# Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace: the business plans side by side, and which suite to keep

> Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard and Premium set against Google Workspace Business Starter, Standard and Plus on verified US month-to-month prices, with what each tier includes and how much a 10-person team saves by keeping one suite.

Updated 2026-10-30 · https://onelesstool.com/guides/microsoft-365-vs-google-workspace

**Typical savings:** a 10-person team paying for Microsoft 365 Business Standard ($16.80 per user/month) and Google Workspace Business Standard ($16.80 per user/month) spends $336 a month on two office suites. Keeping only one of them saves $168/month ($2,016 a year). At the upper tier, Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Google Workspace Business Plus ($26.40 per user/month each) together cost $528 a month for 10 people, and keeping only one saves $264/month ($3,168 a year). On the entry tiers, Business Basic and Business Starter ($8.40 each) cost $168 a month together, and keeping one saves $84/month ($1,008 a year).

The two price ladders are identical on month-to-month billing, so the money doesn't decide this. What decides it is where your email, calendars and files already live, and which apps your people and clients actually open. Teams usually end up paying for both when email runs on one suite and someone bought the other for desktop Office, Teams, or Docs and Meet.

## The plans side by side

| Microsoft 365 plan | Price per user | Google Workspace plan | Price per user |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Basic | $8.40/month | Business Starter | $8.40/month |
| Business Standard | $16.80/month | Business Standard | $16.80/month |
| Business Premium | $26.40/month | Business Plus | $26.40/month |
| — | — | Enterprise | Contact sales |

All prices are US month-to-month. They come from our [Microsoft 365 page](/tools/microsoft-365) (Microsoft's US Business Basic, Standard and Premium pages, checked on 2026-10-25 and re-read on 2026-10-30) and our [Google Workspace page](/tools/google-workspace) (Google Workspace Admin Help, "Compare Flexible and Annual/Fixed-Term payment plans", checked on 2026-10-25 and re-read on 2026-10-30). Microsoft calls this a monthly subscription and Google calls it the Flexible plan. The rows pair the three business tiers on each side.

Both vendors also sell a lower price for a yearly commitment. We compare month-to-month only. Microsoft and Google both cap these business plans at 300 users. Google doesn't publish an Enterprise price, so we don't show one.

If some people only need desktop Office, Microsoft also sells Microsoft 365 Apps for business, without business email or Teams. We haven't checked its month-to-month price, so it isn't in the totals.

## What each tier includes

| | Microsoft 365 | Google Workspace |
|---|---|---|
| Entry tier | Business Basic: web and mobile Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, Teams, 1 TB OneDrive per user, Forms, Bookings, Planner, Copilot Chat | Business Starter: 30 GB pooled storage per user, Meet up to 100 participants (no recording), Gemini in Gmail, basic access to the Gemini app and Gemini Notebook |
| Middle tier | Business Standard: desktop Office apps, Teams with webinars, Loop, Clipchamp, 1 TB OneDrive per user, Copilot Chat | Business Standard: 2 TB pooled storage per user, Meet up to 150 participants with recording, Gemini in Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Meet (AI meeting notes), eSignature with Docs and PDFs, appointment booking pages |
| Upper tier | Business Premium: everything in Standard plus Intune Plan 1 device management, Defender for Business and Defender for Office 365, Purview data loss prevention, Entra ID capabilities | Business Plus: everything in Standard plus 5 TB pooled storage per user, Meet up to 500 participants with attendance tracking, Vault retention and eDiscovery, advanced endpoint management |

Features are from the same catalog pages and the vendors' US product and pricing pages. On AI: Google bundles Gemini into every Business plan, with Gemini in Docs, Sheets and Meet from Business Standard. Microsoft includes Copilot Chat, but in-app availability depends on licensing and tenant configuration, and full Microsoft 365 Copilot is a separate license.

## Keep Microsoft 365 when

- Your work depends on desktop Word, Excel and PowerPoint: complex Excel models, macros or templates, or clients who send and expect Office files.
- Exchange email, Teams and SharePoint sites and permissions are already the company's infrastructure. Our catalog rates moving them as a large project.
- You use Business Premium security. Our catalog notes Intune and Defender would take several separate tools to replace.

## Keep Google Workspace when

- The team writes and edits together in Docs and Sheets in real time, and your email is already in Gmail on your domain.
- You want AI inside the apps without a separate license. Gemini in Docs, Sheets and Meet, including AI meeting notes, is included from Business Standard.
- Many of your other apps sign in with Google or connect to Drive. Our catalog notes those links are hard to replace.

## Before you cancel either one

- **Microsoft 365:** Office files are standard formats and mailboxes export to PST, but SharePoint structure, Teams history and Power Platform flows are harder to move. If you're on an annual commitment paid monthly, our catalog notes Microsoft may charge a penalty for cancelling early. Removing a leaver's license has its own mailbox steps: read [keeping a leaver's Microsoft 365 mailbox](/guides/microsoft-365-leaver-mailbox-retention).
- **Google Workspace:** Google Takeout and the admin data export cover email, Drive and Docs, and Docs export to Office formats and PDF. AppSheet apps and Apps Script logic have to be rebuilt elsewhere. Check in the Admin console whether you're on the Flexible or the Annual/Fixed-Term plan before you cancel.
- Moving email, calendars and shared drives for a whole company is a large project on either side. Count who actually uses each suite first. If only a few people need the second one, cutting it to those seats can be cheaper than a migration.

If you're keeping Workspace but paying for more than you use, read [downgrading Google Workspace Standard to Starter](/guides/google-workspace-business-starter-downgrade-test). If Microsoft 365 is the keeper and Slack is the other overlap, read [whether the Teams you already pay for can replace Slack](/guides/microsoft-teams-vs-slack-existing-subscription).

## Test before you cancel

Run the free [workflow readiness check](/workflows/company-wiki-with-existing-suite#readiness) on our company wiki workflow, which works with either suite. Tick the suite you're keeping and confirm which plan it's on, then move one real team's documents into it and use them for a normal week before you cancel anything. You don't need an account, your progress stays in your browser, and you can download the checklist as Markdown.

## Check your own numbers

The [audit](/audit) is a free stack and savings calculator, and you don't need to sign up. List what you pay for and it shows keep, downgrade or drop line by line, with the arithmetic. OneLessTool has no affiliate links, so no recommendation earns us anything. Stack Watch is coming soon. Join the free waitlist on the [pricing page](/pricing).