Outlook vs Gmail: Which Email Platform is the Best for Your Budget plan?
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are the dominant productivity suites worldwide of software as a service (SaaS), both offering a vast array of applications that contemporary business need.
While the functions of much of these applications are similar, Microsoft and Google's proprietary offerings each have their own peculiarities, for better or even worse.
In this post, we will look at e-mail through Microsoft Outlook and Google's Gmail for Business. Individually, the pair are the leading e-mail applications in company by market share and are pillars of M365 and Workspace, respectively.
Email may seem basic on the surface, however the differences between Outlook and Gmail reveal that things are more complicated than sending out and receiving mail.
The operations of each are various, starting with how they are accessed, and ending with the security and personal privacy supplied.
Prices
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are priced each month, per user, and have different tiers of pricing. As it refers to the mail accounts themselves, the difference in tiers normally only affects storage area.
Utilizing Microsoft's Business Basic strategy ($ 5/month/user when billed yearly), each user gets 50 GB of e-mail storage space, which is independent of the additional 1 TB of cloud storage in OneDrive.
Keep in mind, the most standard level of M365 does not include any of Microsoft's desktop applications, consisting of Outlook. Users purchasing this strategy will have to enjoy with the Outlook web app.
On the other hand, Google's Business Basic strategy ($ 6), provides just 30 GB of storage overall, combining e-mail storage and drive storage together.
That's right, 60% of the mail box storage attended to Microsoft accounts for 100% of your overall storage on Google's most inexpensive strategy.
That disparity is likely an attempt by Google to upsell users to their premium strategies, with their Standard plan ($ 12) leaping to 2 TB of drive storage, and the Plus plan ($ 18) going to 5 TB.
Microsoft provides 2-5 TB of drive storage with their enterprise offerings, but mail box storage can essentially be unlimited through unlimited archiving starting with the E3 strategy ($ 32).
A grid showing the prices and storage capabilities of Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace
Scoring round 1 here, let's call it a draw. At the least expensive level, the 2 platforms are comparable, and Gmail's web app might be worth the extra dollar monthly.
As you move up plans, the Outlook desktop app might swing your decision, as we will go over later on. Remember, Microsoft's prices is based on a yearly dedication, while Google does not offer yearly discount rates as of this post.
This post is simply covering the two suites through the scope of their e-mail applications, and these costs cover lots of other features. If rate is your main element, think about each suite in overall prior to deciding.
Ease of Use
While the features are not as various in between the e-mail applications, the complete Gmail experience is only available through a web internet browser.
With Outlook's desktop app, users get the complete Exchange server experience, with the added advantage of being able to read and draft emails while offline.
With Outlook, you don't need to wait on the internet to continue working, only to provide your work.
Gmail's interface can't be reached without internet connectivity unless you initially jump through some hoops.
At the time of this writing, you will need to use Google's Chrome internet browser, have Gmail bookmarked, and sync your e-mail by means of their offline feature, the reliability of which has been debatable for many years.
Both have mobile applications, so that concern can be worked around, however responding to a bunch of work emails on a mobile device can be a battle.
The full suite of Microsoft Office desktop applications will be a much larger advantage for Microsoft in comparing other apps, however we'll still provide Outlook a minor, however significant, benefit over Gmail due to reduce of use.
Searchability
As you would expect, the company understood for its search engine permits you to discover e-mails you require more dependably.
Gmail's benefit starts with its classification utilizing labels. Numerous labels can be used to each e-mail or thread, and subcategories can be developed within labels to produce more of a filing system.
If several labels have been used to a single email or term, those messages will appear under each label. Labels enable you to auto-filter incoming emails based on hand-chosen criteria.
In Outlook, arranging is limited to folders, requiring users to categorize each email/thread into a singular location.
When it comes to the actual search function, both permit users to search using keywords, in addition to folders/labels, senders, and date received.
Gmail not only has deeper advanced-search functions, by all accounts, but it is also flat-out more precise.
This is the first solid win for Gmail, as Outlook's searchability and classification are not as robust.
Security
Microsoft is the leader in this classification, and it is not especially close. Their superior standing is not simply vast, but it is apparent on 2 various fronts.
Google has come under fire recently regarding its handling of personal information, with reports that the company scans user emails. More especially, Google apparently tracks your place, your activity, and even your voice for the function of targeted ads.
Microsoft is much more transparent about their personal privacy policy and the data they collect.
If your service transmits delicate or personal information regularly, it probably goes without stating that you would feel more comfy utilizing Microsoft and Outlook. Even if you aren't sending out and receiving personal information, it would take a lot of other benefits to surpass such apparent personal privacy concerns.
For managers, Outlook provides a lot more internal security in the type of consents. While Outlook's folder company does not present the exact same searchability as Gmail's labels, it does offer users the capability to enable and prohibit certain actions within folders.
Outlook gives users 10 varying roles to select from, in addition to a custom-made role where the manager can hand-select particular actions one by one.
These actions include everything from reading, editing, deleting, and sending out messages to seeing your calendar's particular meetings or spare time.
Functionally, this allows managers to entrust tasks to their subordinates without providing major access to more crucial details. It likewise stops dissatisfied staff members from possibly taking or deleting details deemed sensitive.
You can hand over account access to others in Gmail, which is essentially like handing over the keys to your cars and truck. You can't appoint levels of gain access to, hide personal messages, and even see messages sent out by your delegate on your behalf.
One of, if not the most essential classification is a runaway win for Outlook. With thorough options and a privacy policy that is much more transparent, Microsoft 365's e-mail platform stands alone.
Calendar
Technically, Google Calendar is not a part of Gmail, though all it requires to sync the 2 is a Workspace account and a few clicks through Gmail's menu.
For the sake of taking a broader take a look at Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, we'll compare Outlook's calendar to Google Calendar here.
Gmail users regreted the platform's integration with other companies or customers who utilized Outlook.
Some complaints consisted of that updates to computer help brisbane standing meetings made from Outlook accounts would not upgrade in Google Calendar, and the inability to push updated information to individuals.
In Addition, Google Calendar will instantly try to turn all of your video meetings into a Google Meet call. Its default setting will instantly publish a Google Meet link into your calendar entry, and that function needs to be disabled by an administrator.
Otherwise, both platforms have added integrations with the other, and by all accounts, they work seamlessly. For all intents and functions, this function is a draw.
Decision
Like a lot of things, this choice mainly comes down to individual choice. Many of the distinctions in between Outlook and Gmail have benefits based upon how your company operates, along with your spending plan.
Eventually, the transparency and security of Outlook make it the stronger offering. If you discover yourself sorting through thousands of e-mails a day, nevertheless, Gmail might be the right option for you.