Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace for Small Business
By Nemanja Vukmirović, Lizzard Solutions. Last updated 9 November 2026.
You are opening a new company, or you are finally moving the team off free Gmail addresses and a shared Dropbox. Someone says “just get Microsoft 365”, someone else says “Google is simpler”. Both are right for somebody. The wrong choice is not a disaster, but migrating 20 mailboxes a year later costs a week you would rather spend on clients.
This guide compares Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace for small business on the things that actually decide it: the apps your team already uses, storage, security, admin effort and how hard it is to leave.
TL;DR
- Both give you business email on your own domain, calendar, video meetings, cloud storage and office apps, and both Business families are capped at 300 users.
- Choose Microsoft 365 if your team lives in desktop Excel and Word, your clients send Office files, or you need Windows device management.
- Choose Google Workspace if your team works mostly in the browser, collaborates live on documents and wants the lightest admin.
- Whatever you pick, switch on MFA, back up the data and document who the admin is.
Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace: What Is the Difference?
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are subscription office suites for businesses. Both bundle custom-domain email, calendars, chat and video meetings, cloud file storage and document editors. Microsoft 365 is built around the Office desktop apps (Word, Excel, Outlook) plus Teams, while Google Workspace is built around browser apps (Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Drive, Meet).
That design difference explains most of the rest. Microsoft started from desktop software and moved it to the cloud. Google started in the browser and added offline and desktop options later. Day to day, your team will feel the difference more than any feature list shows.
Key takeaway
Do not choose by feature count. Choose by the tools your team and your clients already use every day, then check storage and security on the plan you can afford.
How Do the Business Plans Compare?
Both vendors sell three small business tiers. The table below uses the vendors’ own documentation: Microsoft’s plan options service description, Exchange Online limits and the Google Workspace pricing page. Prices change often and differ by country and billing period, so check them on the official pages before you buy.
| Microsoft 365 | Google Workspace | |
|---|---|---|
| Small business tiers | Business Basic, Business Standard, Business Premium | Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus |
| User limit | Up to 300 seats across the Business plans | Up to 300 users on Starter, Standard and Plus |
| Cloud storage | 1 TB OneDrive per user on all three Business plans | 30 GB pooled per user (Starter), 2 TB (Standard), 5 TB (Plus) |
| Mailbox | 100 GB mailbox per user, plus archive (50 GB on Basic and Standard, 1.5 TB on Premium) | Shares the pooled storage above |
| Desktop office apps | Not on Basic (web and mobile only); included on Standard and Premium | Browser apps; Drive for desktop syncs files |
| Meetings | Microsoft Teams | Google Meet: 100 participants on Starter, 150 on Standard, 500 on Plus |
| Advanced security tier | Business Premium (adds device management and threat protection) | Business Plus (adds Vault, advanced endpoint management) |
Two details trip people up. First, Microsoft 365 Business Basic does not include the desktop Word and Excel apps, only the web and mobile versions. Second, Google’s storage on Business Starter is small for a team that stores photos, video or large design files.
Action for today: count how many people in your team truly need desktop Excel or Word. That number often decides the tier, and sometimes the vendor.
When Is Microsoft 365 the Better Fit?
- Heavy Excel users. Finance, accounting, engineering and anyone with large spreadsheets, macros or Power Query workflows will feel limited in a browser editor.
- Clients and partners send Office files. Tenders, contracts with tracked changes and bank templates usually arrive as .docx and .xlsx. Editing them natively avoids formatting surprises.
- Windows laptops you want to manage centrally. According to the Microsoft 365 Business Premium FAQ, Business Premium includes device management and advanced security for up to 300 users, which covers lost-laptop scenarios and app control.
- Teams is already your client channel. If customers invite you to Teams meetings daily, being inside the same ecosystem is simpler.
A worked example: a 15-person engineering office
Eight engineers work in desktop Excel and CAD-related tools, three people in sales send quotes as Word files, and four field staff mostly read email on phones. A sensible setup is Business Standard for the eleven desk users and Business Basic for the four field staff. The admin adds Business Premium later only for laptops that hold client drawings.
