Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365: Price, Features & Which Is Best in 2022

Both Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 offer complete business productivity suites, making the choice of Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 common. Google Workspace is more affordable and the best option for collaborative startups and small businesses. Microsoft 365 is better for business users wanting advanced app features and templates, and corporations managing large teams.

• Google Workspace: Formerly G Suite, best for collaborative teams and budget-sensitive small businesses that want the best value
• Microsoft 365: Formerly Office 365, best for companies that want apps with advanced features and administrative controls, and the ability to collaborate on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations with people outside the organization

Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 at a Glance

Were you just looking to compare the business email apps offered by Google and Microsoft specifically? Check out Gmail vs Outlook.

How We Evaluated Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365

When you compare Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, it’s important to understand that both are full-featured productivity suites with the tools your business needs to handle the things you and your team do on a daily basis, like email, cloud storage, and creating and sharing different types of documents. Based on these needs, we evaluated both solutions based on the following:

• Affordability
• Ease of use
• Browser-based functionality
• Mobile apps
• Collaboration features
• Administrative tools
• Cloud storage
• Customer support

Based on our comparison, Google Workspace is the best option for most small businesses. Google Workspace includes the features that solopreneurs, startups, and small businesses need. Plus, it’s the most affordable, offering the best value and combination of storage, ease of use, accessibility, and collaboration tools.

Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365: Pricing

Google Workspace starts at $6 per user, per month and Microsoft 365 starts at $5 per user, per month. However, the two base plans are not totally comparable for those looking for business email, since the lowest-tier Microsoft plan doesn’t include Outlook.

In higher-tier plans, Google Workspace remains the best value with a lower price for comparable apps, plus it offers double the storage. Additionally, Google Workspace does not require an annual contract, whereas Microsoft’s subscriptions are only billed on an annual basis.

Google Workspace Pricing

• Business Starter: $6 per user, per month for business email, 30GB of cloud storage, and Google’s suite of business productivity apps
• Business Standard: $12 per user, per month to add cloud search, unlimited cloud storage, and archiving vault
• Free trial: 14 days

Microsoft 365 Pricing

• Microsoft 365 Basic: $5 per user, per month for cloud storage, OneDrive, and web and mobile versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint; however, keep in mind this plan does not come with Outlook business email
• Microsoft 365 Standard: $12.50 per user, per month to add business email with Outlook as well as Office apps across devices and cloud file storage
• Free trial: 30 days (Standard and Premium plans only)

Takeaway: Although both services offer similar features for approximately the same price, Google Workspace is the clear winner here. Business email, arguably one of the most valuable features for small businesses, is available with all Google Workspace service plans. However, you’ll pay more than twice as much as the entry-level 365 plan to access business email with Microsoft since Outlook isn’t included with its Basic plan.

Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365: Features

Both Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 offer similar features, including cloud storage, business email, and mobile apps. The biggest difference between the two is that business email is available with Google Workspace’s entry-level plan, while Microsoft 365 only offers it with its mid-range plan and higher.

Google Workspace Tiered Features

Microsoft 365 Tiered Features

Takeaway: In short, you get more for the price with Google Workspace. Unlike Microsoft 365, all plans come with business email and its premium plan offers double the storage than Microsoft’s equivalent at a lower price.

Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365: Ease of Use

Both Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 have the benefit of feeling familiar to most users. Google Workspace has the familiar look and feel of Gmail, while Microsoft 365 builds on the software many business users have known for years. If you’ve never used either, Google Workspace is a bit less intimidating and more intuitive to get started.

Google Workspace Ease of Use

Google typically chooses function over form, which sometimes means its design isn’t quite as pleasing to the eye as Microsoft’s applications. However, the positive trade-off is that Google Workspace’s features work seamlessly behind the scenes.

For example, documents created in Google Docs are automatically saved in your Google Drive. You don’t even have to name it first. It also constantly auto-saves your work in the background so your files are always up to date.

