When it comes to business productivity tools, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are at the top of the industry. Both are commonly used to optimize the ways businesses communicate and collaborate, so it can be difficult to decide which suite is best for your business.   

While both Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace can offer several different benefits, there are some areas where Microsoft 365 stands out as the clear winner, especially if you’re a part of a large business. In this article, we will go over everything you need to know about Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. This will include in-depth features and price comparisons so you can make the right decision for your business.  

Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace Comparison Chart 

Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are both great for boosting productivity and enhancing communication between business teams. However, the applications and tools differ in how the work and integrate with existing workflows. 

Each suite includes vital applications like word processors, spreadsheets, email, and other important tools that businesses rely on to keep the business running smoothly. For a quick overview of what features and applications are included with each suite, please review the comparison chart below. 

Features 

Microsoft 365 

Google Workspace 

Plan Pricing 
  • Business Basic - $5/mo 
  • Business Standard – $12.50/mo  
  • Business Premium - $20/mo  
  • App for Business - $8.25/mo  
  • Enterprise E3 - $32 per month (paid annually) 
  • Enterprise E5 - $57 per month (paid annually) 
  • Enterprise F3 - $8 per month (paid annually) 

  
  • Business Starter - $6/mo  
  • Business Standard - $12/mo 
  • Business Plus - $18/mo  
  • Google Workspace Enterprise – custom pricing 

Cloud Storage 
  • OneDrive – 1TB 
  • Email – 50GB 
  • Business Starter – 30GB 
  • Business Standard – 2TB 
  • Business Plus – 5TB 

Business Applications 
  • Word 
  • Excel 
  • PowerPoint 
  • OneDrive 
  • Teams 
  • Outlook 
  • Exchange 
  • SharePoint 
  • Planner 
  • Docs 
  • Sheets 
  • Slides 
  • Keep 
  • Sites 
  • Google Drive 
  • Calendar  
  • Meet 
  • Gmail 
  • Chat 

Collaboration and Communication Tools 
  • Multi-user editing 
  • Online meeting and video calls for up to 300 people 
  • Access team chats, meetings, files, and apps from one place. 
  • Multi-user editing 
  • Online meeting and video calls for up to 250 people 
  • Advanced chatrooms 

Suite Security and Customer Support 
  • Data Encryption 
  • Microsoft Cloud Security  
  • Data Loss Prevention 
  • Multi-factor Authentication 
  • Built-in spam and malware detection 
  • Uptime Guarantee  
  • 24/7 Support  
  • Data Encryption 
  • Google Cloud Security  
  • Data Loss Prevention 
  • Two-step Authentication 
  • Built-in spam and malware detection 
  • Uptime Guarantee  
  • Standard Support 

  

Microsoft 365 vs. Google Workspace – Plan Pricing 

Knowing which plans are available and at what price can help you choose which suite is more suited to your budget and needs.  

Microsoft 365 Plan Pricing  

Microsoft Business Basic

The Business Basic plan is the lowest tier offered by Microsoft 365. It’s a great plan for businesses that only require basic tools to use in everyday workflows. The Business Basic plan is available for only $5 a user/month and includes business email, OneDrive storage, and access to applications like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint online or on mobile. Keep in mind that desktop versions of these applications are not included in the Business Basic plan.  

Microsoft Business Standard 

The Business Standard plan is the next tier up offered by Microsoft 365. This plan is available at $12.50 per user/month and is a great option for businesses that are looking for a more complete set of tools to use to optimize workflows and efficiency. It includes all the features offered in the Business Basic plan as well as desktop versions of Office applications like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. 

Microsoft Business Premium  

The Business Premium plan is the highest business tier offered by Microsoft 365. This plan is available at $20 per user/month and includes all the features from the two plans below it and enhanced security and management services. This plan is a great choice for businesses that need a ton of features as well as advanced threat protection.  

Microsoft Apps for Business 

The Apps for Business plan is the most affordable plan offered and is a great option for smaller businesses and startups. This plan gives you access to Office applications and cloud storage without the need for a business email. This plan does not include Microsoft Teams and SharePoint. 

Google Workspace Plan Pricing 

Business Starter  

The Business Starter plan is the lowest tier offered by Google Workspace. It is a great choice for smaller businesses or startups. The plan costs $6 per user/month and includes 30GB of storage. This plan does not include many of the collaborative features like shared drives, AppSheet, or Cloud Search. 

Business Standard  

Business Standard is the next tier offered by Google Workspace. This plan is by far the most popular offered by Google Workspace and is available for $12 per user/month. It includes support for video meetings with up to 150 participants and meeting recordings. This plan does not include Vault or eDiscovery features. 

