# Alternatives to Google Workspace

Docs, Sheets and Slides in the browser.

Google Workspace ranks #6 of 9 in Office suites, with an Alt Score of 82. It is proprietary, sold by subscription from $8.40/user/month (Business Starter, Flexible Plan; $7/user/month billed annually) and available on Web, iOS and Android. 10 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/google-workspace/
Category: Office suites

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: Businesses of any size, from startups to large enterprises, that need a company-wide productivity and collaboration platform for their teams; also used by schools and nonprofits.
- **What you get**: Business email via Gmail on a custom domain, cloud storage and file sharing through Drive, and collaborative document tools (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms). It includes video conferencing (Meet) and messaging (Chat), plus Calendar and an admin console for managing users, security, and devices. Higher tiers add the Gemini AI assistant embedded across apps for writing, summarizing, and analysis.
- **How it works**: Admins provision accounts for their organization's domain through the Admin console and assign a subscription tier; users then log in to access the shared apps, with documents and files stored centrally in Drive for real-time co-editing and sharing across the team.

## Profile

- **License**: Proprietary (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Pricing model**: Subscription (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Starts at**: $8.40/user/month (Business Starter, Flexible Plan; $7/user/month billed annually) (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android
- **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-11)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [OnlyOffice](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/onlyoffice.md) | 100 | AGPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux, Web |
| 2 | [Collabora Online](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/collabora-online.md) | 86 | MPL-2.0 | Web, Android, iOS |
| 3 | [Microsoft 365](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/microsoft-365.md) | 86 | ? | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android |
| 4 | [Apple iWork](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/apple-iwork.md) | 82 | Proprietary | macOS, iOS, Web |
| 5 | [CryptPad](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/cryptpad.md) | 82 | AGPL-3.0 | Web |
| 6 | [LibreOffice](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/libreoffice.md) | 82 | MPL-2.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 7 | [WPS Office](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/wps-office.md) | 82 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS |
| 8 | [Zoho Workplace](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/zoho-workplace.md) | 82 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| Office suites checklist | Google Workspace | OnlyOffice | Collabora Online | Microsoft 365 | Apple iWork | CryptPad |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Subscription | OSS + paid hosting | OSS + paid hosting | Subscription | Freemium | OSS + paid hosting |
| Starts at | $8.40/user/month (Business Starter, Flexible Plan; $7/user/month billed annually) | $1500 | €3/user/month (Business plan) | $9.99/month (Microsoft 365 Personal) | $12.99/month | €5/month |
| License | Proprietary | AGPL-3.0 | MPL-2.0 | ? | Proprietary | AGPL-3.0 |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | Windows, macOS, Linux, Web | Web, Android, iOS | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Web | macOS, iOS, Web | Web |
| Word processor | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Spreadsheets | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Presentations | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Real-time collaboration | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop apps (offline) | Partial | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | No |
| MS Office format fidelity | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Partial |
| Self-hostable | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| E2E encrypted option | Partial | Yes | No | Partial | Partial | Yes |
| Free tier limits | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PDF export & editing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |

## Sources

Sources for Google Workspace. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **Pricing model**: Subscription — <https://knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/billing/flexible-plan> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “You can cancel your subscription at any time without penalty.”
- **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android — <https://blog.google/products/docs/new-mobile-apps-for-docs-sheets-and/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “You can get the apps on Google Play”
- **License**: Proprietary — <https://workspace.google.com/intl/en_us/terms/standard_terms/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “As between the parties, Customer owns all Intellectual Property Rights in Customer Data, and Google owns all Intellectual Property Rights in the Services.”
- **Starts at**: $8.40/user/month (Business Starter, Flexible Plan; $7/user/month billed annually) — <https://knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/getting-started/editions/business-editions> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “$8.40 USD”
- **Status**: active — <https://knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/billing/flexible-plan> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “You're billed monthly for each user account.”
- **Word processor**: Yes — <https://workspace.google.com/intl/en_us/products/docs/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “You can convert Microsoft Word documents into Google Docs format, or you can directly edit Word documents, without having to make a copy.”
- **Spreadsheets**: Yes — <https://workspace.google.com/intl/en_us/products/sheets/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Online, collaborative spreadsheets”
- **Presentations**: Yes — <https://workspace.google.com/intl/en_us/products/slides/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Create and deliver impactful presentations in your browser, from anywhere - no installation required.”
- **Real-time collaboration**: Yes — <https://workspace.google.com/intl/en_us/resources/real-time-editing/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Multiple people can edit a Google Sheet simultaneously, eliminating the need for back-and-forth email chains and version confusion.”
- **Desktop apps (offline)**: Partial — <https://workspace.google.com/intl/en_us/faq/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Unlike traditional desktop applications, there is no software to install.”
- **MS Office format fidelity**: Yes — <https://support.google.com/drive/answer/9406611?hl=en> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “All changes are auto-saved to the file in its original Office format.”
- **Self-hostable**: No — <https://workspace.google.com/intl/en_us/faq/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Unlike traditional desktop applications, there is no software to install.”
- **E2E encrypted option**: Partial — <https://knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/security/about-client-side-encryption> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Supported editions for this feature: Frontline Plus; Enterprise Plus; Education Standard and Education Plus.”
- **Free tier limits**: Yes — <https://workspace.google.com/intl/en_us/products/docs/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Anyone with a Google Account can create in Docs.”
- **PDF export & editing**: Yes — <https://workspace.google.com/intl/en_us/features/edit-pdf/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Convert your PDFs directly in Docs for easy editing. Docs intelligently transforms text, images, and layouts, so you can quickly make changes and refine content.”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/