Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365: Which Office Suite Is Best in 2024? (2024)

When it comes to choosing the best email hosting and productivity suite for your business, Google Workspace and Office 365 by Microsoft will likely come out as two of your top options. It’s not surprising: Both tech giants dominate the productivity space, are very helpful and fairly easy to use, and have dozens of useful features that make working with teams and running a business much easier.

Personally, I use Google Workspace the most. (Full disclosure: I am typing this article in a Google Document.) But when I was new to office productivity suites, I made my first presentations with Microsoft’s PowerPoint. There’s no question that Microsoft has also been a leader in the game. It can be a tough call: When it comes to ease of use, I’d personally opt for Google, but others more familiar with Microsoft might be better off with Office 365.

Meanwhile, if you want more storage for less, Microsoft is the clear winner. One of the best parts of working with Microsoft 365 was using its in-house video editing tool and bookings app, which Google’s suite just doesn’t have. Still, Google Workspace is much simpler and easier to use—even outside of work—because of its sleek, no-fuss interface, along with the fact that most everyone has a Google account.

Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace—it might be one of the most important decisions you make for your small business. And it all comes down to four factors: their features, usability, price, and, of course, your personal compatibility with each. We’ve tested both to help you better decide. Keep reading for an in-depth comparison of Google Workspace vs Office 365, the pros and cons of each, and which is the best option for your business.

Google Workspace vs Office 365 at a Glance

Why Should I Use Google Workspace?

Most people who work with a computer have probably used Google Workspace at least once in their life. Today, it’s the most-used business email and productivity suite by professionals and students alike. Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Meet—they’re some of the most mentioned apps in any business, with good reason: Google Workspace has long been renowned for its easy-to-use platform and handy productivity tools that start completely free.

Here are just a few reasons you should choose Google Workspace:

• Easier apps: Even total beginners can master Google Docs, Sheets, Meet, and Calendar in a day or two. Google has some of the easiest tools around that let you build whatever you need in a few clicks, whether it’s meeting notes or a big company presentation. It also continually updates these tools to be even more seamless to use.
• Low-cost starting plan: Google is accessible to any small business thanks to its affordable starting plan. At $6 monthly, you can get all Google Workspace’s functionality, a custom email address, and 30GB of storage.
• Better collaboration: No service does team collaboration like Google. Work with teammates on documents in real time, easily tag team members for visibility, share files folders, and book meetings—they’re all simple with Google.
• No-code app builder: if you need even more functions in your workspace, such as marketing and sales automations, Google has a no-code app builder called AppSheet that lets you build custom apps for precisely what you need, all without code.

Why Should I Use Microsoft 365?

Microsoft 365’s been around since the ’90s, when it was still known as “Microsoft Office,” so it’s a pioneer of sorts in the email and productivity space. We have Microsoft to thank for Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and all the other Microsoft productivity tools we’re familiar with. And it’s still a powerhouse today, with apps and tools to rival Google’s—and then some.

Here are the main reasons to choose Microsoft 365:

• Massive storage on the base plan: Microsoft 365 offers 1TB of storage for each employee in its base plan—compared to Google’s 30GB. So there’s no question that for high storage limits at a low price, Microsoft 365 is the better choice.
• More apps: When it comes to productivity apps, Microsoft 365’s suite won’t let you down. You’ll get the basics like Word and Excel, but also a bookings app (say for meetings with clients), a web planner for organization, and even a collaboration space and video editing tool on higher plans.
• Offline apps: Not only does Microsoft have more apps, but they’re also available to use offline—you don’t have to connect to the internet to use them (except for web conferencing), unlike with Google’s tools. This means you can work on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations offline.
• Value-packed plans: Microsoft is also affordable like Google Workspace, and its plans also start at $6 monthly. However, what gives it the slight edge is how value-packed its base plan is: it has 1TB storage, team management, and bookings, along with its signature tools and a custom email address.

What’s a Good Alternative to Google Workspace vs Outlook 365?

While most of the productivity tools debate centers on Google Workspace vs Office 365, they aren’t the only two options available—although they certainly have the upper hand for overall communication, collaboration, and productivity tools. However, there is one that comes close: Zoho Mail, in its Workspace plans.

