Gmail and Outlook are two of the most used email applications, owned by two of the world largest tech-giants. For a lot of people, email app preference stems from overall operating system preference. Microsoft users will most likely go for Outlook, thanks to its great integration capabilities, whereas fans of Google will opt for Gmail, it also helps that Google Workspace is generally cheaper than the Microsoft 365 suite.
Let’s dive into some key areas of email applications, and how Gmail is different to Outlook.
User Interface
We all know Outlook is favoured by businesses and educational establishments, thanks to its professional and structured interface. It’s specifically tailored for business users and has easy access to calendar and contacts.
Gmail on the other hand has a sleek and minimalistic design. It’s colourful and aesthetically pleasing, which attracts the creative industries and home users. There are few customisation options for Gmail, as Google’s whole philosophy is to keep things consistent.
Outlook offers more personalisation options, letting users change themes and toggle between light and dark modes.
Integration opportunities
As expected, Outlook integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft 365 products like OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams. Gmail integrates with it’s own set of productivity apps, Google Drive, Calendar, Meet etc. Essentially, if you’re heavily invested in the Google ecosystem, Gmail works well. If you’re more of a Microsoft person, then Outlook is best for integration.
Organisation
Both Gmail and Outlook have organisation options to filter out less-important emails. Outlook has its Focused Inbox (full of important emails from frequent contacts) and it’s Other inbox, creating a cleaner experience.
Gmail has a similar filtering in place, using labels and tabs (Primary, Social, Promotions) for email categorisation.
Search Capabilities
It’s pretty common knowledge that Outlook has poor search functionality, and when compared to Gmail, it really highlights the difference between the two. Outlook search lacks intuition, but Gmail’s advanced search with natural language processing and filters are effective at finding the specific email that you’re after.
Calendar Integration
Outlook’s fully integrated calendar allows quick access for schedules and Teams meetings. Google’s Calendar app is also integrated but it isn’t quite as seamless as Outlook’s offering. Outlook’s calendar works really well within the Teams app and the Outlook app itself, making it more versatile.
Offline Functionality
Outlook also offers better offline functionality in comparison to Gmail. Reading and drafting emails on both desktop and mobile is do-able offline. Gmail offers offline mode, but there’s limited functionality in the mobile app. Outlook is definitely the stronger contender when it comes to working offline.
Notifications
With Gmail, you can customise your notifications based on labels, or for the priority inbox. Outlook is a little different, focusing on actionable notifications like event reminders. Outlook also offers quick email responses within email notifications.
Attachments
Both email applications using their cloud storage options for attachments. Gmail uses strong integration with Google Drive for attachments, whereas Outlook provides attachments options from OneDrive and Dropbox amongst their file options. Again, it depends on which ecosystem you’re invested in, Google or Microsoft 365.
Spam and Security
Both email apps have great spam and security measures. Gmail’s spam detection is excellent, and is powered by AI. Outlook has really strong phishing protection, plus business-grade security for enterprise users.
Both are solid choices in the realm of cybersecurity.
As you can see, there’s not much difference between the two mail app options. The decision often comes down to wider integrations and other productivity app preferences. Gmail vs Outlook is essentially Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365.
Why not read our Apple Mail App vs Outlook App comparison too?
