The world of technology has never lacked for options when it comes to productivity suites, and the two names that most people associate with this field are Google Workspace and Microsoft Office 365. As IT Admins, CIOs, and CSOs, deciding which one is better suited for your organization may seem like a daunting task. To help you make a well-informed decision, we will compare 8 key pros and cons of Google Workspace and Microsoft Office 365.
Microsoft Office 365 Vs Google Workspace Comparison Chart
Here is a Microsoft Office 365 Vs Google Workspace comparison chart that maps out their pros and cons vis-à-vis eight business-critical parameters
| Parameter | Microsoft Office 365 | Google Workspace |
|---|---|---|
| Collaboration | Microsoft Office 365 advocates a more traditional approach to collaboration, with Office platform features such as co-authoring, track changes, and live presentations. | Google Workspace emphasizes real-time collaboration with in-app chat, commenting, and direct editing |
| Pricing Structure | The editions offered include: – $5 OneDrive for Business Plan 1: 1TB storage. No Microsoft 365 apps included. – $5/$6 Microsoft 365 Business Basic: 1TB storage. Includes mobile and web versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams. Desktop versions not included. – $15 Microsoft 365 Business Standard: 1TB storage. Only plan that includes Teams, Planner, and Yammer – essential for remote teams. Includes all versions of Microsoft 365 apps – web, mobile, and desktop. | Google Workspace pricing options available are: – $6 Business Starter edition with 30GB storage – $12 Business Standard edition with 2TB storage – $18 Business Plus edition with 5TB storage – Customized Pricing for the Enterprise Edition with Unlimited Storage |
| Storage | Microsoft 365 Business plans offer 1TB of OneDrive storage and 50GB of email storage | Google Workspace Business plans include 30GB of Gmail, 100GB of Drive storage, and 1 TB of storage per user for accounts that contain 5 or more users. |
| Productivity Tools | Microsoft 365 Business plans offer 1TB of OneDrive storage and 50GB of email storage | The Google ecosystem is vast with applications for your business and collaboration needs. More importantly, every Google Workspace edition includes apps such as Gmail, Calendar, Meet, Chat, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Keep, Currents, and Sites. |
| Customization | Microsoft Office 365 has a more fixed user interface with fewer customization options. | Extensive customization support, including custom domain names and themes, custom email templates, and new custom extensions. |
| Ease of Third-Party Integration | Microsoft business accounts cannot be synced with non-Microsoft apps. In particular, accessing Google Drive from a Microsoft account can be cumbersome and involves connecting Google Drive to the OneDrive account | Google has a vibrant ecosystem of third-party apps and services, ranging from media players and photo/video editors to accounting software. This allows users to access high-end tools that they may not be able to find elsewhere, and it’s just one of the many reasons why people choose Google. |
| Security | Microsoft 365 too offers advanced threat protection capabilities, including safe links and safe attachments. It includes features such as data loss prevention, eDiscovery, and legal hold capabilities. | Google Workspace utilizes advanced AI to automatically detect and repel threats such as phishing and spam. It also provides data loss prevention for Gmail and Drive, two-step verification, and security key enforcement. Google’s Vault for eDiscovery and archiving also ensures that you can manage and preserve your organization’s data for legal and compliance purposes. |
| Data Recovery | Microsoft 365 provides a 30-day file history and automatically empties the Recycle Bin when the storage limit is reached. Archival methods like e-Discovery and Litigation Hold do not provide simple, unlimited point-in-time recovery and may not be included in all plans. | Google provides a 30-day history of deleted files, with automatic clearing every 30 days. Google Vault, while archival, is not included in all Google Drive plans, and file recovery can be tedious, time-bound, and error-prone. |
Google Workspace Vs Microsoft 365: 8 Key Pros and Cons
#1 Collaboration
One of the core differences between Google Workspace and Microsoft Office 365 is their approach toward collaboration. While Google Workspace emphasizes real-time collaboration with in-app chat, commenting, and direct editing, Microsoft Office 365 advocates a more traditional approach to collaboration, with Office platform features such as co-authoring, track changes, and live presentations.
#2 Pricing
When it comes to pricing, both Google Workspace and Microsoft Office 365 offer unique plans to their customers. Google Workspace offers cheaper per-user costs, starting at just $6 per user per month, although some of the more premium capabilities come with an additional cost. Google also has the added bonus of including its star apps Gmail, Drive, Meet, Calendar, Docs, Sheets, and Slides in all plans.
