Comparison · India pricing
Google Workspace Starter vs Microsoft 365 Basic: India Comparison
Indian businesses buying productivity suites in 2025 face the same two names they did five years ago: Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. The plans closest in price and scope are Google Workspace Business Starter and Microsoft 365 Business Basic — but the differences in storage, video meeting limits, desktop apps, and support response times are significant enough to push a 50-person company toward one over the other.
This page breaks down every feature that actually matters for an Indian buyer, using INR pricing and India-specific context. Before you commit to either annual contract, run a free SaaS-spend audit at easexpense.com to check whether your team is already paying for overlapping tools you can cut.
Feature
A · Google Workspace Business Starter
B · Microsoft 365 Business Basic
Winner
Starting price (INR/user/month, annual plan)
Google charges ₹136/user/month; Microsoft charges ₹125/user/month on annual commitment billed in INR via Indian resellers. Both require a minimum of 1 user. Prices verified from Indian reseller listings mid-2025; check vendor sites for current rates.
₹136
₹125
B
Cloud storage per user
Microsoft gives 1 TB OneDrive per user even at the entry plan. Google Workspace Starter gives 30 GB pooled across the organisation, which fills up fast for teams handling large files or scanned documents.
30 GB (Google Drive + Gmail pooled)
1 TB (OneDrive per user)
B
Video meeting participant limit
Microsoft Teams on this plan supports up to 300 participants per meeting. Google Meet on Business Starter caps at 100. For all-hands calls or large client demos, this matters.
100 participants (Google Meet)
300 participants (Microsoft Teams)
B
Video meeting recording
Meeting recording is one of the most commonly cited gaps in Google Workspace Starter. Teams on Basic get it out of the box, which removes a frequent upgrade trigger.
Not included (requires Business Standard at ₹736/user/month)
Included (saved to OneDrive)
B
Desktop Office / productivity apps
Neither plan includes installable desktop apps. Microsoft 365 Apps for Business (₹660/user/month) or Business Standard adds them. If your team needs full Excel macros or complex Word formatting, both plans will frustrate you equally.
No desktop apps; web-only (Docs, Sheets, Slides)
No desktop apps on Basic; web-only (Word, Excel, PowerPoint online)
Tie
Email platform
Preference is subjective. Gmail is dominant among Indian startups and younger teams. Outlook/Exchange is still the default in manufacturing, BFSI, and enterprises that integrate with on-prem Active Directory.
Gmail with custom domain
Outlook on the web (OWA) with Exchange
Tie
Offline document editing
Both plans are primarily cloud-dependent. Neither gives a full offline experience without upgrading to a plan that includes desktop apps.
Limited (Google Docs offline via Chrome extension)
Limited (Office web apps have basic offline via browser cache)
Tie
Customer support (India)
Both include round-the-clock support at the base plan. In practice, Google's first-response times via phone are generally faster for SMB queries; Microsoft routes through partners for complex issues. Both are adequate for standard problems.
24/7 phone and email support included
24/7 phone and web support included
Tie
Third-party app integrations
Both ecosystems are large. Google Marketplace suits SaaS-native stacks. Microsoft's connectors are stronger for legacy ERP, SAP, and on-prem systems common in mid-market Indian manufacturing and retail.
Google Workspace Marketplace (thousands of apps including Zoho, Freshdesk, Salesforce)
Microsoft AppSource + Teams app store (thousands of apps, strong ERP/SAP connectors)
Tie
Indian GST compliance and invoicing
Both vendors issue INR invoices with GST from their Indian entities. Input tax credit is claimable by registered businesses on both. Verify GSTIN on invoice at purchase.
GST invoice available through Google India entity
GST invoice available through Microsoft India entity
Tie
Security and compliance
Microsoft's security stack at the Basic tier is slightly broader — Azure AD conditional access and Defender baseline policies are included. Google Vault requires a separate add-on for e-discovery. For regulated industries (BFSI, healthcare), Microsoft has a marginal edge at this price point.
2-step verification, SAML SSO, Vault (e-discovery add-on), basic DLP
Azure AD, MFA, Intune (basic MDM), Microsoft Defender baseline
B
Data residency (India)
Both vendors have India-based data centres. Data residency commitments require explicit configuration; it is not automatic. Check your admin console settings after purchase.
