Free G-Suite Users Have to Pay to Keep Accounts, Google Says

Google has made it known that legacy free users of its Google Workspace program – previously called G-Suite until 2020 – will have to start paying by the summer of this year. 

The news means that Google Workspace will no longer have any free users – bar a small handful of educational and non-profit organizations – and just four tiers of paid plans. 

For many users, switching to free, cheaper, or more feature-rich project management software or a program like Microsoft 365 may now be more beneficial for their business. 

What do Google Workspace Users Have to do to Keep the Features?

Google is currently in the process of sending emails out to all legacy free users to warn them of the impending changes. These users have until May 1 of this year to sign up for a subscription. The first payment will be taken on July 1, 2022. 

If you have already uploaded your bank details or other payment information to Google Workspace, then Google will automatically “upgrade” you to a paid account. If you have not sorted this out by the July 1 deadline, then your legacy free account will be suspended. 

If you’re unsure which account you currently have – or whether you are one of the legacy free users – head over Google’s “Billing” page. If you’re a legacy user, you should have a message about the imminent changes to your account. 

A Brief History of Google Workspace

Google Workspace started life as Google Apps way, way back in 2006 – in a world where Facebook was still in its infancy and Twitter was barely six months old. How the world has changed since then. 

In 2016, Google rebranded its package aimed at businesses and Google Apps became G-Suite. The Google Workspace we know today was born in 2020. 

Back in June 2021, Google made a number of Workspace features, such as Drive, Docs, and Sheets, available to consumer users with free accounts. 

However, the legacy free users of G-suite, who currently have access to features now reserved for paid plans like a custom business email domain will have to pay to keep it.  This has been the case for all users who signed up to Google Workspace – which was then called Google Apps – in 2012.

All users who’d signed up before that point were permitted, as a courtesy, to continue to use the service without paying a dime. Now, the cheapest service you’ll be able to get your hands on will set you back $6 per user per month. 

How Much Does Google Workspace Cost and Are There Alternatives?

Google Workspace costs $6 per user per month for the Business Starter plan, $12 per user per month for the Business Standard plan, and $18 per user per month for the Business Plus plan. For Enterprise pricing, contact Google’s sales team. 

Google Workspace is quite a broad program that can fulfil a lot of functions for users working solo in small teams or in large businesses. The most directly similar competitor is probably the equally broad Microsoft 365, which offers a suite of programs that do very similar things to Google Workspace and includes Microsoft Teams – meaning it’s suitable for a whole range of teams and companies that need video conferencing and other services.

Zoho Workspace is another comparable alternative it may be worth checking out – their “Professional” plan is a lot cheaper than Google’s “Business Standard” plan. 

However, depending on which features you pride the most from Google Workspace, you may find it worth looking into what project management software options there are out there.

monday.com and Asana are two good examples of market-leading project management software programs – you can find a review of monday.com here if you think it might benefit your business and you’d like to find out more.