Google Workspace vs ProtonMail comparison

Google and Proton Technologies are both solutions in the Email Applications category. Google is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.4, while Proton Technologies is ranked #10 with an average rating of 9.0. Google holds a 22.2% mindshare in EA, compared to Proton Technologies’s 5.3% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Google users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 50% of Proton Technologies users who would recommend it.

Google Workspace

Read 102 Google Workspace reviews

6,065 Views
5,500 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

ProtonMail

Read 1 ProtonMail review

1,138 Views
1,028 Comparison Views

50% willing to recommend

Google Workspace

ProtonMail

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

Google Workspace and ProtonMail are contenders in the email and productivity tool market. Google Workspace leads with integration and collaboration, while ProtonMail excels in privacy and security.

Features: Google Workspace offers Gmail, Google Docs, and Sheets for seamless collaboration. Its extensive integration with third-party apps increases its utility. ProtonMail provides encrypted email services with robust security features to protect user privacy. Its primary distinction lies in its dedication to secure communications.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Google Workspace offers extensive resources for setup and integration with 24/7 support. ProtonMail provides an uncomplicated setup focused on privacy with limited integration options. Google delivers more varied support channels, accommodating a broader range of business needs.

Pricing and ROI: Google Workspace has scalable pricing tiers suitable for different business sizes, enhancing ROI with productivity capabilities. ProtonMail features flexible pricing for personal users seeking privacy. Google Workspace offers superior ROI for businesses requiring comprehensive tools, while ProtonMail serves as a cost-effective choice for security-focused users.

To learn more, read our detailed Email Applications Report (Updated: May 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Email Applications

May 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 851,604 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Google Workspace

Ranking in Email Applications

1st

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

102

Ranking in other categories

Wireless Email (2nd), Cloud Storage (6th), Content Collaboration Platforms (3rd)

ProtonMail

Ranking in Email Applications

10th

Average Rating

9.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Google Workspace is 22.2%, down from 24.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ProtonMail is 5.3%, up from 3.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Applications

Featured Reviews

Sunil-Nair

IT Manager at Universal Carpets & Rugs

Email collaboration and accessibility have improved team productivity

The valuable features include the email service, email updates, and Google Drive. People are given email access to Google Drive. The team can share manual files and work accordingly. They can access different teams from anywhere, collectively putting files, sharing them, and managing them. Additionally, the manufacturing product does not require any downgrades. It works fine and continuously for the last three or four years. Users can access their emails from anywhere in their browser without a laptop or can directly access from Gmail. This is helpful for salespeople.

Read full review

Vitor Vicente

Works

Secure email communication facilitates safe financial exchanges and enhances data privacy

I use ProtonMail for exchanging invoicing with clients, managing financial information, and receiving notifications from bank accounts and investment brokers. It's dedicated to high-importance communication involving financial information The auto encryption of attachments is valuable. ProtonMail…

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The most beneficial feature is Gmail, which we use extensively."

"I use Keep to assign tasks to a team of programmers, which is very easy."

"G Suite Enterprise provides many features, such as business increased search visibility, email address, and domain. It's a large whole ecosystem that is the major benefit. You can manage your whole team and have many tools. Over seven years, the solution has gone through some drastic upgrades and improvements which are done automatically, I do not have to manual upgrade."

"All the Microsoft Office features are available in Google Workspace."

"The features we use quite a lot are the mail and Google Drive. We can store documents and share documents between both employees here, locally in Sweden, and we have an office in the US as well. It's a very easy way to share information and documents, and have online meetings and stuff with Google Meet. We use it quite a lot."

"We find Google Drive and mail useful for our services."

"Ability to co-edit and collaborate on content."

"Google Workspace is an excellent tool for communicating with people, which allows users to collaborate and edit files simultaneously."

More Google Workspace pros

"The auto encryption of attachments is valuable."

Cons

"Our users have faced an issue with increasing their email quotas over the last three months."

"What needs improvement in Google Workspace is the Google Drive app, in particular, making the process of finding the shared and most used files and folders easier. The first time you get an invite to view a file or folder in Google Drive and you view that folder or file, it's pretty easy, but the next time you try to access it again, sometimes, it's a bit difficult to find what was shared with you. An additional feature I'd like to see in Google Workspace is the option to un-send messages in Gmail. Microsoft has a message recall feature, and this isn't available in Gmail, so it's the feature I'd like to be added to Gmail."