Zoho Mail Workplace plans cost $3 to $6 per user, per month, and they include apps for documents, spreadsheets, presentations, email, calendars, chat, and video conferencing. Notably, Zoho Mail also offers higher attachment limits than either Google or Microsoft (up to 500MB, compared to Google and Microsoft, both of which only allow 25MB).

It also has Zoho Cliq, which is a Slack-like app for team collaboration from anywhere. Check to see who’s away, working, or in a meeting, launch an instant meeting, whiteboard ideas, share screens, and more.

Visit Zoho Mail

Still undecided? Read on below for more in-depth comparisons on Google Workspace vs Office 365 based on affordability, features, ease of use, collaboration, security, and more:

Google Workspace vs Office 365 Affordability: Tie

*Cost per user, monthly

Ultimately, which is most affordable for you depends on the features you want most. Google Workspace plans start at $6 per user, per month, as do those of Microsoft 365. However, the two base plans are not totally comparable, and after the base tier, Google’s plans are cheaper.

Microsoft 365 includes more storage (1TB) in the lowest plan tier compared to Google Workspace (30GB) and higher video conferencing limits (300 participants vs 100 with the Google Office suite). However, the webinar features cost less with Google, and with the highest plan tier, you can host up to 500 participants compared to 300 with Microsoft, and even 1,000 on the enterprise plan.

Both providers have mobile and web-based productivity apps, but Workspace users can access all the features in the base tier. Microsoft 365 users need to upgrade to get desktop apps with all available features—though admittedly, these include advanced features that aren’t available with Google Workspace.

In all but the base plan, Workspace offers slightly lower prices for comparable plans and apps and with twice the storage. Also, Google Workspace has month-to-month plans, whereas Microsoft’s Office Suite subscriptions are billed monthly but require an annual commitment.

Winner: Tie. Both of these productivity powerhouses offer very similar apps and tools at nearly identical prices, though Google’s plans are less expensive as you upgrade. This makes it an excellent choice for small businesses that want to scale up. At the end of the day, assessing your budget and the features you want in your plan will help decide which provider is best for you.

Office 365 vs Google Workspace Features: Microsoft

Both these software titans offer similar features, including cloud storage, business email, and mobile apps. Because of this, the best workspace provider will depend on your specific business needs—if you need appointment booking, Microsoft has the tools, while for super-easy collaboration, Google is the way to go.

On the whole, Microsoft 365 has more features and functions than Google Workspace. Google’s tools are limited to the basics, i.e., documents, spreadsheets, video calls, presentations, and storage, while Microsoft has all these plus planner tools, admin controls, a collaborative workspace, and video editing. We also like that Microsoft lets you work offline with its desktop apps.

However: while Microsoft has more apps, it has overall less storage on all plans but the base tier. On Microsoft, all plans come with 1TB storage, while with Google, you can get up to 5TB on higher plans. Google also has higher video call participants: up to 500 (or 1,000 on Enterprise plans), compared to Microsoft’s 300.

Find out more below:

Winner: Microsoft. If you only want straightforward plans with the basic productivity essentials, choose Google Workspace. However, if you want more features out of each plan, Microsoft 365 is the better choice.

Visit Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace Ease of Use: Google

Both Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 have the benefit of feeling familiar to most users. Google Workspace comes with Gmail’s familiar look and feel, while Microsoft 365 builds on the Microsoft software many business users have known for years.

If you’ve never used either, Google Workspace is less intimidating and more intuitive. This is because, for the most part, its features aren’t as advanced as those of Microsoft’s software. However, its features are more than enough for many small businesses.

Winner: Google Workspace. Ease of use always ultimately boils down to familiarity. If you and your team are more familiar with the user interface of one of these solutions over the other, that would probably be your best investment. However, if both are unfamiliar, Google Workspace is much easier to adapt to.

Visit Google Workspace

Gmail for Business vs Office 365 Business Email: Google

Gmail and Outlook are the two top business email providers available today. Both make it easy to set up email on your domain and integrate seamlessly with other office productivity apps so you can communicate, collaborate, and share documents from any software application.

