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Google Workspace vs Microsoft Exchange Online comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 19, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.3
Corporations report mixed ROI from Google Workspace, citing productivity benefits, cost concerns, and varying market value perceptions.
Sentiment score
7.0
Microsoft Exchange Online offers significant cost savings and efficiency, recouping investments quickly and outperforming on-premise solutions.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.0
Google Workspace support has mixed reviews; effective email support contrasts with difficulties in direct contact and limited personal assistance.
Sentiment score
6.2
Microsoft Exchange Online tech support is generally excellent but varies in response time and agent expertise.
I sent several complaints and what they replied to me was that I should have dealt with the problem with the provider of my credit card.
Assosiate Professor at Palazzo del Mediterraneo
In the past, we experienced a problem with automatic emails being blocked, and the support team resolved the issue quickly.
Technical Manager IT Development at Sostenia
Even as a technical person, I struggle to find appropriate contact numbers or email addresses.
Principal Consultant at Wipro Limited
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Google Workspace efficiently scales for any size organization, praised for seamless user accommodation and integration, though enhancements are suggested.
Sentiment score
7.8
Microsoft Exchange Online is celebrated for scalable, reliable cloud-based expansion, accommodating diverse organizational sizes, despite some cost concerns.
It supports around 2,500 users in our company, and this scalability assists us in maintaining our infrastructure.
Technical Manager IT Development at Sostenia
Scalability involves another configuration with a new email configuration, involving some authentication issues with Microsoft Outlook.
IT Manager at Universal Carpets & Rugs
If webinars were provided and universities were promoted with webinars, people are going to attend them.
Assosiate Professor at Palazzo del Mediterraneo
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Google Workspace is praised for its stability and reliability, with users noting minimal disruptions and high performance ratings.
Sentiment score
8.0
Microsoft Exchange Online is highly stable and reliable with minimal downtime, quick recovery, and significant stability improvements.
The stability of Google Workspace is excellent and very solid.
Principal Consultant at Wipro Limited
With Microsoft now that we are using, we have a security system by which every now and then you have to change your password, and whenever you try to access multiple times to the same email from different devices or many times in the same day, they will ask you for a code that you have to insert.
Assosiate Professor at Palazzo del Mediterraneo
This stability is crucial to us because it ensures we do not lose communication or connection while using messaging and accessing files.
Technical Manager IT Development at Sostenia
 

Room For Improvement

Users desire improved integration, storage, synchronization, features, and functionality in Google tools to enhance productivity and collaboration.
Microsoft Exchange Online users face challenges with integration, security, scalability, optimization, support, documentation, and pricing, needing significant improvements.
The new integration was implemented last September, and we are facing some issues with OAuth 2.0 authentication.
IT Manager at Universal Carpets & Rugs
The security functionalities are similar to those in competitors like Active Directory, but they could be optimized for stronger security features.
Technical Manager IT Development at Sostenia
It is hard to find categories and folders in Teams.
Assosiate Professor at Palazzo del Mediterraneo
In third world countries, they need local support.
IT Officer at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
 

Setup Cost

Users have mixed opinions on Google Workspace pricing, appreciating the value but desiring clearer cost structures and flexible licensing.
Microsoft Exchange Online's pricing is seen as reasonable but varies, appreciated for value and integration despite regional cost concerns.
The current cost is approximately seven to ten euros per user per month.
Technical Manager IT Development at Sostenia
 

Valuable Features

Google Workspace excels in scalability, integration, security, and collaboration, making it ideal for businesses and educational institutions.
Microsoft Exchange Online offers seamless integration, robust security, scalable solutions, and cloud-based features for efficient remote communication and administration.
The ability to share documents with students and assign them things and correct them in real time has been beneficial.
Assosiate Professor at Palazzo del Mediterraneo
These tools enhance productivity by allowing us to edit the same file at the same time, making collaboration much smoother.
Technical Manager IT Development at Sostenia
The valuable features include the email service, email updates, and Google Drive.
IT Manager at Universal Carpets & Rugs
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection helps by providing cloud-based security.
IT Officer at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Google Workspace
Ranking in Email Applications
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
105
Ranking in other categories
Wireless Email (1st), Cloud Storage (8th), Content Collaboration Platforms (2nd)
Microsoft Exchange Online
Ranking in Email Applications
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
92
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Google Workspace is 16.0%, down from 23.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online is 11.1%, down from 15.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Google Workspace16.0%
Microsoft Exchange Online11.1%
Other72.9%
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

