Outlook vs Gmail: Which Email Platform is the very best for Your Budget?
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are the dominant efficiency suites worldwide of software as a service (SaaS), both offering a wide range of applications that modern-day business require.
While the functions of a lot of these applications are similar, Microsoft and Google's proprietary offerings each have their own peculiarities, for much better or worse.
In this post, we will take a look at email through Microsoft Outlook and Google's Gmail for Business. Individually, the pair are the leading e-mail applications in service by market share and are pillars of M365 and Workspace, respectively.
Email might seem easy on the surface, but the differences between Outlook and Gmail show that things are more complex than sending and getting mail.
The functions of each are various, beginning with how they are accessed, and ending with the security and privacy offered.
Pricing
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are priced per month, per user, and have various tiers of prices. As it pertains to the mail accounts themselves, the difference in tiers typically only impacts storage area.
Using Microsoft's Business Basic strategy ($ 5/month/user when billed every year), each user gets 50 GB of email storage area, which is independent of the additional 1 TB of cloud storage in OneDrive.
Remember, the most standard level of M365 does not consist of any of Microsoft's desktop applications, consisting of Outlook. Users buying this strategy will need to more than happy with the Outlook web app.
Google's Business Basic strategy ($ 6), offers simply 30 GB of storage in general, combining email storage and drive storage together.
That's right, 60% of the mail box storage attended to Microsoft represent 100% of your overall storage on Google's most inexpensive plan.
That inconsistency is likely an attempt by Google to upsell users to their premium plans, with their Standard strategy ($ 12) leaping to 2 TB of drive storage, and the Plus plan ($ 18) going to 5 TB.
Microsoft supplies 2-5 TB of drive storage with their business offerings, but mailbox storage can basically be endless through endless archiving starting with the E3 strategy ($ 32).
A grid showing the costs and storage abilities 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 could be worth the extra dollar monthly.
As you move up plans, the Outlook desktop app might swing your choice, as we will go business it support brisbane over later. Bear in mind, Microsoft's pricing is based on a yearly dedication, while Google does not provide annual discount rates as of this post.
This post is simply covering the two suites through the scope of their e-mail applications, and these prices cover lots of other functions. If rate is your main aspect, consider each suite in total prior to deciding.
Alleviate of Use
The greatest distinction between the 2 suites total is Microsoft's desktop apps, which are much more feature-packed relative to Google's web apps.
While the functions are not as different between the email applications, the full Gmail experience is just accessible through a web browser.
With Outlook's desktop app, users get the complete Exchange server experience, with the added advantage of having the ability to check out and draft emails while offline.
If you are on an airplane, replying to e-mails and working on documents you prepare to send out later may be the best use of your time.
With Outlook, you don't need to wait for the internet to continue working, only to provide your work.
Gmail's user interface can't be reached without internet connectivity unless you first jump through some hoops.
At the time of this writing, you will need to utilize Google's Chrome browser, have Gmail bookmarked, and sync your email through their offline feature, the dependability of which has actually been debatable throughout the years.
Both have mobile applications, so that concern can be worked around, however reacting to a bunch of work emails on a mobile device can be a battle.
The complete suite of Microsoft Office desktop applications will be a much larger advantage for Microsoft in comparing other apps, but we'll still give Outlook a small, but considerable, advantage over Gmail due to relieve of usage.
Searchability
As you would expect, the business known for its search engine allows you to discover e-mails you need more reliably.
Gmail's advantage starts with its classification utilizing labels. Several labels can be applied to each e-mail or thread, and subcategories can be developed within labels to produce more of a filing system.
If numerous labels have been applied 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, sorting is limited to folders, requiring users to classify each email/thread into a singular location.
When it comes to the actual search function, both permit users to browse using keywords, in addition to folders/labels, senders, and date received.
Gmail not just has deeper advanced-search functions, by all accounts, however 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 particularly close. Their superior standing is not just large, however it appears on two different fronts.
Google has come under fire just recently regarding its handling of individual data, with reports that the company scans user emails. More especially, Google apparently tracks your location, your activity, and even your voice for the purpose of targeted advertisements.
Microsoft is much more transparent about their privacy policy and the data they collect.
For managers, Outlook uses much more internal security in the type of permissions. While Outlook's folder company does not provide the same searchability as Gmail's labels, it does provide users the capability to permit and disallow certain actions within folders.
These actions include whatever from reading, editing, erasing, and sending messages to seeing your calendar's specific conferences or free time.
Functionally, this permits managers to entrust jobs to their subordinates without giving them full-blown access to more vital info. It likewise stops unhappy workers from potentially stealing or deleting info deemed sensitive.
You can entrust account access to others in Gmail, which is basically like handing over the keys to your vehicle. You can't assign levels of access, conceal personal messages, or 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 detailed options and a personal privacy policy that is far more transparent, Microsoft 365's email platform stands alone.
Calendar
Technically, Google Calendar is not a part of Gmail, though all it takes to sync the 2 is a Workspace account and a couple of clicks through Gmail's menu.
For the sake of taking a wider 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 combination with other organizations or customers who utilized Outlook.
Some grievances included that updates to standing meetings made from Outlook accounts would not update in Google Calendar, and the inability to push updated info to participants.
In Addition, Google Calendar will immediately 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 included integrations with the other, and by all accounts, they work flawlessly. For all intents and purposes, this function is a draw.
Decision
Like the majority of things, this decision mainly comes down to personal preference. Much of the distinctions between Outlook and Gmail have advantages based upon how your business runs, along with your spending plan.
Eventually, the openness and security of Outlook make it the more powerful offering. If you find yourself sorting through countless emails a day, however, Gmail might be the right option for you.