Zoho vs. Google Workspace

Zoho vs. Google Workspace

Are you looking to digitize your company and boost productivity? Always a great idea! The digital age offers various ways to implement this quickly and easily. If you start researching, you’ll first come across Google Workspace, formerly known as G Suite – you’ll find countless websites discussing the tool. In this blog post, we’ll simplify it for you: Discover all the features of Google Workspace, along with another attractive alternative: Zoho!

What is Google Workspace?

Google Workspace is defined as a ‘collection of cloud-based productivity tools’. Google previously introduced Workspace as Google Apps for Work, which perfectly describes what the application can do for users: Google Workspace offers all the features you need for your daily business – from email to apps for presentations, meetings, and word processing. The best part? You can access the tools anytime via your browser. This means that all documents, appointments, etc. can be shared with other users, and they can collaborate on files. Google offers various subscription plans, allowing you to only pay for the tools you actually need.

Who can benefit from Google Workspace?

Looking at the wide range of Google applications, one might ask: who wouldn’t benefit from it? Every company can gain from Google tools, as they enable efficient, cross-departmental, and especially remote work: gone are the days when documents and presentations could only be stored on file XY in the company network. With Google Workspace, you’ll embrace digital work, especially since you can quickly share and collaborate with colleagues and other departments.

How many users can be added to Google Workspace?

The number of users you can activate in Google Workspace depends on the subscription plan you choose. For freelancers, there are affordable plans available for just one user. The Business Standard plan, for example, allows up to 300 users. If you need more users, the Enterprise plan is recommended, as it allows you to add an unlimited number of users to your Google Workspace.

Integrated applications in Google Workspace

Google Workspace offers more than 20 applications – with which you can accomplish a wide variety of tasks! The slogan “Business tools for all needs” is a fitting choice by Google. We’ve taken a closer look at the most essential tools for you – so let’s dive into a brief introduction! trict password policies, enable two-factor authentication, and restrict access from specific IP addresses.

Google Mail (Gmail)

The probably most well-known application is Gmail, which you’re already familiar with from personal use. If you create a Google or YouTube account, or an account on your Android smartphone to download apps from the Play Store, you’ll inevitably need to create a Gmail account. However, Gmail isn’t just ideal for personal use; it’s especially useful for work and offers a wide range of features.
Above all, it is user-friendly, so you don’t need to worry about any confusion among your employees regarding its use. Another key feature that Google places great emphasis on is security. All messages are encrypted with an industry-leading solution, and comprehensive phishing protection is ensured: Google scans all emails and alerts users to any suspicious content. Additionally, you can choose the confidential mode for emails. This allows you to set an expiration date for the email and enforce a rule requiring recipients to enter an SMS security code to read it. In this mode, you can also disable options like forwarding, copying, downloading, and printing. And it’s not just the security of your emails that is protected, but also your personal data: Google promises never to use Gmail content for the personalization of ads.
In addition to the security features, Gmail’s organizational functions support structured work: Emails can be organized into folders, and Google can summarize the content of group emails on a specific topic, giving you an overview of all the important details from the email threads. And of course, our trusty friend AI is also there to help by generating drafts and replies with the touch of a button.

Google Meet

Video calls made it possible for us to work during the pandemic. And even today, no one can or wants to be without this option – especially on remote work days, when working from home, or for communication with clients who aren’t based in the same city.
Google’s answer to this is Google Meet. This tool allows you to hold video conferences or calls with participants anywhere in the world, whether through the browser or the mobile app. Google provides the usual features such as screen and document sharing. A major advantage of Google Meet is that participants don’t need a Google account: they can join the meeting immediately via an invitation link without needing to download the software. But it’s not just meetings you can schedule. Google also offers the ability to conduct live streams with up to 10,000 participants. Additionally, there is a live captioning feature thanks to Google’s speech recognition technology, which is available in several languages.

Google Chat

If you’re more into team chats and need quick written communication (and let’s be honest, this is something you really need around the clock!), then Google Chat is the solution. After all, we know that a group chat within the team, as well as with other departments, can quickly resolve questions or coordination issues.
And although this is a business application, you don’t have to miss out on the fun you get with apps like WhatsApp: emojis and GIFs can also be used in Google Chat (Pro tip: it’s always a great way to brighten up your workday).
The best part about the application, however, is that you don’t have to pay anything extra, as Google Chat is included for free in Workspace and can be easily integrated into apps like Gmail, Drive, Meet, and many others. The AI also lends a hand when it comes to smart writing, autocorrection, or summarizing chat content. Additionally, there are sections for messages and announcements that management can use to quickly and easily reach employees.

