Comparison
Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 (2026)
Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 is no longer a price decision: both cost $7, $14 or $22 per user per month on annual plans since Microsoft's July 2026 increase. The real differences are apps, mailbox storage, admin and sending limits. Here's each one side by side, and what to use for cold outreach.
Business Starter vs Business Basic, US annual list price per user per month, October 2026.
Verdict
Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 at a glance
Business plans compared on what each vendor publishes, checked October 2026. Both cap business plans at 300 users.
Choose Google Workspace if…
- Your team works in the browser
- You co-edit Docs and Sheets in real time
- You want a simpler admin console
- You want month-to-month billing (Flexible)
Choose Microsoft 365 if…
- You live in desktop Word, Excel and Outlook
- You want a 100 GB mailbox on the entry plan
- You already run Windows and Microsoft security tools
- You use Teams with customers or partners
For cold outreach: use both
- Match the provider your prospects use
- Spread reputation across two ecosystems
- Same sequencer, same workflow
- Same price per mailbox on Jetmail
| Google Workspace | Microsoft 365 | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry plan (annual) | Business Starter, $7 | Business Basic, $7 |
| Mid plan (annual) | Business Standard, $14 | Business Standard, $14 |
| Top small-business plan | Business Plus, $22 | Business Premium, $22 |
| Month to month | Flexible plan, 20% more | Listed prices are for an annual commitment |
| Email storage | 30 GB to 5 TB per user, pooled with Drive | 100 GB mailbox + 1 TB OneDrive per user |
| Daily sending limit | 2,000 messages per user | 10,000 recipients per mailbox |
| Desktop Office apps | Browser and mobile apps | Business Standard and Premium |
| AI included | Gemini (Gmail on Starter; Docs, Sheets and more from Standard) | Copilot Chat; Microsoft 365 Copilot is an add-on |
Pricing
Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 pricing
Microsoft raised Business Basic and Business Standard on July 1, 2026. Since then the two suites' annual list prices line up exactly.
| Tier | Google annual | Google flexible | Microsoft annual | Microsoft before July 1, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Starter / Business Basic | $7.00 | $8.40 | $7.00 | $6.00 |
| Business Standard / Business Standard | $14.00 | $16.80 | $14.00 | $12.50 |
| Business Plus / Business Premium | $22.00 | $26.40 | $22.00 | Unchanged |
Annual price per user per month, by plan
US list prices, October 2026. Microsoft prices after the July 1, 2026 increase.
| Workspace Starter | $7.00 |
|---|---|
| M365 Basic | $7.00 |
| Workspace Standard | $14.00 |
| M365 Standard | $14.00 |
| Workspace Plus | $22.00 |
| M365 Premium | $22.00 |
Microsoft's increase took Business Basic from $6 to $7 and Business Standard from $12.50 to $14; Business Premium stayed at $22. Microsoft says existing customers see the new price at their first renewal after July 1, 2026, and that it applies to both annual and monthly billing. Alongside it, Microsoft added 50 GB of email storage, time-of-click link protection and Copilot Chat improvements to Basic and Standard.
Google's last list-price change was in 2025, when it bundled Gemini into Business plans. Its Flexible plan lets you cancel or remove users any time for 20% more; on Microsoft, the headline prices assume an annual commitment. See every Google plan in Google Workspace pricing.
Email, storage and sending limits
For email specifically, Microsoft gives more per mailbox on entry plans and a higher daily ceiling. Google pools storage and caps daily sending lower.
- messages per day per Google Workspace user
- 2,000
- recipients per day per Exchange Online mailbox
- 10,000
- Microsoft 365 Business mailbox
- 100 GB
- cold emails per mailbox per day we plan for (Jetmail assumption)
- 30
| Google Workspace | Microsoft 365 (Exchange Online) | |
|---|---|---|
| Mailbox storage | Pooled: 30 GB (Starter), 2 TB (Standard), 5 TB (Plus) per user, shared with Drive | 100 GB per user mailbox on Basic, Standard and Premium |
| Archive | Vault for retention on Business Plus | 50 GB archive (Basic, Standard); up to 1.5 TB auto-expanding (Premium) |
| Daily limit | 2,000 messages; 500 on trial accounts | 10,000 recipients in a rolling 24 hours |
| External recipients | 2,000 unique external recipients per day | Tenant-wide external limit based on licence count |
| Recipients per message | 2,000 (500 external) | Customizable, up to 1,000 |
| Per-minute rate limit | Not listed | 30 messages per minute |
| SMTP server | smtp.gmail.com | smtp.office365.com |
Both companies say plainly that these limits exist to stop bulk mail. Microsoft's documentation recommends a dedicated service for bulk commercial email, and Google pauses sending for up to 24 hours when a user hits a limit. For cold outreach, the useful number is far lower than either ceiling: Jetmail plans for 30 cold emails per mailbox per day and scales by adding mailboxes. Connection details are in Gmail SMTP settings and Office 365 SMTP settings.
Beyond email
Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace: apps, admin and AI
Most teams decide on the apps, because that's what people use all day.
Apps
Google Workspace is built for the browser: Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet and Chat, with mobile apps and Drive for desktop. Real-time co-editing is its strength. Microsoft 365 centres on Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, OneDrive and SharePoint. Business Basic gives you the web and mobile versions; Business Standard and Premium add the desktop apps, which still matter for heavy Excel work and documents with complex formatting.
