Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace comes down to how your team works. Google Workspace is simpler, browser-first and easy for a small team to share files in. Microsoft 365 is the better fit if you live in Excel and Word desktop apps, trade Office files with clients, or need to manage Windows computers. Both cost about the same for a small team, and both handle business email well.
What each one includes
Both suites give you the same basics: email on your own domain, a calendar, cloud file storage, video meetings, and documents, spreadsheets and presentations. The difference is in how they're built.
Google Workspace runs in the browser. Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Meet all work the same on any computer, and several people can edit a file at once without thinking about versions. There's no software to install. Mobile apps cover the rest.
Microsoft 365 is built around Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Teams. Every plan includes web and mobile versions. Business Standard and above add the full desktop apps, which are still the standard in many industries. Files live in OneDrive and SharePoint, and Teams handles chat and meetings. The top plan, Business Premium, adds security and device management tools for protecting company laptops and data.
Prices for a small team
Prices below are per user per month, as of late 2026, from each company's official pages. Both raise prices from time to time, so check before you buy.
Microsoft 365, paid yearly (Microsoft's plan comparison):
- Business Basic: $7. Email, Teams, 1 TB of OneDrive storage, web and mobile apps only.
- Business Standard: $14 ($16.80 on monthly billing). Adds the desktop Office apps.
- Business Standard with Copilot: $23.50. Adds Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
- Business Premium: $22. Adds advanced security and device management.
- Business Premium with Copilot: $32. Business Premium plus Copilot in the Office apps.
- Versions without Teams are available at lower prices.
Google Workspace, on a one-year commitment (flexible monthly pricing is about 20% higher):
- Business Starter: about $7. Gmail, Meet, Docs and the rest, with 30 GB of pooled storage per user.
- Business Standard: about $14. 2 TB of pooled storage per user, meeting recordings, and Gemini inside Docs, Sheets, Drive and Meet.
- Business Plus: about $22. 5 TB per user, plus stronger security and data retention tools.
For a five-person team on the middle plans, both come to roughly $70 a month on an annual commitment. Price is rarely the deciding factor. The bigger costs are the time spent switching and the time lost if your team fights the tools every day.
Ease of use and what your team already knows
This matters more than any feature list. A tool your team already knows saves weeks of frustration.
Google Workspace tends to win on simplicity:
- One login, everything in the browser, nothing to install or update.
- Sharing and editing a file together is easy and hard to get wrong.
- Search across email and files works very well.
- New hires who used Gmail personally pick it up in a day.
Microsoft 365 tends to win on depth:
- Excel desktop is still the most capable spreadsheet for heavy formulas, large files and add-ins your accountant or industry software may expect.
- Word handles long, formatted documents, tracked changes and templates that clients and lawyers send back and forth.
- Outlook suits people who manage a lot of email, shared mailboxes and calendars.
- Teams combines chat, meetings and files in one place, which bigger teams like.
The downside of Microsoft 365 is that it has more parts. OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams overlap, and without a little setup, files end up scattered. The downside of Google Workspace is that Docs and Sheets can stumble on complex Word and Excel files, and some industry software assumes you have Office installed.
Built-in AI features
Both suites now include AI, and it's one of the better reasons to look at upgrading.
- Google Workspace includes Gemini in Gmail and a Gemini chat on every business plan, according to Google's pricing page. Business Standard and Plus add Gemini inside Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive and Meet, for drafting, summarizing and meeting notes.
- Microsoft 365 includes Copilot Chat on every business plan. The full version, Copilot inside Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams, comes with the "with Copilot" plans or as an add-on. Microsoft's list price for the add-on is $21 per user per month on a yearly commitment, sometimes discounted with a promotion.
In practice, both are good at summarizing long email threads, drafting replies and recapping meetings. The advantage over a separate AI tool is that they can see your own email and files. Our guide to AI tools for small business covers how they compare with standalone assistants like ChatGPT and Claude.
Switching from one to the other
Switching is very doable, but plan it. Both companies offer migration tools for moving email, calendars and contacts.
What to plan for:
- Email. Moving mail and changing your domain's email settings (MX records) is the main event. Do it on a quiet day, ideally a Friday afternoon, with a clear cutover time.
- Files. Moving files is easy. Fixing broken shared links, folder permissions and file formats takes longer.
- Calendars and contacts. These usually move cleanly with the migration tools.
- Habits. Give people a week of overlap and a short how-to for the five things they do every day.
- Other logins. Check which apps your team signs into with their work account. Those connections need to be redone.
A team of five can usually switch in a week or two with a little help. Bigger teams or years of shared files take longer.
Common questions
Can we mix them? Yes. Some businesses use Google Workspace for email and files and buy a few Microsoft 365 licenses for the people who need desktop Excel. It works, but two systems means two bills and two sets of logins.
Which is more secure? Both are secure when set up properly. Turn on two-step verification for every user on day one. Business Premium and Business Plus add more control for teams that handle sensitive data.
Do we need the desktop apps? Only if someone needs advanced Excel, complex Word documents or software that requires Office. Many small teams never do.
Our take for most small businesses
If you're starting fresh, have a small team and don't depend on heavy Excel or Word work, Google Workspace Business Standard is usually the simpler choice. It's easy to learn, easy to share files in, and includes useful AI.
Choose Microsoft 365 Business Standard if your team lives in Excel and Word, your clients or industry send Office files all day, or you already have a Windows setup that works. Step up to Business Premium if you need to manage and secure company laptops.
If you're already on one and it's working, stay. Switching only makes sense when the current tool is costing you time every week. If you want a second opinion on your setup, that's part of our technology consulting work.
The short version
- Both suites cover email, calendars, files and meetings well, at similar prices.
- Google Workspace is simpler and browser-first. Microsoft 365 is deeper, with full desktop apps.
- On middle plans, both run about $14 per user per month on an annual commitment, as of late 2026.
- Both include AI, with the full features on higher plans or add-ons.
- Pick based on what your team already knows and the files your customers send you.