GoDaddy Office 365 vs. Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 License Options
First, let's review the Business plans that M365 has to offer as they are most closely compared to that of GoDaddy:
- Business Basic - $6/user/month
- Web version of Office 365 suite of applications that are always up-to-date
- E-mail hosting with 50gb mailbox
- Store and share files with 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage. Can also be shared to external users using guest links
- Collaboration through Microsoft Teams that includes hosting online meetings/video calls up to 300 users, chat and files all in one place and viewable to other users
- Business Standard - $12.50/user/month
- All features included in Business Essentials
- Fully installed Office 365 suite applications
- Install applications on up to five devices per user
- Ability to host webinars to include attendee registration pages, email confirmations, and reporting
- Business Premium - $22/user/month
- Exchange Online Archiving - Enable large cloud archive and long-term preservation policies
- Enterprise grade endpoint security to protect from ransomware and cybersecurity threats
- Defender for Office 365
- App protection for Office mobile applications
- Information Rights Management
- Device Management with Microsoft Endpoint Manage
Automation is also a huge focus within M365 as all the products play well with each other and can be built with custom automation to focus on efficiency. SharePoint and Flow are great examples of this and are applications that Google does not offer.
There are a multitude of features that offer great collaboration, with MS Teams being at the forefront of that with file sharing, chat, voice and video meetings for up to 500 participants, etc. Note: All of the above licenses include Teams with the same features. There is also the capability to work on the same document in Word and Excel, while also being able to share files very easily.
Lastly, SECURITY. E-mail and tenant security has been a major focus for companies in the last few years as hacking and phishing attempts are at an all time high, and continue to grow. Microsoft has the market in this space and better security cannot be offered anywhere else. There are all encompassing licenses that include basic Office 365 features as well as advanced security features, but you can also add security licenses a-la-carte as needed.
GoDaddy Office 365 License Options
Now let's take a look at what GoDaddy offers for Office 365 licensing. As you review, it's important to note GoDaddy is not specifically a business productivity company, but a domain registrar and web hosting company, so Office 365 is not what they specialize in. Also, these prices are for the first annual term, but GoDaddy could raise them to be closer to Microsoft prices at renewal:
- Online Essentials - $7.99/user/month
- Includes web versions of Office applications
- Business Email
- 1 TB of online storage
- Business Premium - $8.99/user/month
- Includes everything in Online Essentials plan
- Installed Office applications
- Includes Microsoft productivity applications
- Added email security features
- Premium Security - $16.99/user/month
- Includes everything in previous plans
- Advanced email security w/encryption
- Email archive
GoDaddy's offers are geared toward small businesses and have a very simple user interface that is easy to navigate for the administrators. This is very attractive to smaller organizations as to make things much less confusing and involved, as Microsoft can seem at first.
Why You Might Want to Consider M365 Over GoDaddy
Obviously, there are advantages to both platforms depending on the business and its needs. GoDaddy appeals to smaller businesses, 10-20 users and fewer, and can be very easy to use, while Microsoft has many more offerings and can accommodate more needs, but is a much bigger platform than GoDaddy.
Because GoDaddy does appeal to smaller businesses and is so simple, the problem is that if your organization grows, they will not be able to accommodate for very long, and may force a switch in providers. Microsoft has so many more applications and the flexibility that can suit a business as it grows that GoDaddy does not in their very limited Office 365 offering. If needs arise and you are with Microsoft 365, you can simply purchase the tool that is needed or upgrade your licensing to bundle those needs into what you are already paying. Since GoDaddy cannot offer extras, you will need to either go with a third party or migrate into Microsoft 365.
Which brings us to our next point, cost. Of course, at first glance, Microsoft 365 looks a bit more expensive than GoDaddy in the license offerings, which is why it appeals to small businesses. But, if and as the organization grows, this will get more expensive because of third party application additions and possible migrations away from GoDaddy to get what you need all in one place.
Bottom Line
Blog published 07/22
