Rediffmail Pro vs Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 — September 2026
Three very different products at very different prices. Rediffmail is email only, stored in India, from ₹270/user/year. Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 add documents, storage, video calls and AI, from ₹1,188/user/year and ₹2,040/user/year. The real question is not which is best, but how much of that your team will use. We set up and support all three, at each vendor's list price.
Updated · 8-minute read
Which should you choose?
Many staff who only need email, at the lowest cost, with data kept in India
Rediffmail Pro
₹270/user/year, stored in India. Give the few people who need more Workspace or Microsoft 365 on the same domain.
A team that shares documents and works in the browser
Google Workspace
Docs, Drive and Meet built around Gmail, with Gemini included — ₹3,240/user/year on Business Starter.
A team that lives in Excel and Outlook, or needs Office with data in India
Microsoft 365
Desktop Office from Business Standard at ₹10,320/user/year, stored in India for accounts set up here.
Rediffmail, Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, side by side
| Rediffmail Pro | Google Workspace | Microsoft 365 | Verdict | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price per user, a year | ₹270/user/year (1 GB) or ₹510/user/year (10 GB) | From ₹1,188/user/year (Business Base, up to 20 users); ₹3,240/user/year on Starter | From ₹2,040/user/year (Business Basic); ₹10,320/user/year on Standard | Rediffmail, by a wide margin |
| Billing | Yearly only, from one user | Annual or month to month | Annual or month to month | Google and Microsoft are more flexible |
| Storage per user | 1 GB or 10 GB | 20 GB to 2 TB, pooled across mail and Drive | 100 GB mailbox plus 1 TB OneDrive | Microsoft |
| Apps | Email only on the standard plans | Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, Meet | Outlook and Teams; web Office on Basic, desktop Office from Standard | Depends how your team works |
| Video meetings | Only on Rediff's Enterprise offer | Meet: 100 people on Starter, 150 on Standard | Teams: up to 300 people | Microsoft |
| AI assistant | None | Gemini included | Copilot Chat included; Copilot in the apps is a paid add-on | Google includes the most |
| Where data is stored | In India | Worldwide; Business editions can't choose India | In India, for accounts set up in India | Rediffmail or Microsoft |
| Outlook and phones | Webmail, Rediff's app, or IMAP | Gmail app; works with Outlook | Outlook on every device | Microsoft, for Outlook users |
| Best for | Staff who only need email | Browser-first teams that share documents | Excel and Outlook teams; Office with data in India |
Prices per user on annual plans, excluding 18% GST — each vendor's India list price, which is what Chandnas charges. Features from each vendor's own pages, checked 28 September 2026.
How much does each cost per user in India?
Rediffmail costs ₹270/user/year for 1 GB; Google Workspace Business Starter ₹3,240/user/year; Microsoft 365 Business Basic ₹2,040/user/year — all on annual plans, excluding GST. Rediffmail costs a fraction of the other two because it is email only.
Google's India-only Business Base, at ₹1,188/user/year for teams of up to 20, is the cheapest way to get documents and video calls as well as email.
For a business where most people only need email, the gap is large enough to pay for Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 for the few who need more — which is why a mix is often the cheapest sensible setup.
Terms differ too. Rediffmail is sold for one to five years at a time; Google and Microsoft sell annual plans that renew each year, or month-to-month plans at a higher price.
| Plan | A year, per user |
|---|---|
| Rediffmail · 1 GB | ₹270 |
| Rediffmail · 10 GB | ₹510 |
| Google Workspace Business Base | ₹1,188 |
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic | ₹2,040 |
| Google Workspace Business Starter | ₹3,240 |
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard | ₹10,320 |
| Google Workspace Business Standard | ₹12,960 |
| Microsoft 365 Business Premium | ₹21,960 |
Annual plans, excluding 18% GST. All email prices
Is email-only enough for my business?
For many staff, yes. If someone's day is receiving orders, sending quotations and replying to customers, Rediffmail does the job at the lowest price. It stops being enough when people need to share documents, meet on video, keep large attachments, or work in Office every day.
The people email-only suits are easy to recognise: dispatch and accounts desks, site supervisors, sales staff who work from their phones, and shared addresses like info@ and orders@. They send and receive, and rarely keep large files.
A practical test: count the people who open Excel, Word or Google Docs every day. Put them on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, and everyone else on Rediffmail. Everyone keeps an address on the same domain — Rediff supports hybrid setups.
Which keeps my email in India?
Rediffmail and Microsoft 365. Rediff states that all its business email data resides in India; Microsoft stores mail, files and Teams chats in India for accounts set up in India. Google Workspace Business editions can't choose India.
This matters if you handle personal data under the DPDP Act and your clients — banks, NBFCs, hospitals, government departments — ask where it is kept. Rediffmail is the cheapest answer to that question; Microsoft 365 is the answer when you need Office too.
