Quick answer
Google Workspace is usually the better value for small and mid-sized businesses that work in the browser and want AI included: Business Standard is $14 per user per month (1-year commitment) with Gemini in Gmail, Docs, and Meet.
Microsoft 365 is the better fit when your team depends on desktop Word, Excel, and Outlook, or on Microsoft’s security stack (Defender, Intune, Entra ID). Its plans with Microsoft 365 Copilot start at $23.50 per user per month paid yearly.
Both suites cap their business plans at 300 users.
Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) and Microsoft 365 are the two most popular cloud-based collaborative business productivity suites.
The best-known applications within these suites are email, calendars, documents, spreadsheets, presentations, online meetings, and cloud storage. Here are some rough equivalents.
| Microsoft 365 | Google Workspace |
|---|---|
| Outlook | Gmail |
| Excel | Sheets |
| Word | Docs |
| PowerPoint | Slides |
| Teams | Meet |
| OneDrive | Drive |
| Forms | Forms |
Google and Microsoft continue adding new tools and components to their suites.
For example, Google Workspace includes Drawings, My Maps, Chat, and Sites. Google Voice is a paid extra.
Certain Microsoft 365 plans include Bookings, Planner, Lists, and Access.
Google Meet and Microsoft Teams are both robust video conferencing applications.
Google Workspace vs. Microsoft 365 at a glance (October 2026)
| Category | Google Workspace | Microsoft 365 |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price (paid yearly) | Business Starter: $7 per user/month | Business Basic: not shown on Microsoft’s comparison page as of Oct 23, 2026 |
| Price with AI built in | Business Standard: $14 per user/month, including Gemini in Gmail, Docs, Meet, and more | Business Standard with Copilot: $23.50; Business Premium with Copilot: $32.00 per user/month |
| Desktop apps | Browser-based apps with offline mode; edit Office files directly in Docs, Sheets, and Slides | Business Basic: web and mobile apps only. Business Standard and Premium: desktop Office apps |
| Storage | 30 GB, 2 TB, or 5 TB pooled per user, depending on plan | Varies by plan; see Microsoft’s plan page |
| Video meetings | Google Meet: 100 to 1,000 participants, depending on plan | Microsoft Teams, included in business plans |
| AI assistant | Gemini app on every Business plan; Gemini in Docs, Meet, and more from Business Standard | Copilot Chat included with eligible plans; Microsoft 365 Copilot in “with Copilot” plans or as an add-on |
| Advanced security | Vault and endpoint management in Business Plus; DLP and context-aware access in Enterprise | Defender for Business, Intune, Entra ID, and Purview in Business Premium |
| User cap on business plans | 300 users | 300 users |
| Free trial | 14 days | One month (credit card required) |
Sources: Google Workspace pricing and Microsoft 365 business plans. Microsoft notes that some AI features are billed based on usage. Prices exclude tax.
Which suite is best for your business?
Google Workspace is best for
- Browser-first teams that co-edit documents in real time
- Businesses that want AI included at $14 per user
- Small IT teams that want one simple admin console
- Companies with lots of Chromebooks or Macs
Microsoft 365 is best for
- Teams that rely on desktop Excel, Word, and Outlook
- Firms that redline Word documents heavily, such as law firms
- Organizations standardized on Windows with Intune and Defender
- Businesses already invested in Teams Phone or SharePoint
History & High-Level Differences
The original Microsoft Office was launched in 1990. Google Workspace (formerly Google Apps for Business) was launched in 2007.
Some companies established before 2007 had to decide whether to remain with Microsoft or switch to Google.
Perhaps the biggest difference between these two suites is that Microsoft 365 is mainly used as a set of locally installed applications for PC and Mac. The cloud versions of Microsoft’s Office applications are adaptations of desktop versions.
On the other hand, Google Workspace, which was born in the cloud, is a set of cloud applications that have an option for working offline on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Google constantly adds new features to Workspace apps.
The Gmail component of Google Workspace is an online email application. For offline access, Google developed a native Chrome capability.
Gmail can also be accessed via locally installed email clients such as Outlook, eM Client (for Windows users), Kiwi for Gmail (for Mac users), and OS X’s Mail app. Microsoft 365’s primary email offering is locally installed Outlook. There is an option to use Outlook Web, which more and more users are taking advantage of.
User Security
Regarding security and defense against cyber attacks, Microsoft has a bigger target on its back than Google.
Just as Windows has always been a more attractive target than macOS due to relative market share, cybercriminals prefer to focus on businesses that use Microsoft 365.
The cloud incident readiness and response company Mitiga went as far as to say that weaknesses in Microsoft 365 multi-factor authentication (MFA) “effectively nullify the added security allegedly provided” by MFA.
These weaknesses have increased the number of 365 business email accounts being taken over by bad actors who use a technique called session cookie theft in combination with a successful phishing attempt.
Business Types
According to Gartner, Microsoft is more prevalent in regulated industries.
Google Workspace enjoys its most significant popularity among companies with less than $50 million in revenues. Enterprises have been slow to adopt Google Workspace. Microsoft continues its dominance in large organizations.
Marketing agencies tend to adopt Google Workspace, as Google is a predominant part of online marketing. Software startups seem to favor Google Workspace.
