Google Workspace, G-Suite, is a solution for business productivity and collaboration. Along with programs like Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Meet, and Slides, it also provides Gmail for Business. Companies these days seek business email for smooth functioning. With an emphasis on email functionality, let’s know more about its pricing and plans!
Business Starter
Business Starter is the entry-level plan that provides custom and secure business email using your domain name. You get 30GB of cloud storage that can be shared across Gmail and Drive. Also, you can host video meetings with up to 100 participants and get access to standard support.
The plan provides you with:
- Custom Email Addresses
- Gmail’s potent search, labels, and category inbox
- Built-in chat and video calling
- Spam Protection and Admin controls
Business Standard
The mid-tier plan increases cloud storage to 2TB per user and allows video conferences with up to 150 participants, including recording capabilities. In addition, you also get advanced collaboration features in Docs, Sheets, and Slides.
The following are the Email features include:
- More security and admin controls
- Vault for eDiscovery and retention
- The team shared drives for collaborative email management
Business Plus
Business Plus is the highest-tier plan that offers 5TB of storage per user, video meetings with up to 250 participants, and advanced security and management controls that include Vault and advanced endpoint management.
The plan includes the following improvements:
- All the features of Business Standard
- Advanced Security controls
- Data loss prevention for Gmail
- Advanced email retention and eDiscovery tools
Enterprise
The Enterprise plan is for large organizations that have complex needs. It offers unlimited storage. In case the business has less than five users, 1TB is provided to each user. You can have video meetings for up to 250 participants, in addition to advanced security, management, and compliance capabilities.
Enterprise email features have all lower-tier features in addition to:
- Data regions for storing email data in certain locations
- Advanced malware and phishing protection
- Integration with third-party archiving
- More granular admin controls and auditing capabilities
Choosing the Right Plan!
There are a few factors that you need to consider before choosing a Google Workspace plan for business email:
- Number of Users: All plans need a minimum number of users with no maximum limit.
2. Storage needs: If your business heavily depends on email and file storage, you must choose higher tiers as it offers more space.
- Security requirements: High-tier plans offer advanced security feature levels that are likely to be in demand by some industries or bigger organizations
- Compliance requirements: If your organization has strict data retention or discovery requirements, Business Plus or Enterprise may be the best choice.
- Collaboration features: While you get basic collaboration tools in all plans, the higher tier provides you with more advanced options that boost productivity.
- Budget: The most important thing you need to do is to balance your needs with what you can afford.
Compared with Other Providers
When you are evaluating Google Workspace for business email, it is good to compare it to other major providers!
Microsoft 365: This offers functionality equal to Outlook and Office packages. In terms of cost, it is nearly identical but will have some variation in feature lists.
Zoho Workplace: The app is relatively cheaper but has fewer features based on your plan selection.
Amazon WorkMail: More affordable to some businesses, but the feature set is not as comprehensive.
Google Workspace’s strength lies in its strong integration with other Google services. It has a user-friendly interface with many advanced features. Also, the familiarity with Gmail makes the adoption of the program easier.
Conclusion
Google Workspace service offers a wide range of plans to cater to the different needs of businesses and their budgets. The Business Starter or Standard plans will provide you with plenty of email functionalities for many small to medium-sized businesses. Business Plus or Enterprise would best suit larger businesses or organizations with specific security or compliance requirements.
Google has authorized resellers and vendors distributing their services. Therefore, a user can obtain from Google or through a certified provider, flexibility in procurement as well as support options.
