Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace in Canada: 2026 Pricing and Which to Choose

Last updated October 2026. Rechecked every price against Google's and Microsoft's Canadian pricing pages (October 2026), including Microsoft's July 1, 2026 increase. Added per-plan Canadian price tables for both suites, a 20-person monthly cost example, and the Business Premium vs Business Plus security comparison. Corrected the AI section: Gemini is now included in Google Workspace business plans.

Whether you frame it as Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace or Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365, these are the two dominant productivity suites for business. Both give you email, file storage, collaboration tools, and video conferencing. But they're not interchangeable, and the right choice depends on your business, not on which one is "better" in the abstract.

We manage both platforms for clients across Ontario, and this is the honest comparison we give business owners when they ask which to choose, starting with what each one actually costs in Canada.

Prices at a Glance (CAD, 2026)

Prices are per user per month in Canadian dollars with an annual commitment, before tax, checked in October 2026 on Google's Canadian pricing page and Microsoft's Canadian plan pages for Business Basic, Business Standard, and Business Premium.

Google Workspace Pricing in Canada (2026)

Google bills Workspace monthly in Canadian dollars. The prices below are with a one-year commitment, which Google says saves 16% compared with the flexible month-to-month plan. Business Starter, Standard, and Plus are sold for up to 300 users; above that, or for enterprise controls, Google quotes Enterprise plans directly.

Google sometimes runs introductory discounts for new customers on a limited number of users. Budget on the regular price above, because that is what you pay at renewal. For most small businesses, Business Standard at CA$18.40 is the plan to compare against Microsoft: Starter's 30 GB of storage per user runs out quickly once a team shares files, and it cannot record meetings.

Microsoft 365 Pricing in Canada (2026)

Microsoft lists Canadian prices per user per month. Paying yearly on an annual subscription is the lowest price. A month-to-month subscription, which you can cancel any time, costs about 20% more, and paying an annual subscription monthly adds about 5%. Microsoft's main plans page now leads with "with Copilot" bundles, which cost more; the prices below are the plans without Copilot.

The July 2026 increase. On July 1, 2026, Microsoft raised list prices for several commercial plans. In US dollars, Business Basic went from $6.00 to $7.00 per user per month and Business Standard from $12.50 to $14.00, while Business Premium stayed at $22.00. Existing subscriptions move to the new price at their next renewal, so if your renewal is coming up, expect Basic and Standard to cost more than last year. See Microsoft's 2026 packaging and pricing update for the full list. Because Premium did not go up, the step from Standard to Premium is now smaller than it was.

What a 20-Person Team Pays

Here is the monthly licence cost for 20 users at each tier, annual commitment, before tax:

The licence price is a near tie at every tier: Microsoft is $6 to $22 a month more for the whole team. What decides the real cost is what each tier includes. At the security tier, Business Premium includes endpoint protection for your computers, device management, and conditional access; with Business Plus you would typically still buy a separate endpoint protection product for your Windows PCs. If you need those controls, Microsoft usually comes out ahead on total cost. If you do not, Google's simpler suite is a perfectly good deal.

The other real cost is licences nobody uses. As part of our managed IT services, we run regular licence reviews so you are not paying for people who left or for a tier a user does not need. See how much that adds up in Microsoft 365 licence waste.

Business Premium vs Business Plus: Security

This is where the gap between the two platforms is most significant, and for Canadian businesses it matters a lot. The two security tiers now cost almost the same, so compare what you get.

