Google Workspace vs Microsoft Teams
March 18, 2025 | Author: Adam Levine
20★
Get business email, video conferencing, and cloud storage from Google. All you need to do your best work, together in one package that works seamlessly from your computer, phone or tablet. The free G Suite version, including online document editors (Google Docs, Google Spreadsheets) is available in Google Drive.
55★
Microsoft Teams is the chat-based workspace in Office 365 that integrates all the people, content, and tools your team needs to be more engaged and effective. Supports video meetings with up to 1,000 participants.
Google Workspace and Microsoft Teams are both designed to help people work together without actually having to be in the same place, which is generally seen as a good thing unless you’re a fan of awkward breakroom small talk. They let you chat, share files and edit documents in real-time, which means you can watch your colleagues accidentally delete entire paragraphs live before your eyes. Both are cloud-based, which is just a fancy way of saying that your files are floating somewhere in a server farm rather than cluttering up your already chaotic desktop. Oh and they both have mobile apps, because apparently, no one is allowed to escape work anymore.
Google Workspace, which started life in 2006 as G Suite, comes from the friendly, colorful behemoth known as Google. It is essentially a collection of tools that make collaborating slightly less painful, assuming you don’t mind everything being tied to a Gmail account. It's particularly beloved by startups, students and anyone who likes things to "just work" without too much IT meddling. It does, however, suffer from occasional moments of existential crisis where it renames itself and shuffles its features around, as if trying to find its true purpose in the universe.
Microsoft Teams, born in 2017, is Microsoft's answer to the question, “What if we made meetings last forever?” It’s deeply embedded in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, which means if your company is already knee-deep in Outlook and Excel spreadsheets, you’re probably stuck with it. Enterprises and large organizations love it because it offers all sorts of security features and compliance tools that sound very important. It’s also the kind of software where IT administrators get a gleam in their eye as they lock down yet another setting, ensuring no one ever figures out how to change their notification sounds again.
See also: Top 10 Team Messaging platforms
Google Workspace, which started life in 2006 as G Suite, comes from the friendly, colorful behemoth known as Google. It is essentially a collection of tools that make collaborating slightly less painful, assuming you don’t mind everything being tied to a Gmail account. It's particularly beloved by startups, students and anyone who likes things to "just work" without too much IT meddling. It does, however, suffer from occasional moments of existential crisis where it renames itself and shuffles its features around, as if trying to find its true purpose in the universe.
Microsoft Teams, born in 2017, is Microsoft's answer to the question, “What if we made meetings last forever?” It’s deeply embedded in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, which means if your company is already knee-deep in Outlook and Excel spreadsheets, you’re probably stuck with it. Enterprises and large organizations love it because it offers all sorts of security features and compliance tools that sound very important. It’s also the kind of software where IT administrators get a gleam in their eye as they lock down yet another setting, ensuring no one ever figures out how to change their notification sounds again.
See also: Top 10 Team Messaging platforms