Google Workspace alternatives: where to go and how to switch without losing an email
Five suites in detail, one for each reason to leave, plus an eight-step migration plan.
The short answer: Microsoft 365 if your team wants full desktop Excel, Outlook and Teams. Zoho Workplace if cost per seat is what matters most. Proton Workspace if your files are sensitive and must be end-to-end encrypted. ONLYOFFICE DocSpace if you bring lots of clients into your documents. kSuite by Infomaniak if you want everything hosted in Switzerland. One thing before you choose: no migration tool moves everything. Mail, contacts and most calendars make it across. Shared calendars, out-of-office replies, room bookings and Google Sites stay behind. We compared the five destinations in this guide and their import tools in 2026.
Our ranking is editorial: a sponsored spot is always labeled on its card, and no affiliate link changes a score.
Why teams leave Google Workspace, and why it's tricky
Google Workspace is still the easiest suite for writing together in one document. Nobody leaves because of Docs. They leave over the bill, over where their data lives, or because part of the team wants something else. Six reasons, each one checked in 2026.
A price hike bundled with Gemini
In 2025 Google folded its Gemini AI into every Business plan and dropped the $20 per user add-on. Prices went up in exchange: Business Standard moved from $12 to $14 per user per month on an annual plan, Business Starter from $6 to $7. If your team never opens Gemini, you pay for it anyway. One tech outlet summed it up: a $2 upsell is fine, a mandatory increase is not.
An annual plan you pay to the end
The annual plan is cheaper ($7 instead of $8.40 a month on Starter), but it locks you in. Cancel early and Google bills the rest of the commitment. The Flexible plan is billed by the day: cancel on the 15th, pay half a month. You can switch from one to the other at renewal, so check your renewal date before anything else.
Your data with a US ad company
Contracts, HR files, client email threads: Google stores all of it. For a law firm, a healthcare practice or anyone handling client secrets, that question keeps coming up. Some suites answer it head on. Proton encrypts what it stores end to end, so even Proton can't read your files. Infomaniak keeps everything in Switzerland.
Someone eventually asks for real Excel
Admins on r/SmallMSP describe the same arc: Workspace works great early on, then the company grows and someone needs full Excel, Outlook or Teams. Workbooks with VBA macros, heavy pivot tables and daily Word files from clients start to hurt. With Microsoft you work in the native format, no conversion.
30 GB per person on Starter
Business Starter gives each user 30 GB, shared between Gmail and Drive. Ten years of attachments fill that fast. The next tier, Business Standard with 2 TB, doubles the price from $7 to $14. For a team that only wanted more room, that's usually when the comparison starts.
Leaving takes more than a download
This is why many teams stay. A full organization export needs a super admin whose account is over 30 days old, usually takes 72 hours (up to 14 days) and is kept for only 60 days. After you cancel, Workspace data is deleted for good. And none of the migration tools on this page move Google Sites, so if your website or intranet lives there, plan to rebuild it before you cut over.
You're leaving because… go to…
The right Google Workspace alternative depends on what's pushing you out. Usually only one row fits. Each card jumps to the full write-up below.
Business Standard at $14 per user per month, annual.
Cost per seat is your first filterZoho WorkplaceStandard at $3 per user per month, annual, mail included.
Your files are confidential (legal, health, press)Proton WorkspaceMail, calendar, files and docs encrypted end to end.
You share documents with lots of clientsONLYOFFICE DocSpaceYou pay per admin, not per guest.
You want your data outside the USkSuiteSwiss company, Swiss servers, priced in Swiss francs.
You only want to change email, not habitsZoho WorkplaceBuilt-in Google Workspace import for mail, contacts and calendars.
Google Workspace alternatives, one by one
For each suite: why move to it, who it's for, its limit, how to migrate from Google, and what it costs. Prices are the ones each vendor lists in 2026, before tax, in the currency the vendor shows (Swiss francs for kSuite).
Microsoft 365: when the team lives in Excel and Outlook
Most completeWhy move to Microsoft 365. It's the only suite where Word, Excel and PowerPoint are the real desktop apps, not browser versions that come close. If clients send you .xlsx files with macros, or your finance lead lives in pivot tables, the conversions stop. Teams replaces Meet and Chat; OneDrive and SharePoint replace Drive.