Redlining Microsoft Word documents is deeply ingrained in the legal profession. Law firms tend to be Microsoft 365 users.
There is a home-field advantage on the West Coast of the United States. Google has more relative adoption in California. Microsoft has more relative adoption in the Pacific Northwest.
Both Workspace and 365 For Some Users?
If an organization chooses Google Workspace, certain users may want locally installed Microsoft Office components on their PC or Mac by preference or necessity.
One example is someone who wants to keep Outlook because it has been a part of their work life for ten-plus years.
Another example is someone who uses Excel spreadsheets with complex macros or very large Excel files that cannot be imported into a Google Sheets format or replicated in Google Sheets. There could be an additional subscription to Microsoft 365 Personal for those users.
There are two ways to open Excel spreadsheets in Google Drive without a Microsoft Excel license for lighter spreadsheet use.
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace plans
Microsoft’s business lineup is Business Basic (web and mobile apps only), Business Standard (adds desktop apps), and Business Premium (adds Defender for Business, Intune, Entra ID, and Purview). On Microsoft 365 business plans, the Copilot bundles are listed at $23.50 (Business Standard with Copilot) and $32.00 (Business Premium with Copilot) per user per month, paid yearly.
Google Workspace’s business lineup is Business Starter ($7), Business Standard ($14), and Business Plus ($22) per user per month with a 1-year commitment, plus quote-only Enterprise plans. For the full breakdown, see our Google Workspace pricing and plan comparison, or read whether Google Workspace is worth it for a small business. If you’ve settled on Workspace, our plan picker will match your team to a plan.
Which is Best for Your Business?
We recommend taking an analytical approach to decide on Google Workspace vs. Microsoft 365. Some questions to ask yourself are:
What are the subscription costs of the two main options based on our needs?
How many of our employees grew up using Google products? How many employees grew up using Microsoft products? How many employees grew up both?
What percentage of our users have a business need or even just a force-of-habit need to have Microsoft 365 applications installed on their PC or Mac?
What are the costs involved in supporting and maintaining desktop software, and are these costs high?
Are we firmly committed to converting to the cloud, or do we want to ease into the cloud?
If we are firmly committed to the cloud, which solution has what we believe to be a functionally superior set of web and mobile applications — Google Workspace or Microsoft 365?
Example Business Cases
Here are two example business cases and what direction each case might point an organization in.
Case 1
- A 5-year-old SaaS company
- Outsourced IT services
- 50 employees
- 40 employees grew up Google
- 5 of the employees who grew up using Google products also require locally installed Microsoft 365 Business licenses
- 20 of the employees who grew up using Google need nothing more than a Chromebook
- 10 employees grew up using Microsoft
- 5 of the employees who grew up using Microsoft apps require locally installed Microsoft Office applications
On the surface, this case points more toward standardizing on Google and subscribing to five Microsoft 365 Business licenses for the employees who want or need Microsoft Office.
Case 2
- A 50-year-old manufacturing company
- 200 employees
- 4 Internal IT staff
- 150 employees grew up with Microsoft
- 100 of the employees who grew up using Microsoft products require locally installed Microsoft Office applications
- 50 employees grew up with Google
- 10 of the employees who grew up with Google require locally installed Microsoft Office applications
This case may point more toward staying with Microsoft and getting the users who grew up using Google apps to adapt to Microsoft 365.
On the other hand, executive management or IT leadership may choose a direction based on an entirely different set of factors.
A thorough analysis, including interviews with stakeholders and representative end-users, will help you determine your business’s best long-term direction.
Frequently asked questions
Is Google Workspace cheaper than Microsoft 365 for 50 users?
Usually, if you want AI included. At 50 users with annual pricing, Google Workspace Business Standard costs $700 per month ($14 × 50), and it includes Gemini in Gmail, Docs, and Meet. Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot is $23.50 per user per month, or $1,175 per month for 50 users. Compare the exact plans you need on Google Workspace pricing and Microsoft 365 business plans, because prices and promotions change.
Can I use Microsoft Office with Google Workspace?
Yes. You can upload Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files to Google Drive and edit them directly in Docs, Sheets, and Slides, and Google saves changes back in Office format. Some features, such as Excel macros, aren’t supported. Users who need the desktop Office apps can keep a separate Microsoft 365 license, and Outlook can connect to Gmail.
Which is better for a small business, Google Workspace or Microsoft 365?
Google Workspace tends to fit browser-first teams that collaborate in real time and want simple administration. Microsoft 365 tends to fit teams that rely on desktop Office apps, such as Excel power users, or that already use Microsoft security tools like Intune and Defender.
Do Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 both include AI?
Yes. Every Google Workspace Business plan includes the Gemini app and Gemini in Gmail, and Business Standard adds Gemini in Docs, Meet, and more. Microsoft includes Copilot Chat with eligible plans and offers Microsoft 365 Copilot in its “with Copilot” plans or as an add-on.
How many users can a business plan have?
Both Google Workspace Business plans and Microsoft 365 Business plans are capped at 300 users. Larger organizations move to Google Workspace Enterprise or Microsoft 365 Enterprise plans.