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Comparison

Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365: which is right for a small business?

Google Workspace suits teams that work in the browser: Gmail on your domain, Docs and Meet with Gemini included, from $7 a user a month for Business Starter. Microsoft 365 suits teams that need desktop Word, Excel and Outlook: Business Basic is $7 a user paid yearly with web apps only; desktop apps start with Business Standard at $14.

Updated . Every fact is linked to Google Workspace's or Microsoft 365's own site, with the date we checked it

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How do Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 compare, side by side?

Google Workspace: Google's business suite: Gmail with your own domain, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet and Chat, with Gemini AI built in. Microsoft 365: Microsoft's business suite: Outlook email on your own domain, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive, Teams, with Copilot AI in the higher plans.

What mattersGoogle WorkspaceMicrosoft 365
Entry plan$7 per user per month, annual commitment of 1 year, billed monthly; $8.4 billed monthly1$7 per user per month, paid yearly (annual subscription, auto renews); $8.4 billed monthly2
What the entry plan includes30 GB pooled storage per user; Custom business email ([email protected]); Gemini AI assistant in Gmail; chat with Gemini (company data not used to train models); Video meetings, 100 participants; Google Vids; Security and management controls3Web and mobile versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook; Custom business email; 1 TB cloud storage per user; Chat, call and meet with Teams; 10+ additional apps (including Bookings, Planner, Forms); Secure AI chat with web grounding; Without Teams: $5.40 paid yearly, $6.48 monthly subscription4
Mid plan$14 per user per month, annual commitment of 1 year, billed monthly; $16.8 billed monthly5$14 per user per month, paid yearly (annual subscription, auto renews); $16.8 billed monthly6
StorageStorage is pooled across the company: 30 GB per user (Starter), 2 TB (Standard), 5 TB (Plus and Enterprise).71 TB OneDrive cloud storage per user; mailbox of 100 GB primary storage.8
Office appsIncluded apps: Gmail, Meet, Chat, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Sites, Keep, Apps Script.9Desktop, web and mobile Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook from Business Standard; Business Basic has web and mobile versions only.10
AI in the planAI is included in the per-user plan price; there is no separate Gemini line on the plan cards. A separate paid add-on, AI Expanded Access, gives higher access (more Studio automations, image and video generation, real-time speech translation).11Copilot Chat (secure AI chat with web grounding, writing assistance and access to agents) is included with eligible business plans; it does not use the organization's files, emails or chats.12
Full AI assistantGemini is built into Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Vids, Drive, Meet and Chat. On Business Starter the comparison table shows Gemini in Gmail and Vids; Gemini in Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, Meet and Chat is shown as not supported on Starter and available from Standard.13Microsoft 365 Copilot (built into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, grounded in work data) comes in the 'with Copilot' plans ($23.50 and $32.00 per user per month paid yearly) or as an add-on.14
Video meetingsVideo meetings hold 100 (Starter), 150 (Standard), 500 (Plus) or 1,000 (Enterprise) participants; recording starts on Standard.15Teams for chat, calls and meetings is included in the 'with Teams' plans; 'no Teams' versions are priced lower.16
Free trial14 days, no cost17One month free (the page says '30-day risk-free trial'; a credit card is required)18
AI agents over MCPGoogle Workspace offers remote MCP servers (one per product: Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Calendar, Chat, Classroom) so AI agents such as Google Antigravity and Claude can read data and take actions under the user's permissions. Marked Developer Preview: needs membership of the Google Workspace Developer Preview Program and a Google Cloud project.19Work IQ MCP server: exposes Microsoft 365 data (mail, calendar, Teams chats and more) to AI agents through MCP with tools to fetch, create, update and delete entities and to ask Microsoft 365 Copilot. Part of the Work IQ developer tools; the retrieve tool is in public preview.20

Prices are in US dollars a month, before tax, as each company lists them.

Which should you choose, Google Workspace or Microsoft 365?