Who it's for. Businesses that trade Office files with the outside world every day, and teams where one department needs full Excel.
Who it's not for. A small team that mostly co-writes in the browser: co-editing works, but it feels less natural than Docs. Same for anyone who hates admin consoles. On a Mac power-user forum, one small charity called its Microsoft setup "a nightmare" next to Google's admin.
Its limit. The entry price is misleading. Business Basic ($7 per user per month on an annual plan since Microsoft's 2026 increase) only includes the web and mobile apps: no installed Excel. You need Business Standard, $14 per user per month annual or $16.80 month to month. Business Premium is $22.
How to migrate. Microsoft has the most complete tooling. From the Exchange admin center, you move mail and rules, calendars and contacts in batches. Rules arrive switched off, so review them in Outlook before turning them back on. What doesn't move: out-of-office replies, room bookings, shared calendars and their colors, and anything past three email addresses per contact. For files, Migration Manager copies Drive to OneDrive and SharePoint with permissions; a simplified Lite version is on by default under 300 licenses. File-level permissions and older versions need an explicit setting.
- Price
- Basic $7, Standard $14 (annual)
- Trial
- 1 month, up to 25 users
- Migration
- mail, calendars, contacts, Drive: built in
- Limit
- Basic has no desktop apps
Zoho Workplace: a full suite for the lowest price
CheapestWhy move to Zoho Workplace. For the price of a coffee per person you get Zoho Mail, WorkDrive for files, Writer, Sheet and Show (the Docs, Sheets and Slides equivalents) and video meetings. Standard is $3 per user per month on an annual plan, Professional $6. Next to Google's $7 Starter seat, that adds up fast on a team of ten.
Who it's for. Small teams that want a full suite on a tight budget, and anyone already running Zoho CRM.
Who it's not for. Teams that want zero learning curve. Menus and formulas aren't laid out like Google's or Microsoft's, and users report formatting that gets lost when pasting into Writer.
Its limit. WorkDrive storage is per team, not per person. On Standard, a team of 3 to 10 shares 100 GB, then 10 GB per extra user. If everyone has 20 GB in Drive today, Standard won't fit. Month to month, Standard goes to $4 and Professional to $7.
How to migrate. Zoho has a migration tool in its admin console (Data Migration, source Google Workspace) that moves mail, contacts and calendars. It needs a Google super admin and a Google service account with its JSON or P12 key, so set aside an hour for that technical part. Create every user in Zoho first and keep the exact same domain name, or calendars won't follow. Migration reports show you what went through.
- Price
- Standard $3, Professional $6 (annual)
- Storage
- 100 GB per team on Standard
- Migration
- mail, contacts, calendars from the console
- Limit
- learning curve
Proton Workspace: for data that can't leak
EncryptedWhy move to Proton Workspace. Proton encrypts mail, calendar, files and documents end to end: neither Proton nor anyone else can read them. Workspace Standard bundles Mail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Meet, a VPN and a password manager, with 1 TB per user. For a lawyer, a therapist or a newsroom, that's the deciding argument.
Who it's for. Small organizations that handle sensitive data and put privacy ahead of convenience.
Who it's not for. Teams that live in slide decks: there's no Slides equivalent. And people who rely on Outlook or Apple Mail. One user who went back to Google after a year with Proton explained it: Proton Mail Bridge had to run on every computer, calendar and contacts didn't sync with system apps (no CalDAV), mobile search was weak, and two outages hit right on deadline. Price, he said, was a minor factor.
Its limit. Pricing sits close to Google Business Standard: $12.99 per user per month annual, $14.99 month to month. Premium ($19.99) goes to 3 TB and adds Lumo, Proton's AI assistant. If you only need files and docs, Drive Professional at $7.99 already covers it.
How to migrate. Easy Switch for business is built for this, and it moves mail, contacts and calendars (not Drive files). You need admin rights on both sides. Install the Proton Easy Switch app from the Google Workspace Marketplace, add the verification TXT, SPF, three DKIM records and DMARC to DNS, then pick users, all at once or in batches, with each person's estimated data size. Every employee activates their account through an invite link and a code sent to Gmail. You finish by swapping the MX records: once mail routes to Proton, the migration is final, and anyone who hasn't activated needs an admin to reset their password. During the transition, SPF lets you send from both Proton and Google.
