Microsoft 365

The entry plan, Business Basic, is around $9 a user a month. It covers email on your domain, Teams, 1 TB of storage, and the web versions of the Office apps. The full desktop Word, Excel, and Outlook come with Business Standard, roughly $15.

It’s the better pick if you live in Excel, need proper desktop apps that work offline, or your industry runs on Microsoft file formats. Outlook also handles big, complicated inboxes better than Gmail — rules, folders, categories.

Against Google Workspace, there’s honestly no wrong answer — both do the job well for a small business. Pick whichever feels more natural and commit, because switching later is a pain. And whichever you choose, the email authentication records (SPF and friends) still need adding to your DNS — the platform doesn’t do it for you.