Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365: Which One is Better for Your Business?
Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 are two popular and commonly known productivity suites. They come with a range of cloud services aimed at enhancing productivity. These suites provide reliability and scalability while meeting the needs of businesses of all types. Both are extremely good, so it is not easy to compare and select between the two. The article will compare the two productivity suites based on their features, subscription plans, and ease of use. Let’s compare Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365.
Table of Content
Google Workspace
Google Workspace( formerly known as G Suite) is a collection of several productivity and collaboration tools. It includes several tools such as Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Meet, Google Slides, and many more. These tools are highly available and easy to use making businesses collaborate and communicate to meet business requirements easily.
Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365( formerly known as Office 365) is a productivity suite with a range of tools for collaboration and communication. It includes tools like Microsoft Word, Excel, Microsoft Teams, PowerPoint, and others. These tools are easy to use and provide freedom to collaborate and communicate in a real-time environment.
Google Workspace Vs Microsoft 365: Pros and Cons
Storage- Both come with different storage options with several subscription plans available. Google offers 30 GB of pooled storage with their business starter plan and it gets up with other plans. Microsoft provides 1 TB of storage with their business basic plan and automatic spam & malware filtering.
Plans & Pricing- Google comes mainly with four subscription plans:
- Business Starter- Comes with pooled 30 GB storage priced at $6/month.
- Business Standard- 2 TB storage per user at $12/month.
- Business Plus- 5 TB pooled storage per user at $18/month
- Enterprise Plan- You can take your plan & pricing according to your usage by contacting Google Support.
Microsoft offers various plans for its services.
- Business Basic- 1 TB storage per user priced at $6 yearly and $7.20 monthly.
- Business Standard- 1 TB storage with desktop versions of Word, Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint. Priced at $12.50 yearly and $15 monthly.
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium- 1 TB storage with enhanced protection for threats. Priced at $22.
- Microsoft 365 Apps for Business- 1 TB storage and desktop and version of all apps. Priced at $8.25 yearly and $10 monthly.
App Features
Collaboration- Both provide collaboration but follow different approaches. Google Workspace provides easier ways and real-time collaboration with features like in-app editing and commenting. Microsoft uses a more traditional approach by using Office features like track changes and co-authoring. It uses more desktop-based applications and has less capable web-based versions as compared to Google.
Integration- Microsoft does not provide good integration compared when compared to Google. Google apps can be easily integrated with third-party tools to enhance productivity and ease of use, like in-app editors, media players, etc.
Security- Both offer robust security features to protect business data against spam, malware, and threats. Google uses two-step verification for Gmail and Drive and data loss prevention. Advanced features like Google Vault eDiscovery and archiving organization’s data for legal and compliance purposes. Microsoft also has features like multi-factor authentication and data loss recovery. So it protects against spam and threats and advanced features like eDiscovery for storing data organizations’ data for legal purposes.
Customization- Microsoft 365 comes with lesser customization in its interface and tools environment. Google Workspace offers a range of customization in their apps like theme customizations, extensions, email templates, and so on. Custom addresses for Calendar, Gmail, and others.
Data Recovery- Google Workspace allows admins to restore their data within 25 days of deletion from trash. It will automatically get cleared after every 30 days. Microsoft provides a 30-day recovery, once the recycle bin storage gets full, it will automatically get deleted after 30 days. Data recovery options are also based on subscription plans in both.
Quick Comparison
| Features | Google Workspace | Microsoft 365 |
| Apps | Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet, Drive, Sites and others.
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OneDrive, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, Outlook, Sharepoint, and others.
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| Collaboration & Communication | Google Meet
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Microsoft Teams
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| Plans & Pricing |
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Enterprise plans
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| Storage |
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| Security |
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Points to Consider When Choosing between Google Workspace and Microsoft 365
- Microsoft’s basic plan provides users with 1 TB of storage while Google offers 30 GB of storage.
- Microsoft also provides desktop apps, helpful when working offline. While Google does not provide any desktop apps instead allows offline working for Docs, Sheets, and Slides.
- Google provides an AppSheet app where you can build apps without code according to your requirements. Microsoft does not have this feature.
- Microsoft does not integrate with third-party apps or tools while Google integrates to make the work easy.
- In terms of security, both are secure platforms with multiple security mechanisms together.
From the above discussion, we can see the key differences and points that need to be considered when choosing a platform for your business. Below, we will discuss possible scenarios where the need for migration between platforms can rise.
User Scenarios
Scenario-1
Suppose a small business is using Google Workspace. But, in case the need for extra storage arises and the business does not want to upgrade its basic plan. So the business might change its platform and migrate to Microsoft 365 due to the need for extra storage. But how a secure and reliable migration is possible? Here is the answer use a Migrator Wizard G Suite to Microsoft 365 migration software.
Scenario-2
Suppose a large business is using Microsoft 365 services with the Business Premium plan subscription, it comes with 1 TB of storage. Now businesses want to upgrade their storage within the same price point. So they chose platform migration because the Google Workspace Business Plus plan provides 5 TB storage within the same price range as Microsoft’s 1 TB plan. For seamless and secure migration we recommend you to use a Migrator Wizard Microsoft 365 to G Suite migration software.
Conclusion
In this article, we have compared Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 and learned the pros and cons. Both are reliable and secure platforms but there are scenarios where both have their advantage and disadvantage. Businesses should prefer the platform based on their requirements like storage, app access, security, and pricing. In case of platform migration prefer the above software for easy and secure migration.
FAQs
1. Does Google Workspace cost more than Microsoft 365?
Google Workspace is more affordable than Microsoft 365, making it a better choice for small organizations or those have low budgets. Google Workspace provides basic and essential productivity features at lower costs and has fewer features to support the security and productivity of your business.
2. Which is better Google or Microsoft Forms?
Google Forms comes with form-designing options other than Microsoft Forms like multiple choice, linear scale, dropdown, and even file uploads. Microsoft Forms has an easy-to-use interface and is a good choice for those familiar with Microsoft apps. It also provides a QR code sharing feature that you can use to share forms easily via QR codes for quick access on mobile phones. The best way to decide is to try both and see which one is convenient to use for you.
3. What are the disadvantages of using Google Workspace?
Google Workspace provides web-based applications like Docs, Sheets, and others that are not suitable for handling complex tasks. It does not provide any desktop applications. Microsoft 365 provides desktop applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and others that can easily handle complex tasks and large datasets.
4. How do I choose between Google Workspace and Microsoft 365?
Analyze your organization’s requirements, including what your team is most familiar with and your budget. So, you can choose accordingly after considering and evaluating these factors.