Business Plus  

The Business Plus plan is a high-tier plan that includes more storage capacity and enhanced security features. This plan is available for $18 per user/month and includes meeting hosting for up to 250 people, attendance tracking, and cloud search capabilities. This plan also includes Vault capabilities and more endpoint management features.  

Enterprise  

The Enterprise plan is the highest tier offered by Google Workspace. The Enterprise plan comes with an unlimited amount of cloud storage and all the features included in the Business Plus tier. The Enterprise plan is custom priced so you will need to contact Google for an estimate for your business.  

Microsoft 365 vs. Google Workspace – Features 

Both suites have a ton of different features offered across multiple tiers. Some of the most important features are email, applications, and communication platforms.  

Email  

Both Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace have tiers that provide business emails with custom domain names. The email platforms used by Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are Outlook and Gmail, respectively.  

Outlook is Microsoft’s email platform commonly used for business communications and sending emails between team members. It is an advanced platform that allows for managing and organizing emails, scheduling, and keeping track of day-to-day tasks. Outlook is available across multiple platforms including PC and mobile.  

Gmail is a popular email platform that gives users access to third-party applications that enhance overall functionality and performance. Keep in mind that since Gmail utilizes third-party applications to add and enhance features, it is not as seamless to use as Outlook for business needs. Gmail also lacks a dedicated desktop application though third-party applications can be used to connect Outlook and Thunderbird accounts.  

Applications  

The different applications included with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are similar but vary in performance and accessibility. The common applications included are word processors, spreadsheets, and presentation creators.  

Microsoft 365 offers their line of already extremely popular applications like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. These tools are available on PC or mobile and even include web-based versions of the applications. Teams using the Microsoft 365 suite of applications will have access to features like real-time coauthoring, which will allow for instant updates to collaborative documents and projects. 

Google Workspace uses Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides in place of the more popular Microsoft applications.  

Communication 

The communication tools offered by Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are Microsoft Teams and Google Meet, respectively.  

Microsoft Teams has been designed with business use in mind and includes over 250 different applications that can all be used inside Teams to collaborate in real-time. Video calls on Teams can include up to 300 people and allows for personal chats between team members.  

Google Meet is a video and text chat application that supports up to 250 people, depending on the plan chosen. Google Meet is integrated with other Google Workspace applications like Google Calendar and Gmail.  

Some common features shared between the two suites are file and screen sharing capabilities, and advanced encryption.  

Microsoft 365 vs. Google Workspace – Security Features 

Both Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace have been designed with advanced security features and data privacy protection. Both suites are updated regularly, ensuring that any vulnerabilities are discovered and resolved quickly. Administrators may customize any available security protocols they wish using either suite.  

Microsoft 365 has built-in spam and malware protection for emails and offers Exchange Online Protection features. This provides hundreds of different security controls that can ensure that industry standards for data privacy are maintained.  

Microsoft 365 Enterprise plans go even further and give users advanced protection features including identity management to ensure secure connections between users and devices. Some additional security features included in the Enterprise plans are: 

  • Advanced Threat Analytics 
  • Windows Information Protections 
  • Microsoft Defender Antivirus.  

Google Workspace includes both phishing and spam protection as well as two-factor authentication, and endpoint management tools. Business Plus users will also be able to access the Vault services, allowing for the retention and archiving of search data.  

Microsoft vs. Google Workspace – Key Differences  

Although both suites have similar features and functions, there are some key differences to consider when making the choice for your business.  

One key difference is the availability of dedicated desktop applications for offline use that Microsoft provides. All Microsoft 365 applications like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel have licensing available for full desktop versions of the applications. Google Workspace does not offer any desktop applications, making offline work more difficult and less efficient overall.  

Microsoft 365 also offers a wider variety of different applications across the available tiers. Some of these applications include Publisher, Planner, and Project.  

Cloud storage is another area where Microsoft 365 outshines Google Workspace. Microsoft 365 offers a full 1TB of cloud storage while Google Workspace offers 5TB in their highest Enterprise plan.  

Finally, security is handled much better by Microsoft 365, as the multi-factor authentication tools offer a much safer environment. Google Workspace offers two-factor authentication but the use of third-party applications adds additional security risks that Microsoft 365 is not subject to.  

Microsoft 365 vs. Google Workspace – Which Is Right for My Business? 

Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are two of the leading solutions for workplace optimization and collaboration tools. While both are good choices, Microsoft 365 offers more features for more affordable prices, while also providing some of the most popular applications like Word and Excel for use team wide.  

Larger businesses will fare better with Microsoft 365 due to the more robust features included. Google Workspace may be enough for smaller businesses to get by with until they expand and need more features.