Choose Google Workspace if

  • Your team works in the browser and shares documents more than it formats them.
  • You want Gemini in Gmail from the first plan, without a separate AI plan.
  • You'd rather have storage pooled across the company than a fixed amount per person.
  • You want booking pages and eSignature in the same suite (from Business Standard).

Choose Microsoft 365 if

  • Your work depends on desktop Excel, Word or PowerPoint, or on files clients send in those formats.
  • You want Teams for chat, calls and meetings in the same plan as your email.
  • You need device management and threat protection from your office suite (Business Premium).
  • You want the AI grounded in your own mail and files with Microsoft 365 Copilot.

How do Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 differ in approach?

Google Workspace grew up in the browser, and Microsoft 365 grew up on the desktop. Google's Docs, Sheets and Slides were built for many people to edit at once in a web page; Microsoft's Word, Excel and PowerPoint are the desktop apps most businesses learned on, now with web and mobile versions too.

Both now sell the same bundle to a small business: email on your own domain, a calendar, file storage, video meetings, chat and an AI assistant. What differs is where each feels at home. A team that shares a lot and formats little is usually happier in Google's simpler apps. A team that lives in complex spreadsheets, or swaps Word files with clients, tends to need Microsoft's desktop apps.

How much does each cost for a small team?

On list prices, the two suites cost the same at each step: $7, $14 and $22 a user a month. Microsoft's Business Basic, Standard and Premium cost that paid yearly, and 20% more on a monthly commitment. Google charges $7, $14 and $22 for Business Starter, Standard and Plus with a one-year commitment, or $8.40, $16.80 and $26.40 on flexible monthly plans; both Google options are billed monthly.

What the money buys differs at the entry level. Microsoft's $7 plan has only the web and mobile Office apps; desktop Word, Excel and PowerPoint start at Business Standard. Google's $7 plan has every Google app, with Gemini in Gmail and Vids. Microsoft also sells cheaper plans without Teams, such as Business Basic at $5.40 a user paid yearly.

How do Gemini and Copilot compare?

Google includes Gemini in every plan's price, and Microsoft charges more for the Copilot that reads your work. On Google's Business Starter, Gemini works in Gmail and Vids; from Business Standard it also works in Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, Meet and Chat. A separate add-on, AI Expanded Access, raises the limits, and Google doesn't show its price on the pricing page. Google says company data in Gemini isn't used to train models.

Eligible Microsoft business plans include Copilot Chat, a secure AI chat with web grounding, but it doesn't use your organisation's files, emails or chats. Microsoft 365 Copilot, which works inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams and is grounded in your work data, comes with Business Standard with Copilot at $23.50 or Business Premium with Copilot at $32 a user a month, paid yearly. Microsoft says some advanced AI features also carry usage-based billing on top.

Which is better for storage and meetings?

Google gives more storage on its middle plans, and Microsoft gives the same 1 TB to everyone. Google pools storage across the company: 30 GB per user on Starter, 2 TB on Standard and 5 TB on Plus. Microsoft gives each user 1 TB of OneDrive and a 100 GB mailbox on every business plan.

For meetings, Google Meet holds 100 people on Starter, 150 on Standard and 500 on Plus, with recording from Standard. Microsoft puts Teams for chat, calls and meetings in its "with Teams" plans, and Business Standard adds webinar hosting.

Which works better with AI agents?

Both are opening their data to outside agents, with limits. Google offers remote MCP servers, one each for Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Calendar and Chat, so agents such as Claude can read data and act under the user's permissions; they're in Developer Preview and need a Google Cloud project. Microsoft's Work IQ MCP server exposes mail, calendar, Teams chats and more, and a tenant policy blocks writes until an admin turns them on.

Where does Mojobase fit?