When Is Google Workspace the Better Fit?
- Browser-first teams. Agencies, startups and service businesses that live in Chrome, share links instead of attachments and edit documents together in real time.
- Light IT admin. A small team without an IT person usually finds the Google Admin console faster to learn.
- Mixed devices. Mac, Windows, Chromebook and phones all work the same way because everything runs in the browser.
- Automation with web tools. Sheets and Forms connect easily to tools like those in our Zapier vs Make vs n8n comparison, although Microsoft 365 connects to them too.
A worked example: a 6-person marketing agency
Everyone writes in shared Docs with clients commenting directly, assets live in shared drives, and meetings are short Meet calls. Business Standard gives each person 2 TB of pooled storage and meeting recordings. Nobody needs desktop Office, and the owner manages users herself in an hour a month.
Security and Compliance: What Matters for a Small Team
Both platforms are secure enough for a small business when they are configured properly. Most incidents we see come from settings nobody switched on, not from the platform itself. Check these on day one, whichever suite you choose:
- Turn on multi-factor authentication for every account. Our multi-factor authentication guide has step-by-step settings for both platforms.
- Create a second admin account for emergencies and store its recovery codes offline.
- Set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC for your domain so your email reaches inboxes and is harder to spoof.
- Decide who may share files outside the company, and review external sharing every quarter.
- Remember that the vendor keeps the service running, but deleted or encrypted files are your problem. Add a separate data backup plan for mail and files.
Watch out
Data residency and GDPR questions differ by plan. If you handle sensitive client data for EU customers, check each vendor’s data processing terms and data-location options for the exact plan before you sign, not after.
Migration and Lock-In: How Hard Is It to Switch Later?
Both vendors offer free tools to move mail, calendars and contacts in. Moving out is where planning pays off. Email migrates well. Documents are trickier: native Google Docs and Sheets need conversion to Office formats, and complex spreadsheets or shared folder permissions rarely survive a move perfectly.
- Keep your domain and DNS at a registrar you control, not inside the office suite.
- Use clear shared folder structures instead of hundreds of files shared person by person.
- Note every app that signs in with “Sign in with Google” or “Sign in with Microsoft”, because those logins move with the account.
- Plan a migration for a weekend and lower DNS TTL a few days before you switch MX records.
If your business also runs on other cloud services, our cloud solutions guide for small business shows how the office suite fits into the wider setup.
A 5-Question Checklist to Decide
| Question | If yes, lean to |
|---|---|
| Do several people need desktop Excel or Word every day? | Microsoft 365 |
| Do clients send you Office files with tracked changes or macros? | Microsoft 365 |
| Does the team mostly co-edit documents live in the browser? | Google Workspace |
| Do you need central control of Windows laptops? | Microsoft 365 Business Premium |
| Do you have no IT person and want the simplest admin? | Google Workspace |
If the answers split evenly, run a free trial of each with two or three real users doing real work. A week of actual use tells you more than any comparison article, including this one.
Prefer someone to own the setup and the admin work? That is part of our IT outsourcing for small business service.
FAQ
Is Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace cheaper for a small business?
Entry tiers are close in price, but the real cost depends on which tier each person needs. Compare the official pricing pages for your country and mix tiers where the vendor allows it.
Can I use Microsoft Office files in Google Workspace?
Yes. Google Docs, Sheets and Slides can open and edit Office files, but complex formatting, macros and advanced Excel features may not behave the same.
Can I mix both platforms?
You can, for example Google Workspace for email with a few desktop Office licences for heavy Excel users. Keep one platform as the main identity and email system to avoid double admin work.
How long does a migration take for a small team?
For a team of 10 to 20 people with ordinary mailboxes, the cutover itself usually fits into a weekend. Preparation, cleanup and training take longer than the data transfer.
Need help with email, cloud setup or security? See our IT and cloud services.
Not sure which suite fits your team?
We review how your team works, recommend a plan, migrate your mail and files and set up security properly from day one.
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