Deciding on which word processor is best suited for your team can come down to a variety of factors. Cloud services and IT companies typically need an option that can store plenty of data, respond quickly, and offer flexible payment options.
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are often the two choices teams ultimately decide upon, as they are both very reliable cloud-based writing hubs. However, it’s important to know the difference between each and decide which one is best for you.
Price
Both Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 offer distinct pricing tiers per monthly user. Users should note that Microsoft’s $5 per month Business Basic Plan does not provide desktop apps, but rather just Word Online. Apps are offered for users who subscribe to the $8.25 monthly plan, however, this does not provide access to features such as Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, or Exchange Online. Other Microsoft’s monthly plans include the Business Standard ($12.50), Business Premium ($20.00), E3 ($32.00), and E5 ($57.00).
Google, on the other hand, does not feature desktop apps and instead functions through the use of a web browser in which all web apps are available. The basic Google Workspace plan starts at $6 per month, followed by the Business Standard plan at $12, and finally the Business Plus plan at $18 per month.
Features
If you’re using a word processor for simple writing documents, the 30GB of storage space and ease of accessibility that Google offers should be more than enough. It also allows users to add features like a table of contents and allows for editing frequently used text styles.
But this is not to say that Word doesn’t trump Google in some areas. For example, its extensive collection of templates allows users to create unique and comprehensive documents that catch the reader’s eye. Users need only to replace standard placeholder text and spaces with the images and text of their choosing. Word also offers better formatting options, allowing users to customize paragraph spacing.
Finally, Microsoft 365 can integrate other features such as PowerPoint and Excel, giving users much more versatility when creating projects.
Document Sharing and Collaboration
As it pertains to document sharing and collaboration, Google Workspace has a slight competitive edge as it was designed to have this feature from day one, whereas Microsoft 365 incorporated it later on. Today, however, both companies have made it a focal point to grow the functionality of this specific feature, especially for business-to-business operations.
Which Is Better?
Choosing between Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace depends largely on the complexity of the documents you produce. We would recommend Google if your word processing needs are more simple and documents consist of just text and not much else. But if you’re consistently producing more elaborate manuscripts that require the use of charts and other presentation data, Microsoft 365 is most likely the better choice for you.
IT companies like Computer Engineering Group in Napa are there to help their clients determine what might be best for them as well as offer different cloud services that are tailored more to each client.