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Google Workspace increasing prices from April 11, 2023

workspace.google.com

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Re: Google Workspace increasing prices from April 11, 2023

#121

Post by mike_d »

netheril96 wrote: post #119
mike_d wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> if you only need email and basics It is worth noting one of the features you give up is any sense of security or privacy what so ever. Not in the "omg google is spying on me" paranoia sense, but in the real Zoho hires the absolute cheapest developers in the world to build everything sense. I've literally stopped reporting bugs to them because they can't grasp the flaws I am trying to point out.

Care to list some of the bugs?

Publishing unpatched bugs is unethical, so no.

Re: Google Workspace increasing prices from April 11, 2023

#122

Post by AnonC »

lawgimenez wrote: post #96
AJRF wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing that people are surprised by when I tell them is; Apple iCloud+ will let you have up to five custom domains, with up to three personalised email addresses per domain for just 0.79p (UK) If you are just looking for email, that's shockingly good value. You do get iCloud Docs with that too, but that product offering is a bit naff and iOS/iPadOS/macOS only. If you are using Apple products, it's very good value…

I’m on iCloud+ too with customized email domain setup for each of my family. On Linux I would just go to icloud.com to access my Apple email, notes, etc. I wish there was an easier solution but iCloud access on Linux sucks.

> On Linux I would just go to icloud.com to access my Apple email, notes, etc.

I can understand the point about Notes being accessible only from a browser, but why isn’t IMAP an option to access email on Linux?

Re: Google Workspace increasing prices from April 11, 2023

#123

Post by com2kid »

mike_d wrote: post #121
netheril96 wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Care to list some of the bugs?

Publishing unpatched bugs is unethical, so no.

If the developer refuses to fix the bugs, and if those bugs pose a risk to other users, there is a strong argument to make that public posting of those bugs is the ethical thing to do.

Sev0 security issues aren't secret just because people who mean well don't talk about them, any sufficiently high valued target is going to have well funded threat actors working to find vulnerabilities. By publicly disclosing the issues, you let other customers know their data is threatened, and then customers can work together to force vendors to fix issues.

Re: Google Workspace increasing prices from April 11, 2023

#124

Post by lawgimenez »

AnonC wrote: post #122
lawgimenez wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m on iCloud+ too with customized email domain setup for each of my family. On Linux I would just go to icloud.com to access my Apple email, notes, etc. I wish there was an easier solution but iCloud access on Linux sucks.

> On Linux I would just go to icloud.com to access my Apple email, notes, etc. I can understand the point about Notes being accessible only from a browser, but why isn’t IMAP an option to access email on Linux?

Thunderbird has a severe syncing issue with iCloud email. I missed several emails because of this issue.

Re: Google Workspace increasing prices from April 11, 2023

#125

Post by mdasen »

dotBen wrote: post #77

Even at twice the price, the value of the collective Google Workspaces suite for most people is a no brainer. I pay more per month to the calendar scheduling SaaS provider I use than I do to Google - who provide the calendar plus email, drive, docs, meet, etc. An important lesson here for founders is price anchoring. Google is in a tough place because the prices are anchored to historically low amounts - they're incr…

I guess it doesn't seem cheap compared to Microsoft 365. Google's $6 plan includes 30GB per user while Microsoft's includes 1TB per user. Google offers a $12 plan and Microsoft a $12.50 plan, but Microsoft's $12.50 plan includes Word/Excel/PowerPoint/etc. for desktop. If your business is going to be licensing those apps, it seems like a good deal compared to Google's subscription.

Maybe people just really prefer Gmail? I know people have negative feelings toward Microsoft Teams.

I guess with Google Workspace, I'm not quite sure how it's that different from what people are used to getting for free (other than with corporate permissions). Google's $6 plan doesn't really include much for storage and their $12 feels like Microsoft's $6 plan.

