Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 are the two leading business productivity suites that offer reliable cloud-based services and high-technology tools to institute an interconnected working system. Both platforms perpetuate similar services with little differences, including online cloud storage, a synced and shared space for collaboration, various business apps, multiple communication tools, and business emails with custom domains.
Both the brands flaunt an extensive user-base and solid reputation; hence picking one for managing your team could become quite confusing. It is an excellent option to get help from educational platforms like Webacademyst, which offers comprehensive online courses related to Google Workspace for making a well-informed decision.
Here, we have compared the software from multiple aspects to help you get a clearer picture.
Pricing
Google Workspace pricing is relatively simple with four straightforward plans, ranging from $6/user/month to $18/user/month, with the highest tier, Enterprise Plan, listed with a “contact sales for pricing” notice. In contrast, Microsoft 365 offers an assortment of diversified plans geared at different institutions, making the selection process relatively complex. For instance, Microsoft enacts four Business plans, three Microsoft 365 Enterprise plans, and several Office 365 plans, ranging from $6 to $57 per user per month.
Cloud storage
Microsoft 365 offers an impressive 1TB storage at the most basic levels compared to Google’s 30GB space that includes Emails, Docs, Slides, and Drawings. However, above the entry-level plans, Google Workspace shines by providing more storage space (2TB to 5TB) relative to Microsoft 365 Business plans, which are all capped at 1TB.
Dynamic applications
Both Microsoft and Google offer a wide array of productive applications with similar functionalities, like MS Word and Google Doc for word processing, MS Powerpoint and Google Slides for presentations, and Outlook and Gmail for emails. You can gain assistance from educational services like Webacademyst, which offers a detailed Google Workspace online course to understand these platforms better.
Applications compatibility
Essentially, Microsoft 365 shines with its “desktop applications” aside from its cloud-based and mobile applications. These desktop apps are pretty helpful for locally editing or sending the files, allowing the participants to work more efficiently. On the other hand, Google Workspace offers only web-based and mobile applications. While Google Workspace permits the drafting and modifying of Office files, the retention of the original format is very troubling when saved by Google.
Video calls
Google Meet and Microsoft Teams are the video conferencing applications of Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, respectively. At Google Meet, the maximum number of participants ranges from 100 to 500 according to the selected plan. On the flip side, Teams allow up to 1000 participants and 20,000 attendees in some “Enterprise” plans.
Google Workspace vs. Microsoft 365 – Which one is better?
Both Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 are distinguished business suites that can enhance your team’s collaboration and results. But the answer to which one of the two is better depends on your personal working preferences. Many questions can play a part in this decision, such as:
- What is your optimal storage requirement in relevance to your business structure?
- Does your work team prefer local applications or web-based services?
- Does your organization deal more regularly with editing complex MS Office files or simple Google Docs?
- What is your budget vs. services ratio?
Since Microsoft 365 is heavier on the “features” side, it could be more suitable for large organizations and established businesses, though it might not be best for remotely working firms. In contrast, Google Workspace may be more appropriate for small businesses due to its “cost-efficient” and “simpler” ecosystem that makes the real-time association between the members much smoother.
