Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace: The True Cost Comparison for UK SMBs in 2026

Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace: the true cost comparison for UK SMBs in 2026

If you manage IT procurement for a UK business, you have almost certainly faced this question at some point: should we be on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace? Most businesses default to Microsoft because it is what they know — and Microsoft is very good at making it feel like the safe, obvious choice.

But "safe" and "cheapest" are not the same thing. In this article, I am going to do a proper cost comparison — per seat, per team size, including migration — so you can make an informed decision rather than defaulting to the status quo.

The plans we are comparing

There are many tiers in both products, so I am going to focus on the three most common SMB configurations we see:

• M365 Business Standard (£10.30/seat/month) — the most popular M365 plan for SMBs
• M365 Business Premium (£19.40/seat/month) — includes Intune, Defender, and advanced security
• Google Workspace Business Standard (£9.20/seat/month) — closest Google equivalent to M365 Business Standard
• Google Workspace Business Plus (£13.80/seat/month) — eDiscovery, vault, and advanced meeting features

Per-seat annual cost comparison

| Plan | Per seat/month | Annual (10 seats) | Annual (25 seats) | Annual (50 seats) | |------|---------------|-------------------|-------------------|-------------------| | M365 Business Standard | £10.30 | £1,236 | £3,090 | £6,180 | | M365 Business Premium | £19.40 | £2,328 | £5,820 | £11,640 | | GWS Business Standard | £9.20 | £1,104 | £2,760 | £5,520 | | GWS Business Plus | £13.80 | £1,656 | £4,140 | £8,280 |

What do you actually get for the money?

Microsoft 365 strengths: Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) are still the gold standard for document creation. If your business relies heavily on complex spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, or Word documents with advanced formatting, M365 has a genuine edge. SharePoint is powerful for document management, though it requires expertise to configure well.

Google Workspace strengths: Google Workspace is built for collaboration. Multiple people can work on the same document simultaneously without conflict. Google Meet is simpler to use than Teams for most SMBs. Gmail is widely considered the better email experience. The administrative overhead is significantly lower — it requires far less IT expertise to manage than M365.

What most UK SMBs actually use: In our experience, the majority of SMBs use their productivity suite for email, calendar, video calls, and document sharing. For these core use cases, both platforms perform equally well. The cost difference is therefore the deciding factor.

What about migration costs?

This is the question that most cost comparisons skip — but it matters. Moving from M365 to Google Workspace involves migrating email, calendar, contacts, and files. The migration itself is technically straightforward for a qualified partner, but it requires planning, communication, and user training.

Our Workspace migrations start from £9.99 per seat for straightforward environments. A 25-seat migration typically completes in 4–6 weeks and costs £250–£600 depending on complexity.

At 25 seats, the saving versus M365 Business Premium is £1,680 per year. The migration cost pays back in 2–4 months.

The security consideration

M365 Business Premium includes Microsoft Intune (device management) and Microsoft Defender, which gives it a genuine security edge over Google Workspace Business Standard at a comparable price point. If you are in a sector where mobile device management and endpoint security are critical requirements, M365 Business Premium is worth the premium.

For most SMBs without specific compliance requirements, however, Google Workspace's security is entirely adequate.

The honest conclusion

For most UK SMBs, Google Workspace Business Standard is cheaper than M365 Business Standard — and offers a better collaboration experience for teams that primarily work online. The migration is a one-off cost that pays back quickly.

If your team relies heavily on desktop Office applications (particularly Excel for complex models), or if you have Microsoft-specific compliance requirements, M365 is worth the additional cost.

If you are unsure, a free 30-minute review with us will give you a clear recommendation based on your specific usage pattern.