G Suite Pricing, Features, Reviews & Comparison of Alternatives

Pros
Integration of desktop and cloud with mature tools and pretty much without peer, reliability. Vast array of third party integration and add-ons. High quality mail eliminates SO MANY headaches of running own mail server.

Cons
Google support is not great at any level for any product. Frankly they come across as an arrogant company to me that doesn't value individual customers. I also started setting up GSuite for others and did not get credit from the GSuite referral program. The program itself shows the Google arrogance. Instead of what you'd expect from a referral program it is just vague, "trust us" assumptions with very little in the way of tracking your progress (this from the company that specializes in Big Data on an unequaled scale) that you have to go along with or not participate. Google rides the back of small business developers (primarily Adsense) but treats them with indifference and also kills off small business industry and while taking advantage of Open Source surreptitiously eliminates many of the great open source and "free" community based tools and services that the Internet was built on. (Google of course not the only Big company doing this. It is pretty much standard Silicon Valley) Normally I would just move on from any company like this, but Google is like the government of technology. They get their piece of everything and you have to take it. It is just too bad that they choose to be a dictatorship in their unique position, rather than egalitarian.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 9/10

Pros
There's no getting around the fact that the single most compelling reason to use the Google suite of business apps is that they are free for the average user. Gmail itself is ubiquitous, so no matter what group you work with - room mothers, band members, co-workers, volunteers - anyone with internet access either has, or can easily create, a Gmail address and boom - you're all part of a system that is easy to control. Sharing documents with Google Drive is way better than clogging up someone's email sending them file attachments. You can even share files with people you don't know - got a downloadable product you want to sell and don't have the time or the money to set up a full-fledged store? Include a secure link in a shared Google Drive file in an email or on a web page or even in a receipt. It's so easy you feel like you cheated. Another reason for using the Google Suite of products is that no matter what aspect of the G-Suite you are digging into, there will be a LOT of info out on the internet about how to get the most out of it. YouTube, Adwords scripts, spreadsheet automation, data reporting, maps to your business location, photo management and sharing, translating documents, managing your money, operating a classroom, casting web content to your TV... the list is extensive, and so are the online resources - videos and articles by users abound.

Cons
One drawback to using this software is that it's unequivocally connected to YOU. Google Maps knows where you are if you have it installed on a phone. Every single IP address used to access any part of the Google universe is logged. Google code is in everything, all over the place. It's a little big-brother-feeling. That's the trade-off. You get all their software for free, but you give up your anonymity.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
G Suite is comprehensive. It includes Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and more. They are constantly up-to-date and their web apps are practically bulletproof. Docs, Sheets - The features keep rolling out to make this a Microsoft Office killer. Instantly sharable files and amazing versioning keep the world smooth. I'm constantly using Sheets' API integrations to organize and sort data in real time and present to clients. And I love the Docs outline view. Drive - The semi-recent interface update has made Drive so much more usable. Extremely flexible and intuitive.

Cons
My biggest complaint about Docs and Sheets is how long they take to start up and load a document. Because there's no native desktop app, these startup times really add up when working with multiple documents. Besides that, I wish Docs had more formatting flexibility so I could create my own heading styles, paragraph styles, etc. I have two Google accounts - one personal and one for work. Google can't ever seem to open documents or files with the right account, even if I have explicit ownership on one. As far as I can tell there's no way to open a folder or file with a specific account either, so I can't bookmark a google drive folder with a certain account to always open with that account. Google admin tools are another pain point. G Admin is leagues better than traditional admin tools, but they are still very slow and get this - the search isn't comprehensive. If you search for @company.com, hoping to find all the email addresses and groups you own for that company, you are out of luck. You will get 0 results. Managing group members is also clunky and slow. It uses a very dated layout and doesn't reliably update its display. I often have to refresh the page to actually see the members I've just added.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
The Google suite provided seamless integration and the ability to collaborate in a virtual environment for our entire growing business. We are a virtual company, which allows us to save thousands of dollars per month in rent. One obstacle for many businesses of our size with talent spread across the country is that working together can be difficult when you are spread out in different geographical areas. The G-Suite provides a suite of tools that allow for virtual teamwork without needing to leave the house. The feature-rich suite allows for everything from file storage, to documentation, from spreadsheets and word processing to executive presentation creation. Our company no longer uses the Microsoft Suite. We have replaced it with the Google Suite, and we are so happy that we made the change. It has increased our productivity and provided a more robust, functional working environment across the team and client base. Best of all it is totally scalable and can be integrated seamlessly, designed to grow with your business and your team.

Cons
The only thing I didn't like about the Google Suite, is how long it took for me to adopt it in the workplace. If I would have know then what I know now....I would have followed my former employee's suggestion years ago when he recommended we make the switch away from the "tried and true" gold standard of Microsoft. I feared that would be a risky move, and that it would take guys like me too long to get comfortable with the product suite. It was virtually seamless and required no 'learning curve' whatsoever. If you are used to using Google Mail and Calendars, you will require virtually no adjustments.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
The cost is far better than competitors and everything works together seamlessly as a suite of apps. Even MS Office 365 could learn a few lessons. It is simply more intuitive and easy to start. You can easily get to an actual human unlike OneDrive "support". It syncs better to mobile devices than MS. You don't need an IT department to administer, setup, and use this product. Works as the back-end for Squarespace email, etc.

Cons
It isn't MS Office based, therefore, if you use a lot of MS Office documents, such as Excel, Word, etc., it converts it to Google Docs when using via web. This makes using the Drive storage not quite as user friendly. You can open it in Office directly to keep functionality, but if you are attempting to open it via web like Office 365, it will be Google Docs based. This isn't a huge problem if you are a company or school that is Chrome OS based, or not terribly dependent on MS Office, but if you are, this may be a non-starter. Some IT departments may also complain. That said, I did work at a mid-sized company (500+ employees) that relied on MS Office a lot, and we still utilized the G Suite for all of our staff. Took a learning curve, but that was it. Not as robust as Office products, especially Excel and Outlook.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 7/10