Zoho has one-click migration from Google Workspace for mail, contacts and calendar, and WorkDrive imports My Drive and shared drives. Costs per user fall by more than half.
Quick verdict: Sign up for Zoho Workplace and verify your domain, run Zoho Mail’s Google Workspace migration for mail, contacts and calendar, import My Drive and shared drives into WorkDrive, then switch MX records. Check storage first: Zoho gives 30 GB or 100 GB of mail per user.
Most buyers only budget for the new subscription. This estimates the hidden labor, data-cleanup, and retraining cost of actually making the switch.
Estimate assumes: 1 hour of data-mapping/cleaning labor per 2,000 records, a blended $75/hr ops rate, tiered migration & cleaning tooling fees, and 4 hours of retraining per seat at a $45/hr fully-loaded rate.
Workplace Standard is $3 a user a month on annual billing, against $7 for Google Starter.
Mail Lite from $1 a user for staff who only need email.
Zoho’s paid plans say “any team size”.
Check each mailbox’s size against Zoho’s limits before choosing a plan.
| Step | What you do |
|---|---|
| 1Prepare Zoho Workplace | Sign up, verify your domain and add users. |
| 2Migrate mail, contacts and calendar | Use Zoho Mail’s one-click Google Workspace migration. |
| 3Import Drive | Use WorkDrive’s Google Drive import to bring over My Drive and shared drives. |
| 4Switch your domain’s mail records | When the copy is complete, point your domain’s MX records at the new provider and add its SPF, DKIM and DMARC records. Run a final incremental sync afterwards to catch mail that arrived during the change. |
| 5Check documents | Open key Docs and Sheets in Zoho Writer and Sheet; check scripts and complex formulas. |
| 6Cancel Google Workspace | Export anything left with Google’s data export before cancelling. |
What this path doesn’t do for you:
Apps Script, Forms, Sites and Gemini features have no automatic equivalent. Large mailboxes may exceed Zoho’s per-user limits.
| Plan | Google Workspace | Zoho Workplace |
|---|---|---|
| Entry plan | Business Starter $7/user/mo (annual) | Workplace Standard $3/user/mo (annual); Mail Lite $1 |
| Mid plan | Business Standard $14 | Workplace Professional $6 |
| Top Business plan | Business Plus $22 | Enterprise — contact sales |
| Storage | 30 GB / 2 TB / 5 TB pooled | 30 GB or 100 GB mail + team storage |
| Free plan | None (14-day trial) | Up to 5 users |
US list prices checked on each vendor’s pricing page on September 19, 2026, annual billing.
| Capability | Google Workspace | Zoho Workplace |
|---|---|---|
| Import from the other tool | IMAP email import from Zoho | One-click Google Workspace migration; WorkDrive Drive import |
| Free plan | None | Up to 5 users |
| Storage | 30 GB–5 TB pooled | 30 GB or 100 GB mail + team storage |
| Meetings | 100–500 | 100 or 250 |
| AI | Gemini | Zia |
Going the other direction, or want the full comparison first?
Read the Google Workspace vs Zoho Workplace comparison Switching from Zoho Workplace to Google Workspace instead?Security, offline and access rules that differ between Google Workspace and Zoho Workplace. Rows where both tools are the same (5) are left out; the full side-by-side is on each tool’s page: Google Workspace, Zoho Workplace.
| What changes | Google Workspace (today) | Zoho Workplace (after) |
|---|---|---|
| Other certifications | Not published | ISO/IEC 27017, ISO/IEC 27018, ISO/IEC 27701, SOC 1 Type II, ISO 9001, ISO/IEC 20000-1, ISO 22301, PCI DSS (SAQ-D), CSA STAR Self-Assessment, Cyber Essentials Plus, TX-RAMP, HDS, ENSsource |
| GDPR data processing agreement | DPA offeredsource | Not published |
| Single sign-on (SAML/OIDC) | YesBusiness Startersource | YesMail Litesource |
| Two-factor authentication | YesEnforcement: Business Startersource | YesEnforcement: Not plan-gated on the pages read (policy enforcement described generally)source |
| Admin audit log | YesBusiness Startersource | Yessource |
| Data residency choices | US, EUBusiness Standardsource | US, EU, India, Australia, Japan, Canada, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Singapore, Chinasource |
| Encryption | AES-256 at rest and in transit for Drive/Docs filessource | Encrypted at rest and in transit (TLS; S/MIME and OpenPGP options); WorkDrive AES-256 at restsource |
| Desktop apps | Windows, macOSsource | Windows, macOS, Linuxsource |
| Offline limits | Offline editing needs Chrome or Edge (not private browsing) and the Google Docs Offline extension, set up while online.source | Trident offline data excludes email attachments not previously viewed; Trident is for paid and trial Zoho Mail/Workplace users.source |
| IP allowlisting | YesEnterprisesource | Yessource |
| Device & session controls | YesBusiness StarterFundamental endpoint management on all Business editions (remote account sign-out and mobile account wipe, block devices, endpoint verification); Business Plus adds advanced mobile management and remote device wipe; Enterprise adds context-aware access and enterprise endpoint management.source | YesMail PremiumMobile Access Management on Mail Premium and Workplace Professional; Workplace Enterprise adds endpoint control features; Zoho Directory device authentication (10 devices) on all paid plans.source |
| Office & room hardware | Google sells Google Meet Hardware for meeting rooms as a separate add-on; room booking ('Browse and reserve conference rooms') is on all plans.source | — |
Yes: one-click migration of mail, contacts and calendar, plus Google Drive import into WorkDrive.
Usually: Zoho Workplace Standard is $3 a user a month on annual billing, against $7 for Google Starter.
For up to 5 users with 5 GB each, but it has no IMAP, POP or ActiveSync.
It depends on mailbox sizes and the number of users; run a pilot with a few mailboxes first and schedule the MX switch for a quiet period.
Every pricing fact, rating, AI billing model and switching guide we hold on each tool, on one page — with the date each figure was last verified.
Prices on this page were recorded from each vendor’s own pricing page on the date shown at the top of the page. Vendors change pricing often — check the live source before you buy.
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Plain-language guides: the steps, what to check before you buy, common mistakes, and every tool it takes with verified prices.
Verified prices costed for your team size, a check against your must-have requirements, the questions to settle before you sign, and a source for every figure. Print it, or paste it into an email to whoever approves the spend.
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