Both Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 are incredibly powerful products that have become indispensable in everyday working life. Be it for writing articles, managing spreadsheets or creating presentations. Companies need a shared workspace that is used centrally by employees. This is the only way for large companies to maintain an overview and transparency in their chaotic day-to-day work.
For a long time, Microsoft reigned supreme in this industry. However, Google managed to turn the market upside down by switching to a subscription model and releasing fully-fledged productivity software. Today, Workspace is a worthy competitor to Microsoft products. In this article, we break down why Microsoft is no longer alone at the top and talk about the differences and similarities between the two competing products.
Objectively speaking, both services appear very similar. Both require a subscription for professional use and both are basically suites dedicated to increasing productivity.
Google Workspace is a web-based software that also has the capacity to be used offline.
On the other hand, Microsoft 365 is a service that should be used offline.
Microsoft now also offers a web-based version.
Microsoft and Google can both do it
Whichever service you choose, you get an application for editing texts, an extensive spreadsheet and a tool for creating beautiful presentations - to name just the most important applications.
Furthermore, both services have a solution for e-mails, video conferences and chat. Of course, the respective providers also have storage space in the cloud to securely store and save files for customers.
The fact that the services from Microsoft and Google are so similar
it is of course not possible to make a quick and well-founded decision.
Such a decision is groundbreaking for the future of a company.
Apps in comparison
When it comes to creating and editing documents, Microsoft 365 offers three key programs: Microsoft Word for text editing, Microsoft Excel for editing spreadsheets and Microsoft PowerPoint for creating presentations. Google Workspace, on the other hand, offers Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Slides, products that offer very similar solutions. While the respective products are complementary, there are certain functionalities that differentiate the products from each other.
Word vs Doc
Microsoft Word and Google Docs help to create rich texts by providing a variety of different formatting options and other tools. Word scores points by offering more templates, more text editing options and more accurate diagram creation at the time of writing. Google Docs compensates for this with simple online collaboration in real time and the ability to share the document via a simple link, where you can also set permissions.
Excel vs Sheets
When people talk about Excel, they usually mean spreadsheets. The existing functions of Excel are unrivaled to date. The almost limitless options offered by the product are particularly appreciated by professionals and universities in German-speaking countries.
In English-speaking countries, the market is increasingly being led by Google Sheets. The slightly slimmed-down version of Excel offers more collaboration options. The integration in Google Analytics or Google BigQuery, with which vast amounts of data can be analyzed at lightning speed, are an undisputed argument for the Google option.
PowerPoint vs Slides
PowerPoint gives users the option of choosing from a number of pre-built templates and themes for presentations. There are also some elements such as charts, diagrams, images and animations to make the presentation look a little livelier. Google Slides also offers a slimmer version of the competitor product, but with a clutter-free interface that is quicker to grasp. As with most other Google applications, the focus here is on real-time collaboration. During the live presentation, Google even offers the option to collaborate with the audience. By inserting a link in the presentation, you can take questions from the audience in real time.
Outlook vs Gmail
The smooth interface and integrated artificial intelligence clearly make the Gmail application more efficient than its counterpart. The new Gmail even combines several applications such as Documents, Chat, Meet and Notes. This gives you a platform to combine many different tasks in one tab. Some people may be surprised by the functions Outlook offers, but it must be made clear that many of them are not necessary for day-to-day operations.
OneDrive vs Google Drive
The cloud storage spaces of Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are also very similar. Both offer unlimited storage space and come with offline clients that you install to synchronize files to your desktop. The only real difference is that Google Drive offers two-factor authentication based on Personal Vault, giving you an extra layer of security for sensitive data.
No clear winner
Depending on what a company needs, one or the other service is better. If the collaborative working style is to be part of the corporate identity, Google Workspace is the better choice. However, if you have teams that work very precisely with data and need the extra editing options of Excel for their work, you should reach for Microsoft.
Performance
Both suites offer services and applications that have no or only a minimal impact on the performance of the computer. The Microsoft 365 apps only have a very slight impact on performance. The web-based applications from Google Workspace have even less of an impact on computing power, as they all run in the web browser.
One thing to keep in mind when deciding is that Microsoft 365 requires a stable internet connection when synchronizing data with OneDrive's cloud storage. Since Microsoft's servers are separated by oceans, latency times are higher. This can certainly lead to more frequent complications.
Google Workspace, on the other hand, has integrated the worldwide Google network. Google's web-based applications are therefore very fast. However, if you don't have a very constant internet connection, you can set up offline synchronization so that you never lose important files. Overall, Workspace applications are faster than Microsoft 365 applications, but they also have a lower impact on computing power.
Costs
Google Workspace has several different pricing plans, which are divided into Business and Enterprise plans. Google Standard and Business Plus are the two packages that are used most frequently. In contrast to Microsoft 365, Google offers the option to purchase licenses flexibly (no fixed purchase or term) or to commit to a fixed number of licenses for a certain period of time by means of a discount.
It should be noted that this article is not constantly updated and that the price offers may change.
To view the current prices, it is worth taking a look at the official Google website.
In contrast to Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 only requires annual commitments for each of its plans. The plans for SMEs are per user/month:
Business Basic: on a donation basis
Business Standard: 2,80€
Business Premium: 5,10€
For larger companies that cannot adhere to the limit of 300 users, an Enterprise contract with Microsoft is necessary. For these companies, Microsoft offers E1, E3 and E5 plans for €7.40, €23.10 and €39.50 per user/month respectively. Apps for Enterprise is also offered for €14.30 per user/month.
Conclusion
Both products are very similar, but not the same. While Microsoft 365 offers an incredibly precise experience, Google Workspace impresses with its simplicity, effectiveness and collaboration. Both products have their own strengths. Which one you really need as a company or team varies from case to case.
In general, Google Workspace is the right choice for companies that want their employees to work together. If a company really needs the specific editing options, then Microsoft is not to be discouraged.
To get started right away, you can try Google Workspace free for 30 days with CLOUDPILOTS only.
If you don't like it - no problem. Because this offer comes without any ties
Try it out and see for yourself!