This question comes up in nearly every tech stack conversation I have. Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace? The internet is full of feature comparisons that tell you almost nothing useful.

Here’s what actually matters.

The Real Difference

Both platforms do email. Both do documents. Both do spreadsheets and presentations. Both do video calls. Both offer cloud storage.

On paper, they’re nearly identical.

In practice, they’re very different experiences. The difference comes down to philosophy.

Google assumes you’re online. Everything runs in a browser. Collaboration is real-time by default. Mobile-first design.

Microsoft assumes you need desktop power. Real applications with serious features. Offline-first, sync-second. Enterprise pedigree.

Neither is wrong. But one probably fits your team better.

When Google Workspace Wins

Remote-first teams. If your team is scattered and mobile, Google’s browser-based approach means consistent experience everywhere. No “but it looks different on my computer” problems.

Collaboration-heavy work. Google Docs started with real-time co-editing. It’s still smoother than Word’s online collaboration, though Microsoft has closed the gap.

Non-technical users. Google’s interface is simpler. Fewer options, fewer places to get confused. For teams that just need to write documents and send emails, simplicity helps.

Startups and small teams. Google’s admin console is easier to manage without dedicated IT.

Budget-conscious buyers. Google Workspace Business Starter costs less than Microsoft 365 Business Basic. The premium tiers are closer in price.

When Microsoft 365 Wins

Excel power users. This isn’t close. If anyone on your team does serious spreadsheet work, macros, complex formulas, pivot tables, heavy data manipulation, Google Sheets will frustrate them.

Existing Microsoft environment. If you’re already on Windows with Outlook and Teams, switching to Google creates friction. Integration is real.

Document formatting matters. Word’s layout engine is better. Complex documents with specific formatting requirements (contracts, proposals, regulatory documents) work more reliably in Word.

Enterprise integration coming. If you’re likely to connect with enterprise systems, Microsoft’s ecosystem integrates more smoothly with, well, other Microsoft products.

Desktop-first workers. If your team works primarily from office desktops, Microsoft’s thick client applications are more capable than browser apps.

The Honest Feature Breakdown

Let me compare the things people actually use:

Email

Both work fine. Outlook has more features and complexity. Gmail has simpler search. Outlook’s calendar integration is slightly better. Gmail’s spam filtering is slightly better. This isn’t going to be your deciding factor.

Documents

Word is more powerful. Google Docs is simpler to share and collaborate on. For most SMB needs, Google Docs is adequate. For complex document requirements, Word is necessary.

Spreadsheets

Excel wins. Not close. If you need serious spreadsheet capability, Microsoft. If you need basic tables and simple calculations, Google Sheets is fine.

Video Conferencing

Teams and Google Meet are both competent. Teams has more features (rooms, recording, breakouts). Google Meet is simpler to join for external people. If video meetings are critical to your business, consider dedicated platforms like Zoom regardless.

Cloud Storage

OneDrive and Google Drive work similarly. Both integrate with their respective apps. The storage limits at each tier are the main difference. Check the numbers for your plan.

Chat/Messaging

This is interesting. Teams is a Slack competitor, a full messaging platform. Google Chat is more basic. If you want integrated team chat, Teams provides more. If you want simple chat alongside email, Google Chat is sufficient.

The Migration Question

Already on one platform? Switching costs are real.

Technical migration: Both platforms have decent import tools. Email and files transfer reasonably well. Some formatting breaks on documents. Calendar invites can get messy.

Human migration: This is the real cost. Retraining everyone. Lost productivity during transition. The grumbling.

Unless you’re deeply unhappy with your current platform, the grass isn’t greener enough to justify switching. The best predictor of future satisfaction is current satisfaction.

Cost Comparison

Pricing changes, so check current numbers. But roughly:

Entry tier: Google Workspace Business Starter is cheaper than Microsoft 365 Business Basic by a few dollars per user per month.

Mid tier: Google Workspace Business Standard and Microsoft 365 Business Standard are close in price. Check which features matter to you.

Premium tier: Similar pricing, different feature sets. Microsoft includes more security and compliance tools. Google includes more AI features.

For a 20-person company, the annual cost difference between platforms might be $1,000-2,000. That’s real money, but it shouldn’t override a platform that fits your team better.

What I Actually Recommend

Forget the feature comparison. Answer these questions:

1. Does anyone on your team do serious Excel work?
2. Is your team mostly remote or mostly office-based?
3. What does your team already know?
4. What do your customers and partners use?

If you have heavy Excel users: Microsoft.

If you’re fully remote with a non-technical team: Google.

If your industry leans one way (law firms tend toward Microsoft, tech startups toward Google): follow the industry.

If you have no strong factors either direction: pick the cheaper one at your tier and move on. You have bigger decisions to make.

The Third Option

Sometimes the answer is neither, at least not the full suite.

I’ve seen companies run Google Workspace for email and storage, but Excel on desktops for finance. The platforms coexist fine. You pay for two things instead of one, but you get best-of-breed for each need.

This isn’t elegant, but it works. Don’t let anyone tell you it has to be all-or-nothing.

Just Pick One

Here’s what matters most: stop deliberating and pick. Both platforms work. Both will grow with you. Both can be migrated from if you need to change later.

The decision is less important than using your chosen platform well. Pick. Implement. Train your team. Move on to problems that actually need your attention.