Google Workspace also tends to focus on the core activities that users need most, so it doesn’t suffer from feature bloat as much as Microsoft 365. Google Workspace apps don’t have some of the advanced features you’ll find in Microsoft Word or Excel, but it makes up for that with a clean, simple interface that just makes sense.

Microsoft 365 Ease of Use

Office has certainly come a long way, but there’s no question that it still tries to be everything to everyone. Microsoft packs in every feature it can think of, sometimes at the expense of the user experience.

This is especially true with the desktop versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. The browser and mobile app versions, on the other hand, are far simpler in design and focus more on putting the most important tools within reach.

Takeaway: When it comes to ease of use, it boils down to familiarity. If you and your employees are more familiar with the user interface of one of these solutions over the other, then that’s the investment to make. However, if Google and Microsoft apps are both unfamiliar, Google Workspace has a slightly lower learning curve than Microsoft 365.

Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365: Business Email

When it comes to business email, Google’s Gmail and Microsoft’s Outlook are considered two of the leading business email providers available today. Most users are primarily interested in how easily they can set up their branded business email (yourname@yourbusiness.com instead of @gmail.com), how much email storage they have, and the maximum file size limit you can attach to an email.

Google Workspace Business Email With Gmail

Google Workspace provides 30GB of storage and allows you to easily set up your email on your business’ web domain while taking advantage of all of the functionality of Gmail. Gmail allows attachments up to 25MB, though you can share files larger than that directly from Google Drive. You can send up to 2,000 emails per day and receive over 86,000 daily.

Learn more about setting up your business email with our Gmail for business setup guide.

Google Workspace business email

Microsoft 365 Business Email With Outlook

Microsoft 365’s business email client, Outlook, has a send limit of 5,000 per day and a 50GB storage limit on each of their business plans. This limit is separate from your overall cloud storage, which means your email attachments aren’t taking up space in OneDrive. On the other hand, if email storage space is important, unlike Google Workspace, you aren’t able to use your full cloud storage (1TB) for email.

Microsoft 365 business email

Takeaway: Google Workspace is the clear winner when it comes to business email. Not only is it less than half the price, making it one of the best business email hosting services, but it’s also very comprehensive and offers more advanced security tools. Keep in mind that if all you actually need is business email, there are alternative ways to get business email for free.

Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365: Apps

Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 both include software for creating documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Both offer browser-based versions, as well as iOS and Android apps. However, only Microsoft 365 offers desktop versions of its software to its Business and Business Premium customers.

Google Workspace Apps: Docs, Sheets & Slides

All of Google Workspace’s apps for document creation, Docs, Sheets, and Slides, are browser-based with mobile app versions. Unfortunately, there are no desktop versions, meaning you generally need to be connected to the internet to create and edit files.

However, with Google Workspace apps, you have the option to mark files for offline access. This enables you to continue working on a file even if you lose your internet connection. Your changes are then automatically updated the next time you connect to the internet.

Google Workspace Docs

Microsoft 365 Apps: Word, Excel & PowerPoint

Microsoft 365’s document creation apps, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, are available as desktop software, browser-based apps, and mobile apps. Like Google Workspace, new documents, changes, and edits made offline are automatically saved and synced to the cloud (for files and folders syncing to OneDrive) once you’re back online.

Microsoft 365 Word

Takeaway: Microsoft 365 has a slight edge over Google Workspace in the apps department simply due to its ubiquitousness and more expansive options when it comes to templates and advanced niche features like charts. Plus, having been around for more than 30 years, most people have at least a passing familiarity with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint’s features and user interface.

Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365: Collaboration

Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 are built around team collaboration, between video conferencing, team live chat, and easy-to-use document sharing. However, both platforms employ a unique approach to facilitating teamwork. Neither is necessarily better than the other. It boils down to what a company expects and needs from its collaboration tools.

Google Workspace Collaboration

Google Workspace makes collaboration dead-simple. In fact, one of the strongest aspects of Google’s productivity software is that multiple people can work on the same document, spreadsheet, or slide deck at the same time, without having to save files, email links to each other, and keep track of versions. Revisions happen in real time while giving you the ability to see what changes have been made and accept or reject them.

