Two outstanding productivity suites, two different philosophies. Rather than crown a winner, here's a balanced look at how they compare on apps, email, collaboration, security, migration and cost — so you can pick the one that fits how your business actually works.
Both platforms are genuinely excellent, and there's no universal "better". Microsoft 365 shines for teams that live in the full desktop Office apps — especially heavy Excel and Outlook users — and want deep security and device control. Google Workspace shines for cloud-first, collaborative teams who work in the browser and value effortless real-time editing and sharing. The right choice depends on your people, your existing tools and how you like to work.
At the heart of it, Microsoft 365 is built around powerful installed desktop applications that sync to the cloud, while Google Workspace is cloud-native and browser-first by design. Almost every practical difference below flows from that one distinction.
Microsoft 365 gives you the full desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook — the tools most Australian offices have used for years, and still the strongest for complex spreadsheets, large documents and offline work. Google's editors (Docs, Sheets, Slides) are web-based and have improved enormously; they're superb for fast, lightweight, shared documents, though Sheets still doesn't match Excel for heavy financial modelling, big workbooks and macros. Microsoft also offers web versions of its apps, and Google offers offline modes — but the centre of gravity is different for each.
Both offer rock-solid business email. Microsoft pairs Exchange with Outlook (desktop and web), which many businesses prefer for its calendar, rules and shared-mailbox handling and its tight fit with the rest of Office. Google pairs Gmail's fast, search-driven inbox with Google Calendar — familiar, quick and popular with people who already use Gmail personally. It's largely a question of which style your team is more comfortable in.
Google built its reputation on real-time collaboration, and multiple people editing the same doc simultaneously still feels effortless there. Microsoft has closed much of that gap with co-authoring in the Office apps, plus Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive for chat, meetings and file sharing. On storage, both are generous; Google's mid-tier plans have often included more storage per user than the comparable Microsoft tier — worth checking against current plans when you compare.
Both platforms are secure and offer strong admin controls, single sign-on and multi-factor authentication. Microsoft's edge is its identity layer (Entra ID) and device management (Intune), which integrate deeply — a big plus if you already run Windows and want granular control over devices and sign-ins. Google's admin console is clean and approachable, and its security defaults are strong, which many smaller teams find easier to run day to day.
Moving to either platform — or between them — is well-trodden ground. Email, files, calendars and contacts can be migrated in both directions using vendor and third-party tools. The real work is planning: mapping mailboxes and shared drives, moving data cleanly, and retraining staff. If your business already runs Windows servers or has years of Outlook habits, Microsoft 365 tends to be the lower-friction landing spot; a cloud-first team with no legacy baggage may find Google Workspace quicker to adopt.
Entry-level pricing between the two is close, and both offer tiers from basic email up to advanced security and compliance. The honest comparison isn't the headline per-user price — it's the total: storage included, security features you'd otherwise buy separately, and whether you need paid desktop apps. Because both vendors adjust pricing and bundle contents regularly, always price the specific tiers you'd actually use.
Choosing (or switching) between Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace is easier with someone who works with both every day. Our free IT Health Check reviews how your team works, what you're paying, and where the gaps are — then gives you a clear, unbiased recommendation and a clean migration plan if a change makes sense.