Mojobase is a third option when your work is mostly email, meetings and customers rather than spreadsheets, built for 1 to 25 people, and it works well for teams up to 100. It hosts business email on your own domain, or connects the Gmail and Outlook mailboxes you already have, and keeps calendar, documents, tasks, team chat and customers beside it, with one AI that reads all of it. It has no spreadsheets, slides or video calls, so a team that lives in Excel, Sheets or Meet still needs one of these suites. It costs $39 a month for the first person and $25 for each after, with the AI included.

Questions people ask

Is Google Workspace cheaper than Microsoft 365?

At list prices they match plan for plan: $7, $14 and $22 a user a month for Google's Business Starter, Standard and Plus, and for Microsoft's Business Basic, Standard and Premium paid yearly. The difference is what you get: Microsoft's $7 plan has web Office apps only, Google's has Gemini in Gmail.

Do both include business email on my own domain?

Yes. Every Google Workspace plan includes Gmail on your domain, and every Microsoft 365 business plan includes Outlook email on your domain. Microsoft gives each user a 100 GB mailbox; Google pools storage across the company, 30 GB per user on Starter.

Which has the longer free trial?

Microsoft's. It offers one month free on its business plans, and a credit card is required. Google Workspace offers a 14-day trial at no cost.

Is the AI included in the price?

Google includes Gemini in the per-user price, with Gemini in Gmail and Vids on Starter and in Docs, Sheets, Meet and Chat from Standard. Microsoft includes Copilot Chat, which doesn't use your files or mail; Copilot grounded in your work data comes with the 'with Copilot' plans or as an add-on.

How many users can a small business have on each?

Both cap their business plans at 300 users. Google's Business Starter, Standard and Plus can be bought for up to 300 users, and Microsoft's business plans are limited to 300 licenses across the plan family. Larger organisations move to enterprise plans on either.

Can I switch from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 later?

Yes, both sell monthly business plans, though Microsoft's annual commitment paid monthly can carry a penalty if you cancel early. Google lists a Workspace Migrate tool from Business Standard, and both keep email on your own domain, so the address stays when you move.

Sources

  1. Google Workspace: Business Starter. workspace.google.com/pricing?hl=en_us, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  2. Microsoft 365: Microsoft 365 Business Basic. microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/microsoft-365-business-basic, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  3. Google Workspace: Business Starter includes. workspace.google.com/pricing?hl=en_us, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  4. Microsoft 365: Microsoft 365 Business Basic includes. microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/microsoft-365-business-basic, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  5. Google Workspace: Business Standard. workspace.google.com/pricing?hl=en_us, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  6. Microsoft 365: Microsoft 365 Business Standard. microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/microsoft-365-business-standard, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  7. Google Workspace: Feature. workspace.google.com/pricing, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  8. Microsoft 365: Feature. microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/microsoft-365-plans-and-pricing, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  9. Google Workspace: Feature. workspace.google.com/pricing, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  10. Microsoft 365: Feature. microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/microsoft-365-business-basic, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  11. Google Workspace: AI. workspace.google.com/pricing, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  12. Microsoft 365: AI. microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/microsoft-365-plans-and-pricing, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  13. Google Workspace: AI. workspace.google.com/pricing, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  14. Microsoft 365: AI. microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/microsoft-365-plans-and-pricing, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  15. Google Workspace: Feature. workspace.google.com/pricing, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  16. Microsoft 365: Feature. microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/microsoft-365-plans-and-pricing, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  17. Google Workspace: Free trial. workspace.google.com/pricing?hl=en_us, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  18. Microsoft 365: Free trial. microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/microsoft-365-plans-and-pricing, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  19. Google Workspace: Agents and MCP. developers.google.com/workspace/guides/configure-mcp-servers, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  20. Microsoft 365: Agents and MCP. learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/copilot/extensibility/work-iq/mcp/overview, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  21. Google Workspace: Business Plus. workspace.google.com/pricing?hl=en_us, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  22. Microsoft 365: Microsoft 365 Business Premium. microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/microsoft-365-business-premium, checked 7 Nov 2026.

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