Business Email Suites

Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365: Comparing Business Email and Productivity Suites

Both bundle business email, cloud storage, a document suite and video calling under one per-user subscription — the real differences show up in which apps your team already knows and how storage is allocated.

Per user/mo

Pricing model for both suites

Tiered

Storage that scales with plan level

Admin console

Central user and security management, both platforms

$2.99/mo

Hosting Cheap's simple email-only alternative

In short

Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 is a choice between two full business suites built around a familiar core app: Gmail-based email, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive and Meet on Google's side, versus Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive and Teams on Microsoft's. Both scale per-user-per-month pricing across multiple tiers, with storage that increases at higher plans and an admin console for managing users, security and devices centrally. The right choice usually comes down to which set of apps your team already uses daily, since both cover the same core functions — email, documents, storage and video calls — reliably.

Businesses that don't need the full suite complexity, and just want professional inboxes on their own domain, often pair either suite's absence with simple hosting-based email instead.

Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 solve the same basic business need — a professional email address on your own domain, backed by shared cloud storage, a document editing suite and video conferencing — but they build it around two different ecosystems that most people already have some familiarity with. Google Workspace centers on Gmail's interface and Google Drive's real-time collaborative Docs, Sheets and Slides, with Meet handling video calls; it's the suite most teams coming from a personal Gmail habit adapt to fastest.

Microsoft 365 centers on Outlook for email and calendar, the desktop-native Word, Excel and PowerPoint applications many businesses have used for decades, OneDrive for storage, and Teams for chat and video. Its tiers typically include full desktop app installs alongside the web versions, which matters most for teams with existing Office-based workflows or documents with complex formatting built up over years. Both platforms offer admin consoles for centrally managing users, security policies and devices — the decision is less about which is objectively better and more about which ecosystem your team's existing habits and files already lean toward.

Core Apps: Gmail and Docs vs Outlook and Office

Google Workspace's core experience runs through Gmail's web interface for email, with Docs, Sheets and Slides built as real-time collaborative web apps first — multiple people editing the same document simultaneously, with changes visible instantly, is the default experience rather than an add-on feature. Meet handles video calls, integrated directly into Calendar invites.

Microsoft 365's core experience runs through Outlook for email and calendar, paired with Word, Excel and PowerPoint, which most tiers include as full desktop application installs alongside web and mobile versions — a meaningful difference for teams working with complex spreadsheet formulas, advanced document formatting or existing files built up over years in Office's native formats. Teams handles chat and video, tied into the same login as email and file storage.

Storage: Drive vs OneDrive, Scaling by Tier

Both platforms allocate cloud storage per user, and in both cases that allocation increases meaningfully as you move up through plan tiers — the entry-level tier on either platform is built for a small team's basic file needs, while higher tiers are sized for teams sharing large media libraries, extensive document archives or heavier collaborative workloads.

The practical difference is less about total storage available and more about how each integrates into daily work — Google Drive's storage is tightly wired into Docs, Sheets and Gmail attachments as one unified pool per user, while OneDrive integrates similarly with Office apps and Teams file sharing. Neither has a structural storage advantage significant enough to be the deciding factor on its own.

Admin Controls: Managing Users, Security and Devices

Google Workspace's admin console centralizes user provisioning, group management, two-factor authentication enforcement, and mobile device management from one dashboard, with security settings that apply organization-wide by default. IT admins managing a growing team generally find it straightforward to onboard and offboard users without touching individual mailbox settings one at a time.

Microsoft 365's admin center offers a comparably deep set of controls, often with more granular options for organizations already using Windows-based infrastructure or Active Directory-style identity management, since Microsoft's ecosystem extends well beyond just email into broader enterprise identity and device management tooling. Teams already standardized on Windows devices and directory services tend to find Microsoft's admin tooling integrates more naturally with what's already in place.

Pricing Structure and Where a Simpler Option Fits

Both suites price per user per month across multiple tiers, with higher tiers unlocking more storage, more advanced security controls, and additional apps beyond the email-and-documents core — the total cost scales directly with headcount, which matters most once a team grows past a handful of people all needing full suite access.

