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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Google Workspace Essentials

    Score9.4 out of 10
    N/AGoogle now offers Google Workspace Essentials (formerly G Suite Essentials), providing a solution for users of Outlook or Office whose teams want to use Google Meet and Google Apps without needing to involve a personal gmail account. Google Workspace Essentails includes Google Slides, Sheets, and Docs, as well as Google Meet, Google Drive, Forms, Sites, and Keep, in a bundle minus a gmail account. Basic Essentials supports (via Meet) meetings with up to 150 participants, and Google Drive with…

    $8

    per month per user

    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

    Pricing
    Google Workspace EssentialsMicrosoft 365
    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
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Google Workspace EssentialsMicrosoft 365
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details—*When billed annually.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Google Workspace EssentialsMicrosoft 365
    Considered Both Products
    Google
    Chose Google Workspace Essentials
    Microsoft 365 has a better calendar at times, but its interface is clunky and outdated. Google offered better cloud access, more security features, and a better user experience for employees.
    Incentivized
    Chose Google Workspace Essentials
    pricing, availability and ease of use.
    Incentivized
    Chose Google Workspace Essentials
    We started with Google and integrated with those services.
    Incentivized
    Chose Google Workspace Essentials
    Basically, it was easier to deploy and we were having some issues with the older Microsoft version, and we thought Gsuite had a friendlier environment.
    Incentivized
    Chose Google Workspace Essentials
    Google Workspace is easier to use and access.
    Incentivized
    Chose Google Workspace Essentials
    There is absolutely no comparison between Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace Essentials. As I mentioned before, almost everyone uses Google either personally or with their business. Therefore, it is so very easy to adjust to Google Workspace Essentials. Google also makes it way …
    Incentivized
    Chose Google Workspace Essentials
    Google Workspace Essentials is more robust than Dropbox with the other features that are available. Google Workspace Essentials is very comparable to Microsoft 365, and we ultimately went with Google because at the time, it was free/priced better than MS, and now we have lots …
    Incentivized
    Microsoft
    Chose Microsoft 365
    In my opinion Microsoft 365 is the most complete out of the bunch because of the cloud and desktop apps, the easy expandability it brings in combination with Azure and Entra/Intune. I must say that Google Workspace is a close contender but the desktop apps are less complete in …
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft 365
    [Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365)] has much more experience when it comes to handling emails, while offering a much broader portfolio of systems for collaborative work, this directly impacts the efficiency and productivity of users. In the same way, it integrates many …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    95%
    Would buy again
    19 Answers
    96%
    Would buy again
    195 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    94%
    Delivers good value for the price
    17 Answers
    97%
    Delivers good value for the price
    179 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    95%
    Happy with the feature set
    19 Answers
    98%
    Happy with the feature set
    198 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    79%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    11 Answers
    94%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    134 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    16 Answers
    95%
    Implementation went as expected
    142 Answers
    Best Alternatives
    Google Workspace EssentialsMicrosoft 365
    Small Businesses
    Google Workspace
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Google Workspace
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Google Workspace
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Google Workspace
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Microsoft 365 Business Premium
    Score9 out of 10
    Microsoft 365 Business Premium
    Score9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Google Workspace EssentialsMicrosoft 365
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.7
    (20 ratings)
    8.4
    (262 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.5
    (6 ratings)
    Usability
    9.5
    (5 ratings)
    8.7
    (30 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.9
    (54 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Google Workspace EssentialsMicrosoft 365
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Google
    Well-suited for: Fast-paced drafting ideas, docs, charts, sheets, etc. Love it for client calls as well. Google Meet runs in a web browser; you don't need to download any special software. Shared Drives are great for sharing information; the ability to add a Google Notebook to them is the icing on the cake. It is less appropriate when Wi-Fi or the internet is spotty, or when you need heavy-duty Excel macro data crunching.
    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
    Pros
    Google
    • Google Docs & Google Slides are essential to our company as we are remote. Multiple people can work on the documents at one time.
    • Easy to share and store files in Google Drive.
    • Google Calendar is amazing, it integrates seamlessly with other Google products and it's our company's primary calendar tool.
    Incentivized
    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
    Cons
    Google
    • Record option to be there in Google meet
    • ability to share documents outside google accounts need to be looked at
    • Improvement in conversion to MS office based documents and converting those documents to googles format needs a little work.
    • Will be good to have a pdf to word converter and vice versa
    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
    Likelihood to Renew
    Google
    Now that our department has used G Suite Essentials for close to 2 years, I can't imagine not using it. It has proven to be a very practical tool for sharing files / folders on a shared drive. It also makes it easy to modify and update content. It is user friendly and the interface is simple.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Usability
    Google
    It is so easy to use, very intuitive and the site looks nice. There is no hint of the old DOS days in the look and functionality. Let's be real, Google Workspace Essentials is attractive and easy on the eyes and even offers a dark mode if you want to rest your eyes a bit or are in a mood for such
    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
    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
    Implementation Rating
    Google
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    Everything works and I use it all the time.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Google
    Google Workspace Essentials is more robust than Dropbox with the other features that are available. Google Workspace Essentials is very comparable to Microsoft 365, and we ultimately went with Google because at the time, it was free/priced better than MS, and now we have lots of legacy files already stored on Google servers, so a switch would be too time-consuming. We went with Google Workspace Essentials over OpenOffice because of the email features of using Google.
    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
    Return on Investment
    Google
    • Our fundraising and development efforts nearly doubled 2020-2022, largely in part to the organizational tools within Google Workspace Essentials.
    • We've opened up the capacity to work more closely with contractors in a more collaborative nature because of GWE's capabilities.
    • It was integral to our brand overhaul.
    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
    ScreenShots