Google Workspace or Microsoft Office 365 – Which is Best for Workspace Productivity

Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 are the top businesses’ most commonly used suites. Business productivity tools offer a total package of cloud-based applications that enable effective business collaboration and communication.

They’re both reliable and have numerous benefits to businesses regardless of the size. This has made it difficult to choose which of the two suites is best for your business. This has led to business owners asking which suite is best for them.

In this article, we’ll compare Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. We’ll compare and analyze their prices, features, and plans. This will help you make a better choice when choosing the right productivity tool for your business.

What are the Functions of Google and Workspace Microsoft 365?

The two productivity tools function in diverse ways depending on your business needs. They allow you to perform your normal business activities using an internet browser. The functions of both suites include:

• Sending messages
• Overseeing schedules
• Making records, bookkeeping pages, and introductions
• video conferencing
• Recording the executives
• Group coordinated effort

Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365

Choosing either of the two tools may not be as easy as it seems. This is because they both have the functionalities they bring to the table. However, to help you streamline your choice, we’ve listed some basis for comparing the two productivity tools.

Ease of Use

Most individuals and business owners already know Google Workplace and Office 365. So it is very easy to use. However, your personal preferences may determine which productivity tool you wish to choose for your business.

Another determining factor could be the purpose you need the app for. For instance, Google Workspace has features that work behind the scenes seamlessly. Documents created in Google Docs are saved automatically on your Google Drive even when you haven’t named them yet.

Microsoft 365, on the other hand, is relatively easier to use, especially if you’re used to working with Microsoft products. The apps are seamlessly integrated to ensure you can easily switch from one app to another. This is very good if you rely on the Windows OS.

Pricing

Regarding pricing, Google Workspace gives at least four plans to choose from. These plans differ in price, features, and functionality.

• Business starter($6 per user per month)
• Business Standard($12 per user per month)
• Business Plus ($18 per user per month)
• Enterprise (Contact sales for pricing).

On the other hand, Microsoft 365 has three plans, which include:

• The Business Basic plan($5 per user per month)
• The Business Standard plan($12.50 per user per month)
• The Business Premium($20 per user per month)

It could be hard to compare the two services as the plans to choose would be based on the peculiarity of the tasks you might want to perform.

Security

The protection of data is of paramount importance. Both products are developed to provide adequate protection of data and information. They both rely on great encryption technologies to safeguard data transmission between client and server.

The Google Workspace security features enable one to get the best service while protecting important data. Additionally, Google Workspace offers safe communication, and you can be certain that your data is secured.

On the other hand, Microsoft Office 365 enables multi-factor authentication for users.

AI is used to decode suspicious activities by intruders or any form of cybercrime. There is also the inclusion of spam, malware, and virus detectors that assist in scanning emails and documents.

Email suites

The two productivity tools send and receive important information and files via email. Both platforms also allow business owners to have custom-branded email addresses.

Google Workspace has Gmail for Business, which allows you to use the same Gmail interface. For the most basic plan, Google Workspace gives 30 GB of storage per user. It also allows easy setup on your web domain with all the advantages of Gmail.

Microsoft’s Outlook lets you program, send, and receive email messages. You will also be able to manage and organize emails and schedule meetings. Interestingly, You can access Outlook on your mobile device and PC. This program also allows you to sort, group, or add email labels.

Communication

Microsoft Teams is initiated for business purposes. It includes over 250 apps that you can use effectively. With Microsoft Teams, you can host video calls for up to 300 participants at once.

However, Google gives Meet and Chat for both video calls and chat. Google Meet enables up to 250-participant video and voice conferencing.

Both Google Meet and Microsoft Teams have similar features, including sharing files, background customization, search functionality, recording meetings, in-transit encryption, etc.

Productivity Apps

Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are initiated to increase productivity, allowing working from anywhere. All the apps needed for a smooth workflow are available irrespective of the two tools you use.

You could use Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace for word processing, spreadsheet calculations, and presentations. It also has Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, while Google has Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.

While  Microsoft’s productivity tools have desktop and web versions, Google’s apps are only web-based.

Cloud storage

With many businesses shifting towards working remotely, there is a need to securely store and share data and files among team members. Both Microsoft and Google offer cloud storage facilities through central data storage.

Microsoft 365 provides OneDrive for business storage, where you can get up to 1 terabyte (TB) of cloud storage. This contrasts with the Google Drive cloud storage platform, where only up to 30GB is available per user on the free plan. However, the premium plan allows you to upgrade the cloud storage to 5TB.

Which is Best For Your Business

Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 come with many impressive features that business owners need to improve productivity and simplify workflow. While Google Workplace might be more suitable for small businesses or start-ups, Microsoft 365 is ideal for bigger organizations.

This is because Google Workspace has easy-to-use applications that can get a start-up running instantly. Microsoft 365 has more sophisticated features that bigger companies need to improve collaboration capabilities.

Ideally, what is required of you when choosing which solutions to use is the functionalities you aim to get. Google Workspace is a better choice for small businesses not looking for powerful functionalities and with the desire to save costs. While Microsoft 365 is ideal for big companies that need more robust capabilities to make the workflow smoother.

Conclusion

Choosing the right platform for a collaborative operation will go a long way toward ensuring increased business productivity. It is essential to have the ability to work remotely, communicate, and exchange files and information effectively.

Both Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 are great productivity tools that provide various functions. However, the size of your business and the exact functionalities you’re looking for will go a long way to determining which suites you’ll choose.

Another determining factor should be whether you already use Google or MS apps for your business operations. This is important for easy integration and continuity. Generally, Google Workspace is more suitable for small businesses, while Microsoft 365 is ideal for bigger companies.