Switch from Microsoft Teams to Google Workspace

Learn the differences between Microsoft Teams and Google Workspace and get best practices for collaboration at work or school.

Comparison at a glance

Expand all | Collapse all

In Teams...	In Google Workspace...*
Have team conversations from a channel	Have team conversations in a chat space You can chat with both people within your organization and with external guests. You can also assign tasks from a chat space in Gmail. For details, visit Create and assign tasks in spaces.
Chat in a direct message (DM) by clicking New Chat	Send a DM from Google Chat or Gmail Send a direct message to a person Go to Google Chat or your Gmail account. If the name isn’t already under "Chat," click Start a chat . Enter a name or email address. Suggestions appear as you enter text. To send a 1:1 message to someone outside of your organization, enter their email address. Click the person you want to message. Enter a message, then click Send . Send a direct message to a group Go to Google Chat or your Gmail account. Under "Chat," click on an existing group conversation, enter a message click Send . If the group conversation isn’t under "Chat,” click Start a chat Start group conversation. Enter a name or email address. Suggestions appear as you enter text. Click Done . Enter a message, then click Send .
Have video meetings with a team	Have video meetings with a team in Google Meet In a web browser, enter https://meet.google.com. Click New meetingStart an instant meeting. To add someone to a meeting, in the pop-up window that appears, choose an option: Click Add others and choose an option: Under the Invite section, select a name or enter an email address and click Send email. Under the Call section, enter a phone number and press Call . Click Copy and paste the meeting details into an email or another app. Note: You can send a meeting link to people outside of your organization, but someone from within your organization might need to give them access to the video meeting. For details about how to join meetings from Calendar and Gmail, visit Join a video meeting.
Share files with a team	Share files with a team in a shared drive Open Google Drive. On the left, click Shared drives. Shared drives are available only if your organization supports them. For help, contact your administrator. At the top, click New. Enter a name and click Create. For details, visit Get started with shared drives.
Collaborate on shared files in a meeting	Collaborate on shared files in a meeting in Google Meet Open Meet and join a video meeting. On the bottom, click Present now and choose what to share: Your entire screen A window A tab Click Share. When you’re done presenting, click Stop presenting.
See your schedule and create a meeting in Meetings	Schedule a video meeting in Google Calendar In Calendar, create an event. Click Add guests. Enter the names or email of the people you want to invite. Click Save. To notify guests, click Send. Guests receive an email with the event information and a link to the video meeting. For details, visit Start a new video meeting.
Add a wiki page for your team	Add a website for your team in Google Sites Choose an option: From the Sites homepage, at the top, click Blank, or to choose a template, click Template gallery and select a template. From Google Drive, click New MoreGoogle Sites. For details, visit Get started with Sites.
Search in the Command box	Search in Google Cloud Search Sign in to Cloud Search at cloudsearch.google.com. If you can't sign in, your account doesn't have Cloud Search. Learn more Do a search, such as `slides audrey sent last month`. If the interpretation isn't quite right, click the Show results for the original query link. For details, visit Use everyday words to search.
Q&A during a live event	Audience Q&A during a meeting Open Meet . From a video meeting, at the bottom, click Activities Q&A. Next to Allow questions, click Turn on . For details, visit Ask questions in a video meeting.
Poll attendees during a meeting	Launch a poll during a meeting In a meeting, at the bottom right, click Activities click Polls. Click Start a poll. Enter a question and add options for the poll. Tip: You can let users respond anonymously to Polls. Before you save or launch your poll, turn on Responses appear without names . Choose one: To post your poll, click Launch. To save your poll so you can launch it later, click Save. Tip: Polls you save remain listed under Polls for the duration of the meeting. After the call ends, all polls are permanently deleted. Meeting moderators are emailed a polling report at the end of the meeting. After a poll is launched, to vote on your own poll, select one of the optionsclick Vote. For details, visit Conduct a poll during a video meeting.
Share a whiteboard in a meeting	Use a whiteboard in a meeting Start or Join a meeting. At the bottom right, click Activities Whiteboarding. Select an option: To create a new Jamboard: Click Start a new whiteboard. To open an existing Jamboard from your drive, shared drives, or computer: Click Choose from Drive. Tip: The Jamboard file will open in a new tab and a link is shared automatically via the in-call chat. For details, visit Use a whiteboard in a video meeting.
Raise your hand in a meeting	Raise your hand in a meeting Open Meet. From a video meeting, at the bottom, click Raise hand or Lower hand . For details, visit Raise your hand during a video meeting.
Use breakout rooms in meetings	Add breakout rooms to meetings Open Meet. From a video meeting, at the bottom, click Activities Breakout rooms. Click Set up breakout rooms . Choose the number of breakout rooms. You can create up to 100. (Optional) To move people into different rooms, drag a participant's name to another room. Click Open rooms. You can also create breakout rooms from a Calendar event. For details, visit Use breakout rooms in a video meeting.
Change your background in a meeting	Change your background in a meeting Open Meet. Depending on when you want to change your background, choose an option: To change your background before you join a meeting, on the bottom right of your meeting image, click Change background . To change your background after you join a meeting, at the bottom, click MoreChange background. Choose a background option. For details, visit Change your background in a video meeting.