For the better part of 20 years, there have been a big two dominating the office suite space, and only one choice for many businesses: the desktop power of Microsoft 365, or the online collaboration ease of Google Workspace.
Now prices are rising, and not everyone (least of all SMBs) can afford them. Microsoft is hiking its prices again(nyt vindue) in July 2026. There are also questions, increasingly hard to ignore, over what these providers are doing with your data, and what that means from a privacy and security perspective.
Historically, the alternative for those not using one of the big two has been a self-assembled stack sourced from multiple providers. This approach, however, can leave you with something more expensive, fragmented, and vulnerable than a single integrated platform.
The market has changed, and in 2026 your choices are less restricted.
Here’s a comparison of the main office suites in 2026: what each costs, what each includes, and what each does with your data.
How the main office suites compare
Four suites cover most of the office suite market in 2026: the two established leaders, a budget option, and a suite built on a fundamentally different architecture to any other.
That suite is Proton Workspace. Built on open source, independently audited zero-knowledge architecture which encrypts your data before it reaches Proton’s servers, Proton Workspace makes it impossible for Proton to access your data.
Whether you need a full online office suite or a desktop replacement, here’s how the four best options stack up.
N.B. Prices shown are for Business Standard tiers (annual billing) unless otherwise noted. Prices are accurate as of time of writing.
| Microsoft 365 | Google Workspace | Zoho Workplace | Proton Workspace | |
| Core apps | Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, Outlook, OneDrive | Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet, Gmail, Drive | Writer, Sheet, Show, Cliq, Mail, WorkDrive | Docs, Sheets, Meet, Mail, Drive, Calendar |
| Desktop apps | Business Standard+ | Web only | Web only | Web only |
| AI assistant | Copilot (basic included; full Copilot adds $30/user/month) | Gemini (included) | Limited | Lumo (Premium only) |
| Data is protected from being used by AI for functionality and training | No | No | Yes (limited AI features) | Yes |
| Encryption | Server-side, Microsoft holds encryption keys | Server-side, Google holds encryption keys | Server-side, Zoho holds encryption keys | Zero-knowledge architecture, Proton holds no keys |
| VPN included | No | No | No | Yes |
| Password manager included | No | No | No | Yes |
| ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II certified | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Jurisdiction | US (CLOUD Act applies) | US (CLOUD Act applies) | India/US (CLOUD Act applies) | Switzerland (not subject to CLOUD Act) |
| Base price/user/month | $14 (from July 2026) | $14 (Standard) | $6 (Professional) | ~$14.25 (€12.99) |
| True cost/user/month | $44 with full Copilot add-on | $14+ with security add-ons | $6 | ~$14.25 all-inclusive |
| Best for | Microsoft ecosystem, desktop apps | Collaboration, UX | Budget-conscious SMBs | Privacy-first SMBs |
The real cost of each office suite
This comparison table includes a ‘real cost’ row because headline prices can be misleading.
Microsoft 365 Business Standard and Google Workspace Standard both list at $14/user/month. Proton Workspace Standard costs €12.99/user/month. The differences only appear when you look at what each platform charges extra for.
Microsoft is promoting Copilot as a reason to stay on its platform. But for the full Copilot experience, you’ll need to pay an additional $30/user/month on top of the Business Standard subscription. For a 25 person team that’s $9,000 more per year.
Google won’t charge you extra for its AI. Google Workspace Business Standard includes Gemini. But if you want additional security features beyond the baseline, you’ll need Google Workspace Business Plus ($22/user), or to purchase add-ons separately.
Zoho Workplace Professional really is only $6/user/month. The trade-off is a less polished ecosystem and no zero-knowledge architecture.
Proton’s pricing is similarly transparent, but Proton Workspace Standard includes a lot more than Zoho Workplace. You get all the main office apps for €12.99/user/month, plus apps Microsoft and Google don’t include: business VPN and a password manager — all protected by zero-knowledge encryption and Swiss jurisdiction.
The privacy question most office suite comparisons skip
Who holds the encryption keys?
In other words, does your office suite provider have technical access to your documents, emails, and files?
Google, Microsoft, and Zoho all hold the keys.
Here’s why this matters: if your provider has the keys, they can access your data, whatever their stated privacy policy says — policies change. And if your provider gets breached, your data is exposed, too.
Google and Microsoft’s AI compounds the problem: Copilot and Gemini both depend on having access to your document contents to function. (In fact, Google raised its prices(nyt vindue) in 2025 to incorporate Gemini in Business and Enterprise packages.)
Data sovereignty is a third concern. Microsoft, Google and Zoho store data in jurisdictions subject to the US CLOUD Act(nyt vindue). That means the US government can demand access to your data at any time.
Proton doesn’t hold the keys, and can never access your data, even if compelled by a court order. With Proton Workspace, you get the structural guarantee of zero-knowledge architecture, not a changeable privacy policy. Your data is encrypted on your device before it reaches Proton’s servers, and it’s stored in Switzerland, outside US CLOUD Act jurisdiction.
Proton Workspace Premium users get Lumo AI, a business AI assistant that doesn’t require access to your document contents and never trains on your data. (Zoho Workplace offers only limited AI features.)
Find out more about European businesses’ dependence on US tech and why the stakes are now higher than ever.
Proton Workspace: the only office suite with privacy by design
With Proton Workspace, teams get to use all the major office apps you’ll find in Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace: business email, calendar, enterprise cloud storage, documents, spreadsheets, video conferencing and (for Premium users) an AI assistant.
Proton’s office suite also includes two security features that the big two don’t: a business VPN that keeps your team’s connections private wherever they’re working, and a team password manager that closes one of the most vulnerable vectors.
Finally, unlike the big two, zero-knowledge encryption applies across every Proton product by default.
For now, Proton Workspace doesn’t have a presentation app equivalent or deep legacy ERP integrations (worth knowing upfront if your business depends on complex third-party connections).
But for businesses that value data sovereignty, Proton is the straightforward choice. That’s why Proton is trusted by 100M+ users and 100,000+ businesses, including UN agencies and Fortune 500 companies.
Which office suite is right for you?
The office suite market has changed. You can now have both privacy and productivity in a single, full-stack platform that covers everything a growing SMB needs — without asking you to accept vendor access and uncertain jurisdiction as part of the deal.
Proton Workspace is the only suite in this comparison built on zero-knowledge architecture, which ensures only you can access your data. It’s about the same price as market leaders, with more essential security capabilities bundled in.
And it’s easy to get started. Migration from Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace can be self-service, or fully supported by Proton if it’s more complex, and the UX is familiar enough for your team to get started without training.
