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Google Calendar vs. Microsoft 365 vs. Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Google Calendar

    Score9.2 out of 10
    N/AGoogle Calendar is a time-management and scheduling calendar service, from Google, available as part of its productivity tool suite.N/A

    Microsoft 365

    Score8.7 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft 365 (formerly Office 365) is a Microsoft Cloud subscription service that includes Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, and Access). The software can be installed across multiple devices and ensures that users always have the most up-to-date version of the included Office applications.

    $5

    Per User Per Month

    Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)

    Score8.6 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft Office 2016 is the familiar suite of Office products including applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for use on a single PC or Mac. The 2016 is no longer available for sale from Microsoft, and support is at an end since 2020.N/A
    Pricing
    Google CalendarMicrosoft 365Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Business Basic
    $5.00
    Per User Per Month
    Individual
    $5.84
    *Per Month
    Business - Apps
    $8.25
    Per User Per Month
    Enterprise - F3
    $10.00
    Per User Per Month
    Business Standard
    $12.50
    Per User Per Month
    Business Premium
    $20.00
    Per User Per Month
    Enterprise - E3
    $32.00
    Per User Per Month
    Enterprise - E5
    $57.00
    Per User Per Month
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Google CalendarMicrosoft 365Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
    Free Trial
    NoNoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details*When billed annually.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Google CalendarMicrosoft 365Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
    Considered Multiple Products
    Google
    Chose Google Calendar
    Google Calendar is a close competitor and I think wins in certain categories like general appearance and enabling focus hours & working hours. However, Microsft 365's calendar just seems like it has been built out more with a focus on business use case (despite still having …
    Incentivized
    Chose Google Calendar
    Google Calendar is better than Microsoft 365 in pretty much every aspect of the product. Microsoft Outlook's user interface is slow, non-intuitive, and even stressful to use in the long term, while Google Calendar is fast, responsive, and intuitive.
    Incentivized
    Chose Google Calendar
    The user interface of Microsoft feels a lot more outdated than Google. I don't think it's as user friendly and it's not intuitive. I find myself needing to search up where to find things a lot more often than Google Calendar. I like that Google calendar easily integrates with Sl…
    Incentivized
    Chose Google Calendar
    Compared to Microsoft 365 Outlook calendar, Google Calendar is much fresher and vibrant and easy on the eye.
    It feels much less cumbersome than 365 products.
    It is easier to add & schedule events and invite colleagues and clients.
    Incentivized
    Microsoft
    Chose Microsoft 365
    Microsoft Office 365 is more complete than Microsoft Office 2016. It is cloud-based, and this is a great advantage. Furthermore, now updates and upgrades are automatic and can be scheduled or accepted, really saving time compared to Office 2016.
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft 365
    I used to like Google more than Microsoft because I used it more, but now I think they are very similar. I am able to use both on my phone, both have Clouds, and both have synced calendars, documents, and sheets. The reason I use Microsoft is [that] my company uses it, and I …
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft 365
    Because 365 connects most of my work apps such as OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams.
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft 365
    Microsoft 360 felt more professional and had fewer bugs than Google. The storage function felt more secure. We also needed to utilize Microsoft because it was HIPPA compliant. I feel like the apps are more intuitive on 360 although, I have recently used Google as it has been a …
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft 365
    No comparison, we can do more with Microsoft 365 and we are more efficient. The pricing model is very fair. We don't have to worry about updating the software on each machine, the updates are handled by Microsoft directly and the Microsoft 365 programs seem much more stable and …
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft 365
    We had been using Microsoft Office for a long time, but moving to Microsoft 365 [(formerly Office 365)] was a game changer because it is a cloud based system. Having the ability to access your email, files, or whatever you need wherever you are from any device is what really …
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft 365
    In our company we have both Office 365 and regular Office 2016. We are transitioning more to 365 for the ease of managing the licensing. We don't have to keep license cards or numbers stored anywhere because 365 uses your microsoft login which you are using anyway.
    Compared to …
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft 365
    We were looking to stay in the Microsoft Office 365 family, so it was either the cloud or a current desktop version. Ultimately the lower startup cost of refreshing all licenses at once, it was decided by the board to go with the new subscription-based Microsoft Office 365. At …
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft 365
    Microsoft Office 365 simply drives through the cloud platform allowing to set a huge variety of options that can be set from custom to standard software in a single package or just to set an specific range of options enabled to the end users, and given the chance to the company …
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft 365
    Microsoft Office 365 is the easiest to access on the go and is always up to date. It is also affordable given all of the features it offers. Being able to use most of Microsoft's products for one price is convenient and allows our organization to store and sort information over …
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft 365
    Having all of the offerings and services in one easy to use administrative interface makes administration of our Microsoft suite of applications much easier. We are not able to get that same integration with separated applications. Gmail is not very intuitive if you're coming …
