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Productivity · head to head

Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365

Google Workspace logo

Google Workspace

Productivity

Everything you need to get work done, all in one place

From
€6.8/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Microsoft 365 logo

Microsoft 365

Productivity

Subscription bundle of the Office applications with mail, storage, meetings and organisational identity

From
$7/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Google Workspace starter tier storage limited to 30 GB per user, requiring upgrade to Standard or higher for adequate document storage; Microsoft 365 business plans are capped at 300 seats, so an organisation that grows past that must move to Enterprise plans, which changes both the price per user and the feature mix at the moment it can least afford a migration project.
  • They diverge on capability: Google Workspace covers Gmail business email, Microsoft 365 covers Office applications.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 actually diverge.

Attributes where Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 differ
AttributeGoogle WorkspaceMicrosoft 365
Starting price€6.8/month$7/month
Founded2006Unknown

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Productivity).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Google Workspace

  • Gmail business email
  • Google Drive storage
  • Google Docs, Sheets, Slides
  • Google Calendar
  • Google Meet video conferencing
  • Google Chat
  • Google Forms
  • Google Sites

Only in Microsoft 365

  • Office applications
  • Hosted services
  • Teams
  • Microsoft Entra ID
  • OneDrive storage
  • Device management and endpoint protection
  • Purview compliance
  • Copilot

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Google Workspace

  • Business email and communicationnot Microsoft 365
  • Cloud document collaborationnot Microsoft 365
  • Team productivity and file sharingnot Microsoft 365
  • Enterprise application suitenot Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365

  • Any organisation that wants mail, documents, meetings and identity from one supplier on one bill.not Google Workspace
  • A company standardising on single sign-on, where Entra ID becomes the account other services authenticate against.not Google Workspace
  • Regulated work that needs retention, legal hold and eDiscovery across mail and documents, provided the tier that includes them is actually bought.not Google Workspace
  • A household that needs installed Office applications on several machines rather than browser-only editing.not Google Workspace

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Google Workspace

  • Starter tier storage limited to 30 GB per user, requiring upgrade to Standard or higher for adequate document storage
  • Starter and Standard tiers both capped at maximum 300 users per organisation
  • Video meetings limited to 100 participants on Starter tier, 150 on Standard tier
  • Recording capabilities only available on Standard tier and above
  • eDiscovery, Vault, and advanced security features only available on Plus and Enterprise tiers

Microsoft 365

  • Business plans are capped at 300 seats, so an organisation that grows past that must move to Enterprise plans, which changes both the price per user and the feature mix at the moment it can least afford a migration project.
  • The compliance capabilities most organisations eventually need, including retention, data loss prevention, advanced eDiscovery and insider risk, sit at the top tier or in add-ons, so the real cost surfaces after an audit or a customer questionnaire rather than at purchase.
  • Annual term subscriptions commit you for the year and month-to-month terms cost measurably more per seat, so the flexibility to reduce seats during a quiet period is bought at a permanently higher rate.
  • Entra ID becomes the identity for everything else the organisation uses, which is the hardest kind of lock-in to put a number on, because leaving means re-federating every connected application rather than simply replacing a word processor.
  • The licensing model is complicated enough that most organisations are either over-licensed or quietly non-compliant, and reconciling it usually requires a partner or a specialist, which is a recurring cost that never appears in the advertised per-user figure.

Pricing, plan by plan

Google Workspace

€6.8/month
  • Starter$6.8/month
    • 30 GB storage
    • Custom business email
    • Basic Gemini AI features
  • Standard$13.6/month
    • 2 TB storage
    • Enhanced email features
    • Gemini AI across multiple apps
  • Plus$21.1/month
    • 5 TB storage
    • Advanced security features
    • Expanded Gemini AI access
  • Enterprise$null/custom
    • 5 TB storage upgradeable
    • Up to 1,000 meeting participants
    • Enterprise-grade security

Microsoft 365

$7/month
  • Microsoft 365 Business Basic$7/month
    • Email and calendar with 50 GB mailbox
    • Web and mobile versions of Office apps
    • Microsoft Teams included
  • Microsoft 365 Business Standard$14/month
    • Desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook
    • Email and Teams
    • 1 TB cloud storage per user
  • Microsoft 365 E5$60/month
    • Comprehensive security and compliance
    • All productivity apps
    • Advanced analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose Google Workspace if

  • You need gmail business email.
  • You also want google drive storage.
Google Workspace review

Choose Microsoft 365 if

  • You need office applications.
  • You also want hosted services.
Microsoft 365 review

Questions people ask

Is Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 better?
Neither clearly leads. Google Workspace starts at €6.8/month and Microsoft 365 at $7/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Google Workspace or Microsoft 365?
Google Workspace starts at €6.8/month and Microsoft 365 at $7/month.
Does Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Google Workspace best used for?
Google Workspace is most often used for business email and communication, cloud document collaboration, team productivity and file sharing, enterprise application suite. Of those, business email and communication and cloud document collaboration are not what Microsoft 365 is typically brought in for.
What can Google Workspace do that Microsoft 365 cannot?
Google Workspace covers Gmail business email, Google Drive storage, Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Google Calendar. Microsoft 365 covers Office applications, Hosted services, Teams, Microsoft Entra ID.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Google Workspace: What are the Google Workspace pricing tiers?

Google Workspace offers Starter at 6.80 EUR/month (normally, currently 30% off), Standard at 13.60 EUR/month, Plus at 21.10 EUR/month, and Enterprise with custom pricing.

Source
Microsoft 365: What is the difference between Microsoft 365 and Office?

Office was a one-off licence for a specific version. Microsoft 365 is a subscription covering the applications and the hosted services together, and when payment stops the applications drop to a reduced state rather than continuing as they were.

Google Workspace: How many users does each tier support?

Starter, Standard, and Plus plans support up to 300 users. Enterprise plans support unlimited users.

Source
Microsoft 365: Is Teams included?

Not automatically for newer customers. Microsoft unbundled Teams and now sells it alongside the suite, so check what a given quotation actually covers.

Google Workspace: What storage is included in each plan?

Starter includes 30 GB, Standard and Plus include 2 TB and 5 TB respectively. Enterprise includes 5 TB upgradeable.

Source
Microsoft 365: What happens to our files if we stop paying?

The documents remain yours and can be downloaded, but access to hosted mailboxes and sites ends after a retention window, so leaving requires a planned export rather than a cancellation.

Google Workspace: What meeting features are included?

Standard and Plus plans include Meet video conferencing, though participant limits increase by tier. Enterprise supports up to 1,000 meeting participants.

Source
Microsoft 365: Is Copilot part of the subscription?

No. It is a per-user add-on on top of the base licence, generally with its own term commitment, and it is priced per seat regardless of how much any individual uses it.

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