G Suite vs Microsoft Office 365: Which Giant Provides Better Service to its Clients?
Google and Microsoft are both considered giants when it comes to technology. As such, both are pioneers in many IT breakthroughs, and no one wants to be inferior to the other. Their latest releases have been pinned against each other by companies, big or small, and now it’s our turn to do the comparing. G Suite vs Microsoft Office 365 – which one is better?
In this article, we’ll be breaking it down into different categories. Our criteria are pretty much comprehensive – from pricing plans to features and everything in between. Both have core advantages to boast. It boils down to which is more suitable and beneficial to your business.
G Suite vs Microsoft Office 365: Company Background and Platform
It’s ideal to know both of these companies’ humble beginnings and platforms first.
Microsoft Office came out first, in 1990. We have been familiar with this application for the longest time possible. Meanwhile, Google just launched G Suite in 2007. Google’s fresh approach has enabled companies to choose whether to remain with Microsoft or switch to the newer provider.
The main difference between these two providers is their platform. Microsoft Office applications are already installed in your PC, with cloud versions offered as available functionality. On the other hand, G Suite gives you the opportunity to work on documents, spreadsheets and presentations while offline. In essence, they are the same, but the approaches are entirely unique to each other.
However, when it comes to sending emails, Google is many steps ahead of Microsoft. For one, you can access Gmail through email clients such as Outlook, eM Client, Kiwi, and OS X’s Mail app. Microsoft’s primary email offering, on the contrary, is only Outlook.
G Suite vs Microsoft Office 365: Plans and Pricing
Both Microsoft Office 365 and G Suite offer monthly plans, but the former gives you more options and cheaper deals. If you’re planning to get Office 365 for at least a year, here’s what you’re going to pay per month, per user:
Microsoft Office 365
- Business Essentials – USD $5
- Business – USD $8.25
- Business Premium – USD $12.50
- Enterprise E1 – USD $8
- Enterprise ProPlus – USD $12
- Enterprise E3 – USD $20
- Enterprise E5 – USD $35
G Suite
G Suite has only three plans:
- Basic – USD $6
- Business – USD $12
- Enterprise – USD $25
G Suite vs Microsoft Office 365: Cloud Storage and Sharing
Medium to large companies needs vast amounts of storage for their files. Basically, your choice for a better business productivity tool lies in how big your business is.
Office 365 is more practical if your company is still treading the waters. At its lowest bundle, Microsoft provides you 1TB of data right off the bat, compared to G Suite’s meagre 30 GB. It may seem fancy at first, but you’ll find out that it’s not really enough if we’re talking about long-term plans.
G Suite is the way to go if your company has some sort of establishment already. Jumping ahead to their Business package gives you unlimited file storage. However, you need 5 or more users in your organisation to make an account. Otherwise, it’s 1TB per user.
Typically, solopreneurs can find G Suite more appealing as they can directly buy a couple of new Business accounts to get unlimited storage. Every additional 1 GB on Office 365 costs $0.20 per user which is not worth the money, honestly.
G Suite lets you use Google Drive to share your files with anyone else, via email. You could also allow others to just view, edit, or download a file. Meanwhile, Office 365 utilizes OneDrive to store and manage files. This comes with desktop, mobile, and web apps, which enables you to sync and share files anywhere.
G Suite vs Microsoft Office 365: Business Applications
G Suite comes with standard Google apps like Gmail, Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, Google Calendar, Keep, Hangouts, and Photos. These apps work either in desktop or mobile platforms and on all operating systems.
While Google has offline versions of these apps, they are quite limited. In other words, you will need to make an individual file for offline editing. Also, G Suite doesn’t have installed desktop apps in your computer, which can be a pain if you’re in a bind.
Meanwhile, Office 365 gives you access to Microsoft Office apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote. Similar to Google, these applications have web and mobile versions but quite limited as to online editing.
Taking both of these apps into consideration, Office 365 is more superior when it comes to functionality, as they have been perfecting this design for decades.
G Suite vs Microsoft Office 365: Security
Let’s find out how these providers perform in terms of securing your data.
G Suite has Google’s cloud infrastructure DNA; naturally, it has the same level of security with Google itself. You are guaranteed to automatically detect any suspicious activity, as well as phishing and hacking attempts.
You can also set various procedures to block unwarranted entries to your console or any of your accounts. With the Two-Factor authentication and data leak protection feature, you can prevent any malicious communication before it gets to your system. Further, G Suite has built-in spam, virus, and malware detection software which scans all files.
On the other hand, Office 365 has a Multiple Factor Authentication system for all user passwords. Their excellent AI tools can determine each user’s online behaviours, distinguish questionable activities, and flag them immediately.
Office 365 also has a data loss prevention tool to guard data against theft and leaks. Your organisation can opt to limit user access to company-issued devices through their device management tool. Also, it uses Microsoft’s spam, virus, and malware detection tools to examine all files, emails, and attachments.
So, Have You Decided Already?
The G Suite vs Microsoft Office 365 battle is indeed a tough one. Experts say that Microsoft is more prevalent in controlled industries while Google is the clear winner for companies with an income of less than $50 million. Like what we said earlier, your choice depends on which suits your company best. Everything is uncertain though, so partnering with both may be possible. In any case, it’s not a bad thing. After all, both of these companies have proven to be on top of everything at this point.
If you want to know more about these two giants, click here for G Suite Plans, and here for Microsoft Office 365 Plans. You’ll find a lot of information which may help you decide further.
