Business email and office suites · Comparison
Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 Business vs Proton for Business vs Zoho Workplace
4 products compared side by side: what you pay for with each one first, then the five access facts, entry prices, recorded plan limits and the bottom line of each review. The evidence note under the table says how each product was checked.
Side by side
| Metric | Google Workspace | Microsoft 365 Business | Proton for Business | Zoho Workplace |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you're paying for | Easy to adoptGmail on your own domain with Docs, Sheets, Drive and Meet in one per-user plan, with SSO, audit logs and a HIPAA BAA on the entry plan. | Worth the priceA 100 GB Exchange mailbox, 1 TB of OneDrive and Office for the web per user from $5.40 a month, with desktop Office apps one plan up. | Compliance includedEnd-to-end encrypted email and calendar on your own domain, with 1 TB per user, Docs, Sheets and recorded meetings on Workspace Standard. | Worth the priceBusiness mail on your own domain from $1 per user a month, with SSO, audit logs and an online DPA on every paid plan, and a free plan for 5 users. |
| Overall score | 6.8 | 7.6 | 6.4 | 8.5Best |
| Free option | 14-day free trial | 30-day free trial | 14-day free trial | Free plan |
| Card to start | –Not measured | Card required | –Not measured | No card needed |
| Getting access | Self-serve | Self-serve | Self-serve | Self-serve |
| Starter priceCheapest paid plan | $7/user/mo | $5.40/user/mo | $6.99/user/mo | $1/user/mo |
| Pricing model | Per seat | Per seat | Per seat | Per seat |
| Pricing page | Public prices | Public prices | Public prices | Public prices |
| Billing unit | Per user per month; storage pooled across the organization | Per user per month; up to 300 users across all Business plans | Per user per month; storage pooled across Mail and Drive | Per user; Mail plans yearly only, Workplace plans yearly or monthly |
| Free option | No free plan with Gmail; 14-day trial for up to 10 users, payment method needed | No free plan; one-month trial for up to 25 users, credit card required | No free plan on a custom domain; 14-day trial for up to 10 users, payment method needed; 30-day money-back guarantee | Mail Free for up to 5 users on one domain; 15-day trial, no card |
| Reference scenario (5 users, annual) | $50/mo on Business Starter + 100 GB storage ($7 × 5 + $15), computed | $27/mo on Business Basic (no Teams) ($5.40 × 5), computed; $35 with Teams | $64.95/mo on Workspace Standard ($12.99 × 5), computed | $6.88/mo on Mail Lite 5 GB + 45 GB add-ons ($1 × 5 + $1.88), computed; $15 on Workplace Standard |
| Month-to-month price | $8.40 per user on Business Starter (Flexible plan; $16.80 / $26.40 for Standard / Plus) | $6.48 per user on Business Basic (no Teams); $8.40 with Teams | $14.99 per user on Workspace Standard ($7.99 / $24.99 for Essentials / Premium) | None for Mail Lite and Mail Premium; $4 / $7 for Workplace Standard / Professional |
| Storage per user | 30 GB (Starter), 2 TB (Standard), 5 TB (Plus), pooled across Gmail and Drive | 100 GB mailbox + 50 GB archive and 1 TB of OneDrive (1.5 TB archive on Premium) | 15 GB (Mail Essentials), 1 TB (Workspace Standard), 3 TB (Premium), pooled | 5 or 10 GB (Lite), 50 GB (Premium), 30 GB + team drive (Standard), 100 GB + 1 TB team drive (Professional) |
| Domains, aliases and catch-all | Up to 600 domains, 30 aliases per user, catch-all on every plan | Up to 5,000 domains, 300 to 400 aliases per user; no catch-all stated | 3, 15 or 20 domains (extra $1.40/mo on Workspace); 10 or 20 addresses per user; catch-all | Up to 30 domains and 30 addresses per mailbox on paid plans; catch-all |
| Office apps | Docs, Sheets and Slides in the browser on every plan; no desktop apps | Office for the web and mobile on Basic; desktop apps from Standard | Proton Docs and Sheets in the browser on every plan | Writer, Sheet and Show in the browser from Workplace Standard |
| Video meetings | Meet for 100 on Starter without recording; recording from Standard | Teams for 300 with recording in the plans with Teams | Proton Meet for 100 for 24 hours with local recording on Workspace Standard | Zoho Meeting with cloud recording from Workplace Standard |