Microsoft 365 and Outlook have plenty of advanced features that larger businesses can take advantage of. However, Google Workspace and Gmail still have the edge with more features, including an abundant third-party app library, helpful email management features, and generally a more familiar and intuitive feel for business email use.

Winner: Google Workspace. Gmail is the clear winner when it comes to business email for most small businesses. It offers more storage as your needs scale, and has hundreds of ready-made integrations and unique features (like automatic language translation and send/receive money by email) that make it ideal for businesses of all sizes.

Try Google Workspace

Google Workspace vs Office 365 Productivity Suite: Microsoft

At the core of the Office 365 vs Google Workspace debate is each platform’s productivity suite: Both Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 have apps for creating documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Both offer browser-based versions, as well as iOS and Android apps. Both also allow offline work, although Google allows real-time syncing, compared to Microsoft, which requires you to upload manually.

Microsoft 365 users have to upgrade to a higher plan to get desktop versions of apps and the advanced features that come with them. However, Microsoft also has more productivity apps than Google overall, including Planner, Publisher, Loop, and ClipChamp, and its apps allow more graphics editing, so you can get more things done in one platform. However, all these tools also mean that it’s a more cluttered platform than Google’s interface.

Winner: Microsoft 365. Microsoft 365 has the edge over Google Workspace in the productivity department simply due to the functionality that’s available to users across all plans. All these extra functions allow you to get more done from one platform.

Try Microsoft 365

Microsoft Office vs Google Workspace Video Conferencing: Microsoft

*In Enterprise plan

Both Google Meet and Microsoft Teams’ video conferencing tools generally cover similar features and functionality that any team may need. This includes meeting recording, screen sharing, reactions, in-app chatting, and app integrations. It’s a close call, but Microsoft 365’s more advanced capabilities in terms of attendee or meeting limits tip the balance in its favor.

It’s also important to address a key difference between Meet and Teams. Google Meet is a standalone video conferencing tool for Google Workspace. On the other hand, Microsoft Teams is an all-in-one video conferencing and collaboration solution, meaning its features also include webinar hosting tools, public and private chat, and document storage—however, in this comparison, we’ll only be evaluating its video conferencing.

Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 Collaboration: Google

Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 are both built around team collaboration and include tools for video conferencing, team live chat, and easy document sharing. However, Workspace wins as it has a simpler interface specifically geared toward real-time collaboration. For example, users can collaborate in real time with both providers, but for Microsoft users, this is only possible with cloud-based documents.

All Workspace documents are cloud-based, so collaborating and syncing is simpler, with less room for error or lost changes. Google also makes viewing and reverting to other versions easy, and there are more options for collaborating (view, comment, suggest, and edit) vs Microsoft (view or full editing power only).

Winner: Google Workspace. Companies that work closely together on in-house projects will find Google Workspace the best option to get the job done, hands down, compared to Microsoft. Designed for online coordination, Google Workspace apps are ingrained with features that emphasize real-time collaboration, such as built-in chats and email-to-document revisions.

Visit Google Workspace

Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 Security: Microsoft

Both Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 address security concerns but have different strengths. Each platform has its threat detection mechanisms, user data protection, and privacy features. However, as a primarily online platform, Google Workspace focuses on securing its cloud infrastructure, while Microsoft 365 uses a broader security framework with data encryption and industry compliance.

User privacy and data protection are some of the key elements of Google Workspace’s security framework through its Advanced Protection Program and two-factor authentication. Google also offers granular access controls, allowing organizations to define precise permissions for their users.

Meanwhile, Microsoft implements data encryption, multi-factor authentication protocols, and compliance features, making it suitable for organizations with precise security requirements. The platform’s data loss prevention and security analytics are available in higher-priced plans. This range of advanced security features makes it an excellent choice for larger businesses or businesses in stricter industries.

Winner: Microsoft. Both Microsoft and Google have advanced security features, for different purposes. Google focuses on maintaining cloud privacy, while Microsoft offers enterprise-level security and compliance. However, we give the slight edge to Microsoft, precisely because of these features—it even has cyberattack protections like anti-phishing safeguards, so it’s the better choice if you plan on expanding.

