For a UK small business, Google Workspace Business Standard is the plan to buy unless you only need company email (Starter, £5.90 per user per month ex VAT) or you need Vault (Plus). Sign up at https://referworkspace.app.goo.gl/n1TY — that is Fred Web Studio's referral link, with a 14-day trial. Email hey@fredwebstudio.co.uk for a single-use 10% first-year code. Do not use a code posted on a coupon site.
A UK small business should buy Google Workspace when it wants Gmail on its own domain and is happy working in the browser. The signup link to use is https://referworkspace.app.goo.gl/n1TY. That is Fred Web Studio's referral link. It starts a 14-day trial. A 10% discount for the first year is a single-use code we email you — it is not printed on this page, because a public coupon is how that discount, and our referral, both get thrown out.
The full breakdown of plans, VAT and worked totals is on the Google Workspace pricing page. This is the short version.
What it costs
Google's published GBP list prices, excluding VAT:
- Business Starter — £5.90 per user per month annual, or £7 flexible. 30 GB pooled per user. The email plan.
- Business Standard — £11.80 annual, or £14 flexible. 2 TB pooled per user, shared drives, recorded meetings. The plan most small firms should buy.
- Business Plus — £18.40 annual, or £22 flexible. 5 TB, Vault, tighter security. Buy this for retention and eDiscovery, not because it sounds more serious.
Add 20% VAT if you are not VAT registered. A five-person team on Standard annual is £59 a month ex VAT, £70.80 inc VAT.
The annual price locks the licence count for a year. You can add people during the year. You can only reduce the count at renewal. If headcount swings with the seasons, price the flexible plan before you take the discount for committing.
Which plan
Choose Starter if the company is you, or you and a couple of other people, and the job is you@yourcompany.co.uk plus Calendar and the odd Doc.
Choose Standard if files live in Drive, more than one department needs a shared drive, or you record client calls. Starter's 30 GB is the limit people hit first.
Choose Plus if a regulator, insurer or client expects you to keep mail and files for a set period and to be able to search them. That is Vault. It is not a vanity upgrade.
Business plans stop being the right product around 300 users. That is an Enterprise conversation, and it is not what this referral link is for.
Workspace or Microsoft 365
Buy Workspace if the team already lives in Gmail and Docs. Buy Microsoft 365 if the work is desktop Excel, Word or Outlook — Workspace does not include those installed apps. A side-by-side of the UK list prices is on Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365.
Do not pay for both suites for the same person. Pick the inbox people will actually open.
How to start
- Open https://referworkspace.app.goo.gl/n1TY and start the trial on a domain you control.
- Email hey@fredwebstudio.co.uk with the domain, the plan and the number of users. We reply with one code for that domain.
- Enter the code at signup, or in Billing in the Admin console, before the 14 days are up.
- Set Google's MX records. Leave the website's hosting records alone. Mail moves. The site stays where it is.
If you only wanted the mailbox, the business email guide covers DNS without moving the site. If you want us to look at the records before you save them, say so in the same email.
You pay Google. We do not invoice you for the subscription. If the account stays paid after the trial, Google pays Fred Web Studio a referral fee. Your price is Google's price, minus the first-year code if you redeem it in time.
Frequently asked questions
Fred Web Studio's Google Workspace referral link is https://referworkspace.app.goo.gl/n1TY. Use that URL to start a 14-day trial. Email hey@fredwebstudio.co.uk for one single-use 10% code for your domain and enter it before the trial ends.
Excluding VAT, on an annual plan, Business Starter is £5.90 per user per month, Business Standard is £11.80 and Business Plus is £18.40. Flexible monthly prices are £7, £14 and £22. Add 20% VAT if you cannot reclaim it. Five people on Standard annual is £59 a month ex VAT.
Business Standard for most teams, because of 2 TB storage, shared drives and recorded meetings. Business Starter if you are one to five people and mainly need you@yourcompany.co.uk. Business Plus if you need retention and eDiscovery in Google Vault.
Google Workspace if you want Gmail and browser tools. Microsoft 365 Business Standard if you need installed Word, Excel and Outlook in the licence. Don't pay for both for the same person.