It’s one of the most common questions UK businesses ask when reviewing their IT setup: should we be on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace? Both platforms offer email, document creation, storage and collaboration tools. Both have strong security credentials. But they’re not the same — and the right choice depends on your business, your team and how you work.
The Quick Summary
Microsoft 365 is the better choice for most UK businesses — particularly those in professional services, finance, legal, manufacturing and any sector where familiarity with Word, Excel and PowerPoint is important. Google Workspace is a strong contender for businesses that are cloud-native from the start, work heavily with external collaborators, or have teams that live in a browser rather than desktop applications.
Microsoft 365 — The Case For
Microsoft 365 also integrates natively with most business software — accounting packages like Sage and Xero, CRM systems, ERP platforms and industry-specific applications are all built with Microsoft 365 in mind. That integration reduces friction and saves time.
Google Workspace — The Case For
Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) offers Gmail, Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, Meet and Calendar. Its greatest strength is real-time collaboration — multiple users working on the same document simultaneously, with changes visible instantly, is seamless in a way that Microsoft’s collaboration tools have historically taken time to match.
Google Workspace tends to be simpler to administer for smaller teams, and the browser-based approach means users can access everything from any device without installing software. For startups and businesses building their IT infrastructure from scratch, this simplicity is appealing.
Key Differences for UK Businesses
- Cost: Both platforms offer comparable pricing at SME scale. Microsoft 365 Business Basic is around £5.40/user/month and Google Workspace Business Starter around £5.90/user/month (both exc VAT). Microsoft’s higher tiers include more security tooling.
- Familiarity: Most UK business users have spent their careers using Word, Excel and Outlook. Microsoft 365 requires less retraining.
- Offline working: Microsoft 365 desktop applications work fully offline. Google Workspace is primarily browser-based and requires connectivity for most features.
- Security and compliance: Microsoft’s security stack is more comprehensive and better suited to regulated industries and larger organisations.
- Collaboration: Google Workspace’s real-time collaboration remains slightly more fluid for document co-editing; Microsoft Teams is the stronger platform for meetings and chat.
What Most UK Businesses Choose — and Why
In our experience supporting businesses across the UK, the significant majority choose Microsoft 365. The familiarity of the applications, the depth of security tooling, and the breadth of third-party integrations make it the safer, more versatile choice for established businesses.
That said, we’ve successfully deployed Google Workspace for clients where it fits their working style — and we manage both platforms for businesses that use a mix. The most important thing is choosing the platform your team will actually use effectively, configured and secured correctly from the start.
