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Which one is best for my small business?
If you’re looking for a collaborative, cloud-based platform that your small business can launch from or continue its growth on, look no further than the comprehensive Google Workspace.
This post will help you decide which plan is best for your small business:
Google workspace business starter vs business standard.
Note: This post may include affiliate links. If you click one of them, we may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
What exactly is Google Workspace?
Google Workspace is a package of all the business support tools a small, medium or enterprise-sized business needs to work in the cloud productively and securely, including:
Custom and secure email service
Video meetings and conference call capabilities
Chat (instant messaging)
Ample cloud storage
A wide range of productivity apps including Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and many more
Global web security
As Google puts it, Google Workspace is the “collaborative way of working in the cloud, from anywhere, on any device.”
Business Starter vs. Standard - which plan is right for me?
Google offers several Workspace plans. However, if you're not an enterprise or larger business in need of things like legal access to company information (eDiscovery), or more advanced security, then your choices on which plan is right for you will come down to 2 Workspace plans:
Business Starter or Business Standard.
Two main things to consider when deciding between these plans are:
The size of your small business.
Your financial wherewithal.
Regarding the size of your small business - if you're just starting out with only yourself or maybe very few employees, it would make sense to go with the Business Starter plan. You can upgrade at any time as your business grows.
However, if you're well established with 5 or more employees, and you think you’ll be having more than 100 participants in your video calls and/or you need to record your video meetings for training and other purposes, then the Business Standard plan makes more sense.
Regarding your financial wherewithal - the cost for the Business Starter plan is $6.00 per user, per month.
The Business Standard is $12.00 per user, per month.
Very affordable whatever size your business.
What’s included in both plans?
Both the Business Starter and Business Standard (actually all Google Workspace plans) include the following tools and applications for protected workplace productivity:
Gmail - Get a professional email with your company name.
Drive - Store and edit company files and documents in the cloud and access them from anywhere.
Meet - Connect with your team or clients in easy-to-join video calls and events.
Calendar - Schedule and manage meetings and events with employees and clients.
Chat - Collaborate swiftly with instant messaging and group conversations.
Docs - Create, share and edit documents in real time with your team.
Sheets - Create, share and edit spreadsheets in real time with your team.
Slides - Create professional and dynamic presentations.
Forms - Create custom surveys and questionnaires to gather information.
Sites - Build project sites for your employees, or portals for your customers.
Keep - Capture and share notes, to-dos, and inspiration when it presents itself.
Both of these plans allow up to 300 users per account. If you have more users than that, the Enterprise plan would be the right fit.
Below are some finer points on each plan.
Business Starter Details
Included with Starter:
100 participant video meetings - includes US or international dial-in numbers and digital whiteboarding capabilities.
30 GB storage per user - Google uses pooled storage, meaning your total storage amount across all company email accounts and files would be 30 GB multiplied by the amount of users subscribed to your plan.
You can easily manage your Workspace storage on the Google Admin Console page where you’ll see the total amount of storage you have (aka the organization storage limit), how much of it is used up, where it's being used, and how much is left. This makes it easy to purchase more on an as-needed basis without having to upgrade your plan unless it makes sense to.
Security and management controls - the same secure infrastructure Google does business on itself will be protecting your business Workspace Account. Their sophisticated and reliable global structure is managed by professionals who are leaders in the cloud security industry.
Standard Support - is a safety net for the occasional tech problems that any company can experience when doing business in the cloud. You’ll have unlimited contact to Google cloud customer support who will be your first line of defense if you run into trouble. Whatever your need, tech help is just a couple of clicks away.
Not included with Starter:
Ability to record video meetings - unfortunately, you can't record with Business Starter. So if you think you’ll need that capability right off the bat, better to go with the Business Standard plan.
No shared drives - which means you can’t create a drive and assign it to a particular team or group for ease of access, search, or editing purposes.
It also means that you can only access the files in user drives by signing in as the user. Only the Admin or person(s) with the master login data would have this access.
But, of course, any user can email links to the docs they want to share with others whether they’re inside or outside the company. If the person outside the company doesn’t have a Google account, then the doc can be downloaded into Microsoft Word, PDF, or any other format and attached to an email for sharing.
Business Standard Details
Included with Standard:
150 participant video meetings + recordings - includes US or international dial-in numbers and digital whiteboarding like the Starter plan, but also includes noise cancellation. Meeting recordings are saved to Google Drive.
2 TB storage per user - multiply this amount per each user to calculate the organization storage limit, or add on more storage for an additional fee without having to upgrade plans.
Shared drives - for privacy, security and targeted productivity, create shared files for easy access by teams or other designated groups.
Security and management controls - the same reliable security features as with the Starter plan above.
Standard Support - is included just like the Starter plan, but with the option of paid upgrade to Enhanced Support which accelerates Google’s response time to just one hour for critical impact technical issues. This is in comparison to a 4-hour response time for the Standard Support. Enhanced Support also has additional support services included.
Not included in Standard:
Enhanced security and management controls - which includes eDiscovery using Google Vault. Vault comes with Business Plus and Enterprise, however, you can purchase it separately with any Google Workspace plan.
Companies who are or have the potential to become involved in litigation, or who need to meet compliance and industry standards in that regard, will need Google Vault.
Advanced endpoint management - this is also not included in the Business Standard plan but is provided in Business Plus and Enterprise plans.
Google provides a strong level of endpoint management for all their Workspace plans by default, i.e., basic passcode/credentials enforcement; mobile device and computer management; remote device wiping; device blocking; device reports; and more.
But if you're a medium-sized business with a great deal of employees logging on to company networks using many types of devices and platforms, you'll want to explore the advanced endpoint management features of the Business Plus or Enterprise plan.
Conclusion
Google can provide your business with a professional and secure home for working in the cloud no matter its size. For those just starting out or well into their journey of growth, it's Google Workspace Business Starter vs Business Standard, with or without added upgrades. One of them will be the perfect fit.
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