Outlook vs Gmail: Which Email Platform is the Best for Your Budget plan?
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are the dominant efficiency suites on the planet of software application as a service (SaaS), both using a wide range of applications that modern-day business need.
While the functions of a lot of these applications are similar, Microsoft and Google's proprietary offerings each have their own quirks, for much better or even worse.
In this post, we will look at email through Microsoft Outlook and Google's Gmail for Business. Independently, the set are the leading email applications in service by market share and are pillars of M365 and Workspace, respectively.
Email may seem basic on the surface area, however the differences in between Outlook and Gmail show that things are more complicated than sending out and getting mail.
The workings of each are various, starting with how they are accessed, and ending with the security and personal privacy provided.
Prices
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are priced monthly, per user, and have various tiers of prices. As it refers to the mail accounts themselves, the distinction in tiers usually only impacts storage area.
Utilizing Microsoft's Business Basic strategy ($ 5/month/user when billed yearly), each user gets 50 GB of email storage area, which is independent of the additional 1 TB of cloud storage in OneDrive.
Remember, the most basic level of M365 does not include any of Microsoft's desktop applications, including Outlook. Users purchasing this plan will have to be happy with the Outlook web app.
That's right, 60% of the mailbox storage offered Microsoft accounts for 100% of your overall storage on Google's most inexpensive strategy.
That disparity is likely an effort by Google to upsell users to their premium strategies, with their Standard plan ($ 12) leaping 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 basically be endless through unrestricted archiving beginning with the E3 strategy ($ 32).
A grid showing the prices and storage abilities of Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace
Scoring round 1 here, let's call it a draw. At the most affordable level, the 2 platforms are comparable, and Gmail's web app might be worth the extra dollar per month.
As you move up plans, the Outlook desktop app might swing your decision, as we will go over later. Keep in mind, Microsoft's rates is based upon a yearly commitment, while Google does not provide annual discounts since this post.
This post is merely covering the two suites through the scope of their email applications, and these costs cover numerous other features. If rate is your main factor, consider each suite in overall prior to making a decision.
Ease of Use
The greatest distinction in between the two 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 in between the e-mail applications, the complete Gmail experience is only accessible through a web internet browser.
With Outlook's desktop app, users get the complete Exchange server experience, with the included benefit of having the ability to check out and draft emails while offline.
For instance, if you are on an airplane, responding to emails and working on files you prepare to send later might be the very best use of your time.
With Outlook, you don't need to wait for the web to continue working, only 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 web browser, have Gmail bookmarked, and sync your e-mail through their offline feature, the dependability of which has been debatable over the years.
Both have mobile applications, so that issue can be worked around, but responding to a bevy of work emails on a mobile phone can be a struggle.
The complete suite of Microsoft Office desktop applications will be a much larger advantage for Microsoft in comparing other apps, but we'll still offer Outlook a small, however significant, benefit over Gmail due to relieve of use.
Searchability
As you would expect, the business known for its search engine allows you to discover e-mails you require more dependably.
Gmail's benefit starts with its categorization utilizing labels. Numerous labels can be used to each e-mail or thread, and subcategories can be produced within labels to produce more of a filing system.
If numerous labels have actually been applied to a single email or term, those messages will appear under each label. Furthermore, labels permit you to auto-filter incoming emails based on hand-chosen criteria.
In Outlook, arranging is restricted to folders, forcing users to categorize each email/thread into a singular location.
As for the real search function, both enable users to browse utilizing keywords, as well as folders/labels, senders, and date received.
Gmail not just has deeper advanced-search functions, by all accounts, however it is likewise flat-out more precise.
This is the first strong win for Gmail, as Outlook's searchability and categorization are not as robust.
Security
Microsoft is the leader in this classification, and it is not particularly close. Their remarkable standing is not just huge, however it is apparent on two different fronts.
Google has come under fire just recently regarding its handling of personal data, with reports that the Helpful hints business scans user emails. More especially, Google supposedly tracks your place, your activity, and even your voice for the function of targeted advertisements.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is much more transparent about their privacy policy and the data they gather.
If your service transmits delicate or personal information frequently, it most likely goes without stating that you would feel more comfortable utilizing Microsoft and Outlook. Even if you aren't sending and getting private data, it would take a lot of other benefits to outweigh such evident personal privacy issues.
For managers, Outlook uses even more internal security in the kind of permissions. While Outlook's folder company does not provide the same searchability as Gmail's labels, it does provide users the capability to enable and prohibit certain actions within folders.
Outlook offers users 10 varying roles to choose from, in addition to a custom function where the manager can hand-select specific actions one by one.
These actions include whatever from reading, editing, erasing, and sending messages to seeing your calendar's specific conferences or free time.
Functionally, this enables managers to delegate jobs to their subordinates without giving them full-scale access to more vital info. It also stops dissatisfied staff members from potentially stealing or deleting info deemed delicate.
You can delegate account access to others in Gmail, which is essentially like turning over the keys to your vehicle. You can't appoint levels of access, conceal private messages, or perhaps see messages sent out by your delegate in your place.
One of, if not the most important category is a runaway win for Outlook. With comprehensive alternatives and a personal privacy policy that is far 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 broader 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 combination with other services or customers who utilized Outlook.
Some problems included that updates to standing meetings made from Outlook accounts would not upgrade in Google Calendar, and the inability to push upgraded info to participants.
In Addition, Google Calendar will automatically attempt to turn all of your video meetings into a Google Meet call. Its default setting will immediately publish a Google Meet link into your calendar entry, and that function requires to be disabled by an administrator.
Otherwise, both platforms have included integrations with the other, and by all accounts, they work seamlessly. For all intents and functions, this function is a draw.
Verdict
Like the majority of things, this choice largely boils down to personal choice. Many of the differences between Outlook and Gmail have actually advantages based on how your business runs, as well as your budget plan.
Ultimately, the transparency and security of Outlook make it the more powerful offering. If you discover yourself sorting through thousands of e-mails a day, however, Gmail may be the right choice for you.
