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Google Workspace vs Microsoft Exchange comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 5, 2025

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
91
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 - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Hesham Hussain - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

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."
"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."
 

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."
"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."
 

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."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Educational Organization
7%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

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.
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.
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...
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...
What do you like most about Microsoft Exchange?
The initial setup was straightforward and fast.
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...
 

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

 

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
Find out what your peers are saying about Google Workspace vs. Microsoft Exchange and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
841,004 professionals have used our research since 2012.