Outlook vs Gmail: Which Email Platform is the Best for Your Spending plan?
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are the dominant productivity suites in the world of software as a service (SaaS), both using a large range of applications that modern-day companies need.
In this post, we will look at e-mail through Microsoft Outlook and Google's Gmail for Business. Separately, the pair are the leading email applications in business by market share and are pillars of M365 and Workspace, respectively.
Email may appear basic on the surface, however the differences in between Outlook and Gmail reveal that things are more complicated than sending out and receiving mail.
The functions of each are various, starting with how they are accessed, and ending with the security and personal privacy supplied.
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 distinction in tiers usually just impacts storage area.
Utilizing Microsoft's Business Basic plan ($ 5/month/user when billed annually), each user gets 50 GB of e-mail storage area, which is independent of the extra 1 TB of cloud storage in OneDrive.
Remember, the most basic level of M365 does not include any of Microsoft's desktop applications, including Outlook. Users purchasing this plan will have to be happy with the Outlook web app.
Meanwhile, Google's Business Basic strategy ($ 6), provides just 30 GB of storage in general, integrating email storage and drive storage together.
That's right, 60% of the mailbox storage attended to Microsoft accounts for 100% of your total storage on Google's cheapest strategy.
That inconsistency is likely an attempt by Google to upsell users to their premium plans, with their Standard strategy ($ 12) jumping to 2 TB of drive storage, and the Plus strategy ($ 18) going to 5 TB.
Microsoft provides 2-5 TB of drive storage with their enterprise offerings, however mail box storage can essentially be limitless through endless archiving beginning with the E3 plan ($ 32).
A grid showing the prices 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 two platforms are comparable, and Gmail's web app might be worth the additional dollar each month.
As you go up plans, the Outlook desktop app could swing your decision, as we will discuss later. Remember, Microsoft's rates is based upon an annual dedication, while Google does not use yearly discount rates since this post.
This post is just covering the 2 suites through the scope of their email applications, and these costs cover lots of other functions. If cost is your primary aspect, consider each suite in overall prior to making a decision.
Reduce of Use
The biggest difference between the two suites overall is Microsoft's desktop apps, which are even more feature-packed relative to Google's web apps.
While the functions are not as different in between the e-mail applications, the complete Gmail experience is only accessible through a web browser.
If you are on an aircraft, replying to emails and working on files you plan to send out later may be the best use of your time.
With Outlook, you do not need to wait for the internet to continue working, just to migration services deliver your work.
Gmail's interface can't be reached without web connection unless you first leap through some hoops.
At the time of this writing, you will require to utilize Google's Chrome web browser, have Gmail bookmarked, and sync your email through their offline function, the reliability of which has actually been debatable throughout the years.
Both have mobile applications, so that issue can be worked around, however reacting to a bunch of work e-mails on a mobile phone can be a battle.
The full suite of Microsoft Office desktop applications will be a much bigger advantage for Microsoft in comparing other apps, but we'll still give Outlook a minor, however significant, advantage over Gmail due to reduce of usage.
Searchability
As you would anticipate, the business known for its online search engine allows you to find emails you require more reliably.
Gmail's advantage begins with its categorization utilizing labels. Several labels can be used to each email or thread, and subcategories can be produced within labels to produce more of a filing system.
If multiple labels have been applied to a single e-mail or term, those messages will appear under each label. Moreover, labels permit you to auto-filter incoming e-mails based on hand-chosen requirements.
In Outlook, sorting is restricted to folders, requiring users to categorize each email/thread into a singular location.
When it comes to the actual search function, both enable users to search 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 likewise flat-out more accurate.
This is the very 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 remarkable standing is not simply huge, but it appears on 2 various fronts.
Google has actually come under fire recently regarding its handling of individual information, with reports that the company scans user e-mails. More notably, Google apparently tracks your area, your activity, and even your voice for the function of targeted ads.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is a lot more transparent about their personal privacy policy and the data they collect.
If your business transfers delicate or personal information routinely, it probably goes without stating that you would feel more comfy utilizing Microsoft and Outlook. Even if you aren't sending out and receiving private information, it would take a great deal of other benefits to exceed such evident personal privacy concerns.
For managers, Outlook provides much more internal security in the kind of approvals. While Outlook's folder company does not provide the very same searchability as Gmail's labels, it does provide users the ability to enable and prohibit specific actions within folders.
Outlook gives users 10 differing functions to choose from, as well as a custom function where the supervisor can hand-select particular actions one by one.
These actions consist of everything from reading, modifying, erasing, and sending messages to seeing your calendar's particular meetings or leisure time.
Functionally, this enables managers to entrust jobs to their subordinates without providing major access to more important information. It also stops disgruntled workers from potentially taking or erasing details deemed sensitive.
You can entrust account access to others in Gmail, which is basically like turning over the secrets to your automobile. You can't assign levels of gain access to, hide personal messages, and even see messages sent by your delegate in your place.
One of, if not the most important category is a runaway win for Outlook. With extensive choices and a personal privacy policy that is far more transparent, Microsoft 365's e-mail platform stands alone.
Calendar
Technically, Google Calendar is not a part of Gmail, though all it takes to sync the two is a Workspace account and a couple of clicks through Gmail's menu.
For the sake of taking a broader look at Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, we'll compare Outlook's calendar to Google Calendar here.
At first, Gmail users lamented the platform's integration with other organizations or clients who utilized Outlook.
Some problems included that updates to standing conferences made from Outlook accounts would not update in Google Calendar, and the inability to press updated info to individuals.
In Addition, Google Calendar will automatically attempt to turn all of your video meetings into a Google Meet call. Its default setting will immediately post a Google Meet link into your calendar entry, which function needs to be disabled by an administrator.
Otherwise, both platforms have included integrations with the other, and by all accounts, they work seamlessly. For all intents and functions, this function is a draw.
Decision
Like most things, this choice mostly comes down to individual preference. Many of the differences in between Outlook and Gmail have benefits based upon how your business runs, as well as your spending plan.
Ultimately, the openness and security of Outlook make it the more powerful offering. If you discover yourself sorting through thousands of e-mails a day, nevertheless, Gmail may be the right alternative for you.