Google Workspace Substitutes Explored: Why OnlyOffice Docs Emerges as Your Top Choice

Google Workspace Substitutes Explored: Why OnlyOffice Docs Emerges as Your Top Choice | ZDNet Insights

Screenshot by Matene Toure/ZDNET

I’ve been using Google Workspace for a very, very, very long time. In fact, I’ve had a Google account long enough that I had to beg, borrow, and steal for an invite to get into the beta program of Google’s service .

Over the years, I’ve watched Google’s offerings grow and stretch… sometimes to my benefit, and sometimes not.

But, AI is one of my biggest concerns with the evolution of Google’s offerings. Yes, Google has stated it isn’t using documents to train its LLMs , but how long will that statement hold water? And with anti-trust lawsuits against Google , you never know what the future has in store.

Also: Report: DoJ may want to break up Google

So, yeah, I’ve been on the lookout for a replacement.

One of the first services I tested was OnlyOffice. I’ve known about the company for some time, deployed instances of its self-hosted offering, and worked with the OnlyOffice Desktop Editors quite a bit (more on that later).

OnlyOffice has been around, but it’s been slowly releasing services and features to appeal to Google Workspace users, and it finally succeeded.

OnlyOffice DocSpace includes:

Documents
Rooms
Archives
PDF Forms
Folders
Sharing
Collaboration tools
Document encryption
Download documents in DOCX, ODT, PDF, RTF, TXT, FB2, EPUB, HTML, JPG, and PNG formats
Templates
Version History
And so much more

ONLYOFFICE DocSpace includes several security settings to help lock down your documents.

Jack Wallen\ZDNET

There are even fine-grained access controls for users who access your DocSpace portal, such that you can set password requirements, two-factor authentication, and more. You can manually backup your DocSpace or set it for an automated regular backup.

You can import from Google Workspace and Nextcloud, manage your storage (you get 2GB for free, set welcome page settings, change the name of your DocSpace, and (yes) connect the OnlyOffice Desktop Editors to your DocSpace.

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It’s really that last feature that sold me on this service.

Think about it: instead of opening yet another tab in your web browser, you can open the Desktop Editors app, connect it to your DocSpace, and use it as you would a locally installed app. I realize I might be one of few, but I would much rather be able to use a dedicated app than a web browser for such a thing. The OnlyOffice Desktop Editors is a very well-designed application that makes working with your DocSpace account a breeze. You can even work with local files in one Document Editors tab and your cloud-based DocSpace account in another.

Google’s got nothing to compete with that.

Also: Google Workspace gets new generative AI features, including an AI-powered video creation app

You can sign up for a DocSpace account for free. The only caveat is that unlike Google, you can’t add more storage space to your free account. If you want more space, you must purchase one of the paid accounts. With the Business Cloud account, you get 250GB of storage, unlimited admins/power users, storage quotas and statistics, a custom domain name, branding, integrations, and more… all for $20/month/admin. The Enterprise option is also an on-premise solution that starts at $6550/lifetime.

Naturally, the free (Startup Cloud) account will be the entry point, but I would certainly love to see OnlyOffice offer additional storage for a monthly fee. I pay roughly $10/month for 2TB of storage for my Google Workspace account. To be fair, OnlyOffice does allow users to submit requests to sales for more storage space. To do so, you send an email to sales@onlyoffice.com and see what they have to offer. I’ll give that a go once I get further entrenched with OnlyOffice DocSpace.

I can’t say enough about how well DocSpace has been designed and developed. It’s as user-friendly as any similar solution but offers a few features Google can’t or won’t offer.

Also: Running out of Gmail storage? How to get another 15GB for free

I realize everyone’s needs vary, but if Google Workspace has everything you need, then OnlyOffice DocSpace is equally capable of serving you.

The only caveat I can offer is that OnlyOffice DocSpace doesn’t enjoy the same deep integration with Android devices. However, there is the OnlyOffice Documents app , which allows you to view and edit offline documents. You can also connect that app to your cloud DocSpace account, so with a bit of work, OnlyOffice can rival Google Workspaces, even on your Android device.

If you’re looking for a Google Workspace replacement, you’d be remiss if you didn’t kick the tires of OnlyOffice DocSpace. Once you start using it, you’ll find it’s more than ready to compete with Google’s offering.