Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace — Which Is Right for Your Business?

This is one of the questions we get asked most often when onboarding new clients. Both Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are mature, capable platforms — and both are genuinely good choices. The right answer depends on your business, not on which brand name you recognise more.

As a Microsoft 365 partner, we obviously work with M365 daily. But we've also migrated businesses both ways — from Google to Microsoft and from Microsoft to Google — and we've seen both work well and both fail to land when it wasn't the right fit.

Here's our honest, no-fluff comparison.

The basics: what do you get?

Microsoft 365 — who it suits

Microsoft 365 is the right choice for the majority of South Wales businesses, particularly if you:

• Use complex Excel or Word documents — the desktop apps are dramatically more capable than Google's equivalents, especially for formulas, macros, mail merge and advanced formatting
• Work with external clients or suppliers who send Office files — compatibility is seamless since you're using the native format
• Need advanced security and compliance — Microsoft's Defender for Office 365, DLP policies, Conditional Access and Intune MDM are industry-leading
• Use a Windows environment — deep integration with Windows, Active Directory and Azure makes management much simpler
• Want Teams for phone calls — Teams Direct Routing lets you make and receive external calls through Teams, eliminating the need for a separate phone system
• Are in a regulated industry (finance, legal, healthcare) — Microsoft's compliance centre is significantly more mature

Google Workspace — who it suits

Google Workspace genuinely wins in certain scenarios:

• Real-time collaboration — multiple people editing the same document simultaneously with zero conflict is Google's superpower. It's technically possible in M365 but Google does it more elegantly
• Very small teams or startups who live in the browser and don't need heavy desktop software
• Businesses already deep in the Google ecosystem — Google Analytics, Google Ads, YouTube, Android devices — the integration is seamless
• Teams who prefer simplicity over power — Google's interfaces are cleaner and easier to onboard new staff on

Our honest verdict

For the majority of South Wales businesses — particularly those in professional services, construction, manufacturing, retail or healthcare — Microsoft 365 is the better long-term platform. The desktop apps are more powerful, the security tools are better, and the compliance capabilities are more mature.

Google Workspace is the right choice if your team primarily collaborates in real time on documents, your workflow is almost entirely browser-based, and you don't need the power of the full Office desktop suite.

Pricing comparison (2025)

Note: Prices shown are approximate direct retail prices. As a Microsoft partner, we can often source M365 licences at reduced rates for our managed IT clients.