Admin and security
Google runs everything from one Admin console, which smaller teams usually find quicker to learn. Microsoft spreads administration across the Microsoft 365 admin center, the Exchange admin center and Entra ID; it's more granular, and Business Premium adds advanced security and device management. Google's equivalent step up is Business Plus, which adds Vault and advanced endpoint management.
AI
Gemini is included in every Google Business plan: in Gmail on Starter, and across Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, Meet and Chat from Standard up. Microsoft includes Copilot Chat and, from summer 2026, inbox and calendar awareness in Basic and Standard; the full Microsoft 365 Copilot in every app is a paid add-on.
Already paying for one? Stay unless something hurts
Cold outreach
Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 for cold outreach
For outbound, it isn't either/or. Prospects' mail is hosted on both, and many sending teams run mailboxes on both so their mail comes from the same kind of provider their prospects use.
Step 1
Check who hosts their mail
A prospect's MX record shows Google, Microsoft or other.
Step 2
Split the list
Group prospects by their mail provider.
Step 3
Send from matching mailboxes
Google mailboxes to Google-hosted prospects, Microsoft to Microsoft.
Step 4
Cap each mailbox
About 30 cold emails a day each (our planning number).
Step 5
Compare segments
Track replies by segment and move volume to what works.
Running both also spreads risk: a problem with one provider's filtering doesn't stop all of your outbound. The catch with doing it yourself is double the admin: two consoles, two sets of DNS records (Google's google._domainkey TXT versus Microsoft's selector1 and selector2 CNAMEs) and two ways of connecting to your sequencer.
Jetmail sells Google and Microsoft mailboxes at the same price, standard or pre-warmed, sets up the domains and DNS for both, and connects them to your outreach tool by OAuth. See cold email infrastructure for how it fits together.
Google and Microsoft mailboxes, one dashboard
Plans start at $39/month for 10 mailboxes, Google or Microsoft at the same price, with SPF, DKIM and DMARC set up and one-click connection to your outreach tool.
Your quote
What a mixed Google and Microsoft setup costs
Pick a monthly volume. Jetmail's price is the same whether the mailboxes are Google, Microsoft or a mix.
- Mailboxes
- 46
- Domains
- 16
- Jetmail / mo
- $151
30 sends per mailbox per day, 3 mailboxes per domain, 22 sending days. Monthly billing, mailboxes only (domains are extra with every provider). Competitor prices from their public sites, checked Oct 2026.
Monthly cost for 46 mailboxes
- Jetmail$151
- Zapmail$151
- InboxKit$138
- Icemail$115
- Instantly$230
- Zapmail prices shown are first-year prices; its help center says Google Workspace plans rise to $49/$149/$449 after 12 months.
- InboxKit pre-warmed shown at its cheapest tier (2–4 weeks warmed), excluding one-time domain transfer fees.
- Icemail standard price is a limited-time promo ($3.50 list).
- Instantly accounts also need a paid Instantly sending plan (from $47/mo), not included above.
Get this quote by email
We'll send the breakdown plus a domain and DNS plan for 30,000 emails a month.
Sources (checked October 2026): Google: plan prices · Google: compare Business editions · Google: Gmail sending limits · Microsoft: 2026 pricing update · Microsoft: pricing update FAQ · Microsoft: Exchange Online limits · Microsoft 365 business plans · Office Watch: 2026 increase
Get a free Google + Microsoft mailbox plan
Tell us where to send it. We'll reply with mailbox, domain and DNS recommendations for your sending volume — or start right away and have mailboxes live in minutes.
Where should we send it?
Or see pricing →Frequently asked questions
Which is better, Google Workspace or Microsoft 365?
Neither wins outright. Google Workspace suits teams that work in the browser and edit documents together in real time. Microsoft 365 suits teams that depend on desktop Word, Excel and Outlook, or want a larger mailbox. Since July 2026 the annual list prices match tier for tier, so price no longer decides it.
Is Microsoft 365 cheaper than Google Workspace?
Not any more. After Microsoft's July 1, 2026 increase, Business Basic costs $7, Business Standard $14 and Business Premium $22 per user per month on an annual commitment, the same as Google's Business Starter, Standard and Plus. Google's month-to-month Flexible plan costs 20% more ($8.40 for Starter).
Google Workspace vs Office 365: what's the difference?
Office 365 is the older name for Microsoft's business suite; the small-business plans are now sold as Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard and Premium. The comparison is the same: Gmail, Docs and Sheets in the browser versus Outlook, Word and Excel, with desktop apps on Microsoft's Standard and Premium plans.
Office 365 vs Google Workspace: which has more email storage?
Microsoft gives each Business user a 100 GB mailbox plus 1 TB of OneDrive. Google pools storage across Gmail and Drive: 30 GB per user on Starter, 2 TB on Standard and 5 TB on Plus. On entry plans Microsoft gives more; from Google's Standard plan up, Google's pool is larger.
Which has higher email sending limits?
Exchange Online allows 10,000 recipients per mailbox per day and 30 messages per minute. Google Workspace allows 2,000 messages per user per day and 2,000 unique external recipients. Both are hard ceilings, not safe targets for cold email.
Should I use Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 for cold email?
Many outbound teams use both, so their mail comes from the same kind of provider their prospects use. Jetmail sells Google and Microsoft mailboxes at the same price, standard or pre-warmed, with DNS set up automatically.
Can I switch from Microsoft 365 to Google Workspace, or back?
Yes. Google's data migration service can import mail from Microsoft Exchange Online, and Microsoft's Exchange admin center can migrate mailboxes from Google Workspace. The main work is planning the cut-over and updating your MX, SPF and DKIM records.