Google Apps vs Office 365 for Small Business: Which One is Better?
In this technical guide today we are going to talk about Google Apps vs Office 365 for small businesses. Let us go one by one for a quick solution!
Table of Content
Google Apps and Office 365 both are productivity suites for business users. These applications will allow users to create spreadsheets, documents, and presentations and collaborate with team members as doing so; also they offer video conferencing functionality and cloud storage.
Thus, if you are planning to go for a new productivity suite, then go through this blog, and understand Google Apps vs Office 365 i.e., which one is more suitable for business. Also, this post will let users explore many advanced features of both Google Apps and Office 365 email applications in a better way. Let’s consider the following scenario to understand the situation more clearly:
User Scenario!
“I have been using the Google Apps email application for a very long time. Due to some security reasons, my company has allowed me to install another application. I wanted to install MS Office 365, but I am not aware of its features. Can someone please explain to me the difference between Google Apps and Office 365? Kindly revert as soon as possible”.
Now, below we are going to discuss which one is better. So, let’s move to the next section!
Google Apps vs Microsoft Office 365 – Choose the Best One?
Google Apps and Office 365 are becoming the best cloud productivity suites. These two applications can enable your business to collaborate, save files online and easily share with others. Both email clients are free to work from anywhere using multiple devices.
We believe Google Apps would be a better choice for all “small business” owners. It is more convenient to use, their mobile apps and web apps are the best, and you might already use the most popular apps like Gmail, Photos, Calendar, Google Docs, and much more. Although if the business scales, they might opt for Office 365 as it is more scalable and vast, hence ideal for large businesses.
On the other hand, Office 365 is more effective for enterprise businesses where each employee works from the office using Windows PC. Their desktop-based apps are great, especially if you are in the Windows ecosystem.
Google Apps vs Office 365 for Small Business: Major Differences
Many organizations are using web-based services to achieve their business goals. Both Google Apps and Office 365 are the most popular collaboration suites among themselves. Have a look:
MS Office 365 File & Email Storage
In every organization, a large amount of storage space is a basic necessity. Data is generated in large amounts by a company or a person regularly. Thus, you need more storage capacity to save crucial data. Now, when it comes to the storage space of Office 365 and Google Apps, there are lots of differences. Office 365 Business Essentials provides 1 Tb of storage space per user, on the other hand, Google Apps basic plan gives only 30 GB of storage space.
Office 365 Offers an Easy-to-Use Interface
Compared to other cloud-based products, Office 365 is already familiar with Microsoft software. Due to this reason, the Office 365 application can be very attractive for a Windows-centric organization that wants to migrate to Office 365 from Google Apps. Furthermore, Microsoft has kept applications between on-premises and Office 365 very efficiently. The features of the Office suite of business applications are most similar in the cloud as full installation on-premises. In addition, Office 365 business productivity apps are more feature-rich than Google Apps.
The capability of Accessing Offline Files
Both MS Office 365 and Google Apps applications support offline files. Even though Microsoft provides a smooth and easy solution to implement as compared to Google Apps. To work with Google Apps offline docs, users have to make use of Google Chrome and after that, they can install the Google Docs offline extension. It will allow users to work with Google Apps offline files. After the connectivity restoration, each file is synchronized back to the cloud. Google Apps vs Office 365 for small business, which to choose? Still confused?
Pricing of Both Email Clients
Price is probably the biggest factor when purchasing any online business software and the prices of both Google and Microsoft are extremely competitive. Moreover, Google renders a three-tiered pricing option for business users; Basic, Enterprise, or Business. Whereas MS Office 365 also provides three pricing options: Business Essentials, Business, and Business Premium for medium and small businesses. Microsoft also provides a range of enterprise packages that offer mailbox size differences and storage.
Security Features of Google Apps vs Office 365
Security is the major concern for small businesses during the usage of cloud-based applications. Although when it comes to Google Apps and Office 365 both have different types of security measures. Google Apps is integrated on top of Google’s cloud infrastructure and also uses the same security level utilized by Google itself. This involves the automatic detection of abnormal activity, phishing attempts, and any other hacking attempts. You can use 2-factor authentication and enforce it for all users. Whereas Office 365 lets you enable multiple-factor authentication for every user’s password. It can also use Microsoft’s spam, virus, and malware detection tools to scan all emails, attachments, and documents.
Note: To migrate G Suite to Office 365, you can use an advanced utility, Revove Google Apps to Office 365 Migration Tool. With this software, you can easily move the whole data from Google Apps in just one go.
There are no restrictions you can migrate to Google Apps vs Office 365 for small businesses without facing any trouble during the process.
Know the Plans and Pricing of Google Apps & Microsoft 365
Plan for Business Starters: This plan is useful for small businesses or new businesses. A basic package costs $6 per month per user and includes 30GB of cloud storage for every user. This plan cannot include shared drives for your team, Cloud Search, AppSheet, and so on.
Standard Edition of Microsoft 365: Available for $12.50 per month, it is best suited for organizations that need a complete remote collaboration and communication solution. You can also combine the Business Basic plan with all the premium office apps, including all the desktop versions.
Business Plus: This plan offers a large storage capacity and enhanced security. Additionally, it includes Cloud Search, attendance tracking, and hosting online meetings for up to 250 participants for $18 per user per month. It provides enhanced security and management controls, including the Vault and advanced endpoint management.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium: The Microsoft 365 edition costs $20 per month. In Addition to the premium apps and cloud services available in Business Standard, it includes advanced security and management services. This plan is suitable for all organizations that require advanced threat protection and remote work solutions.
Observational Verdict
In this article, we have explained the major differences between both email clients, i.e., Google Apps and Office 365. After comparing Google Apps vs Office 365 for small businesses, you can easily find out which one is best. In addition, there are many organizations, the choice depends entirely upon the business needs, strategies, and direction. For better information, you need to read the above post and choose the right one.