Google Workspace vs Microsoft Exchange comparison

Google and Microsoft are both solutions in the Email Applications category. Google is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.1, while Microsoft is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.3. Google holds a 23.3% mindshare in EA, compared to Microsoft’s 11.4% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Google users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

Google Workspace

Read 101 Google Workspace reviews

6,330 Views
5,707 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Microsoft Exchange

Read 91 Microsoft Exchange reviews

3,434 Views
2,958 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Google Workspace

Microsoft Exchange

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 5, 2025

Microsoft Exchange and Google Workspace compete in the business communication and collaboration category. Google Workspace appears to have the upper hand due to its real-time collaboration and cloud accessibility.

Features: Microsoft Exchange offers tools like Message Tracking, Outlook integration, and strong security features catering to on-premise needs. Google Workspace emphasizes collaboration with Google Docs, Sheets, and Meet, providing seamless integration with Google services.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Exchange needs to improve storage management, integration with non-Microsoft products, and simplify initial setup. Google Workspace faces challenges in transitioning from Microsoft tools, lacks offline capabilities, and has function gaps in Google Sheets compared to Excel.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Exchange deployment often requires significant IT resources for on-premises or hybrid setups with reliance on third-party expertise. Google Workspace simplifies cloud-based deployment but has sporadic customer service issues.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Exchange offers varied pricing based on deployment with complex licensing, whereas Google Workspace has straightforward, user-based plans. Both provide potential ROI, with Google Workspace excelling in cloud-based value.

To learn more, read our detailed Google Workspace vs. Microsoft Exchange Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Google Workspace vs. Microsoft Exchange

March 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Google Workspace

Ranking in Email Applications

1st

Ranking in Wireless Email

2nd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

101

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Storage (6th), Content Collaboration Platforms (3rd)

Microsoft Exchange

Ranking in Email Applications

3rd

Ranking in Wireless Email

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

File Archiving (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Google Workspace is 23.3%, up from 23.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange is 11.4%, down from 12.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Applications

Featured Reviews

Sunil-Nair

IT Manager at Universal Carpets & Rugs

Email collaboration and accessibility have improved team productivity

The valuable features include the email service, email updates, and Google Drive. People are given email access to Google Drive. The team can share manual files and work accordingly. They can access different teams from anywhere, collectively putting files, sharing them, and managing them. Additionally, the manufacturing product does not require any downgrades. It works fine and continuously for the last three or four years. Users can access their emails from anywhere in their browser without a laptop or can directly access from Gmail. This is helpful for salespeople.

Read full review

Hesham Hussain

Head Of Infrastructure at ValU

A good solution for large enterprises, but is expensive when compared to other solutions

Regarding the decision of increasing the number of users, it depends on the organization's choice, whether to opt for CapEx or OpEx. Both options involve expenses over the years. Building an in-house Exchange solution requires investing in hardware, storage, connectivity, and administrative resources. Office 365 shifts the budget solely to OpEx as a subscription service. Scalability is another factor. Starting a new company favors Office 365 due to cost efficiency. As the organization grows, the choice depends on available resources and technical expertise. An internal Exchange setup is feasible with skilled engineers, while Office 365 suits those lacking in-house resources.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The valuable feature of Google Workspace is its integrated environment where everything is pre-integrated, like chat and document sharing in Gmail."

"The most valuable feature is that it is simple to use."

"Google seems to be a more stable environment than our current on-premise Microsoft solution that we're replacing."

"It is a stable platform. It is very easy to use, and most importantly, it is very easy to administer. It also gets up and running quite easily."

"Everything is synchronized across every single device you use to access G Suite. That is why we like it."

"G Suite Enterprise is scalable."

"Google Workspace is an excellent tool for communicating with people, which allows users to collaborate and edit files simultaneously."

"I use Keep to assign tasks to a team of programmers, which is very easy."

More Google Workspace pros

"It's an excellent product from Microsoft. It provides more flexibility to the end-users. As it's connected with Teams, it also enables collaboration."

"Our customers are satisfied with the features included in Microsoft Exchange."

"The interface is user-friendly."

"For me, the solution is very user-friendly. I've used it a long time and I know where everything is."

"I find the desktop version of Microsoft Exchange looks better than the online version. You can make it a white background. You might be able to make the online background white, but I have no idea how to do that. I know how to do it only on the desktop version"

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange is its ease of use."

"The deployment is a plug-and-play process."

"We have found it to be a stable solution. It is scalable and easy to install."

More Microsoft Exchange pros

Cons

"Better integration without visual misrepresentation with the Microsoft suite is required."

"Some concerns over security, but there are moves to address this and provide admin tools to secure content and adhere to data protection regulations."

"The cost could be improved. It can sometimes be a bit confusing figuring out how we are actually being charged."

"It would be nice to have additional software, such as Microsoft Teams, since our basic edition, Google Meet, cannot record video."

"We noticed that sometimes when we forward emails to somebody, it is being relocated as part of the communication somewhere else. The traceability and other features should be improved."