Google Calendar

Google knows: structured work is impossible without a calendar! That’s why the Google Calendar application is, of course, also part of Google Workspace. Google Calendar works in the usual way: you can schedule your appointments, set recurring events (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly), and even add time blocks. Google Calendar will also remind you of appointments with email and push notifications, and you can share your calendar with colleagues who want to check your availability.
Not only can you schedule appointments, but you can also add tasks with a deadline, including a reminder. The voice-activated Google Assistant can assist with this, setting your appointments through voice commands.
Google Drive
Google Drive is the digital storage space for all your documents. The file hosting service provides users with a cloud where presentations, spreadsheets, images, and much more can be stored. And that’s not all – you can also edit the files directly in the cloud, with every change being automatically saved. Additionally, you can grant other users permission to edit documents, making collaboration seamless.
As with all Google applications, Google Drive can be accessed from any device, and files can be easily organized using a folder structure, search function, and color coding. The automatic saving feature ensures that your changes are never lost – and with version history, you can revert to previous versions of a file when needed. Additionally, the activity log lets you track who has viewed, edited, or commented on a file.

Google Docs

Google Docs has long been able to do everything Microsoft Office can – and all in the cloud! Whether for reports, meeting notes, or contracts with e-signatures, Google Docs offers a wide range of features for an efficient workflow, allowing you to edit common Microsoft Word documents and PDF files.
However, Google Docs not only simplifies editing but also document creation. Users have access to a variety of templates and building blocks, making it easy to quickly create professional documents. Classic features such as word count, an integrated research tool for citations and sources, and a translation function are also included.

Google Sheets

A tool dedicated solely to creating spreadsheets – it will make the hearts of many project managers and accountants beat faster! Whether you’re creating your own spreadsheets or using templates, Google Sheets allows you to design visual plans and overviews with ease.
Momma’s little helper, the AI, is of course part of the package and quickly analyzes all integrated data to identify patterns. As a result, all data can be easily visualized in charts and graphs and saved in formats like PDF, Excel, CSV, or HTML. Additionally, you can quickly and easily import various file formats.

Google Forms

Companies thrive on the information and opinions of their customers. And what better way to gather them than with online forms and surveys! Google Forms lets you create these forms according to your preferences and needs. Colors, images, and fonts can be freely chosen to match your corporate design. You can select from various question types, and the layout can be easily adjusted using drag-and-drop.
You can view the responses in charts at any time thanks to real-time updates. To ensure the answers are accurate, you can set validation rules with the AI, such as ensuring the correct format for email addresses.

Google Presentations

Presentation is everything, and a good tool for visualizing your content is essential. Google Slides, also known as Google Presentations, helps you create and edit presentations. The entire package includes a variety of templates and editing tools.
The integration of images, graphics, videos from YouTube, documents from Google Drive, as well as animation effects for text, objects, and transitions are all essential features of Google Slides. However, it doesn’t just assist in preparing a presentation – it also supports you during the presentation itself. Speaker notes can be added, a timer can be set, and thanks to live updates, linked tables or documents are automatically refreshed.

Further programs

We’ve only taken a closer look at a few tools here (otherwise, this blog post would have turned into a hefty tome!) – but there are many other programs available within Google Workspace: Google Sites, for example, allows you to create websites without any programming knowledge. Google Tasks helps you manage task lists and to-dos, while Google Currents offers a complete internal social network for your company. Also worth mentioning are Google Voice for cloud-based telephony and Google BigQuery, a powerful data analytics platform.

Pricing of Google Workspace

The good news first: with Google Workspace, you don’t have to take a leap of faith – you can test all the tools for free for 14 days. After that, you can select the plan and tools that best suit your needs. You pay per user, per month, and can upgrade your plan anytime if necessary. However, it’s worth noting that the more flexible you want your plan to be, the more you’ll need to pay.

What does Google Workspace cost?

Currently, you can choose from four packages. The Business Starter, priced at €5.75 per month, offers 30 GB of storage, custom business email addresses, an AI assistant, and security and management features, among other things.
The Business Standard plan, priced at €11.50 per month, expands on these features by including an email signing function, email layouts, and reservation pages for appointment bookings. Additionally, you get 2 TB of storage space.
The Business Plus package increases storage space by an additional 3 TB and adds extra security and administration features, all for €17.25 per month.
The price for the Enterprise Edition is available upon request. In addition to 5 TB of storage, this edition also offers extended support.
Can Google Workspace be canceled on a monthly basis?
Google Workspace offers both annual contracts and a flexible plan option. While the latter is slightly more expensive than the annual contract, it allows for monthly cancellations.

What is Zoho Workspace?

