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ViewExport vs Microsoft Purview
These are not really rivals. Microsoft Purview is the native collection and legal-hold layer inside Microsoft 365. ViewExport is the review layer on top of it: once Purview exports Office 365 email and Teams chat, ViewExport makes that export searchable in minutes, with no eDiscovery Premium license and no reviewer roles in your tenant.
ViewExport vs Purview Overview
A Purview Alternative for the Review Step
Purview is built to hold and export Microsoft 365 data. The question is who searches the export, how fast, and at what license tier.
| Feature | ViewExport | Microsoft Purview |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Focus | Fast review layer for Microsoft 365 exports: search and cull Office 365 email and Teams chat, then produce | Native Microsoft 365 collection, legal hold, and review inside the Purview compliance portal |
| Best For | Teams that need to search an export quickly, without Premium licensing or tenant reviewer roles | Organizations standardizing collection and legal hold inside Microsoft 365 |
| Licensing | ✅ Flat license with a free trial, no add-on tiers | ⚠️ Standard is bundled with many plans; review sets and analytics require eDiscovery Premium (E5 or an add-on) |
| Permissions to Review | ✅ None in your tenant — reviewers work on the exported file | ❌ eDiscovery Manager or Administrator role required to search and review |
| Searching the Export | ✅ Keyword, custodian, and date search across email and Teams in one query | ⚠️ Review sets are Premium-only; a Standard export lands as a PST you cannot keyword-search |
| Setup Time | ✅ Minutes — upload the export and start searching | ⚠️ Portal configuration, role assignment, and a learning curve |
| Data Location | Cloud, or the desktop edition that keeps data on your own machine | Within your Microsoft 365 tenant |
Where ViewExport Helps
Purview collects. ViewExport gets you to answers.
Native eDiscovery is powerful, but the review experience is gated behind Premium licensing and admin roles. ViewExport picks up where the export lands.
No Premium license to review
Review sets, analytics, and custodian management live in eDiscovery Premium. If your collection runs under Standard or Content Search, ViewExport gives you real search and culling on top of the export without upgrading the whole tenant.
No reviewer roles in your tenant
Purview review requires an eDiscovery Manager or Administrator role. ViewExport works on the exported file, so IT can hand it to Legal or HR without provisioning anyone in Microsoft 365.
The export becomes searchable
A Standard export is a PST you cannot keyword-search. ViewExport indexes email and Teams together, so one query covers everything a custodian said, whatever app they said it in.
Email & Teams Together
One Search Across the Whole Export
Purview bundles Exchange email and Teams messages into the same export. ViewExport indexes all of it, searchable by keyword, custodian, and date range, then exports to CSV, PDF, or JSON with metadata intact for production or an ESI protocol.
Metadata preserved for defensibility and chain of custody
Email and Teams chat covered in a single query
Use Case Focus
Same matter. Different job.
Keep Purview for what it does best, and add ViewExport for the part it makes hard.
Collection & Legal Hold
Purview owns holds, custodian management, and defensible collection inside your tenant. ViewExport does not replace that governance layer, and does not connect live to Microsoft 365.
Fast, Low-Friction Review
For DSARs, HR investigations, and smaller disputes, ViewExport turns the export into answers the same day, without a Premium upgrade or a reviewer-role request. Escalate to a full platform only when the matter warrants it.
Security
Enterprise-Grade Security, Built for Legal Workflows
ViewExport is designed with strict security, access controls, and audit trails to meet your legal, IT, and compliance standards.
Access Control
Only designated administrators with the correct roles and permissions can view or query activity, reducing exposure risk and aligning with internal access control policies.
Audit-Ready Logging
Every action is logged in detail for audit trails, legal defensibility, and compliance reporting.
Encryption
Data is encrypted at rest and in transit using industry-standard protocols, so sensitive mail stays secure end to end.
Archive Snapshot Integrity
A static copy of the export at time of upload, so later edits or deletions don’t obscure what was originally said.
Local-Only Option
The desktop edition processes the export entirely on your machine, for data that can’t leave your infrastructure.
Compliance Support
Aligns with GDPR, SOC 2, and ISO 27001 requirements, supporting your audit-readiness out of the box.
Testimonials
Trusted by attorneys and IT leaders.
Most customer testimonials are anonymized at their request.
“With ViewExport, we were able to easily work with a very large Slack export and resolve our incident much faster compared to other Slack export solutions. The tool has great functionality with improvements happening on a regular cadence as well as fantastic support from the ViewExport team.”
Matt R, Head of IT
Large Game Studio in California
Name and company redacted for client privacy.
“Glad for ViewExport - in Slack you can't filter easily by date range, which is annoying and not usable for Legal/eDiscovery. And Onna is way too expensive. You guys are perfect.”
Chief Information Officer
NYSE-Listed Adtech Company
Name and company redacted for client privacy.
“Handling DSARs is a massive pain point for me with GDPR compliance. We've been working around this problem for 6+ years, across multiple companies.”
Head of IT & Security
Midmarket UK Tech Company
Name and company redacted for client privacy.
“This is marvelous. I'm the Slack admin of my company and I'm tired of searching through the json files for messages for HR investigations. Now I can share relevant exports with legal in a few clicks.”
Deborah, IT Manager
Large Not-For-Profit Organization
“With ViewExport, we were able to easily work with a very large Slack export and resolve our incident much faster compared to other Slack export solutions. The tool has great functionality with improvements happening on a regular cadence as well as fantastic support from the ViewExport team.”
Matt R, Head of IT
Large Game Studio in California
Name and company redacted for client privacy.
“Glad for ViewExport - in Slack you can't filter easily by date range, which is annoying and not usable for Legal/eDiscovery. And Onna is way too expensive. You guys are perfect.”
Chief Information Officer
NYSE-Listed Adtech Company
Name and company redacted for client privacy.
“Handling DSARs is a massive pain point for me with GDPR compliance. We've been working around this problem for 6+ years, across multiple companies.”
Head of IT & Security
Midmarket UK Tech Company
Name and company redacted for client privacy.
“This is marvelous. I'm the Slack admin of my company and I'm tired of searching through the json files for messages for HR investigations. Now I can share relevant exports with legal in a few clicks.”
Deborah, IT Manager
Large Not-For-Profit Organization
FAQ
ViewExport and Purview, answered.
How the two fit together on a Microsoft 365 matter, from collection to reviewed.
No, it is the review layer that sits on top of it. Keep using Purview or Content Search for legal holds and collection, then bring the export to ViewExport to actually search Office 365 email and Teams chat. See the full Office 365 eDiscovery workflow.
Not for review. Premium adds review sets, analytics, and custodian management inside Purview. If your data collection works under eDiscovery Standard or Content Search, ViewExport gives you keyword search, culling, and defensible export on top of the result, so a single matter does not force a tenant-wide upgrade.
Yes. Purview captures Teams 1:1 chats, group chats, and channel messages into the same PST as a custodian’s Exchange email. ViewExport indexes all of it, so one query covers email and Teams together.
We do not run collection, legal holds, or retention policies inside your tenant, and we do not connect live to Microsoft 365. Purview owns that governance layer. ViewExport starts once the export exists and focuses on making it searchable and producible.