| Retention and eDiscovery | Vault on Business Plus ($22) | Litigation hold and eDiscovery export on Premium ($22); archiving add-on $3 | Retention policies on Workspace Premium; no eDiscovery | Mail Premium ($4) and Workplace Professional ($6) |
| SOC 2 / ISO 27001 | SOC 2 Type II reports and ISO 27001 certificates (Compliance Reports Manager) | Office 365 in SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 scope (Service Trust Portal) | SOC 2 Type II (report on request) and ISO 27001 | SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001 for all cloud services (report under online NDA) |
| HIPAA BAA | Accepted electronically in the Admin console | Included in the data protection addendum by default | Offered to all users, signed on request by email | BAA template on request from Zoho legal |
| EU data storage | Data regions on Business Standard and Plus at no extra cost | EU Data Boundary for EU and EFTA sign-ups | Swiss jurisdiction; no region choice stated | EU data center (Amsterdam, Dublin) chosen by country at sign-up |
| SAML SSO | Every Business plan | Single sign-on for apps with Entra ID on every plan | Not supported for Proton Mail yet | Every paid plan |
| Mailbox export | Admin Data Export tool on every edition; Vault exports PST or mbox (Plus) | PST from classic Outlook per user; admin eDiscovery export on Premium | Per user with the Export Tool (EML and JSON); no admin export of all mailboxes | Users: EML in ZIP; admins: every mailbox as ZIP or PST on paid plans |
| Bottom line | From its public pages, Google Workspace is a full collaboration suite with SSO, audit logs, export and a self-serve BAA from Business Starter. Starter storage is small, recording and data regions start on Standard, Vault on Plus, and annual plans cannot be cut mid-term. | From its public pages, Microsoft 365 gives a large mailbox and 1 TB of OneDrive per user at a low price, with shared mailboxes, an audit log and a BAA on Business Basic. Retention and eDiscovery sit on Premium or add-ons, and refunds and seat cuts are limited to 7 days. | From its public pages, Proton for Business is the encryption-first option here, with audits, a BAA on request and a 30-day guarantee. The scenario needs Workspace Standard at $64.95 for five, and SSO, admin-wide export and a mail API are not offered. | From its public pages, Zoho Workplace is the lowest-priced suite here, with SSO, audit logs, shared mailboxes and migration on every paid plan and retention from $4. Mail plans are yearly only, editors and meetings start on Workplace Standard, and a few prices differ between pages. |
Evidence: Google Workspace: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Microsoft 365 Business: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Proton for Business: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Zoho Workplace: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run. Prices in USD as listed, excluding tax. "–" means not recorded.
When to pick each
In the words of each review, with the date its facts were checked.
From our Google Workspace review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Google Workspace when
- You want a catch-all address and an admin export of the whole organization on every plan.
- Pick Microsoft 365 Business when
- You want a 100 GB mailbox and 1 TB of OneDrive per user for $27 a month for five (Business Basic, no Teams), and desktop Office apps on Standard.
From our Google Workspace review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Google Workspace when
- You want a HIPAA BAA accepted in the admin console, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Meet on the entry plan, and data regions at no extra cost on Standard.
- Pick Zoho Workplace when
- You want a free plan for up to 5 users, retention and eDiscovery from $4 per user, or seats you can cut mid-term.
From our Google Workspace review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Google Workspace when
- You need SAML SSO, a documented mail API and an admin export of every mailbox.
- Pick Proton for Business when
- You want mail encrypted end to end by default, 1 TB per user with recorded meetings in one plan, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
From our Microsoft 365 Business review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Microsoft 365 Business when
- You want a 100 GB mailbox and 1 TB of OneDrive per user for $27 a month for five, and desktop Office apps on Standard.