India data region available (Delhi, Mumbai)
India data centre available (Pune, Chennai)
Tie
Pick A if…
Google Workspace Business Starter
Pick Google Workspace Business Starter if your team is already living in the browser, uses Gmail personally, and your stack is SaaS-first — think Razorpay, Freshdesk, Zoho CRM, or Slack. It also makes sense if most of your document collaboration is lightweight (proposals, briefs, meeting notes) and you do not need meeting recordings or more than 30 GB of storage per user. Startups under 30 people with no legacy Microsoft dependency will find the switch-in cost low and the collaboration speed high.
Pick B if…
Microsoft 365 Business Basic
Pick Microsoft 365 Business Basic if your team regularly runs large all-hands calls (over 100 people), needs meeting recordings without paying for an upgrade, or handles large files that would exhaust a 30 GB Drive limit quickly. It is also the right call if your business connects to any on-prem Microsoft infrastructure, uses SharePoint, or has clients and vendors who share complex Excel files with macros. Manufacturing, logistics, BFSI, and government-adjacent businesses in India will face less friction staying in the Microsoft ecosystem.
Frequently asked
Can I get a GST-compliant invoice from both Google and Microsoft in India?+
Yes. Both Google India and Microsoft India issue invoices with GST. When purchasing directly or through an authorised Indian reseller, your invoice will include the vendor's GSTIN, letting you claim input tax credit if your business is GST-registered. Always confirm the GSTIN on the invoice matches the vendor's publicly listed number.
Does Microsoft 365 Business Basic include desktop Word, Excel, and PowerPoint?+
No. Business Basic includes only the web versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. To get installable desktop apps you need Microsoft 365 Apps for Business (around ₹660/user/month) or Business Standard (around ₹990/user/month). This is one of the most common surprises for buyers upgrading from a legacy Office licence.
Google Workspace Starter gives only 30 GB — is that per user or shared?+
It is pooled across the organisation, not 30 GB per user. A 20-person company gets 600 GB total shared across all accounts (Drive + Gmail + Meet recordings if upgraded). Teams with heavy file storage needs — design agencies, video production, CA firms with large PDFs — hit this limit faster than expected and end up paying for Business Standard at ₹736/user/month.
Which plan is better for a hybrid team using both Windows PCs and MacBooks?+
Both plans are cross-platform at the web level. Google Workspace works identically on any browser regardless of OS. Microsoft 365 web apps also run on Mac and Windows. If your team needs full desktop apps on Mac, neither Basic nor Starter covers that — you would need a higher Microsoft tier or purchase standalone Office licences separately.
Can I mix plans — some users on Starter/Basic and some on a higher tier — in the same organisation?+
Yes, both vendors support mixed licensing within one domain. This is useful if most staff need basic email and docs while a smaller group (finance, legal, leadership) needs advanced features. Manage this carefully — it adds billing complexity and is a common source of overspend that a SaaS audit can catch.
Which plan is easier to migrate away from if we switch vendors later?+
Google Workspace data (Drive files, Gmail) can be exported via Google Takeout. Microsoft 365 data (OneDrive, Exchange) can be exported via the Microsoft Admin Center and eDiscovery tools. In practice, migrating email history and large shared drives is painful on both sides. The actual migration cost in IT hours should be factored into any decision to switch, especially for teams over 25 people.
Is there a free trial for either plan in India?+
Google Workspace offers a 14-day free trial for new customers signing up directly. Microsoft 365 Business Basic offers a 30-day free trial. Both trials include full feature access for up to 25 users. After the trial, you are moved to a paid annual or monthly plan. Monthly billing is available on both but costs more per user than the annual commitment rate.
Skip the spreadsheet
Get a per-tool, per-user spend breakdown in 2 minutes
Easexpense pulls usage from Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, AWS, Slack and Zoho. Read-only OAuth. Surfaces unused licences and tier mismatches on day one.
Start the free audit →₹ figures based on Indian reseller and vendor listings as of mid-2025; prices may vary by reseller margin or promotional period — verify directly at workspace.google.com/intl/en_in/pricing and microsoft.com/en-in/microsoft-365/business before purchasing.