Google Workspace, formerly known as Google G Suite, is shutting down its free edition and now all users will have to pay a monthly subscription to use its services. If you are looking for a cheaper or free alternative, these top 5 picks might help you.
Earlier this week, Google announced that it will be discontinuing its legacy G Suite app service which it offered to millions of users for free who signed up before December 2012. As the new avatar of Google Workspace formally takes its place, all users will be required to pay a monthly subscription fee starting at $6 (roughly Rs. 469). The legacy G Suite users, which includes small businesses have been enjoying the services for free so far. Google has also given a deadline for this, which is on June 27, 2022. After this, the accounts of the free users will be migrated to the paid Google Workspace and users will have to pay in order to access their account. If this move has left you shocked and thinking about alternatives, then do not worry. Here are the top 5 alternatives that can prove to be a worthy service to migrate to.
But before moving onto them, do know that the new Google Workspace plan does come with some benefits if you choose to stay with the service or even use it as a stopgap while you explore other options. For $6, Google offers a personalized domain, 30GB of cloud storage and video conferences with up to 100 participants. An added benefit is that you get to use all the other facilities like Google Doc, Sheets and others for free. And on top of that, you do not have to go through the hassle of migrating your data.
Top 5 alternatives for Google Workspace
1. Microsoft 365 for Business
While definitely not a cheap option, Microsoft is a direct competitor for what Google offers and has been doing it for a longer period of time. At $6, you can get its email domain but to use the Office applications, you will need to shell out another $6. It does give you 50GB of inbox space and 1TB of One Drive storage but the price makes it almost double the cost of what you would pay at Google. However, if you want a competitor which offers similar or perhaps better features, then this is a straightforward swap.
2. Zoho Workplace
Zoho, the Indian SaaS (Software as a service) company, offers a domain for email along with 5GB of storage for free and without ads. It allows up to 5 participants on a domain and has an upper limit of 25MB on attachments, but that would cost you no money. Even if you want to get a paid subscription, it is cheaper than Google, starting at just $1. A 50GB inbox plan will cost you $4, which is essentially more storage for less price.
3. iCloud+
For individual users, the iCloud email service will also work just fine. Starting at $1 per month, you get your own custom domain and 50GB of storage. You will also get its office apps such as Pages, Keynote, Numbers and others. However, do note that it is not targeted at businesses and an account can only be used by one.
4. ProtonMail
If you care about privacy and data security, then ProtonMail is an obvious choice. Not only does it offer you end-to-end encryption, its paid plan begins with $4 where you get your own email domain, a maximum of 10 email addresses and 15GB of storage. Do note that it does not have a suite of office apps, and the end-to-end encryption will not apply while sending an email to a different service provider like Gmail.
5. CryptPad
Another on the list which offers end-to-end encryption and has a free plan with 1GB of storage. And what’s more? It also has office apps on its platform as well. This is good for those who do not plan to store large files. If that’s your need then it might feel inadequate as its paid plans start at $5 and only offer 5GB of storage.
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