G Suite vs Office 365: Apps, Security & Pricing Compared

Every business strives for employee productivity as time is money! Business owners at some point or the other must choose their productivity tool. Using the right tools that suit your business needs is a major decision. Microsoft constantly enhances its products to meet with the changing trends of the workplace. Consequently, Office 365 is now offered in Microsoft 365.

Deciding between G Suite vs Office 365 can be daunting since both have a lot in common.

So, when choosing between the two it all depends on your specific business needs. This guide provides G Suite vs Office 365 comparison for businesses to ease your decision. We will explore the features, applications, pricing, security and compliance of both Office 365 and g suite. The home and education versions are not included in this guide.

G Suite vs Office 365 Comparison Chart of Features and Apps

Millions of businesses rely on tools to run daily business operations for collaboration, internal and external communication, and documentation to say the least. As businesses are shifting gears to remote work, easy collaboration and effective communication is the time of need. Our cherished tech giants are continuously evolving their productivity tools to keep up with business requirements.

What is G Suite?

G Suite, formerly Google Apps, is a collection of Google products to streamline business operations. Google offers these apps and services to businesses, institutions, and nonprofits on a monthly subscription via different price plans. While it's true that these products are free for everyone but there is some difference between G Suite and free google apps. The Google Productivity suite adds enterprise-level, advanced features in the Google workspace including shared calendars, optional unlimited storage (Google drive), advanced admin controls, data migration tools. Furthermore, it also comes with mobile device management, remote wipe, and custom email addresses for your domain.

What apps are included in G Suite?

G Suite includes the following apps:

What is Microsoft 365?

Over the past 30 years, most of the world's population has used Microsoft products whether at school or office! Microsoft is worshipped by some of its users with over one billion users worldwide to date! Since Office 365 launch, Microsoft has been enhancing its office productivity suite. Office 365 is now offered as part of Microsoft 365 which uses a subscription-based model that includes core apps and additional apps for businesses. All the apps are connected to each other and online in Office 365 to facilitate collaboration and teamwork. Office 365 is built as a cloud-first application that supports on-the-go work. Employees can easily work anywhere, anytime, with secure access to office files and documents from any device. The desktop versions of the widely used apps are a great option and have set high standards for competitors.

The core apps in Office 365 include your most familiar, easy-to-navigate tools

G Suite vs Office 365 - Key Differences

Needless to mention, Microsoft has dominated the productivity software market for years! However, the onset of cloud services has changed the landscape of tech industry providing a level playing field for competitors.

G Suite vs Office 365 feature list has many similar functionalities such as business email addresses, secure chat and messaging, security and admin controls, video, and audio calls. The following table summarizes the key difference between Office 365 and g suite.

Verdict: Based on features alone, Microsoft is a clear winner! Microsoft offers all three versions of its apps (desktop, web and mobile). Desktop versions of these apps are easy to navigate as mobile and web apps lack luster. Microsoft’s apps are feature-rich providing the necessary tools for easy collaboration and communication to everyone in an enterprise.

A Comparison of G Suite vs Office 365 Pricing

G Suite is the real alternative to Office 365 that also offers free versions of apps such as Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides. However, both G Suite vs Office 365 offer subscription services to businesses and enterprises of all sizes. G Suite vs Office 365 pricing main difference is at the enterprise-level plans as Microsoft requires customers to pay upfront for the year.

G Suite Pricing

G Suite offers three subscription levels ranging from $6-25 per user monthly as shown in the table above. In terms of functionality Google used to lag Microsoft’s desktop version of Office apps but the gap has been closed. Since users can now use web-based G Suite apps in offline mode.

Microsoft 365 Pricing and Enterprise Licensing

To avoid confusion, this guide includes Microsoft 365 pricing plans since Microsoft has recently replaced Office 365 plans with Microsoft 365 subscription plans.

Microsoft offers subscription plans for Microsoft 365 for home, business, enterprise, and education. The Business Standard and Business Premium plans provide access to the desktop versions of popular tools like Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Access. Though, all the Microsoft 365 subscription plans give direct access to the web and mobile versions of your favorite apps.

G Suite vs Office 365 Comparison: Features & Apps Included in Price Plans

Microsoft has recently revised subscription plans of Office 365, which is now offered in Microsoft 365. So, rather than paying for just Office 365 you get a bundle of services that includes Office 365, operating system, and security tools. The following table provides a comparison of different subscription plans offered in Microsoft 365 and G Suite.