Google Workspace Pricing Plans
In contrast, Microsoft Office 365 tends to be more expensive,with prices such as $12.50 per user per month, focusing more on features and capabilities as opposed to price.
#3 Storage
Google Workspace offers affordable plans, starting at a highly competitive price of just $6 per user per month. It includes 30GB of Gmail, 100GB of Drive storage, and 1 TB of storage per user for accounts that contain 5 or more users. This is plenty for most small to medium-sized businesses. However, at an enterprise level, Microsoft Office 365 provides a more advanced security management center and data retention capabilities, especially for organizations that are looking for extra data control and compliance.
#4 Productivity Tools
If you want to have access to the full Microsoft 365 suite, including desktop, web, and mobile versions of Outlook, Word, Excel, OneNote, Access, and Publisher, as well as OneDrive, Exchange, SharePoint, and Teams, then the Business Standard Plan is the only option for you. It’s the complete package that ensures you have all the tools you need to get the job done.
On the other hand, every Google Workspace edition includes apps such as Gmail, Calendar, Meet, Chat, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Keep, Currents, and Sites.
#5 Customization
Google Workspace offers its users a range of customization options, allowing organizations to tailor their experience to their unique needs. These options include custom domain names and themes, custom email templates, and new custom extensions. In stark contrast, Microsoft Office 365 has a more fixed user interface with fewer customization options.
#6 Ease of Third-Party Integration
Microsoft business accounts cannot be synced with non-Microsoft apps. In particular, accessing Google Drive from a Microsoft account can be cumbersome and involves connecting Google Drive to the OneDrive account.
Google has a vibrant ecosystem of third-party apps and services, ranging from media players and photo/video editors to accounting software. This allows users to access high-end tools that they may not be able to find elsewhere, and it’s just one of the many reasons why people choose Google.
#7 Data Security
When it comes to security features, both Google Workspace and Microsoft Office 365 offer robust protections designed to safeguard business data.
Google Workspace utilizes advanced AI to automatically detect and repel threats such as phishing and spam. It also provides data loss prevention for Gmail and Drive, two-step verification, and security key enforcement. Google’s Vault for eDiscovery and archiving also ensures that you can manage and preserve your organization’s data for legal and compliance purposes.
Microsoft 365 too offers advanced threat protection capabilities, including safe links and safe attachments. It includes features such as data loss prevention, eDiscovery, and legal hold capabilities. Microsoft 365 also enforces multi-factor authentication and includes mobile device management, which can protect data on lost or stolen devices.
#8 Data Recovery
Microsoft 365 provides a 30-day file history and automatically empties the Recycle Bin when the storage limit is reached. Archival methods like e-Discovery and Litigation Hold do not provide simple, unlimited point-in-time recovery and may not be included in all plans.
Google provides a 30-day history of deleted files, with automatic clearing every 30 days. Google Vault, while archival, is not included in all Google Drive plans, and file recovery can be tedious, time-bound, and error-prone.
Both Microsoft 365 and Google offer no built-in app for point-in-time data backup and recovery.
Choose Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, But Secure Them Both With CloudAlly
Google Workspace and Microsoft Office 365 stand as the two best productivity solutions available in the market for SMBs and Enterprises alike. Based on your organization’s unique needs, one would be better suited to your organization compared to the other. The fact of the matter is that each platform serves a different audience, so making a clear cut decision can be challenging. We hope the detailed Google Workspace Vs Microsoft 365 comparison across security, pricing, customization, collaboration, and productivity tools, helped you weigh the pros and cons out to decide which side your organization falls under.
However, note that both Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 as per the Shared Responsibility Model, puts the onus of protection of data at your end firmly and squarely on you. While both Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 are stringently secure, they cannot protect you from the prevalent causes of data loss such as accidental deletion, malicious corruption, sync errors, ransomware, and malware. A recent study by ESG found that 81% of the companies surveyed lost Microsoft Office 365 data and only 15% were able to recover it without the use of a third-party backup service.
Secure your cloud storage with a disaster recovery plan and a reliable third-party backup solution. CloudAlly is the only secure backup and recovery solution that provides end-to-end AWS backup of all data from all SaaS platforms – Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox, Box, and Salesforce. Seamlessly and easily recover Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace data with a few clicks from any point-in-time with unlimited retention. No matter what your choice – Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 – ensure that you never face either Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 data loss again with CloudAlly.
