Workspace Essentials Starter by Google to Support Startups for Free

Google Workspace has always been a commercial solution for businesses. But if you are yet too small to afford a fully-fledged cloud platform for it, now you can enjoy it for free. In February 2022, Google launched Workspace Essentials, a free version of Workspace for business users who can first try to work with Google cloud solutions.

What this platform is seemingly best at is organizing remote collaboration. Nearly everyone has a Google account now, so neither managers nor employees will have to refuse it. Existing accounts are easy to integrate with the environment and work with documents, media, plans, or whatever. Conferences are supported too. In addition, all the connections are encrypted, and so is the data on Google servers. The service is fully compatible with Google Docs suite, Drive, Chat, and Meet. Notice anything missing on this list?

If you try to find a hidden catch, there is none. You don’t have to create a new account, don’t have to enter your credit card number, and neither have you to switch to paid versions after a certain period. In fact, Essentials Starter works as a demo version of Workspace, for any time you want.

There are certain limitations, of course. For example, a team can have up to 25 members. Unlimited video conferences are only possible between two participants; if the number is between 3 and the maximum 100, they can’t last over one hour. The space on Google Drive you receive is just 15 GB, which is about the same as any private person can enjoy. What disappoints the most, though, is that Gmail integration is not supported. Given that email has now grown into a mostly business tool, it’s a serious gap.

Still, the solution can be good for conferences and document sharing within a team. What do you think about it? If you are a small business owner or a manager, would you try it? Or have you tried it yet? Share your stories and thoughts in our comments!