- Price
- Standard $12.99 (annual)
- Storage
- 1 TB encrypted per user
- Migration
- Easy Switch, in batches
- Limit
- no presentations
ONLYOFFICE DocSpace: for co-writing with clients
Unlimited guestsWhy move to ONLYOFFICE DocSpace. In de-Googling threads on Reddit, the same line keeps coming back: "Docs/Sheets was the hardest thing to replace… OnlyOffice is the closest I've found so far." Its editors look like Word and Excel and keep Microsoft formatting intact. DocSpace organizes them in "rooms": one per client or project, with the right rights for each guest.
Who it's for. Accounting firms, agencies and engineering offices that have many clients and partners review and fill in documents.
Who it's not for. Anyone who wants to replace everything at once. DocSpace has no email and no calendar, so you pair it with a mail service (Zoho Mail, Microsoft Exchange, Proton).
Its limit. The pricing model is different: you pay for admins, not users. Startup is free for 3 admins, 12 rooms and 2 GB. Business costs $20 per admin per month with unlimited guests and 250 GB per admin. Three admins cost $60 a month no matter how many clients you invite.
How to migrate. We didn't find a direct Google Drive import in the vendor's documentation. The safe route: export your files in Microsoft formats (the organization export, or downloading from Drive, turns Docs into .docx and Sheets into .xlsx), then upload them room by room. It's a good moment to bring only active client folders.
- Free
- 3 admins, 12 rooms, 2 GB
- Paid
- Business $20 per admin
- Best for
- docs shared with clients
- Limit
- no mail or calendar
kSuite: everything hosted in Switzerland
Swiss-hostedWhy move to kSuite. kSuite comes from Infomaniak, a Swiss company that hosts everything in Switzerland: mail, kDrive for files, kChat for team chat, kMeet for video and online document editing. One vendor, one country, outside US jurisdiction. If a client or regulator asks where your data sits, the answer fits in one sentence.
Who it's for. Small businesses and nonprofits, often with European clients, that want out of US clouds without changing how they work.
Who it's not for. Teams that depend on lots of integrations: the app ecosystem is far smaller than Google's. Pricing in Swiss francs also makes budgeting less obvious from the US.
Its limit. The first-year discount doesn't last. Business costs CHF 7.34 per user per month before tax (CHF 3.67 the first year on an annual plan), with 3 TB of kDrive and 5 addresses per person. Standard is CHF 1.76, Enterprise CHF 13.83 with SSO and custom branding. Budget the full price from year two.
How to migrate. For mail, Infomaniak's import tool connects to Google in one click and copies the whole mailbox. It's deliberately throttled to about 1 GB a day for Google, so a 15 GB mailbox takes two weeks: start early. Each Gmail label becomes a folder, and an email under three labels is copied three times, so a 6 GB account can land at 18 GB. Once started, the import can't be stopped. Contacts go through a vCard file (50 MB and 10,000 lines max), files through kDrive's Google Drive import, which only brings files you own.
- Price
- Business CHF 7.34 (CHF 3.67 year one)
- Data
- hosted in Switzerland
- Mail import
- about 1 GB a day from Gmail
- Limit
- few integrations
The 5 alternatives side by side
Our default pick: Microsoft 365 if the team needs full Excel, Zoho Workplace if budget comes first. For scale, take 10 users on annual billing: Google Business Starter costs $70 a month, Microsoft Business Standard $140, Zoho Standard $30, Proton Standard $129.90, kSuite Business CHF 73.40 (CHF 36.70 the first year). ONLYOFFICE DocSpace costs $20 per admin whatever the guest count. One row per suite: entry price on the left, what its migration tool moves from Google on the right.
| Entry price (per user per month, annual, before tax) | Migration from Google | |
|---|---|---|
| Google WorkspaceWhere you start | Starter $7 ($8.40 Flexible), 30 GB | Org export: super admin older than 30 days, kept 60 days |
| Microsoft 365Excel and Outlook | Basic $7 without desktop apps; Standard $14 | Mail and rules, calendars, contacts, Drive with permissions; no shared calendars or rooms |
| Zoho WorkplaceTight budget | Standard $3 ($4 month to month) | Mail, contacts, calendars from the console; Google service account needed |
| Proton WorkspaceEncrypted | Standard $12.99 ($14.99 month to month) | Easy Switch in batches: mail, contacts, calendars, no Drive |
| ONLYOFFICE DocSpaceClient guests | Startup free; Business $20 per admin | No Google import: export to .docx and .xlsx, then upload |
| kSuiteSwiss-hosted | Business CHF 7.34 (CHF 3.67 year one) | One-click Gmail import, about 1 GB a day; kDrive imports files you own |
Entry prices before tax, in the vendor's currency, subject to change. Always check against your own seat count.
