At the moment, Google Workspace (formerly G Suite and Google Apps), and Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365 and Microsoft Office), are two of the most popular business collaboration and productivity tools, widely used by many businesses across a wide variety of industries all around the world.

Both solutions have pretty similar offerings: a suite of cloud-based applications and services focused on productivity, communication, and collaboration. Yet, which one is the right choice for your business? 

Both suites are reliable with robust sets of features, but each of them has unique offers that are not available to the other. 

With that being said, deciding which solution is the right fit for your business can be quite challenging, but in this post, we will help you go through your decision-making process.

We will compare the two productivity suites: pricing, sets of features, and plans, and discuss the key considerations you should have when weighing between the two.

Without further ado, let us begin.

Google Workspace vs. Microsoft 365: Differences Overview

Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are developed with a similar purpose for the same target audience, so their core offerings are also very similar to each other: a collection of applications to enable effective communications and collaborations to improve productivity. 

However, although they are very similar to each other, there are also some significant differences between the two, including unique applications and tools not offered by the other.

Both productivity suites offer the following core applications:

• Word Processing: Google Docs and Microsoft Word
• Spreadsheet: Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel
• Presentation: Google Slides and Microsoft Powerpoint
• Email client: Gmail and Hotmail
• Instant messaging: Google Chat and Microsoft teams
• Calendar: Google Calendar and Outlook Calendar
• Note-taking: Google Keep and Microsoft OneNote
• Video conferencing: Google Meet and Skype

However, there are also key differences between the two, which are summarized in the table below:

Google Workspace vs. Microsoft 365: Value for Money

Google Workspace editions and pricing:

• Business Starter: for $6/user/month, you’ll get the following features:
  • Custom business email with security features
  • 100 video conference participants in Meet
  • 30 GB Google Drive cloud storage
  • Security and management control features
  • Standard support only
• Business Standard: priced at $12/user/month, and you’ll get additional premium features such as:
  • Custom business email with security features
  • 150 video conference participants in Meet
  • 2 TB Google Drive Cloud Storage
  • More security and management control features
  • Standard support initially, paid upgrade to Enhanced customer support available.
• Business Plus: priced at $18/user/month with the following features:
  • Custom business email with security features, eDiscovery, and retention with Google Vault
  • 500 video conference participants in Meet, attendance tracking
  • 5 TB Google Drive Cloud Storage
  • Enhanced security and management control features, including Google Vault and advanced endpoint management
  • Standard support initially, paid upgrade to Enhanced customer support available.
• Enterprise: contact Google to get a custom pricing for the Enterprise edition with the following features:
  • Custom business email with security features, eDiscovery, and retention with Google Vault, S/MIME encryption
  • 500 video conference participants in Meet, noise cancellation, in-domain live streaming
  • Up to unlimited Google Drive Cloud Storage
  • Enhanced security and management control features, including Google Vault, advanced enterprise endpoint management, DLP, and data regions
  • Enhanced support initially, paid upgrade to Premium customer support available.

Microsoft 365 plans and pricing:

• Business Basic: for $6/user/month, you’ll get the following features:
  • 1TB OneDrvive storage
  • Business branded email
  • Web/mobile versions of Word, Excel, and Powerpoint (desktop apps not included in this plan)
• Business Standard: for $12.50/user/month, you’ll get everything offered in the Business Basic plan plus the desktop versions of the Office apps.
• Business Premium: $20/user/month, includes everything offered in the Business Standard plan, as well as advanced security and management features.
• Microsoft 365 Apps for Business: $8.25/user/month, offering access to Office apps without the extra features. Designed for businesses that only want to use Office apps but don’t need other features like Business email, Microsoft Teams chat, and others.

Key Takeaways: in most use cases, you’ll get more value for your money with Google Workspace. Google Workspace plans always offer branded business email and double the cloud storage space as the comparable Microsoft 365 plan at a lower price. 

Not to mention, when you partner with Pythian for your Google Workspace licenses, you get the same pricing and customer service you’d get from Google, but on top of that, you’ll get extra features from Pythian, including but not limited to personalized training and education; custom cloud product development; fast and reliable customer support; and others.

Google Workspace vs. Microsoft 365: Ease of Use

While the majority of people are familiar with Microsoft 365’s apps and user interface, Google Workspace apps are relatively more accessible for those who have never used either suite.

Many Google Workspace applications are designed with ease of use and functionality in mind. While they aren’t as aesthetically pleasing as Microsoft applications, Google Workspace apps are very reliable and intuitive. 

On the other hand, Microsoft 365 applications are famous for their feature bloat, which can be confusing for new users. Google Workspace apps, on the other hand, are more focused on core activities that most users will look for on each app, simplifying the overall interface.

Google Workspace vs. Microsoft 365: Security

Data privacy and security are very important concerns in today’s business landscape, and both Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 are built to meet today’s strict data security and privacy standards.

However, with Google Workspace offering more integration to third-party apps, it may be exposed to more security risks. Also, at the moment, Microsoft’s multi-factor authentication is slightly more secure than Google’s two-step authentication.

Conclusion

At the moment, Google Workspace editions offer more bang for your buck when compared to Microsoft 365’s plans. Google Workspace applications are also more intuitive and easy to use, albeit not as pleasing to the eye as Microsoft’s applications.

Get started with Google Workspace risk-free with a free 14-day trial.