Microsoft 365 Business Premium includes:

• Microsoft Defender for Business: endpoint detection and response for your Windows, Mac, and mobile devices
• Microsoft Defender for Office 365 (anti-phishing, safe attachments, safe links)
• Intune device management and conditional access policies
• Microsoft Purview data loss prevention, retention, and sensitivity labels
• Entra ID P1 with MFA enforcement and sign-in policies based on location, device, and risk
• Audit logging and eDiscovery

Google Workspace Business Plus includes:

• Google Vault to retain, archive, and search data for eDiscovery
• Advanced endpoint management for phones and computers
• Enhanced security and management controls in the Admin console
• Two-factor authentication and security key enforcement
• Built-in Gmail spam, phishing, and malware filtering

The practical difference: Business Premium protects the computers themselves with endpoint detection and response, one of the controls Canadian cyber insurers ask about most, while Business Plus does not. Purview's data loss prevention, with built-in templates for Canadian personal information, also makes it easier to show you meet PIPEDA. With Google Workspace, reaching the same level usually means adding third-party tools. Learn more about how we handle cybersecurity for Ontario businesses, or what insurers expect in our guide to cyber insurance in Canada.

Administration and Management

How easy is it to manage users, devices, and policies across your organization?

Microsoft 365:

• Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) for centralized identity management
• Intune for device management (enroll, configure, wipe company devices)
• Policies controlling what users can do on managed devices
• Conditional access: require MFA based on location, device, or risk level
• PowerShell scripting for bulk administration tasks

Google Workspace:

• Google Admin Console for user and group management
• Endpoint management: fundamental on Starter and Standard, advanced on Plus
• Organizational units for applying policies to groups of users
• Context-aware access (similar to conditional access, but less granular)

If your business needs device management, conditional access, or fine-grained control over what employees can do on company-owned devices, Microsoft 365 is the clear winner. Google Workspace's admin tools are simpler, which is an advantage if you have a small team and straightforward needs, but it becomes a limitation as you grow.

AI in Each Suite: Copilot vs Gemini

Built-in AI is now part of the suite decision, and the two vendors package it differently. Google includes Gemini in its business plans: Gemini in Gmail on Business Starter, and Gemini across Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Meet, and more on Business Standard and Plus. Microsoft includes Copilot Chat at no extra cost, but the full Microsoft 365 Copilot, which works across your own email, files, and meetings, is a paid per-user add-on. Check Microsoft's Canadian pricing for the current add-on and bundle prices.

Even so, AI is rarely a reason to switch on its own. Both assistants are capable and improving quickly, and for most teams the value comes from rollout and adoption rather than from which model is marginally ahead this quarter. The practical tie-breaker is where your team already works. Whichever you choose, the prerequisite is the same: tighten permissions and fix oversharing first so the assistant cannot surface files people were never meant to find. We cover the Microsoft side in whether Microsoft 365 Copilot is worth it, and we run hands-on AI training for teams covering Copilot, Gemini, and an AI use policy.

When to Choose Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 is the stronger choice when:

• Your team needs desktop Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), not just browser versions
• You have compliance requirements under PIPEDA or industry-specific regulations
• You need device management (company laptops, phones, tablets)
• You want endpoint protection and email security included in your subscription
• Your business is growing and you need scalable identity and access management
• You already use Windows PCs (Microsoft 365 integrates deeply with Windows)

When to Choose Google Workspace

Google Workspace makes sense when:

• Your team works entirely in the browser and doesn't need desktop Office apps
• You want simpler administration with less overhead
• Your team is predominantly Mac-based (Google's apps are platform-agnostic)
• Real-time collaboration in Docs and Sheets is a core workflow
• You want AI included in the base price without buying an add-on
• You're a small team with straightforward security needs

Our Recommendation for Ontario Businesses

For the majority of Ontario businesses we work with (10 to 200 employees, handling customer data, needing to meet Canadian privacy standards), we recommend Microsoft 365 Business Premium.

The reason is straightforward: at CA$29.80 against CA$28.70, Premium costs about the same as Google's Business Plus but includes the endpoint protection, device management, and compliance tools you would otherwise buy and manage separately. Everything works together natively (identity, email security, device management, compliance) instead of stitching together separate products.

That said, Google Workspace is a solid platform and we support clients who use it. If your business is already running on Google and it's working well, switching for the sake of switching rarely makes sense.

Not sure which platform or plan is right for your business? We can review your current setup and give you an honest recommendation. Book a free consultation or call us at (226) 971-2731.

For the broader view of this topic, see our complete Microsoft 365 management guide.