Leave Google Workspace in eight steps
Order matters. Each step protects something: your money, your mail, your files or your domain.
Check your renewal date first
Day 1In the Admin console, open Billing, then Subscriptions. On an annual plan, Google bills the rest of the commitment if you leave early. The cheap timeline: migrate during the last weeks of the term, switch to Flexible at renewal, then cancel once everything checks out. On Flexible you only pay for the days you use.
Bought Workspace through a reseller? They handle cancellation, so call them first.
- Where
- Billing > Subscriptions > Change plan
- Role needed
- Billing management
Inventory everything that runs
Day 1List users, aliases, groups (addresses like sales@), shared drives, shared calendars and rooms, out-of-office replies, Google Sites, Google Forms, and every third-party app people open with "Sign in with Google" (CRM, accounting, Zapier).
Why? An app tied to a Google login loses access when that account goes away. And shared calendars, rooms and auto-replies don't move with any tool: you rebuild them by hand.
- Time
- half a day for 10 people
- If rushed
- a locked-out app
Run the full organization export
Safety netBefore migrating anything, back up everything. The Admin console's data export tool copies every user's data. You need a super admin whose account is over 30 days old. It usually takes 72 hours, up to 14 days for big volumes, and it's deleted 60 days after it starts, so download it and store it outside Google. One full export every 30 days.
Over 1,000 users, Google asks you to contact support first. If an employee wants their own data through Takeout, make sure you haven't blocked it in the console.
- Time
- 72 hours, up to 14 days
- Kept
- 60 days
Set up the new suite before touching mail
Before cutoverAdd your domain to the destination and verify it with a TXT record. Create every user, alias and group address with the exact same names. Zoho needs this to carry calendars over; Microsoft needs it to run batches.
On your DNS, lower the TTL on your MX records (how long other servers cache the old address) to around 300 seconds. Do it 24 to 48 hours before cutover.
- Domain
- verified by TXT
- MX TTL
- 300 seconds, 48 h ahead
Copy mail, contacts and calendars
Longest stepStart the destination's tool: Exchange admin center at Microsoft, Data Migration at Zoho, Easy Switch at Proton, the import tool at Infomaniak. Run a first batch of two people, then everyone else.
Do the math on time. Infomaniak pulls about 1 GB a day per mailbox from Gmail, so 10 GB mailboxes need ten days before cutover. With Proton, allow up to 24 hours after the MX change for mail to start arriving. Microsoft rejects messages over 35 MB by default: raise the limit first if your team emails big files.
- Infomaniak
- about 1 GB a day
- Microsoft
- 35 MB per message by default
Move files and convert Google Docs
Watch outA Google Doc isn't a file, it's a page in your browser. It has to become .docx, .xlsx or .pptx to live anywhere else. Migration Manager and the organization export do that; copying the Drive folder on your computer doesn't, it only copies shortcuts.
Then open ten random documents: comments usually make it, but not always with their author and date, and complex tables shift. Files "shared with me" don't move with the user: their owner has to migrate them. Our guide to switching from Google Drive covers this part in depth.
- Trap
- copying the local folder copies shortcuts
- Check
- 10 random documents
Flip the MX records, then run a final sync
D-dayReplace Google's MX records with the destination's, and update SPF (remove Google, add the new provider), DKIM and DMARC. Pick a Friday evening when mail volume is low.
Mail that lands at Google during propagation isn't lost: run a final sync the next day. Keep the TTL low for a few days so you can roll back fast, then raise it to 3,600 seconds once things are stable.
- Change
- MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC
- After
- final sync next day
Keep Google a month, then cancel cleanly
DoneKeep Workspace on a Flexible plan for at least a month after cutover. You catch stragglers, compare message counts and run one last full export before you go.
When you cancel, Workspace data is deleted with no way back. Accounts and groups remain until you delete the organization's Google account; once that's gone, your domain is released within 24 hours. You can resubscribe within 51 days if you change your mind.