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft 365
    Google Apps made famous real-time collaborative editing in Google Docs. Now that Office 365 offers Word Online, there is no competition. Google Apps have always been "Microsoft Office-Lite" products, giving very basic functionality. With Office Online apps, it's hard not to see …
    Incentivized
    Discontinued Products
    Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
    For certain situations there is a benefit to the "standalone" package of Office 2106, vs. a subscription-based product like Office 365. Especially in the case where there are shared computers, or computers that are used as a kiosk, Microsoft Office 2016 would be one of the few …
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
    We have not tried to use an alternate. Office is the way to go.
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
    Microsoft Office provides the complete package. Everyone else is just a piece to the puzzle. Sure Microsoft Office costs more, but they give you all the software you need to have in one package. I don't want or need to find replacements for 5 different purposes.
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
    Not as robust and feature filled as office 2016. Also missing a mail client like outlook that can be integrated with exchange. have not used any further applications besides this.
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
    Microsoft Office 365 brings the same tools of Office 2016, but renewed. Office 2016 was sold for a one time, up front fee, on the other hand, Microsoft Office 365 is the new way Microsoft wants you to buy Office, you pay a monthly or yearly fee and get access to its latest …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    31 Answers
    96%
    Would buy again
    195 Answers
    93%
    Would buy again
    50 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    27 Answers
    97%
    Delivers good value for the price
    179 Answers
    94%
    Delivers good value for the price
    47 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    31 Answers
    98%
    Happy with the feature set
    198 Answers
    96%
    Happy with the feature set
    52 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    19 Answers
    94%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    134 Answers
    98%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    40 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    21 Answers
    95%
    Implementation went as expected
    142 Answers
    98%
    Implementation went as expected
    41 Answers
    Best Alternatives
    Google CalendarMicrosoft 365Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
    Small Businesses
    iCal
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Google Workspace
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Google Workspace
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    iCal
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Google Workspace
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Google Workspace
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Enterprises
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft 365 Business Premium
    Score9 out of 10
    Microsoft 365 Business Premium
    Score9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Google CalendarMicrosoft 365Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.7
    (30 ratings)
    8.4
    (262 ratings)
    7.5
    (64 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.5
    (6 ratings)
    5.0
    (3 ratings)
    Usability
    9.5
    (8 ratings)
    8.7
    (30 ratings)
    7.0
    (3 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.9
    (54 ratings)
    8.0
    (45 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Google CalendarMicrosoft 365Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Google
    I think it's appropriate for everyone that meets with customers, meets with people within their businesses. I even put my personal calendar on my work calendar. I'm just looking at it every day, so I think everyone could use it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Microsoft 365 would be well suited for medium to large enterprises. This is where there are several hundreds or thousands of people. Since most everyone has used one of the applications the learning curve would be reduced. Another reason would be the ability to implement security measures to prevent access to sensitive data. This could justify the cost of an Enterprise license.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    I'd recommend [Microsoft] Office2016 for any business that has more than a couple of users, as the software is very scalable from just a small business to a large enterprise corporation. I don't know of any case where it might not be appropriate, as even home users and students use the software suite as well.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Google
    • Enables the creation of designated Focus Hours
    • Enables users to set their "working hours" and others can see if they are setting up a meetings a moon symbol next to their name to show it is outside of that invitees working hours
    • Allows you to easily create scheduled tasks directly on your Google Calendar
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Chat with teams and the integrations with the other apps, and many more smaller ones, like to-dos, news, and the recent Outlook integration.
    • Easy embedding on SharePoint to broadcast all the content created in the different tools.
    • The office package is still robust with the good things from the past and new additions.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • Data manipulation. Excel takes the raw data we receive and allows us to digest it in ways that are useful to our business processes.
    • Communication. Outlook serves as our primary means of communication and setting up appointments.
    • Documentation. Word is the default standard when it comes to using a word processor and we are no different in this regard. Nearly every user has to use the application on a regular basis in order to accomplish their work.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Google
    • The booking page is really helpful for external people who want to chat with me, but so few people use it, that it makes it more frustrating. The solution exists but nobody is using it. It needs to be highlighted more
    • You have to switch between email accounts or set up additional calendars to schedule work events vs personal events
    • integrations with other calendars don't update quickly, so sometimes a coworkers vacation doesn't show up in the calendar until much later
