The honest short answer first
Both Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are excellent. Neither is a mistake for a UK small business, and most firms would work perfectly well on either. The right choice usually comes down to how your team already works, what your accountant and clients send you, and whether you lean towards installed desktop apps or browser-first tools.
We set both up for South West London firms every month, and the pattern is clear: the businesses that agonise over the “best” platform tend to overthink it, while the ones that pick based on their actual habits settle in quickly. Here is how the two genuinely differ.
Apps: installed Office vs browser-first
This is the biggest practical divide.
Microsoft 365 gives you the full desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, installed on your machines and working offline. If your team lives in Excel — heavy formulas, pivot tables, macros — or your clients routinely send complex Word documents that must render perfectly, Microsoft is the safer bet. The web versions exist too, but the installed apps are the draw.
Google Workspace is browser-first by design. Docs, Sheets and Slides run in Chrome, autosave constantly, and make real-time collaboration effortless — two people editing the same sheet, no “who has the latest version?” confusion. It is lighter, faster to pick up, and brilliant for teams that share documents all day. The trade-off is that very advanced Excel work does not always survive the round trip into Sheets.
If in doubt: complex spreadsheets and formal documents lean Microsoft; fast, collaborative, shared working leans Google.
Email: Outlook vs Gmail
Both give you professional email on your own domain (you@yourfirm.co.uk), strong spam filtering and a shared calendar. The difference is the experience.
Outlook suits people who like folders, rules and a traditional inbox, and it integrates tightly with Microsoft Teams and the desktop apps. Gmail suits people who prefer search over filing, labels over folders, and a clean, quick interface. Whichever you choose, getting the initial email setup right — proper DNS records, SPF, DKIM and DMARC — matters far more than the brand. Poorly configured email lands in junk regardless of provider, and this is where we see most avoidable problems.
Storage and file sharing
Entry-level plans on both give you roughly 1TB per user, which is plenty for most small firms.
- Microsoft uses OneDrive for personal files and SharePoint for shared team libraries. Powerful, but SharePoint benefits from being set up thoughtfully rather than left to grow wild.
- Google uses Drive with Shared Drives for team files. It is simpler to grasp and quicker to get tidy from day one.
For a small team that just wants shared folders that work, Google Drive is the gentler learning curve. For firms that will grow into structured document management and permissions, SharePoint has more headroom.
Cost: the real UK picture
Pricing on both is per user, per month, billed on an annual commitment, and the entry tiers sit close to each other. Rather than quote figures that change, the honest guidance is this: compare the specific plan tiers on each provider’s UK pricing page at the time you buy, and look past the headline number.
What actually drives cost is the tier you need. Microsoft’s mid tiers add desktop apps and advanced security; Google’s mid tiers add more storage and admin controls. A common mistake is over-buying — paying for a premium plan when the entry tier covers everything a five-person firm does. Equally, some firms under-buy and miss security features they should have. Map the plan to what you genuinely use.
Migration: what moving actually involves
Switching to either platform, or between them, means moving existing email, contacts, calendars and files without losing anything or facing days of downtime. It is very doable, but it is where things go wrong when rushed.
The parts that need care are the domain and DNS cutover, migrating historic mailboxes so nothing is lost, and getting every device and phone reconnected cleanly. Done properly it is smooth; done carelessly it means bounced email and a frustrated team. This is worth planning rather than improvising on a Friday afternoon.
So which suits whom?
- Choose Microsoft 365 if your work revolves around Excel and Word, clients send you Office files, you want installed desktop apps, or you already use Windows and Teams. A clean Microsoft 365 setup gives most traditional professional firms the least friction.
- Choose Google Workspace if your team collaborates constantly, you prefer simple browser tools, you are already on Gmail and Android, or you want the gentlest learning curve. Google Workspace rewards firms that share documents all day.
There is no wrong answer here — only the one that fits how your people already work.
Get it set up right
If you would rather have the whole thing chosen, configured and migrated properly — with email that actually reaches the inbox and no lost files — we can help. Call us on 020 7610 0500, drop into the Putney workshop, or use the contact form and we will talk through which platform fits your firm and handle the Microsoft 365 setup or Google move end to end.