AR
Assosiate Professor at Palazzo del Mediterraneo
Collaborative work with students has improved but storage limitations and support issues remain
We have Google Workspace, and we use it primarily for Drive to collect items. We categorize folders with topics and material either for students or for research. We use Google Doc to share documents, especially when we assign homework to be corrected for peer correction or classroom correction. With Teams and Microsoft, we use it for collective calls and exam supervision because we use video surveillance through camera with Teams. We use Teams for meetings and to share material with students. The ability to share documents with students and assign them things and correct them in real time has been beneficial. You can verify what they write, and they can contribute and cooperate to create a collective document, which is something that our society nowadays requires. The ability to cooperate, especially those who work with languages and those who work with writing, need to learn how to cooperate. There is co-editing and co-writing, all these sorts of things. I love the fact that I can easily have access to folders that I can categorize and where I can upload research material and teaching material.
AM
Assistant General Manager, IT Infrastructure at SAMI Pharmaceuticals (Pvt.) Limited.
Offers flexibility and cost-effectiveness with multiple service options but could improve support and mobile features
There are many things to consider about email management in Microsoft Exchange Online. The online management is good, the storage is sufficient, and we use most of the features such as the custom rules in Microsoft Exchange Online, which we cannot find in any other email solution. That is a very good option, as we have many options to create custom rules in Microsoft Exchange Online. Regarding security features in Microsoft Exchange Online, we also use Defender for Exchange which includes the basic Exchange Online protection that has spam and threat controls. The use of Defender is beneficial for our security. The flexibility of choosing plans in Microsoft Exchange Online is good. We have chosen the best plan for our use, including multiple licenses such as plan one and business basics, which leads us towards cost-effectiveness, and the pay-as-you-go option is more flexible. Microsoft Exchange Online is very scalable.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Educational Organization
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Educational Organization
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business64
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise27
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business40
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise40
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Google Workspace?
Easy-to-build forms are allowing me to get feedback and information from my internal teams as well as from the customers very efficiently with the result data in structured manner.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Workspace?
The pricing for Google Workspace is moderate. I would rate it a five out of ten, indicating it is neither cheap nor expensive. The current cost is approximately seven to ten euros per user per mont...
What needs improvement with Google Workspace?
The only inconvenience is the fact that you have limited storage. After a while, you have to buy a surplus. It is not intuitive with Teams. It is hard to find categories and folders in Teams. I do ...
What do you like most about Microsoft Exchange Online?
The benefits are widespread and effective communication. We use Microsoft Teams for meetings within and outside our organization. Additionally, Teams can be used for chat, allowing us to track comm...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Exchange Online?
If I segment it into three points: low price, average, and high price, I would place Microsoft Exchange Online between average and high price.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange Online?
I see no disadvantages currently. From the admin perspective, whenever an admin wants to get the email backup for a particular employee, there are a few challenges in terms of the role assignment o...
 

Also Known As

G-Suite Enterprise, G-Suite, Google Apps for Business, G Suite Basic, G Suite Business, G-Suite Basic, G-Suite Business, Google Vault
Exchange Online, Exchange Online Plan 1, Exchange Online Plan 2, MS Exchange Online
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

There are over five million businesses that use Google Apps for Business worldwide. Some key customers include The Roche Group, National Geographic, American Red Cross, City of Los Angeles, Flight Centre, and Konica Minolta.
Bank Alfalah Ltd., Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport, Blue Star Infotech, Scitec Nutrition, Resolution Films, British Airways, Empire Cinemas, InnoGames
Find out what your peers are saying about Google Workspace vs. Microsoft Exchange Online and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,768 professionals have used our research since 2012.