Outlook vs Gmail: Which Email Platform is the very best for Your Budget?
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are the dominant productivity suites on the planet of software application as a service (SaaS), both providing a large range of applications that modern-day business need.
In this post, we will take a look at e-mail through Microsoft Outlook and Google's Gmail for Business. Independently, the pair are the leading e-mail applications in organization by market share and are pillars of M365 and Workspace, respectively.
Email might appear basic on the surface, but the distinctions in between Outlook and Gmail show that things are more complicated than sending out and receiving mail.
The workings of each are various, starting 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 various tiers of rates. As it refers to the mail accounts themselves, the distinction in tiers typically just impacts storage area.
Utilizing 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.
Remember, the most standard level of M365 does not consist of any of Microsoft's desktop applications, consisting of Outlook. Users acquiring this plan will have to be happy with the Outlook web app.
Meanwhile, Google's Business Basic strategy ($ 6), supplies just 30 GB of storage in general, combining e-mail storage and drive storage together.
That's right, 60% of the mail box storage offered Microsoft represent 100% of your overall storage on Google's cheapest strategy.
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 plan ($ 18) going to 5 TB.
Microsoft supplies 2-5 TB of drive storage with their business offerings, but mailbox storage can essentially be limitless through limitless archiving starting with the E3 plan ($ 32).
A grid revealing the rates and storage capabilities of Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace
Scoring round 1 here, let's call it a draw. At the most inexpensive level, the two platforms are comparable, and Gmail's web app might be worth the extra dollar each month.
As you move up strategies, the Outlook desktop app might swing your choice, as we will talk about later on. Keep in mind, Microsoft's prices is based upon an annual commitment, while Google does not use annual discounts as of this post.
This post is merely covering the two suites through the scope of their e-mail applications, and these prices cover many other functions. If rate is your main element, consider each suite in total prior to deciding.
Reduce of Use
The biggest difference between the 2 suites total is Microsoft's desktop apps, which are even more feature-packed relative to Google's web apps.
While the features 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 advantage of having the ability to read and prepare emails while offline.
For example, if you are on a plane, responding to emails and working on files you plan to send out later may be the very best use of your time.
With Outlook, you do not need to wait on the web to continue working, only to deliver your work.
Gmail's 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 internet browser, have Gmail bookmarked, and sync your email through their offline feature, the dependability of which has actually been arguable throughout the years.
Both have mobile applications, so that issue can be worked around, however responding to a bunch of work emails on a mobile device can be a struggle.
The full suite of Microsoft Office desktop applications will be a much bigger advantage for Microsoft in comparing other apps, however we'll still provide Outlook a minor, but substantial, benefit over Gmail due to ease of usage.
Searchability
As you would expect, the business understood for its online search engine enables you to discover e-mails you need more dependably.
Gmail's advantage starts with its classification using labels. Multiple labels can be used to each e-mail or thread, and subcategories can be developed within labels to produce more of a filing system.
If several labels have been applied to a single e-mail or term, those messages will appear under each label. Labels allow you to auto-filter incoming emails based on hand-chosen requirements.
In Outlook, arranging is limited to folders, requiring users to classify each email/thread into a singular place.
As for the real search function, both permit users to browse using keywords, along with folders/labels, senders, and date received.
Gmail not only has much deeper advanced-search functions, by all accounts, however it is also flat-out more precise.
This is the first solid win for Gmail, as Outlook's searchability and classification are not as robust.
Security
Microsoft is the leader in this category, and it is not especially close. Their superior standing is not simply huge, 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 significantly, Google apparently tracks your location, your activity, and even your voice for the function of targeted ads.
Microsoft is much more transparent about their privacy policy and the data they gather.
If your business transfers delicate or personal data routinely, it most likely goes without stating that you would feel more comfy using Microsoft and Outlook. Even if you aren't sending and getting private information, it would take a great deal of other benefits to exceed such evident privacy concerns.
For managers, Outlook uses much more internal security in the form of permissions. While Outlook's folder organization does not provide the exact same searchability as Gmail's labels, it does provide users the ability to permit and prohibit particular actions within folders.
Outlook offers users 10 varying roles to select from, as well as a custom-made function where the supervisor can hand-select specific actions one by one.
These actions consist of everything from reading, editing, erasing, and sending messages to seeing your calendar's particular meetings or leisure time.
You can hand over account access to others in Gmail, which is essentially like handing over the secrets to your car. You can't designate levels of gain access to, hide private messages, and even see messages sent by your delegate on your behalf.
Among, if not the most important category is a runaway win for Outlook. With extensive options and a personal privacy policy that is a lot more transparent, Microsoft 365's e-mail platform stands alone.
Calendar
Technically, Google Calendar is not a part of Gmail, though all it requires to sync the two is a Workspace account and a few clicks through Gmail's menu.
For the sake of taking a more comprehensive 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 businesses or customers who used Outlook.
Some grievances included that updates to standing meetings made from Outlook accounts would not upgrade in Google Calendar, and the inability to push updated info to individuals.
Additionally, Google Calendar will instantly attempt to turn all of your video conferences into a Google Meet call. Its default setting will automatically post a Google Meet link into your calendar entry, which function requires to be disabled by an administrator.
Otherwise, both platforms have actually included combinations with the other, and by all accounts, they work perfectly. For all intents and functions, this function is a draw.
Decision
Like a lot of things, this choice mainly boils down to personal preference. A number of the differences between Outlook and Gmail have benefits based on how your business operates, as well as your budget plan.
Eventually, the transparency and security of Outlook make it the more powerful offering. If you find yourself arranging through thousands of emails a day, nevertheless, Gmail may be the right choice for you.