Office 365 VS Google Docs / Workspace

When looking for the best productivity suite, you may consider two of the most popular applications, Office 365 and Google Docs. For more advice on both productivity suites and annual subscriptions, get in touch with Certum IT Support today.

Microsoft has various suites to choose from and has always been the frontrunner. However, G Suite, which features Google Docs, is more popular today than ever before. That doesn’t mean that Office 365 isn’t as in-demand and useful today as it was a couple of years ago. Office 365 has become more tedious to gain access to over the past few years because it is desktop-based, while G Suite is web-based. 

The Best Productivity Suite: Office 365 VS Google Docs

G Suite is a powerful alternative to Office 365 because of its impressive features. Even though it didn’t kick off when it was first released in 2006 and gained popularity much later, both applications can still help you get your work done.

Before you make a decision on which to purchase, it is important to compare the cost and features if you are considering either.

Subscription Pricing

Microsoft Office is desktop-based and provides less powerful application versions than G Suite, which can be used in any web browser and with any operating system, including Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS. 

G Suite and Microsoft Office are subscription-based suites that charge businesses per user monthly. As you can imagine, if you are running a big business with dozens of employees, this can become quite expensive. While both suites offer the same core applications, the paid subscription that takes the cake is the one that isn’t so heavily priced for its security and management features. In this case, the bigger your business, the more expensive Office 365 will turn out to be as you get charged per license per user, whereas G Suite charges per single license for collective use for all users.

G Suite is available in three different versions: 

Basic: At $6 per month, the Basic Suite comes with a complete suite of applications and 30GB storage.

Business: At $12 per month, the Business Suite comes with unlimited archiving and storage features, additional administrative tools, a low code application environment, and enterprise search capabilities. 

Enterprise: At $25 per month, the Enterprise Suite comes with all the Business Suite features and far more administrative controls.

Microsoft Office 365 is available in five different versions:

These versions include:

• Business Essentials – $5 per user/ month
• Business – $8.25 per user/ month
• Business Premium – $12.50 per user/ month
• ProPlus – $12 per user/ month
• E1 – $8 per user/ month

Each version comes with the same office applications and 1TB of storage. More expensive versions come with additional business tools, security, and management tools.

Applications

Apart from the cost of Office 365 and G Suite, another big thing that needs to be considered is the applications in each suite and which of them will suit your business best. Before deciding on a new suite, consider which of the following applications will be most useful to your business.

• Word Processing: Google Docs VS Microsoft Word

Google docs allow for easy-to-use collaboration, while MS Word is known as the greatest document creation application tool of all time. With that being said, if you are looking for a word processing feature, your decision between the two applications will depend on whether you have a big team or not. If you have a team that needs to share documents and information daily, Google Docs may be the word processing application for you. While Google Docs outshines MS Word when it comes to live collaboration, MS Word is ideal for smaller businesses because it also allows you to generate reports and makes workflow easier.

• Presentations: Google Slides VS Microsoft PowerPoint

As with other processing apps, deciding whether Google Slides or MS PowerPoint is best for you all depends on whether you prefer excellent live collaboration features or a powerful presentation program. Due to collaboration features, Google Slides is preferred for teams in big businesses. For other reasons, however, MS PowerPoint is the best choice. MS PowerPoint is a much better app to create presentations because it has tools that allow you to create transitions, graphics, and multimedia with ease. Many additional tools allow you to be creative, which are not included in Google Slides.

• Spreadsheets: Google Sheets VS Microsoft Excel

If your employees work better by themselves, then MS Excel is the recommended application to create spreadsheets. Aside from just working on a spreadsheet application, if you have employees that require a spreadsheet tool to do most of their work, MS Excel is also recommended. Google Sheets, however, is perfectly adequate for anyone who needs to view spreadsheets and make edits on every other occasion. Since Google Sheets only has three budget templates available, it is far more limited than MS Excel, which has dozens of templates available for budgets, charts, and reporting.

• Emails: Gmail VS Outlook

If you are looking for a simple email application, look no further than G Suite’s Gmail, which is also preferred because of its cleaner interface. While Outlook is still easy to use, there are a lot more tools and things to look at, which is why it is preferred for anyone who spends a lot of time checking and sending emails. Both email apps offer managing tools for easy navigation and organization. While Outlook also offers features integrated into your emails, such as a contact list and calendar, Gmail has a separate Google Calendar and Google Contacts.

James Smythe( Editor-in-chief )

I am James, a UK-based tech enthusiast and the Editor and Owner of Mighty Gadget, which I’ve proudly run since 2007. Passionate about all things technology, my expertise spans from computers and networking to mobile, wearables, and smart home devices.

As a fitness fanatic who loves running and cycling, I also have a keen interest in fitness-related technology, and I take every opportunity to cover this niche on my blog. My diverse interests allow me to bring a unique perspective to tech blogging, merging lifestyle, fitness, and the latest tech trends.

In my academic pursuits, I earned a BSc in Information Systems Design from UCLAN, before advancing my learning with a Master’s Degree in Computing. This advanced study also included Cisco CCNA accreditation, further demonstrating my commitment to understanding and staying ahead of the technology curve.

I’m proud to share that Vuelio has consistently ranked Mighty Gadget as one of the top technology blogs in the UK. With my dedication to technology and drive to share my insights, I aim to continue providing my readers with engaging and informative content.