For a business that just needs a professional inbox on its own domain — without the document suite, video conferencing platform or admin console complexity — pairing hosting with a simpler dedicated email plan is often the more direct fit. Hosting Cheap's email hosting includes up to 10 mailboxes at 10 GB each, webmail plus IMAP, POP and SMTP access, and spam and virus filtering from $2.99/mo, without requiring the full per-user suite subscription either Google or Microsoft charges for.

Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365: Which Email?

Simple Business Email Without the Full Suite Subscription

Not every business needs Google Workspace or Microsoft 365's full document suite and video conferencing platform just to get a professional inbox — Hosting Cheap's email hosting delivers up to 10 mailboxes at 10 GB each on your own domain from $2.99/mo.

It includes modern webmail alongside full IMAP, POP and SMTP access, so mail syncs to Outlook, Gmail, Apple Mail or a phone's built-in mail app exactly the way either full suite would, without the per-user subscription cost of the apps you're not using.

Up to 10 mailboxes at 10 GB each on your own domain, from $2.99/mo
Webmail plus full IMAP, POP and SMTP access for any mail client
Spam and virus filtering built in, no separate configuration needed
Free migration from your current provider, including from Workspace or 365

Why Hosting Cheap

What you get

Lower cost per mailbox

Email hosting from $2.99/mo covers up to 10 mailboxes without a per-user suite subscription.

Works with any mail client

Full IMAP, POP and SMTP access means mail syncs to Outlook, Gmail or Apple Mail either way.

Spam filtering included

Built-in filtering handles unwanted mail without configuring a separate security add-on.

Free migration off either suite

Move mailboxes off Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 without doing the transfer yourself.

Auto-renewing SSL on webmail

Webmail access is encrypted by default, the same as either full suite's login.

24/7 human support

Real help setting up mailboxes or deciding if a full suite is actually needed.

How It Works

Get set up in a few steps

List what your team actually uses daily

Check whether the document suite and video calls matter, or just the inbox does.

Compare per-user cost at your headcount

Multiply either suite's per-user price against your team size and compare to email-only hosting.

Migrate mailboxes if a simpler plan fits

Move from Workspace or 365 to dedicated email hosting free, keeping your domain.

Included

Everything you need, on every plan

List which apps your team actually uses daily beyond just email
Compare per-user pricing at your actual headcount, not a single-user estimate
Check whether desktop app installs matter or web-based access is sufficient
Confirm storage needs against each platform's tiered allocation
Ask whether your team's existing files lean toward Office or Google formats
Consider whether a simpler email-only plan covers your actual requirements
Check that any migration path preserves existing mail and contacts
Confirm spam filtering and encryption are handled either way you choose

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Which is cheaper, Google Workspace or Microsoft 365?

Both price per user per month across comparable tiers, and the cheaper option depends on which specific tier and app set your team needs — a direct comparison should be run at your actual headcount and required feature set rather than a general assumption.

Do I need Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 just for business email?

Not necessarily. If your team only needs a professional inbox on your own domain without the full document suite or video conferencing, dedicated email hosting from $2.99/mo covers that at a lower per-mailbox cost.

Can I migrate away from Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 later?

Yes, mailboxes, contacts and existing mail can be moved to a different email setup, and Hosting Cheap provides free migration assistance for exactly this kind of move.

Does Microsoft 365 include desktop versions of Word and Excel?

Most Microsoft 365 business tiers include full desktop application installs alongside web and mobile versions, which is one of its clearer differences from Google Workspace's web-first Docs and Sheets.

Is Gmail included with Google Workspace?

Yes, Google Workspace provides Gmail's interface running on your own business domain rather than a free personal Gmail address, alongside Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Meet.

What's the alternative if I don't need a full suite?

Hosting Cheap's email hosting provides up to 10 mailboxes at 10 GB each on your own domain, with webmail and full IMAP, POP and SMTP access, from $2.99/mo — a simpler fit for teams that just need reliable business inboxes.

Professional Email Without the Full Suite Price Tag

Up to 10 mailboxes at 10 GB each on your own domain, from $2.99/mo — free migration from Workspace or 365 included.

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