Google Workspace’s document sharing options

Microsoft 365 Collaboration

Microsoft 365’s collaboration advantage lies in its widespread use throughout the business world. Sales agents and teams can send a Word document, Excel spreadsheet, or PowerPoint presentation to clients outside the organization with the confidence they can be opened and read at the other end. It also offers more advanced features than Google Workspace, such as built-in artificial intelligence services to help users create more polished documents.

Microsoft 365’s document sharing options

Takeaway: The deciding factor on which solution is the better collaboration choice lies in how the tools will be used. Companies that work closely together on in-house projects will find Google Workspace the best option to get the job done, hands down. Business users who frequently collaborate with people outside their organization will benefit from Microsoft 365’s prevalent use in the business world.

Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365: Customer Service

Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 both offer 24/7 phone and web support to their business clients. Each also offers access to robust self-help knowledge libraries and community support forums. Google and Microsoft both cater to businesses, and their customer service for these types of users is good.

Google Workspace Customer Service

Google gives Google Workspace administrators access to 24/7 phone, email, and chat support in 14 languages. For users, support is available through Google Help, their online knowledge base for self-help. Google is known for having helpful support agents and resolving issues quickly when you need a real person.

Microsoft 365 Customer Service

Microsoft 365 also provides live phone and email support to business customers. In addition, Microsoft has extensive training materials, including self-help guides, how-to videos, and a searchable knowledge base. Microsoft is known for paying attention to its business customers, and Microsoft 365 support is no different.

Takeaway: When it comes to deciding which company provides better customer service, it’s too close to call. Both have support teams available by phone and online around the clock, and also offer self-help documentation so users can troubleshoot issues themselves. In the customer service arena, the winner is a draw.

Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365: Customer Reviews

Google Workspace Customer Reviews

The most commonly mentioned reasons users love Google Workspace is the ease of collaboration and how intuitive the software is to use. Customers also say they enjoy how tightly integrated everything is, and how they are able to work anywhere and still have access to all of their files. One negative review said that the admin panel is less straightforward than it could be, and sometimes hard to navigate.

Microsoft 365 Customer Reviews

Microsoft 365 customers say that because the software is so widely used, it’s easy to create, share, and open documents created by other businesses or customers. They also like the advanced features found in the apps, like real-time editing suggestions. However, one area that users review negatively is the amount of space (memory) the Microsoft 365 desktop apps take up on your computer.

Takeaway: Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 each have loyal fans and followings, which are borne out by generally positive online customer reviews.

When to Use Google Workspace

Google Workspace is the best option for small businesses and teams that collaborate on in-house document creation and want to leverage the endless number of integrations between Google Drive and the project management tools, customer relationship management (CRM) software, and other apps they already use. Plus, Gmail is the best and most affordable option for small businesses that want business-branded email.

Visit Google Workspace

When to Use Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 is the best option for small businesses that need to edit and collaborate on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations with people outside the organization. Its apps have more advanced features (which could be a plus or minus for a small business), more business document, spreadsheet, and presentation templates, and it’s also the only one of the two that has dedicated desktop versions of each productivity app.

Visit Microsoft 365

When to Use an Alternative: Zoho Workplace

Zoho Workplace is a cloud-based suite of apps with a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, and email client with a forever-free plan for up to five users. Paid plans range from $1 to $6 per user, per month. It’s an affordable option for teams that want a productivity suite with robust team collaboration tools, and it integrates tightly with Zoho’s comprehensive customer relationship management (CRM) system and other native apps.

Visit Zoho Workplace

Bottom Line

For small businesses looking for an office productivity suite that provides branded business email, cloud storage, easy collaboration and sharing, and the ability to create and access all of your documents wherever you work, Google Workspace offers the best value. It’s intuitive and easy to use, so your team can usually be up and running the same day. Get started risk-free with a free 14-day trial.

Visit Google Workspace

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