If Google is in a tough place, I'd argue it's because they anchored their pricing to free with their consumer offerings. You're not wrong that Workspaces provides a lot of value compared to a lot of subscriptions. At the same time, it's something people are accustomed to getting for free and the $6 plan doesn't really offer much on top of their free services. Microsoft is throwing storage at their low-tier plan - offering a clear differentiator from their free service. Microsoft is offering their Office suite for their mid-tier plan - something that is a $440 purchase or $12/mo over the course of 3 years; you're basically getting all the services for free for the price of Microsoft Office. Microsoft is offering lots of device management tools that businesses need in their high-tier plan.

You are totally right that Google's pricing is low for some definition of low. Lots of SaaS that does a lot less costs more. It's just that Microsoft seems to be throwing more value for your dollar at the problem. If you're going to be buying the Office suite for a lot of your employees, wouldn't it make more sense to buy Microsoft 365? Or are Google's services so superior that you'd rather pay twice? That's not a rhetorical question, it's just been a while since I've had a basis of comparison.

Ultimately, you're right. It's kinda silly for businesses to quibble over even $50/mo/user given that they might be paying their employees more than that per hour. But I think that people aren't always rational when it comes to pricing and Microsoft is likely counting on that with their offering.

Re: Google Workspace increasing prices from April 11, 2023

#126

Post by jerrac »

Makes me wonder, at what point will people start self hosting again, instead of getting dragged around by large companies like Google and Microsoft? I manage my own email server for myself and family. That, plus Next cloud gives me everything I'd need from Google/etc. Plus I host a few extra sites and services that GSuite/365 can't replicate. I'm fairly confident I could scale to a few hundred users if I took it seriously. Even more if I had someone else as a backup. The reliance on vendors and sass products for everything kinda baffles me.

Re: Google Workspace increasing prices from April 11, 2023

#127

Post by caogecym »

UltimateEdge wrote: post #112
caogecym wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gmail (the free consumer facing one) can configure custom domains right? Does that not address your need? https://themeisle.com/blog/use-gmail-with-your-own-domain-na...

The article that you linked shows how to "Allow Gmail to receive emails using POP3". That is to say, your mail should already be hosted elsewhere, and you'd be using the Gmail web app as a client for your email hosted on a different server.

Don't recall setup email server, but did purchase domain and setup DNS record that point to google mail server such as gmr-smtp-in.l.google.com. This might be a better link from Google https://support.google.com/domains/answer/3251241?hl=en&visi....

Re: Google Workspace increasing prices from April 11, 2023

#128

Post by amf12 »

MisterPea wrote: post #99
btian wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably because G Workspace is comically cheap.

The whole industry of calendar scheduling boggles my mind. It seems Google/Microsoft consider them small fish to fry, but Calendly is a multi-billion dollar company

Google Workspace has this feature. It's mentioned in the post.

Re: Google Workspace increasing prices from April 11, 2023

#129

Post by jjcon »

mrbonner wrote: post #59

It is time for me to evaluate my custom domain email service. I had the original/free Google workspace with custom email domain. In 2021, they charged me $6/month to keep that option afloat. To be honest, I think $6/month is a bit expensive for just email usage. I don't even use any other stuff coming with Suite. My question for this group: how do I get out of this without losing my email domain?

Are you aware that for small groups and individuals workspace can still be free? I was upset they were going to charge me as well but they carved this out last minute - https://support.google.com/google-workspace-individual/answe...

Re: Google Workspace increasing prices from April 11, 2023

#130

Post by mike_d »

com2kid wrote: post #123
mike_d wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Publishing unpatched bugs is unethical, so no.

If the developer refuses to fix the bugs, and if those bugs pose a risk to other users, there is a strong argument to make that public posting of those bugs is the ethical thing to do. Sev0 security issues aren't secret just because people who mean well don't talk about them, any sufficiently high valued target is going to have well funded threat actors working to find vulnerabilities. By publicly disclosing the issu…

I'm well aware. I have enough other data points that I don't think public disclosure meaningfully makes the platform more secure.

A little bit of PR buzz and customer complaints can get a handful of issues fixed, but this is a bit more systemic.

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