Outlook vs Gmail: Which Email Platform is the Best for Your Budget plan?
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are the dominant performance suites in the world of software application as a service (SaaS), both using a large range of applications that modern-day business need.
While the functions of a number 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 e-mail through Microsoft Outlook and Google's Gmail for Business. Separately, the pair are the leading e-mail applications in organization by market share and are pillars of M365 and Workspace, respectively.
Email might seem simple on the surface area, but the distinctions in between Outlook and Gmail reveal that things are more complicated than sending out and getting mail.
The workings 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 different tiers of rates. As it pertains to the mail accounts themselves, the distinction in tiers usually only affects storage area.
Using Microsoft's Business Basic strategy ($ 5/month/user when billed annually), each user gets 50 GB of email storage space, which is independent of the additional 1 TB of cloud storage in OneDrive.
Keep in mind, one of the most standard level of M365 does not include any of Microsoft's desktop applications, including Outlook. Users acquiring this strategy will have to more than happy with the Outlook web app.
That's right, 60% of the mailbox storage attended to Microsoft accounts for 100% of your total storage on Google's most inexpensive plan.
That disparity is likely an attempt by Google to upsell users to their premium strategies, with their Standard plan ($ 12) jumping to 2 TB of drive storage, and the Plus plan ($ 18) going to 5 TB.
Microsoft offers 2-5 TB of drive storage with their enterprise offerings, however mailbox storage can basically be endless through endless archiving beginning 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 cheapest level, the two platforms are comparable, and Gmail's web app could be worth the additional dollar per 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 a yearly commitment, while Google does not offer annual discount rates since 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 cost is your primary factor, consider each suite in total before making a decision.
Alleviate of Use
The biggest distinction in between the two suites general is Microsoft's desktop apps, which are even more feature-packed relative to Google's web apps.
While the functions are not as different between the email applications, the complete Gmail experience is only accessible through a web browser.
With Outlook's desktop app, users get the full Exchange server experience, with the included benefit of being able to read and prepare emails while offline.
If you are on an aircraft, responding to e-mails and working on documents you prepare to send later might be the best usage of your time.
With Outlook, you do not need to wait on the web to continue working, just to provide your work.
Gmail's interface can't be reached without internet connection unless you first jump through some hoops.
At the time of this writing, you will need to use Google's Chrome web browser, have Gmail bookmarked, and sync your e-mail through their offline feature, the dependability of which has actually been arguable for many years.
Both have mobile applications, so that issue can be worked around, but responding to a bunch of work emails on a mobile phone can be a battle.
The full suite of Microsoft Office it support desktop applications will be a much larger benefit for Microsoft in comparing other apps, however we'll still offer Outlook a small, however considerable, benefit over Gmail due to alleviate of use.
Searchability
As you would anticipate, the business understood for its search engine enables you to find e-mails you need more dependably.
Gmail's advantage starts with its categorization using labels. Numerous 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 e-mail or term, those messages will appear under each label. In addition, labels enable you to auto-filter inbound emails based upon hand-chosen requirements.
In Outlook, arranging is limited to folders, forcing users to categorize each email/thread into a particular place.
When it comes to the real search function, both enable users to browse utilizing keywords, along with folders/labels, senders, and date got.
Gmail not just has deeper advanced-search functions, by all accounts, but it is likewise flat-out more precise.
This is the first strong 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 remarkable standing is not simply vast, however it is apparent on two different fronts.
Google has actually come under fire just recently concerning its handling of individual information, with reports that the company scans user e-mails. More notably, Google supposedly tracks your place, your activity, and even your voice for the purpose of targeted advertisements.
Microsoft is much more transparent about their personal privacy policy and the information they gather.
If your business transmits delicate or personal data regularly, it probably goes without saying that you would feel more comfortable using Microsoft and Outlook. Even if you aren't sending out and getting personal data, it would take a great deal of other advantages to surpass such apparent personal privacy concerns.
For supervisors, Outlook provides much more internal security in the type of permissions. While Outlook's folder organization does not present the same searchability as Gmail's labels, it does offer users the capability to allow and prohibit certain actions within folders.
Outlook gives users 10 differing functions to pick from, as well as a customized function where the supervisor can hand-select specific actions one by one.
These actions consist of whatever from reading, modifying, erasing, and sending out messages to seeing your calendar's specific conferences or leisure time.
Functionally, this enables supervisors to delegate jobs to their subordinates without giving them full-blown access to more vital information. It also stops disgruntled workers from possibly stealing or deleting info considered sensitive.
You can entrust account access to others in Gmail, which is essentially like handing over the keys to your automobile. You can't assign levels of gain access to, hide private messages, and even see messages sent out by your delegate in your place.
One of, if not the most essential classification 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 2 is a Workspace account and a few 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.
Gmail users lamented the platform's integration with other services or clients who utilized Outlook.
Some grievances consisted of that updates to standing meetings made from Outlook accounts would not upgrade in Google Calendar, and the failure to press updated info to individuals.
Additionally, Google Calendar will immediately attempt to turn all of your video conferences into a Google Meet call. Its default setting will immediately publish a Google Meet link into your calendar entry, which function needs to be disabled by an administrator.
Otherwise, both platforms have added integrations with the other, and by all accounts, they work perfectly. For all intents and purposes, this function is a draw.
Decision
Like many things, this decision largely comes down to personal preference. Much of the distinctions in between Outlook and Gmail have advantages based on how your company runs, as well as your budget plan.
Ultimately, the transparency and security of Outlook make it the more powerful offering. If you discover yourself sorting through countless emails a day, however, Gmail might be the right choice for you.