Services (BCS)
• Claims Authentication support introduced
• Sandbox Solutions
• InfoPath Forms
• SharePoint Designer Workflows

Database Architecture

Typical databases:

• Content DB
• Config DB
• Central Admin DB
• Search DB
• User Profile DB

Major Limitations

• No MinRole
• No modern UI
• No responsive pages
• Limited mobile support
• No cloud-first capabilities

Common Interview Question

Why organizations moved from SP2010?

• End of support
• Security concerns
• Legacy workflows
• Poor mobile experience

 

SharePoint 2013

Major Improvements

Search Revolution

Microsoft integrated FAST Search.

Features:

• Content Search Web Part (CSWP)
• Display Templates
• Search-driven sites
• Continuous Crawl

Social Features

• Newsfeed
• Communities
• Microblogging
• My Sites improvements

Workflow Improvements

• Workflow Manager introduced
• SharePoint 2013 Workflows
• Stages and loops

App Model Introduced

Instead of Farm Solutions:

• SharePoint Apps
• Provider Hosted Apps
• Auto Hosted Apps

New Service Apps

• App Management Service
• Subscription Settings Service

Challenges

• Complex Workflow Manager setup
• Heavy My Site dependencies
• App Model adoption issues

 

SharePoint 2016

Cloud-First Version

Microsoft built SP2016 using SharePoint Online experience.

Major Improvements

MinRole

Servers assigned roles:

• Front End
• Application
• Distributed Cache
• Search
• Custom

Benefits:

• Automatic optimization
• Better performance
• Easier administration

Zero Downtime Patching

Patch servers one at a time.

Benefits:

• No major outage
• Reduced maintenance windows

Large File Support

Up to 10 GB uploads.

Compliance Enhancements

• DLP (Data Loss Prevention)
• Compliance Center
• eDiscovery improvements

Hybrid Improvements

• Hybrid Search
• Hybrid OneDrive
• Hybrid Sites

Challenges

• Limited modern UI
• Limited Power Platform integration
• Still dependent on classic pages

 

SharePoint 2019

Modern Experience Arrives On-Prem

Modern UI

Introduced:

• Modern Lists
• Modern Libraries
• Modern Team Sites
• Modern Pages

Better User Experience

Features:

• Responsive design
• Faster rendering
• Drag-and-drop improvements

Power Platform Integration

Support for:

• PowerApps
• Power Automate

Enhanced Search

• Modern search experience
• Improved indexing

Infrastructure Benefits

• Better MinRole
• Better patching
• Better reliability

Challenges

• Not feature-equivalent to SharePoint Online
• Modern experience still limited

 

SharePoint Subscription Edition (SE)

Microsoft's Future On-Prem Platform

SE is the successor to SharePoint Server.

Biggest Difference

No version upgrades.

Instead:

• Continuous feature updates
• Evergreen model

Similar to:

• Windows Server servicing
• SharePoint Online release model

 

New Features in SE

OpenID Connect (OIDC)

Supports:

• Microsoft Entra ID
• Identity Providers using OIDC

Microsoft Entra ID integration is a major enhancement compared with older on-prem versions.

Modern Authentication

Supports:

• OAuth
• OIDC
• Claims

Stronger Security

• TLS 1.2+
• Improved certificate handling
• Security hardening

Modern Administration

PowerShell improvements:

• Better farm management
• Better automation

Modern UX Enhancements

Compared to SP2019:

• More modern pages
• Better list experience
• Better integration capabilities

Workflow Changes

• SharePoint 2010 Workflows deprecated
• SharePoint Designer approaching retirement
• Move toward Power Platform solutions

Feature Updates

Instead of waiting years:

SP2019 → next version (years)

SE → regular feature releases

 

Real-Time Administrator Comparison

Task	SP2010	SP2013	SP2016	SP2019	SE
Farm Deployment	Complex	Complex	Easier	Easier	Easier
Patching	High Downtime	High Downtime	Low Downtime	Better	Best
Authentication	NTLM/Kerberos	Claims	Claims	Claims	Claims + OIDC
Hybrid Setup	Difficult	Moderate	Better	Good	Best
Automation	Limited	Moderate	Good	Better	Best
Security	Basic	Better	Strong	Stronger	Strongest
Modern UI	None	None	Limited	Good	Best On-Prem
Cloud Readiness	None	Low	Medium	High	Highest