Let’s move on to the counterpart of Google Workspace: Zoho Workplace, an app suite for team collaboration and communication. Zoho is one of the leading providers of business software, founded in India in 1996, and offers over 45 business applications.

What are the benefits of Zoho Workplace?

Zoho Workplace offers a wide range of features that can enhance your work efficiency. The application is fully cloud-based, mobile-friendly, and provides a central admin panel for users. All data is stored in one place, and Zoho consolidates many business functions into a single bundle. In addition to various integration options, custom role assignments, and process automation, Zoho Workplace provides everything needed for successful collaboration: most notably, an email client, an intranet tool, and an internal chat tool. For creating and editing documents, presentations, and spreadsheets, the Zoho Office Suite – including Zoho Writer, Zoho Show, and Zoho Sheet – is available. In terms of document management, Zoho offers a comprehensive cloud storage tool. Zoho Workplace also includes online meeting and training software with specialized tools.

What does Zoho Workplace cost?

Zoho Workplace is available in Standard and Professional Editions and offers a free trial. The Standard plan, priced at €2.70 per user per month, includes 30 GB of email storage per user and 100 GB of Workdrive storage per team. It also provides access to the Zoho Mail, Zoho Workdrive, Zoho Office Suite, Zoho Cliq, Zoho Meeting, and Zoho Vault applications.
The Professional Edition costs €5.40 per month. The email storage per user increases to 100 GB, and the Workdrive storage per team is 1 TB. In addition to the standard features, this package also includes Zoho Connect and additional features for Zoho Meeting, Zoho Cliq, and Zoho Mail.

Integration with other Zoho products

Zoho Workplace is a product within the Zoho ecosystem. As such, it integrates effortlessly with other Zoho products like Zoho CRM, Zoho Marketing Automation, Zoho Books, and many more. The seamless interaction between Zoho Workplace and other Zoho products is a key USP that distinguishes Zoho from other product suites. The comprehensive Zoho ecosystem works together seamlessly, offering companies an integrated platform for their business processes. One notable feature is central user management, which allows all Zoho products to be managed from a single interface. For instance, emails in Zoho Mail can be automatically linked to contacts in Zoho CRM, ensuring that all emails related to a contact are easily accessible.
As you can see, the integration with other Zoho products offers time savings, cost efficiency, and flexibility, as companies can easily add additional Zoho tools whenever needed.
Zoho Workplace and Google Workspace in direct comparison
It’s clear what both software applications stand for. However, upon closer inspection, noticeable differences emerge.
First and foremost, in terms of brand recognition. While Google Workspace is widely known, Zoho Workplace is still working towards achieving that same level of fame, even though the company has experienced significant growth in recent years. For users, this ‘up-and-coming’ status offers a notable advantage, especially when it comes to cost: Zoho Workplace offers significantly lower prices compared to Google Workspace.
In the core applications, Zoho offers its Zoho Office Suite, which serves as a solid alternative to Google’s tools. However, Zoho Sheet is not as powerful as Google Sheets in comparison.
Although many applications are similar, Zoho combines valuable features in some areas instead of offering several separate applications. One example is Zoho Cliq, which enables chat, telephony, and video conferencing all within a single app. Google, on the other hand, has created two separate tools for this purpose: Google Chat and Google Meet.
While Google promises security across all applications, Zoho surpasses the company with its strong focus on data protection and GDPR compliance, adhering to strict policies and supporting features that are integrated into all Zoho applications.

Which software package is better?

All in all, despite the similarities, it’s not possible to say definitively which software is better, but a recommendation can be made.
Price-conscious companies that require an integrated platform with comprehensive business applications and are typically in the small to medium-sized business segment would likely find Zoho Workplace to be the right choice.
Google Workspace, on the other hand, is best suited for companies that prioritize collaboration and user-friendliness and prefer to rely on familiar tools.

Conclusion

Admittedly, the choice between the two tools is quite difficult. There are many similar features that offer everything you need. Ultimately, it comes down to your specific needs and preferred way of working. Our tip: give them a try, get a feel for how the tools work and integrate into your daily routine. Have your team test the applications and exchange feedback before making your final decision.
If you have any questions about Zoho Workplace or would like a detailed demo, feel free to give us a call! As a Zoho partner, we can walk you through the features in detail and provide you with a comprehensive overview of the application.

codafish – Your Zoho partner for all digital applications

Everything in one place and accessible to everyone – what more could you ask for? Zoho WorkPlace truly offers countless features to help organize your files and enhance your team’s collaboration. Already convinced and want to learn more? Give us a call! As a Zoho partner and Zoho Workplace user, we’re happy to answer all your questions, offer tips, and take you through the app with a demo. Book your free consultation online today!