Whatever your business does, your team needs email and documents, and a way to meet. For most small businesses that comes down to two suites, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. Both run in the cloud, both are good, and they work in very different ways.
This comparison first ran in 2023. Prices, plans and AI features have changed a great deal since then, so we rewrote it using the details Microsoft and Google publish on their own pricing pages. I’ll be honest with you up front: Xentric manages Microsoft 365 for our clients, so we have a view. I’ll show my reasoning so you can check it against your own situation.
The basics
Microsoft 365 includes the apps most offices already know: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive and Exchange email, plus Teams for chat and meetings and SharePoint for team file sharing. Most plans give you desktop apps you install on your computer and web versions you open in a browser.
Google Workspace includes Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, Calendar, Meet and Chat. The apps run in your browser or on your phone, and Google’s apps are lighter and quicker to learn than Microsoft’s. Microsoft’s are heavier and busier, with more features behind the menus.
The biggest difference comes from how each one started. Google built everything for the browser. Microsoft built powerful desktop software first and then brought it to the web, and today the web versions are close to the desktop ones. That gives Microsoft both a strong cloud environment and strong desktop apps, which is hard for Google to match.
Cybersecurity and support
Both companies take security seriously. Google says its email filtering blocks more than 99.9% of phishing and spam attacks. That claim seems true enough to me, and it is quite impressive. Any single tool that works at the perimeter has a limit, though. New and evolving threats get past it, and some of them still land in your users’ inboxes. That is why the other layers matter on either suite. 2-step verification is available on every Google plan, and Microsoft supports multi-factor authentication (MFA), which asks for a second proof of identity at sign-in, on every plan as well.
The differences show up in the tiers. Microsoft 365 Business Premium adds Microsoft Defender for Business, which protects computers from ransomware and malware, and Defender for Office 365 for email threats. It also adds Intune for managing devices. Data loss prevention (DLP) is included too, and it stops sensitive information from leaving your company in email and files. Google Workspace Plus adds Vault, which retains and searches company data, along with eDiscovery and advanced endpoint management. On Google’s own pricing page, DLP and context-aware access (rules that depend on the device and location) only appear on its Enterprise plan, which is custom quoted.
A lot of owners assume the two are equal here because both are big tech companies. At the entry level that is close to true. Once you need to control company data on employee devices, the gap depends on which plan you buy, and that is where I would look first.
Support differs too, and the published terms are not alike. Microsoft documents 24/7 technical support in English for business subscription admins. On its support plans page, the support included with Microsoft 365 lists no response-time targets. Specified response times appear only in Unified Enterprise, a paid plan priced as a percentage of your license spend and aimed at large organizations. Google includes Standard Support with every plan, and its Technical Support Services Guidelines spell out the terms. The pricing page does not mention them. For a problem that makes the service unusable, Standard Support targets a first response within 4 hours, around the clock. The next level targets 8 hours, and everything else 24 hours, during regional support hours. Enhanced Support, a paid upgrade on Standard and Plus, targets 1 hour for the most serious problems and 4 hours for the next level, 24/7. Those are targets for a first response, not for a fix.
We are your first call on either suite if you bought through us. Even so, when the problem sits with the vendor, we wait on their response times like everyone else. That is worth knowing before you choose.
Productivity and collaboration
Both suites let several people edit a document at once. Google started that trend, and its version is simpler and very stable. Microsoft’s takes a little more setup, but on a properly configured network you will not notice much difference.
Microsoft’s strength is how the apps work together. A file shared in Teams opens in Word and goes out through Outlook with no clunky steps in between. Teams brings chat, meetings, calls, calendars and shared files into one place, and Outlook ties into To Do, OneNote and Teams. Google has Gmail, Chat and Meet, and Gmail works well. Google Meet hosts 100 participants on Starter, 150 on Standard and 500 on Plus, according to Google. Teams meetings hold up to 300 participants on Microsoft 365 Business licenses, so only Google’s Plus tier goes higher. Teams also offers the broader feature set.
Browser-based apps also feel different when you juggle several documents. With a handful of tabs open, Google’s apps can start to feel clunky. We have seen businesses on Google Workspace run Gmail inside Outlook because their people wanted a desktop app, and they pay for both licenses to do it.
AI in each suite
AI is now part of the comparison, and the two companies sell it differently.
Google includes Gemini in every Business plan at no extra charge, but how much you get depends on the tier. Starter includes Gemini in Gmail and Vids and basic access to the Gemini app. Gemini in Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, Meet and Chat comes with Standard and Plus.
Microsoft includes Copilot Chat, an AI chat that works with your work data, with its business plans at no additional cost. Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams is a paid add-on. As of this writing, Microsoft 365 Copilot Business is listed at $21 per user per month, with a promotional $18 through December 31, 2026 for existing customers. Microsoft also sells bundles, Business Standard with Copilot at $23.50 and Business Premium with Copilot at $32.
