Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace: Which Is More Secure for SMEs?

The honest answer is that both platforms are secure when configured properly and exposed when they are not. What separates them for a 10–500 staff business is how much security you get inside the base subscription before you start buying extras. On that measure, Microsoft 365 Business Premium is the stronger out-of-the-box choice for firms that want one provider accountable for the whole stack.

How do the two platforms compare on built-in security?

The core difference is bundling. Microsoft 365 Business Premium ships endpoint detection and response, device management, identity-based access controls and DLP inside a single per-user licence. Google Workspace delivers solid email, phishing and infrastructure protection, but reserves its strongest controls — context-aware access, advanced DLP, endpoint management — for higher Enterprise tiers or third-party add-ons.

That bundling matters because every bolt-on tool is another contract, another console and another integration gap. Security-first means fewer seams for an attacker to slip through.

Microsoft 365 Business Premium lists at £16.90/user/month ex VAT on an annual plan, and that figure includes the full security set above — not an upsell. For a like-for-like security posture, Google Workspace usually requires a higher tier or extra licences.

Which platform protects against phishing better?

Both platforms block the bulk of malicious mail, so the deciding factor is what happens after a phishing link is clicked. Microsoft 365 Business Premium pairs Defender for Office 365 email filtering with Defender for Business EDR, so a compromised endpoint is detected and isolated. Google Workspace filters Gmail strongly but lacks native endpoint response at SME tiers.

Phishing is not a fringe risk. The UK government's Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025 found phishing was the most common attack type, cited by 85% of businesses that identified a breach. Email filtering alone does not stop a user handing over credentials — what matters is the layer that catches the device or identity afterwards.

• Microsoft's advantage: filtering plus endpoint and identity response in one licence.
• Google's strength: mature, machine-learning Gmail filtering at every tier.
• The gap: Google Workspace Business tiers have no built-in EDR to contain a post-click compromise.

For most SMEs the practical recommendation is layered protection — strong email security backed by endpoint and identity controls — which Business Premium delivers natively.

How do access and device controls differ?

Microsoft 365 wins on granularity at the SME price point. Entra ID Conditional Access, included in Business Premium, evaluates sign-in risk, device compliance, location and app sensitivity before granting access. Google Workspace offers Context-Aware Access, but its richer rules sit in Enterprise tiers, not the Business plans most SMEs buy.

Device management follows the same pattern. Microsoft Intune — bundled with Premium — enforces encryption, patching and remote wipe across Windows, macOS, iOS and Android. Google's Business-tier mobile management is lighter, with advanced endpoint controls reserved for Enterprise.

According to Microsoft's official security documentation, Defender for Business is built specifically for companies up to 300 employees, which is precisely the band where Google Workspace asks you to step up to Enterprise. For a UK SME, that means M365 reaches enterprise-grade controls without the enterprise price tag.

Does the bigger ecosystem make Microsoft 365 the safer bet?

Scale matters for security maturity: a larger user base means more attacks seen, more threat intelligence and faster detection signals. Microsoft 365 has nearly 450 million paid subscribers globally in 2025, and Microsoft Teams reports 320 million monthly active users, giving its security telemetry enormous reach.

That ubiquity cuts both ways — widely used platforms are also heavily targeted — but it also funds one of the largest threat-intelligence operations in the industry. Other widely cited adoption figures include 93% of Fortune 100 companies using Microsoft Teams and over 400 million paid commercial seats reported for FY2025. An estimated 1.9 million UK businesses use Microsoft Teams.

The takeaway is not "bigger is automatically safer". It is that Microsoft's signal volume feeds Defender's detection models, and for an SME that lacks its own SOC, that inherited intelligence is real value.

What should a UK SME actually choose?

Choose on where your business already lives and how much security you want inside the licence. If your team runs on Windows and Office, M365 Business Premium is the pragmatic, security-first pick — one provider, one bill, one accountable stack. If you are already deep in Google Workspace and disciplined about adding endpoint and access tooling, Workspace can be configured to a strong standard.

Whichever way you lean, the platform is only as safe as its configuration. Run a Microsoft 365 security audit before assuming defaults protect you, and confirm endpoint coverage with Defender for Business. If you are weighing licence tiers, our Business Premium vs Standard comparison shows exactly which security features you gain by moving up.

AMVIA's view: for the 10–500 staff businesses we work with, Business Premium configured properly beats a partly-built Google Workspace stack on coverage, accountability and total cost — one provider, security-first, Microsoft-certified.