Google G-Suite vs. Microsoft 365: Know the Difference

Whenever office productivity suites come to our mind, we instantly think of  Microsoft Office 365 and Google’s G Suite. Both are undeniably the most widely used tools for businesses everywhere. 

 

Let's read on to find out more about both of these platforms and their features. 

 

 

App by App Analysis of G Suite and Office 365

 

• How Do G Suite and Office 365 Compare In Terms Of Functionality?

 

Both platforms are somewhat similar in functionality. This includes word processing, spreadsheets and file storage. We can get both cloud and on-premise suites however these do not come without any differences. 

 

Microsoft Office 365 is well-equipped with many beneficial tools like Word, MS Excel and PowerPoint along with their email client Outlook and cloud storage platform OneDrive. Also, it is loaded with other features like Microsoft Teams and a range of collaboration tools.

 

G-Suite also has a broad range of applications. Some notable applications include G-Suite’s Slides presentation application, Sheets spreadsheet editor, the Docs word processor and file storage platform Drive. 

 

It also comes up with amazing third-party apps that can be easily downloaded from the Google Web store. Google’s G-Suite has integrated a real-time collaboration approach, while Microsoft is liked by most people who already know how to use their products.

 

• How Do G Suite & Office 365 Compare in Terms of Usability?

 

Most users love the clean and straightforward interface of G Suite as compared to the feature-heavy Office 365. Navigating Office365 is difficult for many users who find themselves not so tech-savvy, owing to loads of features.

 

Additionally, G Suite can be accessed via the Internet, and we can also make shortcuts for desktops. There is no need to download the software. Browser add-ons tasks can also be downloaded that are not internally supported by Google Docs, Sheets or Slide.

 

Microsoft Office 365 needs to be downloaded to the desktop and accessed offline via Microsoft’s software on a PC or laptop. However, Office 365 users can switch between the desktop and online versions as explained by Infiniwiz.

 

• How Do Google & Microsoft Compare when it comes to Word Processing?

 

Google Docs can be considered a simple document creator with limited functions whereas Microsoft Word involves heavy-duty document creation. Owing to the rich features it comes with, Word provides an immense range of functions and choices. 

 

However, Google is undeniably better than Microsoft’s desktop version of Word when we talk about real-time document editing and sharing capabilities. Google Docs allows us to access a document, make changes and each change will be highlighted.
 

We can also send notifications to other members on the shared document. Previous edits can be viewed at any time so that vital information is not lost or overwritten. We all know that this level of collaborative ease is not available while using Microsoft Word.

 

However, we can suggest edits via the “review” tab. The advantages Word offers include a familiar interface and a range of features that enable users to handle large documents and files. 

 

Also, Microsoft has an “Ideas” pane that offers recommendations for layout, design and images, boosting the speed of work. 

 

Microsoft Office 365 also comes with AI-driven features. Microsoft Search combines the capabilities from Microsoft Graph and AI technology from Bing to give tailored search results for any Office document or file without hampering one's workflow.

 

• How Do G Suites’ Spreadsheets Compare To Office 365’s?

 

Microsoft’s Excel is more efficient when compared to Google’s spreadsheet tools. The simple reason is that Excel is designed for complex number crunching and large data imports and exports. Excel also has AI-powered enhancements, helping to use insights and offering improvements such as a “lookup” function that saves time.

 

The amount of data that Excel effortlessly handles, cannot be handled by Google’s Sheets. Most of us find Google Sheets handy while performing light tasks and converting simple data into meaningful insights. Sheets can create graphs, calculate auto-fill sums and have add-on maps. 

 

However, it does not have the immense power of Excel. This means that if one needs number crunching, then Excel is the go-to solution. (Reference)

 

• How Do G Suite's Email Clients Compare To Office 365’s?

 

Both Microsoft Office 365 and G Suite come with excellent email clients, namely Outlook and Gmail. But these differ to a great extent in terms of pricing and features.

 

We get 50 GB of mailbox storage, 1 TB of file storage and access for up to 300 users with Microsoft Office 365 Business Essentials (comparable to G Suite’s Business Plan). G Suite Business (online version) provides unlimited mailbox storage, 1 TB of cloud storage and unlimited user access.

 

Also, Gmail is simple and functional, while Microsoft’s desktop version is feature-heavy. Business Essentials also provides access to an email browser client. 

 

This needs to be kept in mind that Gmail’s speed and search functionality excels that of Outlook. However, Outlook users can create many “rules” in order to perfectly tailor how both incoming and outgoing emails are managed.

 

Both Gmail and Outlook offer calendars that can be linked to other accounts and other employees in one's office. We can keep records of meetings, schedule meetings, and even reserve meeting rooms once this option is set up using both platforms. 

 

Microsoft Outlook’s web email client excels Gmail with its ease of use, search and sorting capabilities that are not only responsive but also really quick.

 

Gmail comes with security controls to defend against phishing attacks and protect data. Google marks a malicious email in red. Lesser risks are marked in yellow. It also has a “confidential mode” to help protect sensitive data.

 

Also Read | How to use an OFFSET Function in Excel?

 

• How do G Suite & Microsoft Office 365 Compare when it comes to Collaboration Tools and Price Strategies?

 

Though both come with strong collaboration tools, Microsoft Teams allows you to create group chats, private messages and send files instantly. 

 

Teams added a “background blur” tool for video conferencing to focus on faces, and an intelligent transcribe option that creates searchable Word documents of Teams meetings.

 

Microsoft Teams enables users to create multiple channels for anyone to join. It provides channels for sales, business admin, marketing, human resource, or other groups.

 

Google Hangouts is equipped with instant messaging, group chats and built-in screen sharing. However, it lacks the features that Teams can provide. The good news is that Google has added some AI-driven features to Hangouts, with Smart Reply similar to Gmail.

 

We cannot deny that price is a huge factor when we opt for a service. Both G Suite and Office 365 are priced competitively. (Source)

 

Ending Note 

 

While ending the blog we can conclude that both G Suite and Microsoft Office 365 are highly reliable and competitive. 

 

G Suite excels when it comes to ease of use and document collaboration, while Microsoft Office 365 provides a rich experience loaded with features and is extremely capable of processing detailed documents and large amounts of data.

 

The best thing to consider while deciding whether to opt for G-Suite or Microsoft Office 365, is the familiarity with the products. 

 

We will definitely love the platform we are more familiar with. So if we are already using Gmail for personal email, then we will really like G Suite. And if we are used to using Outlook, then it is likely that we will fall for Office 365.