Microsoft Lists vs SharePoint lists: same thing or not

Short answer: they are two doors to the same kind of list. Microsoft says all lists are saved to SharePoint and can be opened from SharePoint as well as from Teams. For a tracker that a team shares, save the list to a SharePoint site and choose the door you like.

What Microsoft's pages say

Three statements from Microsoft's pages answer the question.

Where you can make a list. Microsoft's "Introduction to lists" page says: "You can create lists in SharePoint, the Lists app in Microsoft 365, or Microsoft Teams."
Where a list is saved. Microsoft's Teams page says all lists are saved to SharePoint, and you can open and edit them in SharePoint or in Teams.
What a list is. The same introduction page says a list is "a collection of data that you can share with your team members and people who you've provided access to."

So the name Microsoft Lists points at the app. The list itself is a SharePoint list.

Where the two differ: My lists and sites

When you create a list in the Lists app, the Save to setting offers a choice. Microsoft's admin page describes it this way: if an admin turns off personal lists, users can no longer save new lists to "My lists", and when they create a list they "must select a SharePoint site for saving the list."

That gives two kinds of list in practice.

A list saved to a SharePoint site. It sits with that site, its owners and its members.
A list saved to My lists. It is a personal list.

Microsoft's Teams page draws a hard line between the two. It says only lists stored in SharePoint can be added, and that "personal lists aren't supported."

Microsoft's Lists pages do not say where My lists is stored or how sharing works for a personal list. Ask your admin before you rely on a personal list for team data.

Who can see the list

For a list on a site, permissions start from the site. Microsoft's permissions page says you can select Stop Inheriting Permissions to break inheritance from the parent, which means a list normally takes its permissions from its parent until you stop that.

Microsoft's sharing page names two share levels for a list:

Can edit list: edit the entire list, including items, columns and views.
Can edit items: only edit, add or remove items.

It also says sharing a list requires the manage permissions permission, and that by default only site or list owners can share lists.

A way to choose

Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: use these questions.

Will more than one person use it? Save it to a SharePoint site.
Will it be added to a Teams channel? It must be stored in SharePoint. Save it to a site.
Is it a private list for you alone, and are you fine with it being a personal list? My lists is the place for that.
Does your admin turn off personal lists? Then the question is already answered: pick a site.

No Microsoft page says one door is faster or better. Pick the one your team will open.

Open a SharePoint list in Teams

If a team lives in Teams, add the list as a tab. See "Add a SharePoint list as a Teams tab".

What a list can do

Microsoft's introduction page lists these list features: columns such as Text, Choice, Date and Time and Lookup, views for sorting and filtering, version history, item approval and permissions. SharePoint alerts are retired; see "SharePoint alerts are retired: what to use instead". See "SharePoint list vs Excel for team tracking: which one fits?" if the real question is Excel against a list.

Honest limits

Microsoft's pages describe where a list is saved, not which door is faster. If you need to know how a particular list in your tenant is saved, open its Save to location or ask your admin.

When to get help

You can build all of this yourself in Microsoft 365. If you would rather have it built and tested for your team, I do that. A tracker like this is a fixed price: $5,000 for one, built in 2 weeks. See "What a SharePoint tracker costs to build". Bring one example of the problem to a free call.

Tell me what's still manual

I am Al Davies. I run 250 High Street LLC and build SharePoint trackers and Power Automate flows for operations teams. I work remotely. The first call is free, and I will not try to sell you anything.

See trackers I built: Tools I built

FAQ

Is Microsoft Lists the same as SharePoint lists?

Microsoft says all lists are saved to SharePoint. Lists is the app, and a SharePoint list is the list itself.

What is the difference between a personal list and a site list?

A personal list is saved to My lists. A site list is saved to a SharePoint site. Microsoft says personal lists cannot be added to Teams.

Can an admin stop people from making personal lists?

Yes. Microsoft says a SharePoint Administrator can disable the creation of personal lists, and users must then pick a SharePoint site to save to.

Can I use a SharePoint list inside Teams?

Yes. Microsoft says lists stored in SharePoint can be added, and can be accessed and edited from SharePoint as well as from Teams.

Which should I use for a team tracker?

Save it to a SharePoint site so the team shares it and Teams can show it. Open it from the Lists app or from the site.