Microsoft 365 vs. Google Docs. vs Zoho (FIGHT!)

The age old question will finally be settled today. I wish I could be that decisive but between the three SaaS offerings it comes down to preferences really.  Since I can pronounce no clear winner I will at least give awards and honorable mentions in individual categories, Usability, Features and Value.

Usability - Winner Microsoft 365, Honorable Mention Google Docs


We are all familiar with the Microsoft Office desktop product suite.  You will feel right at home using Microsoft 365.  The ribbon feature of the newer office versions has carried over into 365.  Working in office 365 feels just like working on the desktop version.  My only gripe about Microsoft Office 365's usability is that many of its useful and advanced features seem to be hidden in menus.  A common misconception or popular gripe is that Microsoft 365 requires you to download a desktop application in order to run it.  This is completely false, no software is required.  Only if you want to have advanced collaboration and desktop integration is this necessary.

The simplicity of Google Docs is what earned it an Honorable Mention.  It is extremely easy to get an overview of all of your documents from the homepage and it is possible to access any document or to create any type of document from the homepage.  Google's design when editing documents (even though recently updated) leaves much to be desired.

Zoho fails at overall usability.  Integration between the various offerings is non-existent and separate accounts are required to use some portions of the site. Usability within the individual applications is great however and helped it take the gold in the Features category.

Features - Winner Zoho, Honorable Mention Tie, Microsoft 365 and Google Docs


Zoho offers a myriad of SaaS features.  Over 27 applications are available for use.  Zoho definitely feels more fleshed out than Docs and 365. For Microsoft Office you will immediately notice that the online version is lacking many features present in the desktop counterpart.  However, this is the first version of 365 and it is already up to par with Google Docs feature wise.  Many features like setting up a blog or team pages, or creating a personal webpage are useful but hidden under menus and not immediately accessible.




Value - Google Docs


Google was the clear winner here.  Almost all of googles SaaS offerings are free and I do not see that changing anytime soon.  Microsoft 365 offers a free trial and requires a subscription after the trial period.  Zoho is mostly free but resources for free accounts is lower than that of google.  Another advantage of google is you share your storage space between the multiple platforms.  So if you upgrade your storage to 15GB with google you can share that amongst your google docs, gmail account etc.  With zoho you are required to update each account individually without the possibility of sharing resources.


Zoho https://www.zoho.com/
Google Docs http://docs.google.com
Microsoft 365 http://office365.com