Try Microsoft 365

Google Workspace vs Office 365 Customer Service: Tie

Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 offer 24/7 phone and web support to business plan subscribers. Both also offer 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 excellent.

Google Workspace administrators have 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 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.

Winner: Tie. 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 offer self-help documentation so users can troubleshoot issues themselves. In the customer service arena, the winner is a draw.

Customer Reviews of Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace

Apart from objective factors like pricing and features, customer reviews play a crucial role in deciding the best office workspace for your business. User reviews shed some light on real-life experience with the workspace, allowing you to get the full picture of the product. This includes pros, cons, and specific observations. Below are customer reviews for both services:

Google Workspace

4.6 out of 5 from 40,300-plus reviews

The most commonly mentioned reason 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 can work anywhere and still have access to all of their files. However, some customers find Google’s tools too simple and unfit for more advanced functions, like sharing inboxes or migrating emails between team members.

Microsoft 365

4.6 out of 5 from 5,000-plus reviews

Microsoft 365 customers say that because the software is so familiar to many, creating, sharing, and opening documents across different sources is easy. They also like the advanced features found in the apps, like real-time editing suggestions. However, some users also find the interface difficult to navigate and the software overall expensive.

Takeaway: Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 each have loyal fans and followings, and both have generally positive reviews. Google Workspace is praised for being beginner-friendly and fast, while users like Microsoft 365 for its familiarity and plenty of features.

How We Evaluated Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace

When it comes to evaluating Google Workspace vs Office 365 (formerly Google Suite vs Microsoft Office), both are full-featured office productivity suites with the tools your small business needs. However, upon closer inspection, there are a few small but important details that set each apart, like platform intuitiveness and specific advanced features. So, to help you decide better, we evaluated each against a set criteria.

Here are the criteria we used to compare Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace:

• Cost (and value for the money)
• Ease of use
• Browser-based functionality
• Productivity suite features
• Chat and video conferencing capabilities
• Collaboration tools
• Controls and security
• Customer support and reviews
• Extensive firsthand experience using both software suites in real-world workplace settings

Ultimately, there is no conclusive answer to whether Google vs Microsoft is the better option for your business, because it’s such a neck-and-neck race. Even if tallying the scores from each criterion above grants Microsoft 365 the upper hand, there are still plenty of places it falls short in favor of Google Workspace, such as its ease of use and storage, both of which are consequential to any small business.

Here are our conclusions: If cost and affordability are major factors in your decision, Google Workspace is the better choice, as its plans offer more value as you scale up. We also recommend Google Workspace if you’re a first-timer to using productivity suites—its interface is miles easier to navigate than Microsoft’s.

Meanwhile, if you already have some experience with productivity suites and want more features beyond the basics, such as video editing and team management, opt for Microsoft 365 instead. Microsoft’s comprehensive apps and productivity suite is its biggest advantage over Google, along with its enterprise-level security, so it’s also a good option for bigger teams.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The main difference between Google Workspace and Office 365 is that Google Workspace has a more intuitive, user-friendly interface and easier collaboration than Microsoft. Google’s plans also have higher storage and higher video conference attendance limits. Meanwhile, Office 365 (aka Microsoft 365) has more features than Google, such as ClipChamp and Planner, and its security is more advanced and more befitting for larger teams.

Some reasons to transfer from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 are to get more functions beyond the office basics, such as a collaborative workspace (Loop), an online video editor (ClipChamp), or even a project planner (Planner). Microsoft also has higher-grade security than Google, so it’s worth upgrading if your team is expanding. It’s also worth choosing Microsoft if you want the ability to work offline, as it has offline desktop apps, which Google doesn’t.

The Google equivalent of Office 365 is Google Workspace, which includes Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Gmail, along with other productivity apps. Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 are similar in that they both have office productivity apps, video conferencing, cloud storage, and custom email domains, at similar pricing. However, their points of difference are in their storage limits, advanced functionalities, security levels, and user interface.

Bottom Line

Choosing between Google Workspace vs Office 365 comes down to the features and capabilities most important for your business. For the easiest document collaboration and the ability to create and access all of your documents wherever you work, Google Workspace is best. If your business requires advanced productivity features and security, then Microsoft 365’s office capabilities are better suited to your needs.