- Keep Google
- one month after cutover
- Resubscribe
- within 51 days
Is your tool missing from this page? Email us: hello@hackceleration.com
What makes a Google Workspace exit go wrong
The same mistakes show up migration after migration, in forums and in vendor guides alike. None is truly technical. They're oversights, and each costs more than the time it would have taken to avoid it.
Canceling mid-commitment
You pay out the rest of the year. Ten Business Standard seats with six months left is $840 for nothing. Migrate near the end of the term and switch to Flexible at renewal.
Forgetting Google Sites
Canceling cuts access to Workspace services, and none of the migration tools on this page move Google Sites. If your website or intranet lives there, rebuild it elsewhere and repoint the domain before you cancel.
Assuming shared calendars follow
With Microsoft's tool, shared calendars, their colors and room bookings don't migrate, and delegations need redoing. Write them down at inventory and recreate them on cutover day.
Starting the mail import too late
At about 1 GB a day with Infomaniak, a 20 GB mailbox takes three weeks. Flip the MX early and people land in a half-empty inbox. Check each mailbox size in the console first.
Leaving apps tied to Google logins
A CRM, e-signature or accounting tool opened with "Sign in with Google" loses access when the account disappears. Change each app's login method before you cancel.
Losing the export
The organization export is deleted 60 days after it starts. Download it and keep it at least a year outside Google: it's your only proof if a contract or email turns up missing later.
- Annual renewal date checked
- Inventory: users, aliases, groups, shared calendars, rooms, Sites, Forms, third-party apps
- Full organization export downloaded outside Google
- Domain verified and users created at the destination
- MX TTL lowered 48 hours ahead
- Mail import started early enough for each mailbox size
- Google Docs converted and ten files opened to check
- MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC switched, final sync done
- Shared calendars, auto-replies and rules rebuilt
- Google kept a month on Flexible, then canceled
Google Workspace alternatives: frequently asked questions
Is there a free alternative to Google Workspace for a business?
Not for a full suite with email on your own domain. ONLYOFFICE DocSpace has a free Startup plan (3 admins, 12 rooms, 2 GB) but no email. The cheapest full replacement is Zoho Workplace Standard at $3 per user per month, billed annually. Our office suite ranking covers all the options.
Can I keep my email address if I leave Google Workspace?
Yes, as long as it's on your own domain. You own the domain: you point its MX records at the new suite and every address stays the same. Only @gmail.com addresses can't move. After you delete the organization account, Google releases the domain within 24 hours.
How long does a Google Workspace migration take?
For a team of ten, plan two to four weeks from inventory to cancellation. Mail is the bottleneck: Infomaniak imports about 1 GB a day per mailbox from Gmail, and a full organization export can take up to 14 days. The cutover itself fits in one evening.
What happens to my Google Docs, Sheets and Slides?
The organization export and tools like Migration Manager convert them to .docx, .xlsx and .pptx. Simple formulas and layouts hold up. Apps Script automations, linked Forms and some Sheets-only functions don't make it. Open your ten most-used files after conversion.
Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace: which is cheaper for a small business?
At entry level they're even: both start at $7 per user per month annual. The gap opens when you need desktop Office: Microsoft Business Standard and Google Business Standard both run $14, but only Microsoft includes installed Word and Excel at that price. One UK small business reported its bill dropping from £200 to £120 a month after switching, a single case worth checking against your own seat mix.
Can I cancel Google Workspace in the middle of an annual plan?
Yes, but Google bills the rest of the commitment. The Flexible plan costs more ($8.40 instead of $7 on Starter) but cancels with no penalty and bills by the day. The cheapest route: switch to Flexible at renewal, keep it a month while you migrate, then cancel.
Can I keep Gmail and only replace the documents?
Yes, but you keep paying for Workspace. That's the ONLYOFFICE DocSpace setup: it replaces Drive and Docs for client work and leaves mail alone. The reverse works too: move mail to Zoho or Proton and keep a free Google account for shared docs. Either way you're running two tools.
Is Gemini a reason to stay on Google Workspace?
Only if your team actually uses it. Since 2025, Gemini is baked into the price, with limited access on Starter and full access from Business Standard. Microsoft sells Copilot separately, Proton offers Lumo on Premium. Our Gemini review covers what it does day to day.
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