Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365: which has better email security?

Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 both include spam, malware and phishing protection, and both sell stronger protection in higher plans. They split the features differently, though, and that changes what a small business gets for its license. This guide compares the built-in protections area by area, shows which editions include what, and covers the gaps both platforms share.

What do both platforms include for every mailbox?

Every cloud mailbox on either platform gets baseline filtering with no setup.

Microsoft calls its baseline the built-in security features for all cloud mailboxes, long known as Exchange Online Protection (EOP). Microsoft Learn says these protections "are included in all organizations with cloud mailboxes" and are on by default for anti-malware, anti-spam and anti-phishing (spoofing). The default policies "apply to all recipients. You can't turn them off," but you can override them with preset or custom policies.

Google's baseline is Gmail itself. Google says that by default Gmail "displays warnings, and moves untrustworthy emails to the spam folder", and Gmail scans messages for malware (Google Workspace Admin Help). On top of that, admins can switch on the advanced Safety settings for attachments, links and spoofing at no extra cost. They aren't fully on by default, which is why our guide to Google Workspace advanced phishing and malware protection walks through each one.

How do the protections compare, feature by feature?

The table compares the default protection with what each platform's higher plans add. Edition lists are as published at the time of writing (October 2026); both vendors change them.

Spam, malware and phishing

On both platforms, the core filter decides most outcomes, and neither vendor publishes catch rates you can compare like for like. Microsoft's anti-spam policy sorts mail into bulk, spam, high confidence spam, phishing and high confidence phishing verdicts. Microsoft says "High confidence phishing messages are always delivered to quarantine". Gmail sends spam to the user's Spam folder unless you change the action. Our guides to Microsoft 365 anti-spam policies and Gmail spam settings cover the tuning on each side.

Attachment sandboxing

This is the clearest edition split. Microsoft's Safe Attachments, which opens files in a detonation environment, is part of Defender for Office 365 Plan 1. Microsoft lists Plan 1 in Microsoft 365 Business Premium and, from July 1, 2026, in Office 365 E3 and Microsoft 365 E3. Business Basic and Business Standard don't include it.

Google's Security Sandbox is listed for Frontline Plus, Business Standard and Business Plus, and Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus. Business Starter doesn't get it. So on the smallest plans, neither platform sandboxes attachments; on the mid-tier business plans, Google includes it and Microsoft doesn't. If attachments are a worry, an attachment-type filter that blocks risky file types outright helps on any plan; see dangerous email attachment types.

Link protection

Microsoft's baseline uses "several URL blocklists that help detect known malicious links". Safe Links, which checks links when they're clicked, needs Plan 1. Google's Safety settings can flag shortened URLs, scan linked images and warn when users click links to untrusted domains, with Enhanced Safe Browsing on higher editions. One detail matters on Google: warning banners appear only in Gmail on the web, so users on Outlook or Apple Mail don't see them.

Quarantine and user notifications

Both platforms quarantine, but neither tells users by default. In Microsoft 365, quarantine policies decide what users can do with held mail and whether they get notifications; the default policies send none except the one the preset policies use. Our guide to Microsoft 365 quarantine policies and notifications shows how to switch them on.

Google's admin quarantine is built for admins. Google says "Recipients are never notified when a message is quarantined", and messages "are automatically and permanently deleted after 30 days". Users find false positives in their Spam folder instead, so the quarantine suits mail you're sure nobody needs.

Admin tooling and reports

Microsoft gives every tenant the Email & collaboration reports, including the Threat protection status report, the Mailflow status report and the User reported messages report, plus message trace. Some reports, such as the URL protection report, are Defender-only, and Threat Explorer is a Plan 2 tool.

Google's security dashboard has spam filter, authentication, user report and spoofing charts, but Google lists the dashboard for Frontline, Enterprise, Education and Enterprise Essentials Plus editions, not the Business editions most small companies buy. The email charts also aren't available with Frontline Standard or Enterprise Standard. Business admins rely on Email Log Search to trace individual messages. If you want to track numbers monthly on either platform, see email security metrics for admins.

Which plan gives a small business the most protection for its money?

We won't quote either vendor's prices here, because they change and depend on your agreement. Compare what each tier adds instead:

1. Entry plans (Microsoft 365 Business Basic or Standard, Google Workspace Business Starter): baseline filtering only. No sandbox on either. Turn on every free setting: Microsoft's Standard preset policy, Google's Safety settings.
2. Mid-tier (Google Workspace Business Standard or Plus): Google adds Security Sandbox and Enhanced Safe Browsing. Microsoft 365 Business Standard still has no Defender.
3. Microsoft 365 Business Premium: adds Defender for Office 365 Plan 1, so Safe Links, Safe Attachments and impersonation protection, along with protection for Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive. Our Defender Plan 1 vs Plan 2 guide explains what you get.
4. Enterprise plans: both platforms add investigation tooling. Microsoft 365 E5 includes Plan 2; Google lists its security investigation tool and security dashboard for Enterprise and Frontline editions, among others, though the investigation tool's Gmail data needs Enterprise Plus, Frontline Plus or Education Plus.

Both platforms license per user. Shared mailboxes and role addresses can affect what you pay, so check the licensing terms before you count seats.

What gaps do both platforms share?

These aren't flaws. They follow from how a mailbox platform is built, and they matter more as a business grows.

• No outage spooling of your own. If mail can't reach your mailboxes, delivery depends on each sending server's retry policy. RFC 5321 suggests trying for at least 4-5 days, but many senders give up much sooner. See what happens to email when your server is down.
• No user digests by default. Microsoft's notifications are off in most default policies, and Google's admin quarantine never notifies users.
• One platform only. If you also run a cPanel domain or a second tenant, each has its own policies, quarantine and admin console.
• Default settings are lenient. Google's advanced Safety settings are opt-in, and Microsoft recommends the Standard or Strict preset policies over its defaults.
• Per-user licensing for stronger protection. Defender for Office 365 needs licenses for users who benefit, including shared mailboxes that benefit.
• The direct route stays open. Both platforms accept mail sent straight to their servers, not only through your MX, unless you lock that down. On Microsoft 365 that's covered in blocking direct-to-tenant bypass.

When does a gateway in front of either platform help?

An inbound gateway sits at your MX and filters mail before it reaches Microsoft or Google. Both platforms keep filtering afterwards, so you get two layers rather than a replacement. It helps most when:

• You want every user to get a personal quarantine with scheduled digests, rather than relying on the Spam folder or admin-only review.
• You run domains on more than one platform and want one policy and one portal.
• You want mail held during an outage. iBlockSpam, for example, spools mail for up to 5 days and delivers it when your server is back.
• You prefer per-domain pricing to adding per-user licenses for every shared mailbox.

A gateway doesn't replace post-delivery protection. It can't see internal mail or Teams and Drive content, and it decides once, at the door. Our comparisons of Microsoft 365 built-in filtering vs a gateway and Google Workspace built-in protection vs a gateway go through the setup details, including Enhanced Filtering for Connectors on Microsoft and the inbound gateway setting on Google.

Next steps

• Check which plan you actually have before comparing. On Microsoft 365, look at Your products in the admin center; on Google Workspace, check your subscription in the Admin console.
• Turn on the free protections you already pay for: Microsoft's Standard preset policy, or Google's Safety settings with spam or quarantine actions.
• Make sure users can find held mail. Switch on Microsoft quarantine notifications, or decide who reviews Google's admin quarantine.
• Check your domain's MX, SPF and DMARC with the free Email Health Check, so you know what any change will touch.