So Google bundles more AI into the base price, and Microsoft charges extra for AI inside the apps. I don’t know how much of it your team would use every day. My recommendation is to start with the AI that is included, then add paid Copilot for the few people who would use it daily. Whichever suite you choose, set an AI use policy first, and our tech policies post covers what it should say.
Cloud storage
Both suites include cloud storage and keep your files synced across devices.
Microsoft’s is OneDrive, and every business plan includes 1 TB per user. Think of OneDrive as personal cloud storage and SharePoint as team storage. SharePoint is better for designating teams and projects. Email is separate. Microsoft lists a 100 GB primary mailbox per user on its business plans, so your mailbox does not eat into your OneDrive space.
Google’s storage is called Drive and comes pooled and shared across the organization: 30 GB per user on Starter, 2 TB on Standard and 5 TB on Plus. Email, files and Photos all count against the same pool, which is a real difference from Microsoft’s separate mailbox.
Ease of use
This is where productivity soars or falls flat, and neither suite is simply better. They are different.
Google’s apps are extremely streamlined, easy to learn and excellent for collaboration, because that is what they were built around. The tradeoff is that many features are hard to find and some are missing. People who know Excel are often surprised by what Sheets leaves out. Some gaps have workarounds, such as Google Apps Script for macro-style automation, but that adds complexity you were trying to avoid. In my experience the folder structure in Drive is also confusing for the average user.
Microsoft’s apps have more features, so the interface is busier and can overwhelm a new user. Most people have used Word or Excel at some point, which softens that. Where Microsoft falls short is smooth simultaneous editing, because collaboration was added to mature desktop apps later. Where it shines is a file structure that anyone understands.
Google works well if its workflow matches how you work. If you need more features, it gets frustrating quickly.
Administration
Managing your people and devices is where the two diverge most.
Microsoft has been building software for businesses for decades, and the administration shows it. Even on Business Standard, an admin can set password policies, control access and create roles. Business Premium adds Intune for managing devices, including wiping a lost or stolen phone, deploying apps automatically and setting policies for your data. We use Intune at Xentric for exactly this.
Google Workspace gives you a simpler admin console with fewer controls. File sharing permissions, app on and off switches and custom templates are all there. Endpoint management is labeled fundamental on Starter and Standard and advanced on Plus. Because most Google apps run in a browser, Google can get away with less, but the difference in control is hard to miss.
Price
As of this writing, in October 2026, these are the list prices per user per month with a one-year commitment, from Microsoft’s and Google’s pricing pages.
| Tier | Microsoft 365 | Google Workspace |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | Business Basic, $7. Web and mobile apps only, 1 TB OneDrive per user | Business Starter, $7. 30 GB pooled storage, Meet for 100 participants, limited Gemini |
| Middle | Business Standard, $14. Adds desktop apps | Business Standard, $14. 2 TB pooled storage, Meet for 150, Gemini across the apps |
| Top | Business Premium, $22. Adds Defender, Intune and DLP | Business Plus, $22. 5 TB pooled storage, Meet for 500, Vault and eDiscovery |
Copilot is an additional cost on Microsoft, as described above. Both vendors run promotions, and Microsoft raised Business Basic from $6 to $7 and Business Standard from $12.50 to $14 on July 1, 2026, so check both pages before you buy. Existing Microsoft customers keep their current price until renewal.
The two suites now cost the same at every tier, which makes the comparison simple. At the entry tier, Microsoft gives you 1 TB of storage against Google’s 30 GB, but Business Basic has no desktop apps. Google’s Starter has none either, since Google has no desktop apps on any plan. At the top tier, you get device management, threat protection and data loss prevention from Microsoft for $22, and from Google you get those only on a custom-quoted Enterprise plan.
Picking the right Microsoft license is confusing, which is why we handle that for our clients, making sure the right license is on the right employee. If you want to see how the plans compare in more detail, our post on which Microsoft 365 license you need goes through it.
Our recommendation
We are a little biased. As a managed service provider (MSP), our business is managing technology for our clients, and Microsoft’s administrative controls are what make it possible to configure M365 to fit your business.
Setting that aside, Microsoft 365 is the stronger suite for a growing business. At the same price per tier, you get more tools, more options and more control, particularly on security and device management. Google Workspace is a good fit for a small team that lives in a browser, values simplicity and does not need to manage devices or data rules. If that describes you and it works, I’m not telling you to move.
It’s up to you, but I would not run a business with company data on employee devices without the controls Business Premium includes. If you are choosing now, or wondering whether your current suite is set up properly, we’ll take a look at it and take it from there. You can start with our Microsoft 365 management service page or just reach out.