Rediff also lists SOC 2 Type II and ISO/IEC 27001, 27701 and 27018 certifications for its business email, which helps when a client's security questionnaire asks for them.
How much storage does each give?
Rediffmail gives 1 GB or 10 GB per user. Google Workspace gives 20 GB on Business Base, 30 GB on Starter and 2 TB on Standard, pooled across mail and Drive. Microsoft 365 gives a 100 GB mailbox plus 1 TB of OneDrive on every Business plan.
A mailbox that mostly receives text fits in 1 GB for a long time. One that keeps PDFs, drawings and photos fills 10 GB much sooner — and that, more than price, is often what moves a team off Rediffmail.
Rediff's own checkout also offers 2, 5 and 25 GB mailboxes beyond the two standard plans; we quote those on request.
Which works best with Outlook and phones?
Microsoft 365, if your team lives in Outlook — it is Microsoft's own mail program. Google Workspace and Rediffmail both work with Outlook and phone mail apps too, but each is at its best in its own apps: Gmail, and Rediff's webmail and mobile app.
Google provides its own tool to sync Workspace mail, calendars and contacts into Outlook. Rediffmail connects to Outlook, Thunderbird and phone mail apps over IMAP. We confirm how much older mail syncs to Outlook on your plan before setup.
If most of your staff read email on their phones, all three are fine; what matters more is that each phone is set up properly on day one, which is part of what we do.
What do Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 add over Rediffmail?
Documents, shared storage, video meetings and AI. Google Workspace adds Docs, Sheets, Drive, Meet and Gemini; Microsoft 365 adds Office, OneDrive, Teams and Copilot Chat. Rediffmail's standard plans are email with spam and virus protection.
Rediff sells more — a cloud drive, video conferencing, archiving — on its Enterprise offer, which is quoted separately. By the time you add those, the price gap to Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 narrows, and the suites do more.
AI is the newest difference. Gemini comes with every Google Workspace Business plan, and Microsoft includes Copilot Chat; Rediffmail has no AI assistant, though its spam filter uses machine learning to catch phishing.
What does it cost to switch between them?
Mail moves in 2–3 working days for a team of 10, without downtime, in any direction. The bigger change is for people: moving off Rediffmail means learning Gmail or Outlook; moving to Rediffmail from a suite means finding another home for shared documents and drives. Switch at renewal if you can: annual licences can't be reduced mid-term, and Rediffmail is paid for by the year.
| Move | Moves easily | Takes effort |
|---|---|---|
| Rediffmail → Google Workspace | Mail; contacts by export | Learning Gmail; setting up phones |
| Rediffmail → Microsoft 365 | Mail; contacts by export | Learning Outlook; installing Office |
| Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 → Rediffmail | Mail and contacts | Documents and drives need another home |
| cPanel email or free Gmail → any of the three | Mail and contacts | Little else |
What we actually recommend
We set up and support all three, at each vendor's own list price. For most Indian small businesses the best answer is a mix: Rediffmail for staff who only need email, and Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 for the handful who share documents or live in Excel — on one domain.
If everyone needs documents, skip the mix and choose one suite: Google Workspace Business Starter for browser-first teams, Microsoft 365 Business Standard for Excel and Outlook. If data has to stay in India and budget is tight, Rediffmail on its own is the answer.
Whichever you choose, it comes on one GST invoice in rupees, with one number to call when something breaks.
Questions people ask
Is Rediffmail better than Google Workspace?
For basic email at the lowest cost, with data kept in India, yes. For anything beyond email — shared documents, storage, video calls, AI — Google Workspace does far more, at ₹3,240/user/year on Business Starter against ₹270/user/year for Rediffmail.
Is Rediffmail cheaper than Microsoft 365?
Yes: ₹270/user/year against ₹2,040/user/year for Microsoft 365 Business Basic. Microsoft 365 includes a 100 GB mailbox, Teams and web Office; Rediffmail's standard plans are email only, with 1 GB or 10 GB. If only a few people need desktop Office, Microsoft 365 Apps for business (₹9,960/user/year) adds it without changing their Rediffmail address.
Can I use Rediffmail and Google Workspace on the same domain?
Yes — Rediff supports hybrid setups, so managers can be on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 while everyone else is on Rediffmail, all with the same @yourcompany address. We set up the mail routing between them.
Which of the three stores data in India?
Rediffmail, and Microsoft 365 for accounts set up in India. Google Workspace stores data in Google's data centres worldwide, and its Business editions can't choose India.
Do I get a GST invoice for all three?
Yes. We invoice all three in rupees, with 18% GST shown separately, at each vendor's list price, so a GST-registered business can claim input tax credit.
How do I move from Rediffmail to Google Workspace or Microsoft 365?
We copy your mail while you keep working, switch your MX records at a quiet hour, then copy anything that arrived in between — 2–3 working days for a team of 10, with no downtime. How migration works
See every plan, cheapest first.
The business email page lists every edition we set up — Rediffmail, Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 — with what each includes and how we move your mail across.