The humble productivity platform rests at the heart of your business, enabling everything from stronger security to higher efficiency. For most organizations, there are only two real choices. Google Workspace and Office 365 stand above all other competitors, fighting over the lion’s share of the market.
While these are the most commonly used productivity suites, there is one major misconception that runs rampant: the idea that they are “The same thing with different packaging”. In truth, there are many key differences between Office 365 vs Google Workspace. Each product was created under different circumstances and with its own priorities, making these seemingly similar platforms quite different in practice.
So what’s the difference? And if you must choose between Google Workspace vs Office 365… Which is best?
The Core Applications
While they may at first seem very similar, the productivity apps of Office 365 vs Google Workspace are quite distinct. The difference is not immediately obvious: each has a proprietary writing platform, a cloud storage service, and a spreadsheet software, for example. But the details matter, here. If you look carefully, each set of tools is designed to meet unique needs.
Office 365 apps are available both through the cloud and as a full desktop version. This allows employees to work both online and offline, ensuring strong business continuity and greater flexibility. Microsoft’s apps are also extremely customizable. Finally, you must consider the available collaboration tools. Microsoft Teams has become the gold standard for virtual meeting platforms, pushing many others out of business. It is highly valuable for both internal and external communications. Learn why uptime matters - and how you can ensure it
Google Workspace apps are 100% cloud-based. This opens up a lot of opportunities for collaborative work, and makes it easy to backup data. However, it also means the platform becomes unavailable every time the internet drops out. While Google Workspace lacks some of Office 365’s customizability, it makes up for these shortcomings with strong design features. While Google does have their own equivalent of Microsoft Teams, it is unfortunately not as well-known. The vast majority of workplaces use Teams for their communications, or third-party platforms such as Zoom. If using Google Meet or Google Chat, collaboration with third parties may be difficult.
Interface and Usability
Google Workspace offers a clean, modern, streamlined experience. It is extremely user-friendly, and multiple users can easily work on a single document at the same time. It offers fewer formatting and design options when compared with Office apps, but more flexibility within these constraints.
Office 365, on the other hand, is built on Microsoft’s 35-year legacy. Most of its applications have existed in some form for decades, and have thus inherited an older interface style. This can make Office 365 more complicated to use. The trade-off is its high customizability. Office apps provide a wide range of design options to suit almost any need
Security and Compliance
Google Workspace leans on the inherent security offered by cloud computing. They also provide common-sense features such as multi-factor authentication, which helps prevent unauthorized access to accounts. These measures are low-effort, but also low reward.
This is where Office 365 truly shines. Microsoft is prized for its highly customizable security settings, which enable compliance with almost any regulation one can imagine. The downside is that most of these advanced features are not enabled by default. The tailored security Microsoft is so famous for requires a significant amount of time and knowledge, which some businesses may not have access to.
Google Workspace Pricing vs Office 365
Google Workspace vs Microsoft Office both offer fairly similar pricing models for their business plans, with the biggest difference being a few dollars per month. The notable exception here is Google’s Enterprise Plus plan, which is not priced transparently. Instead, you must contact them directly for a quote.
Microsoft, interestingly, offers far more plan variations than Google Workspace. Office 365 comes with personal plan options, four Business plans, and three Enterprise level plans. Google, by comparison, only offers four: Starter, Standard, Plus, and Enterprise Plus. This means that of the two, Office provides a much bigger degree of flexibility and customization.
The final difference is what you are actually paying for. Microsoft’s plans are broken down primarily by product – each provides access to more or fewer Office 365 solutions, depending on cost. Google Workspace takes a slightly different approach, focusing instead on features. You gain access to the same core set of programs, but may have less storage space or functionality.
Integration and Compatibility
Both Google Workspace and Microsoft Office 365 play nicely with other platforms. The former is 100% cloud-based, meaning it can be used on any device with an internet connection, and provides full extension functionality. Users may customize their Workspace the same way they do their Chrome browser.
Office 365 does focus primarily on smooth integration within itself, as it is made up of so many different products. Each program must link seamlessly to the next, and Microsoft understandably prioritizes this. However, its sheer presence on the market means that almost every other IT solution is built with Office 365 in mind. Third-party vendors simply assume you are using it, and act accordingly. Because of this, you will be hard-pressed to find another platform that cannot integrate in some way with Microsoft Office.
Google Workspace vs Office 365: Comparison Chart
Google Workspace vs Office 365 for Small Businesses: Which Should You Choose?
Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. But there are some factors that may influence your decision. If you could benefit from desktop applications, have high security needs, and don’t mind working a little harder for customization, then Office 365 may be the better choice. If instead your workplace is highly mobile, prefers to collaborate directly through documents, and values simplicity, then you might decide Google Workspace more closely suits your needs.
Ultimately, the only way to make an informed decision is by considering your unique circumstances and choosing the platform that best aligns with them.
FAQs
Is Google Workspace cheaper than Office 365?
The pricing is actually fairly similar between Google Workspace and Office 365. Office 365’s business plans are a few dollars cheaper per month on average, but this may not be significant enough to be the deciding factor.
Can I switch from Office 365 to Google Workspace (or vice versa)?
Yes, you can. Fortunately, both platforms make migration fairly easy. However, you will need to plan ahead, as things can go wrong during the transition. It might be worth hiring a third-party cloud expert to assist you.
How do I decide what’s right for my team?
Identify your workflows, current tech stack, industry, internal expertise, and the needs of your team. If you’re having trouble deciding, consider asking an IT consultant for advice. They can assess your business and provide valuable insights.
The Right IT Solutions Make All the Difference
Your choice between Google Workspace vs Office 365 is small, but significant. While the two platforms are very similar at surface level, you will find more differences the deeper you go. These discrepancies can mean all the difference between a solution that perfectly fits your IT infrastructure… And one that doesn’t.
At Ascentient, we see the impact of IT decisions on small businesses every day. We know that the wrong choices can hurt not just your productivity, but your bottom line. That’s why we’ve devoted ourselves to helping organizations make smart, cost-effective decisions. Read our article on business IT strategy if you’d like more useful information.