Out of all the software you choose for your business, the productivity suite you use is perhaps the most important. It’s the workhorse of your workflow, including document creation, spreadsheets, presentation design, and email. The two most popular brands of productivity software for business are Office 365 by Microsoft and G-Suite by Google. Both offer all the basic tools you need to keep your office running, but they also have some distinct differences.
Having your data available from anywhere is becoming a necessity, as cloud adoption skyrockets. That’s why many companies migrate to the cloud in order to keep up with new technology trends and connect their team no matter where they are.
90% of companies use at least one cloud service.
When choosing a cloud-enabled productivity suite, how do you know which is better… G-Suite or Office 365?
Both can offer the computing power you need to keep your office running smoothly, but how they do it can make the difference in which may be the better fit for your particular business needs.
Comparison of G-Suite vs Office 365
These two office suites have been battling for dominance in the market for years. As of 2018, Office 365 was the winner globally, with approximately 56% of all organizations using it, with about 25% using G-Suite.
But, in the U.S., G-Suite has been gaining ground and currently is the office suite leader, at 64.44% of the market share as compared to Office 365 having 35.55%.
So, as far as popularity goes, both have their dominance in different areas of the national and global market.
Let’s dig into the details now to see how each of these services differ and which may make a better match for your office needs.
What You Get With Office 365 vs. G-Suite
First, let’s start with what you get with each of these productivity suites. While options can vary slightly with the subscription level you choose, these are some of the basic tools that you’ll get with each service.
Office 365 Business:
- Word
- Excel
- PowerPoint
- Outlook (w/ calendar)
- OneDrive (1TB cloud storage per user)
- OneNote
- Publish (PC only)
- Access (PC only)
- Skype for Business
- Exchange
- SharePoint
- Teams (team chat tool)
G-Suite:
- Docs
- Sheets
- Slides
- Gmail (with custom domain)
- Drive (30GB cloud storage per user)
- Forms
- Calendar
- Sites
- App Maker
- Keep
- Jamboard
- Hangouts
- Currents (team chat tool)
With each product, you get your core tools for documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and email. With G-Suite you also get an app maker, which could be a nice addition, if you want to build a custom app. Microsoft does have a similar Power Apps tool, but it’s not advertised as being available with all business subscriptions.
When it comes to cloud storage, Office 365 offers quite a bit more with 1TB per user as opposed to G-Suite’s 30GB per user with the basic plan.
Cloud vs Cloud Hybrid
G-Suite is considered a full cloud platform, while Office 365 is a cloud hybrid. Being a cloud hybrid means that you still download the Office applications onto your computer and can use the software both online and offline.
While G-Suite does have a mechanism that allows users to access their documents when they’re offline, it’s not really the same as being a cloud hybrid.
If you need to have your software functional in an offline environment, then Office 365 is going to give you a most robust option for editing and creating documents when you don’t have an internet connection.
Complexity
When you open Google Docs or Sheets, the interface is much less complex than the multiple tabbed options you have in Office 365. This can be a benefit for new users and those that just want to get in and start working without too many options to complicate things.
However, if you prefer having more control and features while working in Excel or Word, then Office 365 is going to give you all the “bells and whistles” in their productivity suite.
Compatibility
When it comes to online sharing of documents, G-Suite makes it simple to create a sharing link for anyone to sign in and do co-editing of spreadsheets and other documents. While Office 365 also has sharing capability it’s not quite as fluid for those outside your organization as G-Suite’s.
When considering which file format you need to send that contract or spreadsheet in when coordinating with vendors or clients, hands down people are expecting it in Word or Excel. Microsoft’s file formats have become industry standards.
This is why programs like Mac’s native Pages and Numbers have export capabilities to .doc and .xls and G-Suite does as well. But that is an extra step in your workflow that you need to consider when choosing G-Suite vs Office 365.
Pricing
Pricing for both office productivity suites is on a per user per month plan. You can subscribe to both business and enterprise plans, which have more capabilities to meet the needs of large corporations.
Below are the basic business subscription prices for each for their office suite programs.
- Office 365 Business Pricing: $8.25 to $12.50 per user per month
- G-Suite Pricing: $6.00 to $12.00 per user per month
G-Suite comes in lower for the basic plan, but when you go up the next level, the pricing is nearly identical for both.
Get the Expert Help You Need to Make Smart Decision For Office 365 vs. G-Suite
The tools you use for your office workflows are a major decision that can impact your productivity and bottom line for years to come. Our B-Comp Services team has over 50 years of combined IT consulting experience and can help you make an informed decision for your company.
Contact us for a free cloud consultation today at 303-282-4934 or through our contact form.