"One area of improvement for Google Workspace is the Google Meet functionality. Currently, users cannot upload files directly through Google Meet; instead, they have to share links via Google Drive, which adds unnecessary steps and complexity."

"Some people complain that Google Mail is inflexible. It was advanced 10 years ago, but other solutions are cleaner and clearer."

"In Google Meet, there is no feature for recording a meeting. It should have a feature for recording."

"Google Workspace doesn't have some of the Excel and PowerPoint presentation functions you get with Microsoft Office."

"There seems to be a bit of vulnerability on some operating systems, specifically on the iPhone. There isn't as much control as if a person is using an Android. That's a bit of a concern."

"We noticed that sometimes when we forward emails to somebody, it is being relocated as part of the communication somewhere else. The traceability and other features should be improved."

More Google Workspace cons

"One improvement could be the integration between ProtonMail and Proton Pass, allowing sharing of specific secrets via email."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The overall cost is very reasonable when considering all of the security features that you are receiving. It is a bit more expensive than our local host and/or other hosting companies that are available on the market, but it is worth it."

"The pricing is comparable, it's pretty decent."

"It's about $8.30 up a user per month."

"The pricing is reasonable."

"There are benefits that can provide a competitive advantage, e.g., improved productivity (with appropriate training), increased collaboration (with correct use of tools), flexible working - work from home or remote locations, easy to scale - fast onboarding of new employees, and ability to add and remove licenses, as required."

"We pay on yearly basis."

"The price of Google Workspace is reasonable. I pay less than 100 a month."

"The price of the solution can vary."

More Google Workspace pricing and cost advice

Information not available

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Email Applications solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Educational Organization

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Educational Organization

12%

Computer Software Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Google Workspace?

Easy-to-build forms are allowing me to get feedback and information from my internal teams as well as from the customers very efficiently with the result data in structured manner.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Workspace?

The pricing for Google Workspace is moderate. I would rate it a five out of ten, indicating it is neither cheap nor expensive. The current cost is approximately seven to ten euros per user per mont...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Google Workspace?

I do not have any major suggestions for improvement. However, while the security functionalities are similar to those in competitors like Active Directory, they could be optimized for stronger secu...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ProtonMail?

The pricing is competitive, offering good value on the average plan. It’s approximately $100 for annual billing.

See all answers

What needs improvement with ProtonMail?

The UI was previously cumbersome, however, it has improved. One improvement could be the integration between ProtonMail and Proton Pass, allowing sharing of specific secrets via email. However, thi...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for ProtonMail?

See all answers

Comparisons

Amazon WorkMail vs Google Workspace

Compared 28% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs Google Workspace

Compared 27% of the time

Office 365 vs Google Workspace

Compared 5% of the time

Amazon WorkDocs vs Google Workspace

Compared 3% of the time

Zoho Mail vs Google Workspace

Compared 3% of the time

More Google Workspace Competitors

Zoho Mail vs ProtonMail

Compared 18% of the time

Microsoft Exchange vs ProtonMail

Compared 11% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs ProtonMail

Compared 10% of the time

Amazon WorkMail vs ProtonMail

Compared 4% of the time

Superhuman vs ProtonMail

Compared 3% of the time

More ProtonMail Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Google Workspace

May 2025

Download Google Workspace product report

Buyer's Guide

Email Applications

May 2025

Download ProtonMail product report

Also Known As

G-Suite Enterprise, G-Suite, Google Apps for Business, G Suite Basic, G Suite Business, G-Suite Basic, G-Suite Business, Google Vault

No data available

Overview

Similar to G Suite, all Google Workspace plans provide a custom email for your business and include collaboration tools like Gmail, Calendar, Meet, Chat, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Sites, and more.

As we’ve evolved G Suite into a more integrated experience across our communication and collaboration tools, we’ve rebranded to Google Workspace to more accurately represent the product vision.

Google

ProtonMail is the world‘s largest encrypted email provider, with over 11 million users trusting us to secure their data every day. We are the email service of choice for security-conscious enterprises.

Proton Technologies

Sample Customers

There are over five million businesses that use Google Apps for Business worldwide. Some key customers include The Roche Group, National Geographic, American Red Cross, City of Los Angeles, Flight Centre, and Konica Minolta.

Wall street journal,The New york times, The Gurdian, Forbes, Fox News

Find out what your peers are saying about Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and others in Email Applications. Updated: May 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our list of best Email Applications vendors.

We monitor all Email Applications reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.