Google Workspace vs Microsoft Excel
Google Workspace and Microsoft Excel are both personal productivity tools aimed at small businesses and enterprise. Google Workspace costs less, from $8.40/mo versus $9.99/mo for Microsoft Excel. Only Microsoft Excel has a free plan.
Google's suite of Gmail, Drive, Docs, Meet and Gemini for business
The standard spreadsheet for analysis, modeling and reporting
| Pricing | Paid · $8 | Freemium · $10 |
| Starting price | $8.40/mo | $9.99/mo |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Free trial | 14 days | 30 days |
| Built for | Small businesses, Enterprise, Freelancers | Small businesses, Enterprise, Freelancers |
| Platforms | web, ios, android, macos, windows | web, macos, windows, ios, android |
| Country | US · 2006 | US · 1985 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose Google Workspace if
Startups and SMBs that collaborate in documents all day and want email, files and meetings with little IT work.
- Best-in-class real-time collaboration in the browser
- Gemini AI included without a separate add-on fee
- Simple admin with low IT overhead for small teams
Look elsewhere if: Organizations built around desktop Word, Excel and Windows management (Microsoft 365, OneDrive, Microsoft Teams).
Choose Microsoft Excel if
Finance, accounting and analyst teams that need the deepest spreadsheet features and the industry standard file format.
- Industry standard skills and file format
- Unmatched depth for financial modeling and analysis
- Handles large datasets on the desktop
Look elsewhere if: Teams that mostly collaborate live in the browser on simple sheets (Google Sheets) or need a relational database with views (Airtable).
Google Workspace vs Microsoft Excel pricing
Google Workspace
- Business Starter$8.40/user/mo$7 on annual plan; 30 GB pooled per user, 100-person Meet
- Business Standard$16.80/user/mo$14 on annual plan; 2 TB pooled per user, Meet recording
- Business Plus$26.40/user/mo$22 on annual plan; 5 TB pooled per user, Vault, 500 in Meet
- EnterpriseCustomContact sales; data regions, 1,000-person Meet, more security
Microsoft Excel
- Excel for the web$0Free with a Microsoft account, reduced feature set
- Microsoft 365 Personal$9.99/mo$99.99/yr; 1 person, desktop apps, Copilot, 1 TB
- Microsoft 365 Family$12.99/mo$129.99/yr; up to 6 people, 1 TB each
- Microsoft 365 Premium$19.99/mo$199.99/yr; higher Copilot limits and advanced AI
- Office Home 2024$179.99/one-timePerpetual Excel, Word, PowerPoint for 1 PC or Mac
Google Workspace · Key features
- Business Gmail on your own domain with groups and aliases
- Docs, Sheets and Slides with real-time co-editing and comments
- Pooled Drive storage from 30 GB to 5 TB per user
- Google Meet video calls for 100 to 1,000 participants
- Gemini AI in Gmail, Docs and Meet, plus the Gemini app and NotebookLM
- Admin console with 2-step verification, device management and audit logs
Cons
- Business plans are capped at 300 users
- Docs and Sheets lack some advanced Word and Excel features
- Annual commitments cannot be reduced until renewal
Microsoft Excel · Key features
- Dynamic array formulas including XLOOKUP, FILTER and LAMBDA
- PivotTables, PivotCharts and a wide range of chart types
- Power Query to import, clean and reshape data from many sources
- Power Pivot data models for large multi-table analysis
- Python in Excel for analysis and visualization in the grid
- Copilot to generate formulas, analyses and summaries from prompts
Cons
- Advanced features have a steep learning curve
- Web version lacks some desktop features
- Emailed copies lead to version chaos
Google Workspace vs Microsoft Excel: FAQ
Which is cheaper, Google Workspace or Microsoft Excel?
Google Workspace starts at $8.40/mo and Microsoft Excel at $9.99/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do Google Workspace and Microsoft Excel have a free plan?
Google Workspace has no free plan, a 14-day free trial. Microsoft Excel has a free plan.