Reference
Google Workspace editions compared
Google Workspace editions differ on 5 things that matter operationally: pooled storage per user, whether Vault is included, meeting participant and recording limits, the availability of security controls such as data regions and Secure LDAP, and the 300 seat cap that applies to every Business edition.
| Business Starter | 30 GB pooled per user, no Vault, no meeting recording |
|---|---|
| Business Standard | 2 TB pooled per user, meeting recording, Drive audit log |
| Business Plus | 5 TB pooled per user, Vault, endpoint management, stronger controls |
| Enterprise | 5 TB and up, data regions, Secure LDAP, DLP, no seat cap |
| Seat cap | Business editions stop at 300 users; Enterprise has no cap |
| Vault threshold | Business Plus is the lowest edition including Vault |
The two thresholds that force an upgrade
Vault is the first. Any retention, eDiscovery or Archived User requirement means Business Plus at minimum, and organisations that bought Standard for cost reasons meet this wall the first time a legal hold arrives.
The second is the 300 seat cap on Business editions. Growth through it is not a negotiation, so a company approaching 250 users should be planning the Enterprise conversation rather than discovering it at renewal.
Mixed editions are allowed and usually cheaper
A tenant can run several editions at once, so frontline staff who need mail and a little storage do not have to sit on the same licence as the finance team that needs Vault. The saving on a hundred-seat estate is often larger than any negotiated discount.
The cost of mixing is administrative clarity: document which organisational unit holds which edition and why, or the next admin will normalise everyone upward.
What we see that others don't say
Mixed-edition assignment saves more on the estates we review than any discount we have seen negotiated, because most tenants buy a single edition sized for their most demanding department.
What this doesn't cover
- Feature availability changes as Google repackages editions; verify against current documentation before committing to a tender answer.
- This page compares capability, not price; list prices differ by region and by billing currency.
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Questions we get asked
- Which Google Workspace edition includes Vault?
- Business Plus is the lowest edition that includes Vault, and every Enterprise edition includes it. Business Starter and Business Standard do not, which also rules out Archived User licences on those editions.
- Can one tenant use more than one Workspace edition?
- Yes. Editions are assigned per user, so a tenant can hold Business Standard for most staff and Business Plus or Enterprise for the teams that need Vault, data regions or advanced security controls.
How this page is verified
Reviewed by Workspace Migration Services migrations desk, Google Workspace migration engineers. Last checked .
- Edition capabilities verified against Google's published edition comparison at the review date.
- Mixed-edition savings drawn from pre-renewal licence reviews we have completed.
Sources you can check
Related pages
Buying one edition for everybody?
A licence review assigns each team the edition it actually needs, prices the mix against your current bill, and gives you the change list before renewal.