Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace

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

Should your business use Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace? If your team already relies on Windows machines, on-premises servers, or software built around Word and Excel file formats, Microsoft 365 is usually the smoother fit. If your team works mostly in a browser and values simple, fast real-time collaboration over deep desktop app features, Google Workspace tends to suit better. Most small and medium businesses should base this decision on the tools they already use day to day, not on brand loyalty or what a competitor uses.

Before comparing the two platforms in detail, it helps to know that Loginet supports both Microsoft and Google environments, including full Google Workspace solutions for businesses that decide the Google ecosystem is the better fit. That’s worth mentioning upfront because a lot of the advice you’ll find online comes from providers who only sell one platform, which naturally skews their recommendation.

Feature-by-feature comparison (email, storage, collaboration, admin)

Email. Microsoft’s email runs on Exchange Online, accessed through Outlook (desktop, web, or mobile). It handles complex rules, shared mailboxes, and large distribution lists well, and it’s the platform most accounting, legal, and trade-specific software still expects when integrating email. Google’s email runs on Gmail, which is simpler to administer and has a search function most people already know from personal use, but fewer advanced routing and retention controls out of the box.

Storage and file handling. Microsoft splits storage across OneDrive (personal files) and SharePoint (team and department files), which gives more structure for permissions and document libraries but takes longer to set up properly. Google Drive is flatter and faster to get moving with, though larger organisations sometimes find it harder to enforce folder structure and access rules as the business grows.

Collaboration. This is where the platforms genuinely differ in philosophy rather than just features. Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides were built from the ground up for real-time, browser-based co-editing, and it shows, multiple people can work in the same document with almost no lag or version confusion. Microsoft has closed most of that gap through Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on the web and through Teams, but co-editing in the desktop apps can still occasionally throw up a “someone else is editing” conflict that Google rarely does.

Admin and IT management. Microsoft’s admin centre is more granular, useful if you have an internal IT person or an MSP managing policies, licensing tiers, conditional access, and device compliance. Google’s admin console is more streamlined, better suited to businesses without dedicated IT support who want fewer settings to get wrong. Loginet’s Microsoft 365 solutions work covers this admin setup and ongoing management for businesses that go down the Microsoft path.

Pricing comparison at typical SMB seat counts

Both platforms price per user per month, with tiers based on storage, security features, and whether desktop apps are included. At the lower end, Google’s Business Starter plan and Microsoft’s Business Basic plan sit close to each other in price, both offering browser-based apps without full desktop installs. Once you move to plans that include desktop Office apps or Google’s higher storage tiers, the gap tends to widen depending on which features your business actually needs.

Exact current pricing shifts often enough that publishing specific dollar figures here would go stale quickly. [VERIFY CURRENT PRICING: Microsoft 365 Business plans vs Google Workspace Business plans, current AUD pricing]. What’s more useful than a price table is this: cost differences at typical SMB seat counts (5 to 50 users) are usually smaller than people expect, so pricing alone is rarely a good enough reason to switch platforms. The bigger cost factor is usually the migration and retraining effort, not the monthly subscription.

Migration effort each direction

Moving from Microsoft 365 to Google Workspace generally involves more friction than the reverse, mainly because Outlook-based email rules, shared mailboxes, calendar permissions, and distribution lists don’t map one-to-one onto Gmail and Google Calendar. Shared drives also need to be rebuilt rather than simply copied over, since SharePoint’s permission structure doesn’t translate directly to Google Drive’s sharing model.

Moving from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 tends to be more predictable, since most business software already assumes a Microsoft environment, which reduces the number of third-party integrations that need reconfiguring. Either direction, the two things that most often go wrong in a self-managed migration are email routing during the cutover (MX record timing) and calendar/contact syncing for staff who are actively using the system while the move happens. A staged migration, done outside business hours with a proper DNS cutover plan, avoids most of this.

Security and compliance differences worth knowing

Both platforms include multi-factor authentication, encryption in transit and at rest, and basic phishing filtering as standard. Where they differ is in how much extra security sits underneath the surface. Microsoft’s ecosystem includes deeper built-in threat protection options (like Defender for Office 365) that can be layered on, along with more detailed audit logging for businesses that need to demonstrate compliance. Google’s security model is simpler to manage but offers fewer native layers before you need a third-party add-on.

For businesses in regulated industries, or anyone handling sensitive client data, it’s worth having a proper conversation about what’s actually needed rather than assuming either platform is “secure enough” by default. Loginet’s email security services sit on top of either platform and cover the gap that default settings usually leave open. [VERIFY CURRENT REQUIREMENT: any industry-specific compliance obligations relevant to the reader’s sector].

Which One Loginet Recommends: Google Workspace Solutions QLD or Microsoft 365

Neither platform is universally better, and any provider telling you otherwise is usually just selling what they’re set up to support. The honest starting point is your current toolset: if your business runs on desktop Office apps, industry software that plugs into Outlook or Excel, or has staff who are more comfortable with a traditional Windows-style interface, Microsoft 365 will cause less disruption. If your team is already largely browser-based, values fast real-time collaboration over deep formatting control, or is starting fresh without years of Office-format files to carry over, Google Workspace is often the simpler long-term fit.

Business size matters less than people assume. A five-person business and a fifty-person business can each suit either platform, what matters more is how the team actually works day to day, and what existing software has to keep talking to your email and file system.

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