Google Workspace (Starter) vs Microsoft 365 (Business Basic)

We have covered almost all the aspects of both products to choose you the best solution for you.

We are presenting a detailed comparison between Google Workspace & Microsoft 365 to choose the best option for your organization.

What do Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 do?

Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are a suite of productivity tools that let you perform common business tasks ‘in the cloud’ using a web browser.

These include:

  • sending emails
  • managing calendars
  • creating documents, spreadsheets, and presentations
  • video conferencing
  • group chat within the organization
  • file storage & management
  • team collaboration.

Microsoft 365 also provides a comprehensive range of desktop applications (with other plans, which are costly than the basic plan) — programs that you install on your computer, rather than using online. Both products recently underwent a name change — until recently, Microsoft 365 was called Office 365, and Google Workspace was called G Suite.

Compare Email Apps: GMail vs Microsoft Outlook

Technically, you can use any email program you like to access your Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 mail, but the default apps provided are Gmail and Outlook respectively.

The Detailed feature-wise comparison is provided below for you to understand the features and analyze your requirements while choosing the one more effectively and conveniently for your business.

Whether it’s creating, responding to, or managing email, Gmail offers an intuitive interface with easy-to-use tools for getting your work done fast. Our favorites include an AI-driven option that suggests words and phrases as you type, a “nudge” feature for surfacing forgotten messages, and a handy snooze button for delaying incoming messages.

Gmail is robust, fast, and very easy to find messages with, thanks to its powerful search functionality (you’d expect that side of things to be good, given that it’s Google we’re talking about here). Also, given the popularity of Gmail, there is a large range of third-party apps available for it which add useful functionality to proceedings.

Gmail has an easy-to-use, less cluttered interface. It is like Gmail used for personal use which adds as a bonus. Making a move to a different platform is difficult from a user consumption point of view. Since it has been observed that if people are already comfortable with the interface of Gmail, hence the adaptability pattern is higher than others.

With all Google Workspace plans you get complimentary Mobile Device Management features that allow the admins in your organization to have more effective control over the email data for mobile devices. Nowadays when we are using our email on our Mobile phones, which creates the risk of data leak and loss, MDM feature helps to have better control on Gmail.

OFF-LINE Emails vs Outlook client: Google’s team every day working to provide the best experience to its customers and to beat its competitors in every useful feature. Unlike the desktop version of outlook, now one can use the offline email option as per the need within the chrome browser, as Gmail is best optimized to use with Google Chrome Browser.

On most 365 plans you get access to two versions of Outlook: an online version, which is okay, but — mail sorting functionality aside — Gmail probably betters in most respects; and an offline version, which is feature-rich and provides a lot of flexibility when it comes to how you sort, group, label and generally manage your email.

Desktop applications: the main argument for using Microsoft 365? Here is where things get pretty interesting, and where a LOT of potential users of M365 and Google Workspace will be tempted to go for Microsoft 365.

With the desktop version of Microsoft 365, you can install the full versions of Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, etc. on your desktop PC or laptop, and work offline using these applications (however you’ll have to subscribe to a plan which includes the desktop version apps). Despite this being the age of cloud computing, a multitude of businesses still send each other files created locally using these applications, so there is a strong argument for having desktop versions of all the above available.

Microsoft has Exchange Online optimized for use with the Outlook desktop client. Google has Gmail, best optimized for use in the Chrome web browser and on mobile apps as well as with other email clients too. Aside from those fundamental architectural differences, the feature set includes just about everything a corporate email administrator would want, including anti-malware protection, spam filtering, etc.

When it comes to power features, however, Outlook rules. For example, Outlook’s Focused Inbox lets you see and respond to the most important emails first, and its Clean Up feature does a great job of simplifying long email threads so they’re easier to follow. And because the contacts and calendar functions are part of Outlook itself, they’re well integrated with email. Gmail relies on the separate Google Contacts and Calendar apps, which can be a bit more cumbersome to navigate.

Business apps in Google Workspace and Microsoft 365: Apps designed for Collaboration

In the 90s and early 2000s, Microsoft Office was the sole ruler in the business technology industry. Then, Google came along with its Docs and Sheets, making it a worthy alternative for most companies. Both platforms have since rebranded and elevated their games in terms of apps and usability. However, this only makes it harder to choose between Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) vs Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365).

Picking the right platform to manage your team and boost productivity will depend on your working preferences. Both Google Workspace (G Suite) and Microsoft 365 offer excellent cloud-based tools and offline apps. However, their functionality may be limited in some cases, so it’s crucial to establish your needs first.

In this article, we’ll compare Business Apps in Google Workspace (G Suite) vs Office 365 to help you decide which is better for your business or personal use. Let’s go!