Google Workspace vs Office 365 (Microsoft 365): What’s Best for You?

As a business owner, you likely rely on digital tools to help you manage your operations and support productivity. Google Workspace and Microsoft Office 365 (now, simply, Microsoft 365) are two of the most prominent digital collaboration platforms currently available. Both services offer a full range of tools that make it easier for business owners to interact with stakeholders, manage assets, and oversee projects online. 

But in a head-to-head comparison of Google Workspace vs Office 365, which platform comes out on top? 

Although the platforms offer several similar services, they do have different strengths. Discover which option is better for your business by completing an in-depth exploration of each platform’s interface, features, and plans. 

Note: The following article features pricing and plan information that is subject to change. For the most current information, be sure to visit Google’s official Google Workspace pricing page and Microsoft’s official Microsoft 365 pricing page.

Understanding Google Workspace

Google Workspace is a fully digital productivity platform that makes it easy for members of the same organization to interact and share information. To that end, individuals within the same workspace can collaborate on documents, spreadsheets, sites, and presentations, while account administrators can set up thorough privacy and security measures for the organization. 

The user-friendly, collaborative element of Google Workspace sets the platform apart from competitors and makes it ideal for beginners.

Another key feature of Google Workspace is its extensive cloud storage that you can use for your professional email account, as well as business documents. And, because Google Workspace tools are fully online, you can access them from any device—as long as you have access to a browser or the particular mobile app you need to access in the Google Workspace suite (e.g. Google Calendar app to make changes to your calendar).

Google Workspace also integrates with a plethora of third-party apps, making it ideal for businesses and entrepreneurs seeking new ways to improve their workflows. 

Understanding Office 365 (Microsoft 365)

Microsoft Office 365, now just known as Microsoft 365, is a suite of cloud-based productivity apps that you can use online or on your desktop. It includes popular programs like Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Microsoft Excel, plus access to cloud storage, business email, and other collaboration tools. 

Office 365 takes Microsoft’s classic office software tools and makes them available on the cloud for enhanced collaboration among team members. The hybrid system of desktop software options and browser-based applications makes it easy for you and your team to work on important projects from any device. Office 365 also features an administrative interface that allows you to easily manage: 

• Security
• User permissions
• Compliance

Along with its base products, Microsoft 365 is known for its advanced features, including workflow automation for email, scheduling, and more. This makes Microsoft 365 an excellent choice for brands seeking ways to streamline their processes and build more efficiency into their administrative operations.

Google Workspace vs Office 365: A comparative analysis

Google Workspace and Office 365 have a large amount of overlap, with both of these cloud-based platforms offering many of the same services and features. To better understand their differences, take a look below at a comprehensive breakdown of Google Workspace vs Office 365 in several key areas:

Pricing and plans

Both Google Workspace Business Starter and Microsoft 365 Business Basic start at $6 per user per month, making them comparable in terms of price. Premium plans and additional features come with additional costs on both platforms. If you’re choosing a service based on price, the value depends on the features you’re looking for.

At first glance, Office 365 offers more value for the base plan than Google Workspace. It includes a full terabyte of cloud storage, plus a participant limit of 300 attendees for conference calls. This compares to just 30 GB of storage and a 100-participant cap for calls with Google Workspace. 

However, Google Workspace pricing adds more value with higher-tier plans: 

• The $18 per month Business Plus plan with Google Workspace provides each user with 5 TB and allows conference calls with up to 500 people. 

• Meanwhile, the $22 Business Premium plan with Office 365 still limits users to 1 TB of storage and 300 conference call attendees. 

Ultimately, Office 365 provides more value in its base plan, while Google Workspace users are offered more compelling upgrades for premium plans.

Features and functionality

Google Workspace and Office 365 are flush with useful features for project management and collaboration. Both platforms strive to be a one-stop shop for your business productivity needs, so they have comparable features. For example, both Google Workspace and Office 365 offer these core tools:

• Cloud storage
• Business email
• Calendars
• Presentation-builders
• Word processors
• Form-builders
• Video conferencing
• Webinars
• Security features

Of course, each plan does have some unique elements. Office 365 generally provides more robust security features, including ransomware protection. It also offers device management. 

Meanwhile, Google Workspace offers a more integrated system for booking appointments and scheduling meetings. Choose Workspace for a well-rounded suite of features and Office 365 for more advanced options. 

It’s worth noting Google’s introduction of Duet AI, an AI-powered tool that helps you write, visualize, organize, speed up workflows, and have more engaging meetings.

Ease of use

Google is known for its intuitive, user-friendly applications. Workspace upholds this reputation with simple prompts and basic interfaces for both digital and mobile applications. Generally speaking, it has a streamlined appearance that’s easy for beginners to navigate. 

As a cloud-based platform, Google Workspace tools include helpful ongoing auto-saving and auto-sync, even when working offline. And, when individuals want to collaborate within the same document, it’s easy for them to adjust document permissions and work together.

