Office 365 vs Google Workspace, which one is better? [2022]

Need help to make a decision on which to pick? Click here to see how we can help!

Office 365 vs Google Workspace Market Share

Let’s be honest, when we have to choose an email, calendar or cloud files platform, we can only choose between the two titans of the productivity software industry. On one side there’s Google with Google Workspace, formerly G Suite, leader in the industry with 59.41% of market share, a cloud-based service with widely known platforms such as Gmail, Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and derivatives, Google Forms, Google Calendar, Google Meet, Google Drive and a wide variety of other software that you may already know. On the other side is Microsoft with Office 365 with the other 40.39%, which contains some of the best-known work tools in the office world: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Teams and more recently Dropbox.

But, which one is more convenient for you? We’ll mention the main functionalities of each, followed by a series of questions where we recommend which one to choose according to your needs.

Google Workspace

Google Workspace is characterized by its friendly UI (User Interface) and extensive integrations with more modern software, besides it offers a free version to all Gmail users. It is widely popular for the segment of young workers who are already familiar with the services of the California company. With platforms like Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Forms, work teams can easily and quickly collaborate as a team. 

Office 365

A compilation of Microsoft’s most popular programs. Office 365 is the ideal platform for heavy users of software like Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. If your workforce is made up of workers used to these programs and you don’t want  to train them to use browser-based programs (such as Google Docs, etc.), Office 365 is ideal for you. With Outlook for email and Microsoft Teams for collaboration, this is the ideal tool for professional services firms that handle many documents constantly and need to use Excel functionality to its fullest potential.

Office 365 vs Google Workspace. Still unsure which one to pick? The following questions might help you decide

If you want a free consultation, ¡don’t worry! We’ll help you decide. Book a meeting using this link: https://calendly.com/mollertec/meet 

Are you looking for an affordable option that has the basics?

• Use Google Workspace. Without a doubt, Workspace is the most affordable ‘bang it’s buck’ option. The most basic Workspace plan retails at $6/month, that’s half the price of the most basic Office 365 plan, which is at $15/month (we’re not counting plans that don’t offer Microsoft Teams). However, both have similar features for business email, cloud storage, word processing, accounting and presentations software.

Do you have a team that needs a built-in instant messaging and collaboration tool?

• Use Office 365. Unlike Workspace, Office has the Microsoft Teams program included in its most basic plan. This platform has collaboration tools, chat communication, HD video calls, chat groups to divide your team, and many other features. Workspace has its own version of video calls with Google Meets, a free and much less powerful alternative to Teams. For Workspace user that want more sophisticated collaboration tools, we suggest third party software like Asana, Trello, or Slack.

Do you often need to work simultaneously with your team on the same file?

• Use Google Workspace. While both platforms offer working simultaneously with your team, for us the winner is Google Workspace. The ease of sharing documents through a link with people inside or outside your team is an unbeatable combination to work quickly and easily so you don’t waste a lot of time making sure that each team member has the necessary permissions to edit the document, which happens often in Office 365.

Are you a heavy user of accounting programs like Excel?

• Use Office 365. Despite being an excellent accounting program in itself, Google Sheets has a lot of limitations compared to Microsoft Excel, which is the #1 tool for accounting, calculations and organization.

Do you want to use integrations and automation software like Zapier?

• Use Google Workspace. Again, both tools are capable of automations and have many integrations. However, Workspace stands out with ease, by being integrated with popular programs like Slack, HubSpot, and many others, who build their integrations based on Workspace users, with Office users often receiving less support.

Is your workforce used to classic Office tools?

• Use Office 365. User convenience outweighs any integration as it reduces the friction between the user and their tools, allowing your team to stay focused on completing their work, instead of struggling with technology. Both platforms are functional at the end of the day!

Do you want the option with the best user experience for your team?

• Use Google Workspace. If your team is used to modern productivity tools, Workspace has an intuitive and friendlier UI than Office 365. It’s very recommended that you have an IT Specialist if you are going to use Office 365, since managing accounts using Microsoft has a significantly higher learning curve than using Google.

Have you decided which one is ideal for your company? At Mollertec, we can help you incorporate your favorite platform into your company, check out our services in IT Systems Administration and much more.