This blog post was updated on June 12, 2024

It was originally published on November 15, 2021

Note: This blog post talks about the transition from G Suite to Google Workspace that began in October 2020.

All good things come to an end and so does reasonable SaaS pricing. In this blog post, we share updates about the changes in pricing of Google Workspace (formerly G Suite, formerly Google Apps) and how this will impact your subscription plans.

Google Workspace History

In 2020, Google rebranded G Suite, its suite of productivity tools to Google Workspace. The rebrand was accompanied by major updates aimed at better integrating all of Google’s applications with Gmail as its focal point. The idea was to make it easy for you to do all of your work without having to leave Gmail. So, thanks to the new updates and integrations, you have the ability to launch a video chat from Gmail on one window while collaborating with colleagues on a Google doc on another window, in real-time.

Along with the rebrand and new logo, came new subscription plans. G Suite Business became Business Plus. But the name is not the only thing that changed. The subscription prices went up by a staggering 50%.

We have covered all of the pricing details and features offered in our blog What Is Google Workspace And How Does It Impact Your G Suite Account? 

Google Workspace Plans

Here are the different Google Workspace pricing plans per user per month:

You can find this pricing info on the Google Workplace Pricing page

G Suite To Google Workspace Transition

The transition from G Suite to Google Workspace began in October 2020. Soon thereafter, moving to Google Workspace became mandatory as the old Suite Basic and Business plans were going to be deprecated. You would have received communication from Google about this transition.

As far as the transition work was concerned, you didn’t have to worry as the system would have transitioned you to an equivalent plan automatically. It would make sure that the plan you were transitioning to would have all of the important features that the plan you currently had did. So for example, if your current subscription plan was G Suite Business, the auto-transition would move you to the new Google Workspace Business Plus as it would match the features of your current plan.

Google Workspace Feature Changes

With the new pricing plans of Google Workspace, it appears that you will be forced to subscribe to a more costly plan if you want to retain the features that you currently get. If you stick with a plan that is equivalent in pricing with your existing plan, you will be losing access to a ton of features.

For small businesses, this is especially important to consider because many of these features are related to security and data protection. For example, the Vault feature was available with G Suite Business priced at $12 /user/month but now to gain access to Vault you will need the Business Plus plan at $18 /user/month. But that is just one feature.

Here are some examples of features you will lose in addition to Vault.

Security-Related Features

• Holds and retention rules stop protecting your organization’s messages and files.

• Data that users deleted more than 30 days ago is immediately removed from all Google systems and can’t be recovered.

• Advanced endpoint management—You can’t set up company-owned Android devices or selectively distribute apps to Android devices.

• Sharing with external people – You can no longer stop users from sharing links or files with people outside of your organization.

• You can no longer choose a geographic location for your data.

Video Conferencing Related Features

• Advanced video conferencing Meetings are limited to 150 participants.

• Advanced controls in Calendar – Rooms aren’t automatically released when all attendees decline. 

• Rooms that decline invitations aren’t replaced. 

• Admins can’t clear room calendars or put rooms in maintenance mode.

• You can’t set a default duration for events.

Here’s a detailed list of the features included in the different Google Workspace plans: 

Conclusion

So the main takeaway is that some important admin and security features have been moved to a higher plan and you will have to pay more if you want to retain access to them. The evolving threat landscape and stricter regulatory compliance requirements necessitate that you retain some if not all of these features.

Do you need help migrating to or from Google Workspace? Click the button below to contact our Google Workspace migration specialists for a smooth, hassle-free transition.

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