Every few weeks someone rings us with the same question. They have a handful of staff on a mix of old hosted email, free Gmail accounts and maybe an Outlook licence someone set up years ago. They want one proper system, they have heard Google Workspace is cheaper than Microsoft, and they want to know what it actually costs before they ring anyone.
Here is the straight answer, with UK prices, the bits people forget to add on, and which plan mix actually makes sense.
Google Workspace UK prices in 2026
These are Google’s published UK prices for the Business plans, per user, per month, excluding VAT.
| Plan | Annual plan | Flexible (monthly) | Storage per user | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Starter | £5.90 | £7.00 | 30 GB | One to five people who mainly need email and calendar |
| Business Standard | £11.80 | £14.00 | 2 TB | Most firms with 5 to 50 staff, shared drives, recorded meetings |
| Business Plus | £18.40 | £22.00 | 5 TB | Firms that need Vault retention, eDiscovery and tighter security |
The annual plan is a 12 month commitment for the number of users you sign up. You can add users at any time, you just cannot drop below the number you committed to until the year is up. The flexible plan costs about 16% more but lets you add and remove people month by month, which suits firms with seasonal staff.
Every plan includes Gmail on your own domain, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Meet. Gemini is built in. On Starter you get it in Gmail and the Gemini app. On Standard and Plus it is also in Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive and Meet, where it drafts, summarises and takes meeting notes.
What that means for a real firm
Take a 12 person fabrication or door firm. Four people in the office, eight on the tools or on site. Everyone needs an email address, the office needs shared drives for quotes and drawings, and the MD wants meeting recordings when a client call happens without them.
That is Business Standard for everyone:
- 12 users at £11.80 = £141.60 per month
- Add VAT at 20% = £169.92 per month
- Over a year = £2,039 including VAT
If you only put the office staff on Standard and the site staff on Starter, it drops to roughly £1,360 a year including VAT. Google lets you mix Starter and Standard on the same account, which most resellers forget to mention.
For comparison, Microsoft 365 Business Standard is £9.40 per user per month on an annual plan, but the Copilot add-on is another £16.10. If you want the AI, that is £25.50 per user per month. The same 12 people would cost £3,672 a year before VAT, against £1,699 before VAT on Workspace with Gemini included. We wrote up the full comparison in Gemini vs Microsoft 365 Copilot for UK SMEs.
The costs people forget
VAT. All of Google’s prices are shown without VAT. If you are VAT registered you claim it back, so the ex VAT number is your real cost. If you are not, add 20%.
Extra storage. Storage is pooled across the account. 2 TB per user on Standard is plenty for most firms, but if you scan every drawing and site photo into Drive, check your current usage before you pick Starter.
Migration. Google’s tools move email, contacts and calendar for free. The cost is time and risk. Moving 12 mailboxes with ten years of history, getting DNS right so nobody’s email bounces, and making sure the one person who runs the business from their phone still gets everything on Monday morning is where firms either spend a weekend or pay someone. Our fixed fee migration is on the Workspace and Gemini page.
Training. Nobody budgets for it, and it is the difference between paying for Gemini and using it. A two hour session for the office team pays for itself the first time someone drafts a quote follow-up in 30 seconds instead of 10 minutes.
Overlap. If you are mid contract with Microsoft, you may pay for both for a month or two. Time the switch to land just before your renewal.
Try it before you pay
Every Business plan starts with a 14 day free trial. You can verify your domain, create users and send real email before you pay, so you find out whether it suits your team before any money changes hands.
If you are happy doing the setup yourself, our step by step Google Workspace setup guide walks through the domain, DNS and email migration in order. If you would rather someone else did the cutover, that is a separate fixed fee and we quote it before you commit.
Which plan should you actually pick?
Under five people, email and calendar only: Business Starter. You can upgrade individual users later.
Five to fifty people, shared files, client meetings: Business Standard for the office, Starter for anyone who only needs email on their phone. This is what most of our clients run.
Anything with legal hold, retention rules or a compliance audit coming: Business Plus, because Vault is the feature you will be asked for and it is not on the cheaper plans.
If you are not sure, ring us on 0161 399 6546 and tell us how many people and what they do all day. We will tell you the plan mix in two minutes, and whether it is worth moving at all.
Frequently asked questions
Can I pay monthly instead of annually?
Yes, on the flexible plan. Starter is £7, Standard £14 and Plus £22 per user per month, excluding VAT. You can add and remove users any month. Most firms with stable headcount save the 16% and take the annual plan.
Do prices go up after the first year?
Your price is set by the plan and billing option you choose, not a first-year deal, so there is no jump in year two. Google has raised prices before, most recently when Gemini was bundled in, so check the current price page when you renew.
Can I keep my existing email addresses?
Yes. Your domain and every address on it move across. Your customers see no change. The switch happens when the DNS records for your domain are pointed at Google, which we do last, after everything has been tested.
What happens to the free trial if I do not sign up?
Nothing. The 14 day trial ends and the account closes. Nothing is charged unless you add a payment method and pick a plan.
What people ask about this.
How much is Google Workspace per user in the UK?
On an annual plan, excluding VAT, Business Starter is £5.90 per user per month, Business Standard is £11.80 and Business Plus is £18.40. Flexible monthly billing costs more: £7, £14 and £22 respectively. Add 20% VAT to all of those if you are not VAT registered.
Is Gemini included in the price?
Yes. Every Business plan includes Gemini in Gmail and the Gemini app. Business Standard and above add Gemini across Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet and Drive. There is no separate AI add-on fee, unlike Microsoft 365 with Copilot.
Is there a free trial of Google Workspace?
Yes. Business plans come with a 14 day free trial. Nothing is charged unless you add a payment method and choose a plan, and you can set up your domain and users during the trial.
We move your email, files, calendars and permissions without leaving your team to untangle the cutover. Then we turn Gemini from another unused feature into practical help for writing, research, meetings, documents and the repeated work unique to your business.
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