Do you want to know how to navigate the Google Workspace pricing plans
You might need some clarification on what Google email service is for businesses, its name, and how it can benefit your business.
Google Workspace is Google’s business email solution suite. You may be familiar with it by its old name, G Suite .
Google changed the name of G Suite to Google Workplace in the fall 2020 and added new features to the G Suite product. Google created a third pricing level called Google Business Plus, and renamed two of the previous tiers.
Business Starter is the new name for the Basic plan. Under the new Google Workspace umbrella, the Business version of G Suite has been renamed to Business Standard.
Google Workplace provides business email addresses as well as other tools like Sheets, Docs and Gmail.
Google hopes that the rebranding campaign, which will change the name of Google Workspace to Google Workspace, will allow it to compete with its main competitor Microsoft 365.
Let’s now get to the point.
Sezmi’s Take
Although I do use Microsoft 365, I prefer Google Workspace to Microsoft 365. Blogger, I am always online. Google Sheets and Google Docs are my favorite tools, while Gmail is the best. Google’s anti spam filtering is excellent, and there are many third-party plugins available to extend Workspace.
9.5 Out Of 10
Platform | Cloud |
Price | $6-$18 per user/month |
Annual Discount | No |
Promotion | First 14 Days Are Free |
Plans for Google Workspace
Google Workspace (previously known as G Suite) is primarily used by entrepreneurs and business owners to access their business email service.
Feature | Business Starter | Business Standard | Business Plus | Enterprise |
User/Month | $6 | $12 | 18 | Call |
Storage (per user) | 30 GB | 2 TB | 5 TB | Unlimitable |
Video Meeting Participants | 100 | 150 | 500 | 500 |
This service allows you to obtain email addresses that are tied to your domain name. Instead of employees using emails such as billr@gmail.com, for example, you can give them email addresses such as billr@yourcompanydomainname.com.
Google Business email pricing is easy to understand and relatively simple for Workspace. Four total plans exist:
- Business Starter
- Business Standard
- Business Plus
- Enterprise
The first three plans have a fixed cost. This means that a business will be charged a monthly fee per user. Google Workspace Enterprise offers a tailored approach to your email needs. After discussing your specific situation with the Google sales team, you’ll get a quote.
Google offers a 14-day trial period to help you feel at ease in selecting a plan and using it for two consecutive weeks before you make a decision about whether or not your plan is right for you.
Let’s take a look at the pricing plans for Google Business email so that you can choose which one is best for your company.
Business Starter Plan
The Business Starter Plan is $6 per user per monthly. This is an increase of $1 per user per monthly over the price for the G Suite service.
You should consider the following when you are creating your Business Starter Plan:
- One of the key features of Google Workspace is business email accounts. This can be used for your solopreneur, eCommerce store or any of your employees.
- Video meetings can be held with up to 100 people.
- Breakout rooms are not allowed in your video meeting account.
- Each user has 30GB cloud storage.
- Slides, Sheets and Docs are available to you and your team.
- A built-in survey creator and website builder are available.
- This plan provides 2-step verification to increase security and management.
Standard Business Plan
The Business Standard Plan is $12 per user per month. This is a 22% increase in monthly user costs after the switch from G Suite to Google Workspace.
You should consider the following when you are considering the Business Standard Plan:
- It also includes the business email feature.
- From 30GB to 2TB, the file space each user has is dramatically increased.
- The maximum number of participants in video meetings is 150.
- Record your video meetings and save them to Google Drive.
- You and your team have the option to use breakout rooms, hand-raising, and polling features during video meetings.
- Cloud search can be used to search your Doc, Drive and Gmail accounts.
- When anyone within the organization modifies a Google Doc, you’ll be notified.
Business Plus Plan
The Business Plus Plan is $18 per user per month. This plan was added by Google after they switched to Google Workspace.
You should consider the following:
- This plan adds Google Vault features for business email. You can search within Drive files, Gmail messages and Chat messages using eDiscovery with Vault. You can then export the data for further analysis.
- Video meetings can be recorded for up to 250 people.
- Video meetings allow for attendance tracking.
- Each user gets 5TB storage
- Live streaming using Meet Video is still not possible (this option opens up for Enterprise users).
Enterprise Plan
Google Workspace Enterprise Plan offers unlimited storage space, depending on your requirements. Prices are determined by the needs of your company. Contact Google for a quote.
You should consider these things when creating the Enterprise Plan
- S/MIME encryption is included in the Business Plus Plan’s features (business email and Google Vault). Encrypt all emails that are sent from your company.
- The maximum number of participants for recording and video meetings is 250.
- Video meetings can be made more quiet by using noise cancellation technology.
- Live-streaming is possible.
- Google will give you unlimited storage space based on your needs.
- Standard support for the first three plans is upgraded to Enhanced Support.
- Advanced enterprise controls are available to protect data and provide additional security.
- You can create rules to manage devices.
Additional Information About Google Workspace Features
It is helpful to have a clear view of the general requirements for a Google Workspace account.
It’s much easier to understand the features of the Google Workspace plan than setting up an email account for your company and/or employees.
You get more than just business email, similar to what G Suite had before the Google Workspace rebranding. Here are some other features and programs that you can get.
- Drive
- Gmail
- Calendar
- Meet
- Sheets
- Docs
- Chat
- Currents
- Formulas
- Sites
- Keep
- Slides
Work Insights and Vault are security features. Endpoints, Endpoints, and Admin are also included.
Google Workspace allows medium-sized to large companies to communicate more effectively in their daily operations. You can use the “@mention” functionality to communicate with colleagues in Slides, Sheets or Docs. Chat allows you to communicate with other workers while they create and edit documents.
Google Workspace’s Gmail version is completely ad-free. This allows everyone to be more focused on the essential tasks at hand. External participants can be added to video calls without installing additional plugins.
The connected Calendar allows remote workers and coworkers to share vacation and meeting notifications with everyone at a glance.
Let’s take a look at the basic pricing structure for Google Business emails to help you choose which Google Workspace plan is best for you.
What Does Google Workspace Cost You?
Google Business email pricing doesn’t seem complicated. The following monthly fees are charged for each user:
- Business Starter Plans – $6
- Business Standard Plan – $12
- Business Plus Plan – $18
- Enterprise Plan – Custom quote
Pre-paid discounts are not available.
Which Google Workspace Plan is Best for You?
Let me tell you how to choose the right plan for your needs. This will allow you to compare the cost of Google Workspace with the benefits your company receives.
Business Starter Plan
The Business Starter Plan is ideal for:
- Freelancers
- Solopreneurs
- Online shop owners
- Owners of small businesses with five employees or less
This plan can be used when:
- Set up a business address at your domain (bill@yourdomain.com, not bill@gmail.com). You can make it even easier if you use Google Domains. (review).
- It doesn’t take up much space. It is enough to have a cloud-based storage solution for files and emails without taking up too much space on your computer.
- You don’t want your office tools suite to be run with a Google competitor like Microsoft 365
- It is not necessary to have advanced security or admin controls.
- Archiving chat and email messages is not necessary.
Standard Business Plan
The doubled price ($12/user/month, instead of $6/user/month), must be weighed against the storage space, email, and video conferencing requirements of your company. The Business Standard Plan may seem unreasonable depending on your organization. Others find it to be a great fit.
The Business Standard Plan is suitable for medium-sized to large companies.
This plan can be used when:
- Storage space issues are not something you want to face. There is a huge difference between the 30GB storage space provided by the Business Starter Plan, and the 2TB storage space this plan provides.
- You would like the additional Google Vault features to be included in the Business Starter Plan. Google Vault’s chat and email message archive feature is one of its main benefits.
- If you plan to hold video meetings frequently, then you will need to record the sessions so that clients can review them or pass them on to their clients. The Business Standard Plan has a maximum of 150 participants.
- Files must be shared between teams.
- You don’t need advanced security or admin controls like data loss prevention and security key management.
The Business Plus Plan is for you if you need greater security and control over what happens in your company.
Business Plus Plan
The Business Plus Plan is a good option for large companies, especially when you consider the $18 per user per monthly cost.
This plan can be used when:
- You need more storage space, and 5TB storage is a good option.
- This plan is for you if you need more admin control and advanced security features.
- To bring more than 150 people to a video conference call, you need enough space. This plan allows for 250 participants per session.
Enterprise Plan
This plan is for businesses that need the additional features of the Google Workspace Business Plan.
This plan can be used when:
- Additional security protocols are required. You will need additional security protocols to prevent data loss, key management, device management rules and other security issues.
- Integration of third-party tools is required in the Google Workspace environment. You could use Barracuda or Mailstore as an example.
- Management of large teams requires enhanced security and administration controls to control what they do in the Google Workspace environment.
The Enterprise Plan allows for interesting personalization based on your company’s requirements. You don’t need to have all employees on the Enterprise plan. Google allows you to place certain users on Enterprise while keeping others employees and remote workers on a cheaper plan such as the Business Plus plan or the Business Standard plan.
Enterprise can be paid monthly or annually. You may find discounts if you sign up through a Google representative for the Google Workspace Enterprise Plan.
Unique plans are available if you’re not a for-profit business. Google’s Google Workspace for Nonprofits Plan is free for nonprofit organizations, for example. The Google Workspace Enterprise for Education and Google Workspace for Education plans are available to schools.
Alternative to Google Workspace
Microsoft Microsoft 365 is the best and most popular alternative to Google Workspace.
Microsoft 365, once known as Office 365, is a similar suite. Its roots date back to desktop software. You can still install software locally on either your Windows or Macintosh computers.
Google Workspace excels in online collaboration and sharing among colleagues.
Both are my personal favorites, though I do prefer Google Sheets to Microsoft Excel. Google Docs is my preferred tool for creating blog posts on any website. It allows you to share with your team.
Next steps
After comparing the benefits and costs of each Google Workspace plan, which Google Business email pricing plan is most suitable for you?
You can find the right Google Workspace plan for you, whether you are a solopreneur or freelancer, an online store owner, or a medium-sized to large corporation.
Next step: Next, choose your plan and start exploring the many features.