Google hikes G Suite prices

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Google has announced that it is raising the prices of its G Suite Basic and G Suite Business productivity suites for the first time since they were released.

The price for G Suite Basic will be raised from $5 per user per month to $6 while G Suite Business will see a similar increase from $10 per user per month to $12. The enterprise edition of Google's productivity suite, G Suite Enterprise will not be affected by the price increase and will remain priced at $25 per user per month.

G Suite is the company's direct competitor to Microsoft's Office 365 which follows a similar pricing model. Microsoft's Office 365 Business Essentials is $5 per user per month with a yearly subscription while Office 365 Business is $8.25 a month and Office 365 Business Premium costs $12.50 a month.

Google's G Suite prices will increase worldwide and the change will go into effect on April 2.

G Suite price increase

The company defended the price increase by arguing that it has tripled the value of its product by adding artificial intelligence (AI), new tools and apps as well as other additional features.

It is worth noting that customers on annual contracts will see their prices go up when G Suite renews. Google's new pricing structure also applies globally though there will be local market adjustments for certain regions.

Customers that have licensed G Suite through a reseller will be contacted by them regarding the price increase.

Google's decision to raise the price of G Suite shows just how much pricing power cloud providers have and the move will certainly pay off for the company as the product is estimated to make up half of its cloud revenue.

Via ZDNet

• If G Suite is too expensive for your budget, we've also highlighted the best free office software

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