I've been asked "should we stay on Google Workspace or move to Microsoft 365?" on more calls than I can count. And I've been asked the reverse too — "we're on M365, is Google Workspace better?" Usually by someone who's had a quote from a managed service provider that only does one of the two and is therefore not going to give them an honest answer.
So this is my honest answer. I work exclusively on Google Workspace, which means I'm biased — I'll say that up front. But I've also told businesses during discovery calls that M365 was the right call for them. The right platform is the one that fits how your team actually works. Not the one your IT provider happens to sell.
What you actually need from a business productivity platform
Most small and medium businesses need four things: email, file storage, video calls, and the ability to collaborate on documents without emailing spreadsheets back and forth. Both Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 cover all of these. The differences are in how they cover them — and what the hidden costs are.
The hidden costs I'm talking about aren't licence fees. They're the cost of administration, the complexity of security configuration, and what happens when something goes wrong and nobody knows who to call.
Where Google Workspace wins for most small teams
It lives entirely in the browser
No desktop apps to install, manage, update, or license separately. Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet, Gmail — all in the browser, on any device, any operating system. This is why it suits remote-first teams so well. A new starter can be fully set up and working within an hour. There's nothing to install.
Microsoft 365 technically offers browser versions of its apps too, but most businesses use the full Office desktop suite — which means managing installations, activations, and compatibility across every device.
The Admin Console is genuinely manageable
Google's Admin Console is where you manage every user, security setting, shared drive permission, and device policy for your Workspace tenant. It's not simple — there are hundreds of settings and the defaults are not secure — but it's navigable. A non-IT person can understand what they're looking at.
Microsoft Entra (formerly Azure AD), Intune, Defender for Business, Exchange Admin Center, SharePoint Admin Center — these are all separate tools that govern different parts of Microsoft 365. For a team without dedicated IT, managing this stack is genuinely difficult.
Security configuration is more contained
This is where it matters most from my perspective. Every security control that governs a Google Workspace environment — MFA enforcement, sharing restrictions, device management, email authentication, audit logs, data loss prevention — lives in or connects to the Admin Console. It's one environment to understand, one environment to harden, one environment to monitor.
That doesn't mean it's secure out of the box. Google's defaults are not secure. But the work to secure it is scoped and contained. You're not simultaneously learning Exchange, SharePoint, Teams permissions, Intune MDM, and Defender policies. That matters enormously when you're a small team without dedicated IT resource.
Real-time collaboration actually works
Multiple people in the same document at the same time, no version conflicts, no "file locked" messages, no emailing v3_FINAL_revised.xlsx back and forth. Google was doing this before Microsoft made it genuinely reliable. If collaborative document editing is a significant part of how your team works, Google Workspace still has the edge.
Where Microsoft 365 is the stronger choice
Heavy Microsoft Office users
If your team lives in Excel — I mean really lives in it, using advanced macros, pivot tables, Power Query, or complex financial models — Google Sheets is not a direct replacement. The same is true for Word documents with heavy formatting, styles, and track changes workflows. If the files your business runs on are .xlsx and .docx at their core, the native Microsoft experience is materially better.
Integration with on-premise infrastructure
If you run Windows servers, Active Directory, or on-premise line-of-business applications, Microsoft 365 integrates with that environment in ways Google doesn't. This is increasingly rare for small businesses — most don't have servers anymore — but if you do, M365 is usually the sensible choice.
Regulated industries with Microsoft-specific compliance tools
Some compliance frameworks and audit requirements reference specific Microsoft tools — in particular around data governance, eDiscovery, and retention policies. If your regulator or your clients' contracts specifically call for Microsoft compliance capabilities, that's a meaningful constraint.
Teams-heavy organisations
Microsoft Teams has become genuinely central to how a lot of organisations communicate. If your clients, partners, or supply chain are all on Teams and you're doing a lot of external collaboration within that platform, it may be easier to join the ecosystem rather than fight it.
The honest comparison table
| Area | Google Workspace | Microsoft 365 |
|---|---|---|
| Browser-first experience | Native — everything works in the browser | Web apps available but desktop apps are the norm |
| Security admin complexity | One console, one environment | Multiple admin centres and security tools |
| Real-time collaboration | Strong — has been the standard for years | Improved but still trailing for most teams |
| Advanced Excel / Office | Google Sheets is capable but not equivalent | Native — no comparison for heavy users |
| On-premise integration | Limited — cloud-only by design | Designed for hybrid environments |
| New starter setup time | Usually under an hour, no installs | Longer — device setup, app installs, policy assignment |
| Licensing simplicity | One licence per user, all apps included | Multiple tiers, add-ons, and confusing bundles |
| Video conferencing | Google Meet — solid and integrated | Teams — solid and widely adopted |
| Email security defaults | Neither is secure out of the box — both require configuration | Neither is secure out of the box — both require configuration |
"Neither platform is secure by default. The difference is how much expertise it takes to secure them properly."
A simple framework for deciding
If you're genuinely undecided, these are the questions I use on discovery calls.
Google Workspace fits better
- Your team is remote-first or fully distributed
- You don't use heavy Excel macros or advanced Office features
- You have no on-premise servers or Windows infrastructure
- You want one person to be able to manage and secure the whole environment
- You're starting fresh or considering a migration
- Real-time document collaboration is important to how you work
M365 is probably the better fit
- Your team lives in Excel — macros, pivot tables, Power Query
- You have on-premise servers or Active Directory
- Your clients or partners are Teams-heavy and external collaboration matters
- Your compliance requirements specifically reference Microsoft tools
- You have a dedicated IT person or MSP already managing the M365 environment
The security caveat that applies to both
Whichever platform you're on, the security gap is almost never the platform itself. It's the configuration.
Google Workspace's default settings leave MFA optional, DMARC unconfigured, external sharing unrestricted, and leavers' accounts active until someone manually closes them. Microsoft 365's defaults are similar — conditional access policies not enforced, Defender for Business not configured, SharePoint sharing wide open.
The difference is that securing Google Workspace is a scoped, containable project. Securing Microsoft 365, especially in an environment that's grown organically over years, is significantly more complex. That's not a knock on Microsoft — it's just a function of the surface area.
GetBulwark runs a free 20-point manual review of your Admin Console — MFA enforcement, DMARC, sharing controls, leavers, backup, device posture, and more. Written PDF report within 48 hours. Book the free audit →
GetBulwark scopes Google Workspace migrations from M365, basic hosting, or personal Gmail — fixed price, zero downtime on email, full security audit at the end. Book a discovery call →
What I'd tell a friend
If you're a 5–30 person UK team without dedicated IT, and you're not locked into heavy Microsoft Office workflows or Windows infrastructure, Google Workspace is usually the cleaner choice. Not because it's inherently more secure or more capable — but because it's a smaller surface area for one person to manage and secure properly.
The biggest risk either way isn't the platform choice. It's assuming that because the email works and the files are accessible, the environment is secure. It almost certainly isn't. That's true on both platforms. The audit is how you find out where you actually stand.