- Pick Google Workspace when
- You want a catch-all address and an admin export of the whole organization on every plan.
From our Microsoft 365 Business review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Microsoft 365 Business when
- You need desktop Office apps, Teams meetings for 300 and a HIPAA BAA that comes with the terms.
- Pick Zoho Workplace when
- You want a free plan for up to 5 users, a catch-all address, retention and eDiscovery from $4, and seats you can cut mid-term.
From our Microsoft 365 Business review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Microsoft 365 Business when
- You need SAML SSO, a mail API, shared mailboxes or the EU Data Boundary.
- Pick Proton for Business when
- You want mail encrypted end to end by default and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
From our Proton for Business review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Proton for Business when
- You want mail encrypted end to end by default, 1 TB per user with recorded meetings in one plan, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Pick Google Workspace when
- You need SAML SSO, an admin export of every mailbox and a documented mail API.
From our Proton for Business review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Proton for Business when
- You want encryption by default and seats you can reduce at any time for credit.
- Pick Microsoft 365 Business when
- You need shared mailboxes, SSO or the EU Data Boundary, or a lower price ($27 for five on Business Basic without Teams).
From our Zoho Workplace review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Zoho Workplace when
- You want a free plan for 5 users, retention and eDiscovery from $4, and seats you can cut mid-term.
- Pick Google Workspace when
- You want a HIPAA BAA accepted in the admin console, Docs and Meet on the entry plan, and data regions at no extra cost on Standard.
From our Zoho Workplace review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Zoho Workplace when
- You want a free plan, a catch-all address and retention and eDiscovery from $4 per user.
- Pick Microsoft 365 Business when
- You want a 100 GB mailbox and 1 TB of OneDrive on the entry plan, desktop Office apps and Teams meetings for 300.
Entry price
Baseline: each product's cheapest paid plan, per month. Included usage differs, so read the line under each price.
- Google WorkspaceBusiness Starter$7/user/moAnnual plan; $8.40 on the Flexible plan
- Gmail on your own domain, Calendar, Docs, Sheets and Slides
- 30 GB per user, pooled across Gmail and Drive
- Meet for 100 participants, no recording
- SAML SSO, admin logs and the Data Export tool
- Microsoft 365 BusinessBusiness Basic (no Teams)$5.40/user/moAnnual commitment; $6.48 month to month
- Exchange mail on your domain, 100 GB mailbox + 50 GB archive
- 1 TB of OneDrive per user
- Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook for web and mobile
- No Teams meetings
- Proton for BusinessMail Essentials$6.99/user/moBilled annually; $7.99 month to month; $6.49 on 24 months
- 15 GB per user, pooled across Mail and Drive
- 3 custom domains, 10 addresses per user, catch-all
- Proton Docs and Sheets
- Meet for 50 for up to 1 hour
- Zoho WorkplaceMail Lite$1/user/moBilled annually only; $1.25 for 10 GB
- 5 GB or 10 GB of mail per user, shared calendars
- Up to 30 domains and 30 addresses per mailbox
- Shared mailboxes, IMAP and SAML SSO
- Mail storage add-ons at $1 a year per 10 GB
Prices as listed on each pricing page, in USD per month, excluding tax. Observed: Google Workspace 2026-10-16, Microsoft 365 Business 2026-10-16, Proton for Business 2026-10-16, Zoho Workplace 2026-10-16.
Which one fits
- If you need to start today without a sales call
- Zoho WorkplaceSelf-serve sign-up, no card needed; the highest score of the 4 self-serve products here (8.5/10).
- If you want to try it without entering a card
- Zoho WorkplaceFree plan, no card needed; scored 8.5/10.
- Lowest starter price
- Zoho Workplace$1/user/mo for the Mail Lite 5 GB (billed annually) plan.
- Highest overall score
- Zoho Workplace8.5/10 (Excellent). The review shows the score breakdown and the run behind it.
Picked by fixed rules from the table above, not by hand. How we score