In today’s highly competitive market, a business communication platform needs to cover more than basic email-sending functionality. It should combine a messaging app, team management capabilities, and automation software in one interface — all to help you resolve customer inquiries fast and effectively.
Luckily, Gmail, Outlook, and Helpwise have the functionalities to help you handle customer communications smoothly. So how do you choose the best one from these three shared mailbox management software?
To help you find the answer, we’ve compared all three solutions side-by-side from a customer service perspective. Here’s what we’ve learned.
Gmail hardly needs an introduction. You must have used this email service for personal communications, but now you’re wondering if it’s good enough for managing your business inbox.
Gmail for Business Interface
Let’s review the tool from a business perspective.
Gmail is a free email service powered by Google. But once you decide to create a business account connected to your company’s domain and/or enable a shared Gmail account, it’s not free anymore. Gmail for Business is a part of Google Workspace, a collection of collaboration and productivity apps for businesses starting at $6/user/month.
In addition to a professional email address, Google Workspace gives you access to a collection of tools such as:
Except for collaborative content creation, all these features are available for free. But with the paid Google Workspace subscription you get access to a range of exclusive capabilities:
As has been said, Gmail for Business is included in paid Google Workspace packages with a tiered pricing model:
Google Workspace pricing plans
Outlook is a popular email service powered by Microsoft. It allows consumers to manage their emails, contacts, and calendars in one place. What about the app’s business use?
To enable business features, Outlook seamlessly integrates with Microsoft 365, productivity and collaboration software that brings all Microsoft’s business functions under one roof.
Outlook for Business interface
Here are all the tools that businesses can access in Microsoft 365:
You can also use each of these tools for free. The paid versions simply include a custom domain plus higher limits on everything:
Advanced phishing protection is available only in Microsoft 365 Business Premium ($22/user/month).
The business version of Outlook is also compatible with Dynamics 365, Microsoft’s own suite of enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) applications. So if you’ve been looking to establish a seamlessly integrated business suite in Microsoft, choosing Outlook for business communication is the most suitable option.
Just like Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 isn’t free. It also starts at $6/user/month, but the packaging is quite different from the one of Google Workspace:
Microsoft 365 pricing plans
For instance, you can see that Microsoft 365 Business Basic includes 1TB of cloud storage per user and allows for up to 300 meeting attendees, while Google’s cheapest plan includes only 30GB per user and 100 call participants.
On the other hand, Google Workspace doesn’t get as expensive as Microsoft 365 does in top-tier plans.
* Mind that all Microsoft 365 subscriptions require an annual commitment.
The last tool in this comparison guide is Helpwise. What is it, and how does it facilitate business communication?
Helpwise interface
Helpwise is customer service software designed specifically for business communication. In Helpwise, you can manage customer emails, maintain omnichannel inboxes, get advanced insights into your customer service performance, and more.
Contrary to the aforementioned platforms, Helpwise doesn’t offer its own email hosting but connects to your chosen email service provider (that is Gmail or Outlook) to provide extended customer service functionalities that you won’t find in a classic email provider.
Important: With Helpwise, you can access critical customer service functionality, including automation rules and auto-assignment in a forever-free plan. And if you don’t use business email accounts of Gmail or Outlook, you can run your business communication with Helpwise completely free of charge.
Helpwise is more than a typical email service. Its features include:
Helpwise focuses on enabling teamwork with each of its features. A shared inbox is one example of collaboration made easier in Helpwise. The feature allows multiple team members to access and work on the same email inbox simultaneously, without worrying about duplicate responses or conflicting actions. You can also assign emails to specific team members, add notes, and see who is working on which email.
Helpwise is a paid tool with a 7-day free trial. Its pricing plans start at $15/user/month. You can save 20% off the package cost by selecting an annual subscription:
Helpwise pricing plans, if billed annually
Users get access to automation rules, a shared email inbox, live chat capabilities, task management, and other collaboration features in all plans. Advanced features like VoIP phone integration, advanced security measures, and forms are accessible in the Premium plan and higher.
Each of these platforms is a reliable email service provider.
Gmail and Outlook offer stable email delivery and hassle-free team management with affordable pricing tags. Gmail’s modern interface makes it a beginner-friendly business communication tool while Outlook’s advanced features and automation capabilities definitely outperform Gmail’s.
On the other hand, Helpwise provides advanced collaboration and shared inbox capabilities designed specifically for customer service teams. Additionally, Helpwise stands out with its advanced automation and customer service functions, as well as its ability to handle multichannel communication.
| Outlook | Gmail | Helpwise | |
| Free plan | Yes, for non-business use | Yes, for non-business use | No |
| Ease of use | Medium | Easy | Easy |
| Email management | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Email hosting | Yes | Yes | No |
| Omnichannel communications | No | No | Yes |
| Collaboration | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Shared mailbox | Yes | No | Yes, with advanced collaboration features |
| Ticketing & routing | No | No | Yes |
| Analytics & reporting | Limited | No | Yes |
| Automation | Limited | Limited | Advanced |
| Integrations | Yes | Yes | Yes |
It’s time to choose the right platform for business communication. Before you make a decision, consider the following factors:
Summing up, each platform is good for a specific use case. Here’s our recommendation if you need one:
Choosing the right platform is critical to the success of customer service. It can make or break your customer communications and team collaboration. So, take your time, do your research, and test out different options to make an informed decision.
After a thorough review of all three platforms, we can conclude that Gmail for Business may be the best email platform for small businesses with simple communication needs for its affordable pricing and easy-to-use interface. Businesses facing larger volumes of customer inquiries will benefit more from the advanced features of Outlook or Helpwise.
This is a rough summary of our detailed review, but the final decision is yours. Request free demo of Helpwise today to learn more about the platform and discover how it will boost your customer service performance.
If you've just started out your business, we are sure you’ve resorted to the mainstream…
Today's customer service landscape means you have to juggle multiple communication channels - such as…
Picture this: You're on a quest for extraordinary success in your business, fueled by the…
Intercom has become a game-changer in customer support, offering personalized engagement through live chat, email…
Blockbuster, a popular video rental brand, saw fame and a downfall in the early 2000s.…
With a constantly growing customer base, using a personal email address and CC’ing your support…