Outlook vs Gmail: Which Email Platform is the very 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 wide range of applications that modern business require.
While the functions of a number of these applications are similar, Microsoft and Google's exclusive offerings each have their own quirks, for better or even worse.
In this post, we will look at e-mail through Microsoft Outlook and Google's Gmail for Business. Individually, the pair are the leading e-mail applications in business by market share and are pillars of M365 and Workspace, respectively.
Email might seem simple on the surface area, but the distinctions between Outlook and Gmail reveal that things are more complicated than sending out and receiving mail.
The operations of each are various, starting with how they are accessed, and ending with the security and personal privacy supplied.
Rates
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are priced per month, per user, and have different tiers of prices. As it refers to the mail accounts themselves, the distinction in tiers usually just affects storage space.
Utilizing Microsoft's Business Basic plan ($ 5/month/user when billed every year), each user gets 50 GB of e-mail storage area, which is independent of the extra 1 TB of cloud storage in OneDrive.
Bear in mind, the most basic level of M365 does not include any of Microsoft's desktop applications, including Outlook. Users purchasing this plan will need to more than happy with the Outlook web app.
Google's Business Basic plan ($ 6), supplies just 30 GB of storage overall, integrating email storage and drive storage together.
That's right, 60% of the mail box storage offered Microsoft accounts for 100% of your overall storage on Google's least expensive plan.
Microsoft supplies 2-5 TB of drive storage with their enterprise offerings, but mailbox storage can essentially be limitless through limitless archiving starting with the E3 strategy ($ 32).
A grid revealing the rates and storage abilities of Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace
Scoring round 1 here, let's call it a draw. At the most inexpensive level, the 2 platforms are comparable, and Gmail's web app could be worth the extra dollar per month.
As you go up plans, the Outlook desktop app might swing your choice, as we will talk about later on. Keep in mind, Microsoft's pricing is based on an annual commitment, while Google does not offer annual discounts as of this post.
This post is just covering the two suites through the scope of their email applications, and these prices cover lots of other functions. If rate is your primary factor, think about each suite in total prior to deciding.
Alleviate of Use
The most significant distinction between the 2 suites total is Microsoft's desktop apps, which are much more feature-packed relative to Google's web apps.
While the features are not as different in between the e-mail applications, the complete Gmail experience is only available through a web internet browser.
With Outlook's desktop app, users get the complete Exchange server experience, with the included advantage of having the ability to check out and prepare emails while offline.
If you are on an airplane, replying to e-mails and working on files you prepare to send later may be the finest usage of your time.
With Outlook, you do not 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 utilize Google's Chrome internet browser, have Gmail bookmarked, and sync your e-mail by means of their offline function, the dependability of which has been arguable for many years.
Both have mobile applications, so that concern can be worked around, however reacting to a bevy of work e-mails on a mobile device can be a battle.
The full suite of Microsoft Office desktop applications will be a much bigger advantage for Microsoft in comparing other apps, but we'll still give Outlook a minor, however substantial, advantage over Gmail due to ease of use.
Searchability
As you would expect, the company known for its search engine allows you to discover e-mails you require more dependably.
Gmail's advantage starts with its categorization using labels. Multiple labels can be applied to each e-mail or thread, and subcategories can be created within labels to produce more of a filing system.
If several labels have actually been applied to a single e-mail or term, those messages will appear under each label. Labels enable you to auto-filter incoming e-mails based on hand-chosen requirements.
In Outlook, arranging is limited to folders, requiring users to categorize each email/thread into a particular place.
As for the actual search function, both permit users to search using keywords, along with folders/labels, senders, and date got.
Gmail not only has deeper advanced-search functions, by all accounts, however it is also flat-out more precise.
This is the very first solid win for Gmail, as Outlook's searchability and classification are not as robust.
Security
Microsoft is the it managed services leader in this classification, and it is not particularly close. Their superior standing is not just large, however it is apparent on two different fronts.
Google has come under fire recently regarding its handling of individual information, with reports that the company scans user e-mails. More especially, Google supposedly tracks your location, your activity, and even your voice for the purpose of targeted ads.
Microsoft is much more transparent about their personal privacy policy and the information they collect.
If your company transfers sensitive or individual data regularly, it probably goes without saying that you would feel more comfortable utilizing Microsoft and Outlook. Even if you aren't sending and getting private information, it would take a lot of other benefits to surpass such evident privacy concerns.
For managers, Outlook offers a lot more internal security in the kind of authorizations. While Outlook's folder organization does not present the very same searchability as Gmail's labels, it does give users the capability to permit and disallow certain actions within folders.
These actions consist of everything from reading, modifying, erasing, and sending messages to seeing your calendar's particular conferences or leisure time.
Functionally, this allows managers to entrust jobs to their subordinates without giving them major access to more important details. It also stops unhappy workers from potentially stealing or erasing information deemed delicate.
You can entrust account access to others in Gmail, which is basically like turning over the keys to your vehicle. 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 category is a runaway win for Outlook. With extensive options and a personal privacy policy that is much 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 wider take a 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 customers who utilized Outlook.
Some problems consisted of that updates to standing meetings made from Outlook accounts would not update in Google Calendar, and the inability to push 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 post 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 seamlessly. For all intents and purposes, this function is a draw.
Verdict
Like the majority of things, this choice largely boils down to personal preference. A number of the differences in between Outlook and Gmail have benefits based on how your business runs, along with your budget plan.
Eventually, the transparency and security of Outlook make it the stronger offering. If you discover yourself arranging through countless e-mails a day, nevertheless, Gmail may be the right option for you.