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Slack is 1000x better than teams. Why put a 250 limit on a chat? Our company hasn't moved fully to channels and it's making us lose transparency. Plus, the teams channels we do have nobody is going to. 90% loss in visibility and engagement.
    • Teams for web meetings. I think the UI/UX should match Zoom which is the standard for all our customers. They don't like it when we use Teams.
    • Chats and Channels need to somehow be on one screen automatically without having to choose that view because majority of our company hasn't opened Teams Channels and only stays in chats.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • Office 2016 professional edition can be priced for a single user license, it would be nice to see a drop in the pricing.
    • Office 2016 home edition is a better price but does not include outlook 2016, so it is not a good fit for the workplace environments.
    • Office 2016 can run slowly on older systems, so you need to make sure you have a machine that is 4 years old or less for it to run smoothly.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Google
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    There are many features of Office that we cannot replicate in any other tool. Plus people know it already. It's not going away anytime soon.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    We believe that office 2016 offers the best value when it comes to features included out of the box. The software is used in its entirety by our organization and is easily supported by our staff of IT technicians. Users find this software to be easy to learn and easy to use with minimal learning curve.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Google
    The platform itself is pretty user friendly even if you don't have a technical background. You can easily schedule meetings, block out focus time, update your time off, and add meeting notes. The settings are easily mapped out in terms of functionality and if you need help you can easily search for an answer on Google search
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Microsoft 365 is the gold standard for performing project tasks in a professional environment, enabling the quick transfer and exchange of files and ideas for team members who work locally and remotely. Its suite of tools is familiar and has evolved to being cloud based, allowing for files to be updated in real time from near and far.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    It's fairly easy to use, but the automatic formatting or capturing of formatting when pasting is wonky - especially when there are outlines or other bullets/numbered lists. Fixing and sizing up tables can be annoying, and there are sometimes formatting issues that we just absolutely cannot fix for some reason
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Google
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    Over the past 8 years of using Microsoft 365, I have noticed that they change vendors often. This always leads to a poor experience in the beginning, then levels out after some time for the company to get things worked out. As a customer, it is really frustrating because I don't have time when something isn't working to have them "look into my issue" and get back with me. They have even closed a ticket I specifically told them to keep open. Your applications are only as good as the support.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    I am an MS feedback hub participant and they certainly don't pay enough attention to several bugs several people raise it in the portal. For the enterprise, it seems to me based on my prior experience that yes, they have a dedicated team to support operations. For mid to small companies or single users, it has been a struggle. So, you are pretty much with MS Blogs and others.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Google
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    Everything works and I use it all the time.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Google
    Most of the other services we would use don't have the same integration with other Google services that Google Calendar has. The ability to view and set things from your email is very convenient. So is the ability to have your notifications automatically show up on an Android phone as a reminder.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Its very user-friendly, collaborative and efficient that boosts productivity using cloud tools. their security is strong and it provides data protection. There are regular updates that shields us from attackers too. It offers a wealth of learning resources, including tutorials, help articles and video guide to help users make the most of the application and personally upgrade their skills.
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    We use Microsoft Office 2016 because at the time it was the best tool for us, but now with full attention to cloud products, we may be thinking of migrating our solution to a cloud service.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Google
    • Very significant improvement in employee productivity (more than 10%), because people spend much less time arranging meetings.
    • Essential tool to develop remote work within the company during Covid.
    • No need to build an email infrastructure (significant cost reduction in IT infrastructure).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • We have a lot of nonprofit users, so they have a good ROI.
    • I like the constant updates without having to purchase the software repeatedly.
    • I used to purchase each Office (insert year here) often, so the software was up to date and had the newest options and connectors. I think my return on investment would have been much better if Microsoft had updated those versions to keep them current; after all, we did pay for them.
    • Microsoft 365's offering a monthly fee or a discount for a year helps, and you can look at it as a free backup if you have everything set to back up to One Drive. (Cloud-based document filing you can access anywhere ( with an internet connection)—you Can't beat that!)
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • Microsoft Office 2016 saves me a lot of time daily. I have functions and macros set up that calculate and show me a lot of things just from a couple of my inputs. This would take full days sometimes if not for that.
    • Apart from time, it saves me money, I manage data in Excel, I don't have to buy software specifically for that.
    • Sooner or later my company will have to switch to new edition, which will hurt revenues because of a subscription model.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots