Outlook vs Gmail: Which Email Platform is the Best for Your Spending plan?
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are the dominant performance suites worldwide of software application as a service (SaaS), both providing a large range of applications that modern-day companies need.
While the functions of much of these applications are comparable, Microsoft and Google's proprietary offerings each have their own quirks, for better or worse.
In this post, we will take a look at email through Microsoft Outlook and Google's Gmail for Business. Separately, the set are the leading e-mail applications in service by market share and are pillars of M365 and Workspace, respectively.
Email may appear easy on the surface, however the differences between Outlook and Gmail show that things are more complicated than sending out and getting mail.
The functions of each are various, beginning with how they are accessed, and ending with the security and privacy offered.
Prices
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are priced monthly, per user, and have different tiers of pricing. As it refers to the mail accounts themselves, the difference in tiers generally only impacts storage area.
Utilizing Microsoft's Business Basic plan ($ 5/month/user when billed yearly), each user gets 50 GB of e-mail storage area, which is independent of the additional 1 TB of cloud storage in OneDrive.
Remember, the most basic level of M365 does not include any of Microsoft's desktop applications, consisting of Outlook. Users purchasing this strategy will have to more than happy with the Outlook web app.
Google's Business Basic plan ($ 6), offers simply 30 GB of storage in general, integrating email storage and drive storage together.
That's right, 60% of the mail box storage attended to Microsoft represent 100% of your overall storage on Google's least expensive plan.
That discrepancy 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 strategy ($ 18) going to 5 TB.
Microsoft supplies 2-5 TB of drive storage with their enterprise offerings, but mail box storage can essentially be endless through unrestricted archiving starting with the E3 plan ($ 32).
A grid showing the rates and storage abilities of Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace
Scoring round 1 here, let's call it a draw. At the cheapest level, the 2 platforms are similar, 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 go over later on. Keep in mind, Microsoft's pricing is based on a yearly commitment, while Google does not offer yearly discounts since this post.
This post is simply covering the 2 suites through the scope of their e-mail applications, and these costs cover lots of other functions. If price is your primary factor, think about each suite in overall before making a decision.
Relieve of Use
The most significant difference between the 2 suites overall is Microsoft's desktop apps, which are even more feature-packed relative to Google's web apps.
While the features are not as various between the e-mail applications, the complete Gmail experience is just available through a web internet browser.
With Outlook's desktop app, users get the complete Exchange server experience, with the added advantage of having the ability to check out and draft emails while offline.
For example, if you are on an aircraft, responding to e-mails and working on documents you plan to send later on may be the very best usage of your time.
With Outlook, you don't require to wait on the internet to continue working, just to deliver your work.
Gmail's user interface can't be reached without internet connectivity unless you initially leap through some hoops.
At the time of this writing, you will require to use Google's Chrome web browser, have Gmail bookmarked, and sync your email through their offline feature, the dependability of which has been debatable over the years.
Both have mobile applications, so that concern can be worked around, however responding to a bunch of work e-mails on a mobile device can be a battle.
The complete suite of Microsoft Office desktop applications will be a much bigger benefit for Microsoft in comparing other apps, however we'll still offer Outlook a minor, but considerable, advantage over Gmail due to relieve of usage.
Searchability
As you would expect, the business known for its search engine permits you to discover e-mails you require more dependably.
Gmail's advantage begins with its classification utilizing labels. Several 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 actually been used to a single email or term, those messages will appear under each label. In addition, labels permit you to auto-filter inbound emails based on hand-chosen requirements.
In Outlook, arranging is limited to folders, forcing users to classify each email/thread into a particular place.
When it comes to the actual search function, both allow users to browse using keywords, along with folders/labels, senders, and date got.
Gmail not only has much deeper advanced-search functions, by all accounts, but it is also flat-out more accurate.
This is the very 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 particularly close. Their exceptional standing is not just huge, however it is apparent on 2 different fronts.
Google has come under fire just recently regarding its handling of individual information, with reports that the business scans user e-mails. More notably, Google reportedly tracks your place, your activity, and even your voice for the function of targeted advertisements.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is far more transparent about their privacy policy and the information they gather.
If your business transfers delicate or individual information regularly, it probably goes without stating that you would feel more comfy utilizing Microsoft and Outlook. Even if you aren't sending and getting private data, it would take a lot of other benefits to surpass such obvious privacy concerns.
For supervisors, Outlook offers even more internal security in the kind of approvals. While Outlook's folder company does not present the very same searchability as Gmail's labels, it does give users the ability to allow and disallow particular actions within folders.
Outlook offers users 10 varying functions to pick from, as well as a custom function where the manager can hand-select particular actions one by one.
These actions consist of everything from reading, modifying, deleting, and sending out messages to seeing your calendar's particular meetings or free time.
Functionally, this allows supervisors to entrust tasks to their subordinates without providing major access to more important information. It also stops dissatisfied employees from potentially taking or deleting information considered sensitive.
You can hand over account access to others in Gmail, which is basically like turning over the keys to your read more cars and truck. You can't assign levels of access, hide personal messages, and even see messages sent out by your delegate on your behalf.
Among, if not the most crucial category is a runaway win for Outlook. With thorough choices and a personal privacy policy that is much more transparent, Microsoft 365's email platform stands alone.
Calendar
Technically, Google Calendar is not a part of Gmail, though all it requires to sync the 2 is a Workspace account and a few clicks through Gmail's menu.
For the sake of taking a more comprehensive take a 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 combination with other companies or clients who utilized Outlook.
Some complaints consisted of that updates to standing conferences made from Outlook accounts would not upgrade in Google Calendar, and the inability to push updated information to individuals.
In Addition, Google Calendar will instantly try 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, and that function needs to be disabled by an administrator.
Otherwise, both platforms have included integrations with the other, and by all accounts, they work effortlessly. For all intents and purposes, this function is a draw.
Verdict
Like many things, this decision largely boils down to individual choice. Much of the differences between Outlook and Gmail have actually advantages based upon how your business operates, in addition to your budget plan.
Ultimately, the openness and security of Outlook make it the more powerful offering. If you find yourself arranging through countless emails a day, however, Gmail might be the right choice for you.
