Microsoft Office was the unchallenged leader of the business technology market for a long time. It all seemed promising until Google released Docs and Sheets, which transformed it into a viable alternative for most organizations. Looking at them both today, these powerhouses’ software and functionality have substantially improved. This, however, makes the choice between Google Workspace (previously G Suite) and Office 365 that much more difficult.
Whichever option you select, it will be the one that best suits your professional needs, increases productivity, and positions you to be a successful team leader. Both systems come with great cloud-based tools and offline apps. However, they may be ineffective in other areas that are key to your business, so it’s crucial to figure out exactly what you need first.
We’ll compare Google Workspace and Office 365 in this post to help you determine which is best for your company or personal needs. Let’s dive right in!
Features – What you get with Google Workspace vs Office 365
Google Workspace and Office 365 offer similar features, such as:
- Cloud storage and file-sharing options
- A number of business apps
- Collaboration tools such as chat or audio and video calls
- Business email, which you can set up with your custom domain
Let’s look at these two software giants in more detail.
Google Workspace
Google Workspace provides cloud storage with sizes ranging from 30 GB to an endless amount of space, as well as robust file-sharing features. You may work on documents in real-time or make your projects available for working on offline.
It also comes with all the popular Google apps you might already be familiar with, such as:
- Gmail
- Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides
- Google Calendar
You’ll also get access to Google Sites, which uses drag-and-drop capabilities and an easy user interface to make developing team webpages straightforward.
With Chat and Google Meet for texting and video conferencing, Google Workspace makes team communication simple. In addition, you’ll have strong security settings across all apps, ensuring that your business-critical operations are protected.
Google Workspace is ideal for remote teams because of its cloud-based architecture, which makes online collaboration a breeze. Members can work on many files at the same time, comment on them, and offer suggestions. Tasks and timelines are equally simple to create and share using Calendar and Keep.
Office 365
Despite the fact that all Office 365 subscriptions provide 1 TB of storage, none of them have limitless storage. In addition, each user will get an extra 50 GB of inbox space.
OneDrive makes it simple to organize and share files. Office 365’s web-based versions, on the other hand, aren’t as powerful as their desktop equivalents. All of its offline solutions, on the other hand, are optimized for Windows, making them simple to apply if your firm uses the operating system.
You’ll get access to popular robust apps such as:
- Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint
- Outlook
- OneNote
- Publisher and Access (PC only)
Microsoft Teams, a collaboration tool included in Office 365, allows users to go from chat to video conference in seconds. You may also exchange files, make real-time changes to them, and provide feedback and ideas.
Last but not least, Office 365 has advanced security features. Advanced threat and malware prevention, as well as access control, Windows Defender, and other capabilities are included in the Business Premium package.
Ease of use
Google Workspace and Office 365 are simple to use because most people are familiar with them. Your personal tastes and workflow will influence which option you choose.
Office 365 may be the preferable alternative if you’re used to dealing with Microsoft products or prefer to use desktop tools. Its products are exceptionally well integrated, which is especially important if you’re working with Windows. For newcomers, though, their feature-rich nature may take some getting accustomed to.
The Google Workspace interface, on the other hand, is exceedingly simple and straightforward to use, especially for newcomers. Auto-save is a handy behind-the-scenes function that makes the platform beginner-friendly. It’s also built for cloud-based collaboration, which makes it a lot easier to use if your team is dispersed across multiple time zones.
Personalization
You may build custom-branded email addresses for your company on both platforms. To get started, you’ll need to buy a domain (or utilize one you already have) and connect it to a basic setup method.
Gmail for Business is included with Google Workspace, so you’ll have the same Gmail experience you’re used to (but without any ads). Office 365 for Business, on the other hand, includes Outlook, a well-known desktop client. Both applications come with a full calendar and scheduling system.
Pricing
The Business Starter membership from Google Workspace costs $6 per person per month and includes 30 GB of storage. You can obtain unlimited storage or 2 TB per user with higher-priced subscriptions. The higher tiers begin at $12 per user each month.
If you sign up for a year, Microsoft 365 Business Basic costs $5 per user each month. This package, on the other hand, only includes web-based Office applications with restricted functionality. It also makes it impossible to send and receive corporate emails.
Corporate email and desktop versions of Microsoft Office are included in the Corporate Standard plan, which costs $12.50 per user per month. There’s also a $20/user/month Premium edition with cyber threat protection and device management.
Google Workspace vs Office 365: Which one is better for your business?
Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 are two outstanding business suites that will increase the effectiveness of your firm. You can engage with them both online and locally, as well as preserve and manage your data.
They may, however, not be appropriate for all sorts of enterprises. Office 365 may be advantageous to large firms in particular because to its better security and feature-rich alternatives geared to larger corporations. If your operations are completely remote, this may not be the best option.
Google Workspace has a number of apps with powerful capabilities that make file sharing in real-time a breeze. It will benefit small businesses in particular because user accounts are simple to create and maintain (as well as a bit more affordable).
Generally, you should already be familiar with popular programs like Gmail and Google Docs, which makes onboarding new employees easier. Unfortunately, there aren’t many desktop apps available in Google Workspace. Even so, if your employees are location agnostic, this shouldn’t be an issue.
Conclusion
If you choose the correct collaboration platform, your team may be able to work more efficiently. Working remotely, sharing data, and communicating via chat and video conferencing tools are all necessities these days. These features are available in both Google Workspace and Office 365, albeit there are some important distinctions.
Google Workspace, in our opinion, is the clear victor for organizations that want to operate smoothly and efficiently. The design is straightforward, the user experience is familiar – particularly to your Millennial and Gen Z employees – and the opportunities for team collaboration and productivity integration are unequalled. Google Workspace is the cool kid of the digital office, with features that are straightforward, easy to use and don’t waste any energy. It also doesn’t squander your money by cramming in a bunch of complicated features you’ll never use.
If you’re ready to dive into this feature-rich platform, get in touch with us and we’ll get you started.