Office 365 offers more advanced features and options, which require a more complex display. Especially when using advanced features, customers may need to navigate multiple menus and wizards. Office 365 is based on popular Microsoft products like Word and Excel, so many people are already familiar with how it works. This makes it easier for people to start using Office 365, which lowers the barrier to entry.

Business email capabilities

Google Workspace and Office 365 both offer customers access to powerful email clients with Gmail and Outlook, respectively. When it comes to functionality for business email, the two are fairly evenly matched. 

• You can send more emails with Office 365—10,000 with Microsoft Outlook vs. 2,000 with Gmail—but Gmail offers more comprehensive options for managing contacts and email lists. 

• Both platforms allow you to connect your business email to your unique domain name, elevating the professionalism of your communications.

However, Gmail does take a slight edge over Outlook when it comes to innovation, offering smart features that you can use to automatically compose email replies, categorize your most  important emails, or extract key information from messages. The Google Workspace plan also offers a massive library of third-party app integrations, including a wide variety of email enhancement tools. 

Office productivity suite

Productivity tools are the basis of these digital collaboration platforms, and Workspace and Office 365 have several comparable tools” 

• Workspace offers Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides
• Office 365 includes Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Microsoft Excel

What are the differences? 

Essentially, Google Workspace focuses on making its office productivity tools streamlined and easy to use. 

Meanwhile, Office 365 strives to provide high-level automation for its apps. It also includes extra tools like Publisher for marketing, Access for data analyses, and Intune for managing an organization’s devices. Because of its wide array of advanced features, Office 365 provides a much more robust productivity suite when compared to Google Workspace.  

Video conferencing capabilities

Hosting video meetings is a hallmark of doing business in the digital age. Google Workspace uses the Meet platform to provide conferencing, while Office 365 uses Microsoft Teams. 

If you only need basic video conferencing capabilities, Google Meet offers plenty of options for sharing screens, setting up breakout rooms, and using in-meeting chat. 

However, Teams has a robust platform that outperforms Meet in several areas. For instance:

• With Teams, you start out with an impressive cap of 300 attendees compared to 100 attendees for Google Workspace’s basic tier. 

• Meetings can last up to 30 hours, improving upon Meet’s 24-hour limit. 

Collaboration tools

Google Workspace is the clear winner when it comes to collaboration. While both platforms have collaborative options, Workspace’s web-based setup makes it easier for multiple people to interact in real time. In particular, because all Google Workspace documents are cloud-based, individuals can easily hop into a shared document at any time. 

On the other hand, because businesses who use Office 365 have the option to work on their desktops, they may have to upload their documents to the cloud in order to share them with others online. 

Security measures

It’s important for your digital workspace to keep all of your business’s information secure. Both Office 365 and Google Workspace prioritize the security of their customers, providing authentication protocols, custom administrative roles, and data privacy features. 

Office 365 does include additional security analytics in its higher-tier plans, which can be valuable for enterprise businesses with complex security requirements. 

While Office 365 has more variety when it comes to security features, Workspace still provides robust privacy protections to keep your information safe on the cloud.

Choosing the right platform for your business

Productivity tools are part of your business’s day-to-day operations, so it’s important to pick out a platform that meets your needs. Consider which tools you’ll use the most, then look for a platform that prioritizes those functions. 

So, is Google Workspace worth it for you, or is Microsoft 365 a better choice? If you’re running a small business, you might want to consider options like Google Workspace Business Starter or the Microsoft 365 Business Basic plan. On the other hand, if your business is on the larger side, you can explore more robust choices such as Google Workspace Business Plus, Microsoft 365 Business Premium, or enterprise plans. Ultimately, the decision depends on your preferences and what aligns best with your business needs.

Why choose Name.com for your Google Workspace needs

If the Google Workspace plan sounds like the solution to your productivity needs, you can get started right away with Name.com, which frequently offers 50% off on annual Google Workspace plans. On the Name.com platform, all you have to do is pick out the tier that aligns with your goals, then use domain name search to find and link a custom domain name to your business platform. We can also streamline the domain transfer process for you, should you have an existing domain you want to hold on to. 

By integrating Google Workspace with Name.com cloud web hosting services, you can effortlessly set up a branded professional email and keep track of your most important business assets all in one convenient place. In addition to our reliable cloud hosting, we also provide additional hosting services, including the best WordPress hosting on the market. No matter what you choose, all our options are designed to optimize your workflow, as well as the performance of your website and business.

Sources:

Fit Small Business. Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365: Which Office Suite Is Best in 2023? https://fitsmallbusiness.com/g-suite-vs-office-365/

Google Workspace. Compare Flexible Pricing Plan Options. https://workspace.google.com/pricing.html

Microsoft. Compare Microsoft 365 Plans. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/compare-all-microsoft-365-business-products-b 
Gmail Help. Smart features & controls in Google products. https://support.google.com/mail/answer/10079371?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid