If you take a short look back through history, Microsoft Office was king of the commercial technology market. It all seemed very promising until Google turned up with its Docs and Sheets, making it an excellent choice for most businesses. Fast forward to today, where both platforms have significantly upped their ante through enhanced software and practicality. However, this makes the choice between Google Workspace (previously G Suite) and Office 365 a tricky one to make. 

Whichever option you choose will be the one that best suits your professional needs, maximises productivity and which sets you up for a win in the managing of your team. Both platforms offer outstanding cloud-based tools and offline apps. But they may be less effective in other ways important to your business, and so it’s important to first identify what it is you need. 

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 get started!

Features – What you get with Google Workspace vs Office 365

Google Workspace and Office 365 come with 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 take a closer look at each of these software powerhouses.

Google Workspace 

Google Workspace provides cloud storage ranging from 30 GB to an infinite amount of space, as well as robust file sharing options. You can choose between collaborating on documents in real-time or making your projects available offline.

It also comes with all the popular Google apps you might be using already, such as:

• Gmail
• Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides
• Google Calendar

You’ll also have access to Google Sites, which uses drag-and-drop features and an intuitive UI to make developing team webpages simple.

With Chat and Google Meet for texting and video conferencing, Google Workspace makes team communication seamless. You’ll also have strong security settings, ensuring that your mission-critical tasks are protected across all apps.

Google Workspace is ideal for remote teams because of its cloud-based design, which makes online collaboration a walk in the park. Members can work on multiple files at the same time, leave comments, and offer suggestions. Calendar and Keep also make it super easy to develop and share tasks and timelines. 

Office 365

All Office 365 subscriptions have 1 TB of storage, but none of them include an unlimited option. Each user also receives an extra 50 GB for their mailbox.  

OneDrive makes it simple to organize and share your files. The web-based Office 365 programs, on the other hand, are not as powerful as their desktop versions. On the other hand, all of its offline solutions, are extremely compatible with Windows, making them simple to incorporate if your firm uses Windows.

You’ll get access to popular feature-rich 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 quickly switch from chat to video conference. You can also exchange files, edit them in real-time, and provide recommendations and comments.

Last but not least, Office 365 has sophisticated security capabilities. The Business Premium package includes advanced threat and malware protection, as well as access control, Windows Defender, and other features.

Ease of use

Most individuals are familiar with Google Workspace and Office 365, making them simple to utilize. The decision between the two will be based on your particular tastes and workflow.

If you’re used to working with Microsoft or prefer to utilize desktop tools, Office 365 may be the superior purchase. Its programs work together flawlessly, which is especially important if you’re using Windows. For newcomers, though, their feature-rich nature may take some getting accustomed to.

The Google Workspace interface, on the other hand, is exceedingly straightforward and simple to use, even for inexperienced users. Auto-save is one of the platform’s helpful behind-the-scenes features, which makes it beginner-friendly. It’s also built for cloud-based collaboration, so it’ll be a lot easier to use if your team members operate from different locations.

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 link it with an easy-to-use setup process.

Gmail for Business is included with Google Workspace, so you’ll be using the same Gmail interface 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 also come with a full calendar and scheduling system.

Pricing

The Business Starter package for Google Workspace costs $6 per user per month and includes 30 GB of storage. Unlimited storage, or 2 TB per user, is available on more priced subscriptions. The higher levels begin at $12 per user per month.

With a year-long commitment, Microsoft 365 Business Basic costs $5 per user each month. This package, on the other hand, only includes web-based Office programs with restricted capabilities. It also doesn’t allow you to send and receive business emails.

The Corporate Standard plan, which costs $12.50 per user per month, adds capability for business email and the desktop versions of the Office programs. There’s also a $20/user/month Premium edition that includes cyber threat protection and device management.

Google Workspace vs Office 365: Which one is better for your business?

Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 are both outstanding business suites that will increase the efficiency of your company. You may work remotely and locally, collaborate with others, and store and manage your files with them.

They may, however, not be appropriate for all sorts of enterprises. Large businesses, in particular, may benefit from Office 365 because of its superior security and feature-rich choices tailored to larger businesses. However, if your activities are entirely remote, this may not be the best option.

Google Workspace provides a variety of apps with powerful capabilities that enable real-time file sharing simple. Small organizations, in particular, will benefit from it because it is simple to set up and maintain user accounts (as well as a bit more affordable).

Popular applications like Gmail and Google Docs are undoubtedly already recognizable to your team, which is helpful for onboarding new employees. Unfortunately, there aren’t many desktop apps available for Google Workspace. Even so, if your personnel are location-independent, this shouldn’t be a problem.

Conclusion

Choosing the proper collaboration platform might help your team work more efficiently. Working remotely, exchanging data, and communicating via chat and video conferencing applications is essential these days. These features are available in both Google Workspace and Office 365, although there are some important distinctions.

In our opinion, Google Workspace is the clear victor for businesses that want to operate effectively and efficiently. The layout is sleek and straightforward, the user experience is familiar – especially to your Millennial and Gen Z employees – and the team collaboration and productivity integration choices are second to none. Google Workspace tools are the cool kid of the digital workplace: they’re straightforward, easy to use, and don’t waste any energy. It also doesn’t waste your money by giving you a million super-complicated features you’ll never use. 

If you’d like to sink your teeth into this feature-rich platform, contact us today and we’ll help get you started.