"G-Suite is excellent for what we're trying to do, but it could use some extra features. For example, it would be helpful if we had a seamless way to convert Excel macros to Google Sheets."

"I believe that Sheets could have a more functional and user-friendly interface. Google Sheets currently lacks macros and cross file links which can be found in Excel."

"Google Mail's spam filter needs improvement. If I'm sending mail to another email user, sometimes it goes to the spam folder, and they won't know unless they check because they aren't seeing it in the primary inbox. They may miss important emails. At the same time, I'm receiving spam that shouldn't go to my inbox."

More Google Workspace cons

"The solution could be more secure."

"I think that improvements should be made in creating greater abilities for Microsoft Exchange in terms of Reasearch and Development."

"At the end of the day, the biggest area for improvement is having better and more knowledgeable support technicians."

"I don't have the best impression of customer service and support. It should be faster and more clear, and more human. T"

"When an update wants to come, it should just come maybe once or twice rather than having us deal with constant updating."

"Load balancing is lacking."

"I think it could be more scalable."

"It is important to have the updated version for scalability."

More Microsoft Exchange cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's low in cost as compared to Office 365. There is an annual licensing cost."

"We pay on yearly basis."

"The solution is expensive."

"I can't recall the exact pricing per user for Google Workspace, but I know it's not that expensive. I'm in a mid-sized company that's able to maintain and afford Google Workspace, so it has competitive pricing, and I would rate its price as four out of five."

"Licensing costs are on a yearly basis."

"I give the pricing an eight out of ten, with ten being the most affordable."

"There are different versions of the solution available, such as premium."

"Approximately $6 per user, per month."

More Google Workspace pricing and cost advice

"It's working very well. There is no problem, but the price is not the best."

"The solution is expensive to maintain because it requires frequent updates and ongoing server maintenance."

"The price of Microsoft Exchange is reasonable."

"It would be nice if it used less resources to run on-premise."

"I rate Microsoft Exchange a four out of ten for pricing because it is quite cheap, and many companies use the solution."

"Exchange is better for medium to large businesses because it can be quite costly for SMB, which may not need all the options the product provides."

"Microsoft's licensing structure is too complex, but its prices are affordable, though not cheap."

"I rate Microsoft Exchange's pricing a six out of ten."

More Microsoft Exchange pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Government

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

11%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Google Workspace?

Easy-to-build forms are allowing me to get feedback and information from my internal teams as well as from the customers very efficiently with the result data in structured manner.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Workspace?

I'm not satisfied with the cost because I feel these services should be free as they use our data.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Google Workspace?

As far as Google Workspace is concerned, it is working fine for us. Our needs are fulfilled, so that's fine. However, integration with Microsoft Outlook could be improved. The new integration was i...

See all answers

How does Zimbra Collaboration compare with Microsoft Exchange?

Zimbra is a free, open source collaborative software suite. The features I like best are the ease of integration and the email, calendar, and collaboration server with web interface. In addition, I...

See all answers

What do you like most about Microsoft Exchange?

The initial setup was straightforward and fast.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Exchange?

The licensing and pricing are quite costly, which can demotivate customers from opting for features and upgrades. However, the solution provides value for money if one is well-acquainted with Excha...

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Exchange Online vs Google Workspace

Compared 32% of the time

Amazon WorkMail vs Google Workspace

Compared 29% of the time

ProtonMail vs Google Workspace

Compared 8% of the time

Amazon WorkDocs vs Google Workspace

Compared 4% of the time

GoDaddy vs Google Workspace

Compared 2% of the time

More Google Workspace Competitors

Zimbra Collaboration vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 21% of the time

KerioConnect vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 18% of the time

Open-Xchange vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 12% of the time

HCL Domino vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 12% of the time

ProtonMail vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 4% of the time

More Microsoft Exchange Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Google Workspace

February 2025

Download Google Workspace product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Exchange

February 2025

Download Microsoft Exchange product report

Also Known As

G-Suite Enterprise, G-Suite, Google Apps for Business, G Suite Basic, G Suite Business, G-Suite Basic, G-Suite Business, Google Vault

Exchange, MS Exchange

Overview

Similar to G Suite, all Google Workspace plans provide a custom email for your business and include collaboration tools like Gmail, Calendar, Meet, Chat, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Sites, and more.

As we’ve evolved G Suite into a more integrated experience across our communication and collaboration tools, we’ve rebranded to Google Workspace to more accurately represent the product vision.

Google

Built to deliver the enterprise-grade security and reliability that businesses require, Microsoft Exchange provides email, calendar and contacts on your PC, phone and web browser.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

There are over five million businesses that use Google Apps for Business worldwide. Some key customers include The Roche Group, National Geographic, American Red Cross, City of Los Angeles, Flight Centre, and Konica Minolta.

Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport, Scitec Nutrition, British Airways, InnoGames, Osteology Foundation, Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH, NTC Contracting

Buyer's Guide

Google Workspace vs. Microsoft Exchange

March 2025

Free Report: Google Workspace vs. Microsoft Exchange

Find out what your peers are saying about Google Workspace vs. Microsoft Exchange and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.

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