A Google Workspace alternative for families
Workspace is built for companies, so it bills every person as a seat. A family can keep its domain and pay once for the whole household.
Updated October 2026
Short answer
What does Google Workspace cost a family?
Workspace has no family plan. Each person is a user on a business plan, and Google lists Business Starter at $7 per user a month with a one-year commitment, or $8.40 without one. For six people that's $504 or $604.80 a year, before the domain, which you buy and renew separately.
Per family or per person, side by side
| Plan | How it's priced | Six people, per month | Your domain | Calendar and files |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Workspace Business Starter | Per person | $42 on the annual plan, $50.40 without it | You buy it and set it up | Calendar, Drive, Docs and Meet |
| Fastmail Family | Per family, up to six | $11 paid yearly, $14 monthly | You buy it and set it up | Calendars, contacts and files |
| InboxFamily | Per family, six mailboxes | $19, domain renewals included | We buy it, set it up and renew it | No, email only |
| Proton Family | Per family, up to six | $23.99 paid yearly, $29.99 monthly | You set it up, up to three domains | Proton Calendar and Drive |
| iCloud+ | Storage plan, shared with family | $0.99 for 50 GB, $9.99 for 2 TB | Bought and set up through iCloud, or yours | iCloud Calendar and Drive |
Google Workspace Business Starter
- How it's priced
- Per person
- Six people, per month
- $42 on the annual plan, $50.40 without it
- Your domain
- You buy it and set it up
- Calendar and files
- Calendar, Drive, Docs and Meet
Fastmail Family
- How it's priced
- Per family, up to six
- Six people, per month
- $11 paid yearly, $14 monthly
- Your domain
- You buy it and set it up
- Calendar and files
- Calendars, contacts and files
InboxFamily
- How it's priced
- Per family, six mailboxes
- Six people, per month
- $19, domain renewals included
- Your domain
- We buy it, set it up and renew it
- Calendar and files
- No, email only
Proton Family
- How it's priced
- Per family, up to six
- Six people, per month
- $23.99 paid yearly, $29.99 monthly
- Your domain
- You set it up, up to three domains
- Calendar and files
- Proton Calendar and Drive
iCloud+
- How it's priced
- Storage plan, shared with family
- Six people, per month
- $0.99 for 50 GB, $9.99 for 2 TB
- Your domain
- Bought and set up through iCloud, or yours
- Calendar and files
- iCloud Calendar and Drive
US prices, checked in October 2026 on each provider's own page: Google, Fastmail, Proton, Apple. The full cost comparison adds the free options.
What you give up when you leave Workspace
Mostly the shared Drive and Docs that come with the business account. If the family uses them every day, Proton Family and iCloud+ have their own calendar and file storage, and a free personal Google account still gives each person Calendar, Drive and Docs.
We only do email. In return there's no admin console with hundreds of settings: six mailboxes, ten aliases, a catch-all address and webmail, all managed from a few screens.
How do you move a family off Workspace?
- Save a copy of everyone's mail and files with Google Takeout while the accounts still work.
- Create the same mailboxes at the new provider, with the addresses everyone uses today.
- Point the domain at the new provider. Mail starts arriving there as soon as the domain's settings change.
- Copy the old mail across in Apple Mail or Thunderbird, then cancel Workspace.
On the old free G Suite edition? Here's the move in detail, with Google's deadlines.
Which one to pick
- Stay on Workspace if the family lives in shared Docs and Drive and the per-person price doesn't bother you.
- iCloud+ if everyone in the family has an Apple Account.
- Fastmail or Proton if you want calendars and files with your mail and don't mind setting up the domain yourself.
- InboxFamily if you want only email, with the domain bought, set up and renewed for you.
One price, not six seats
Six mailboxes on your family's domain, set up for you. $19 a month, domain renewals included.
Find your family's domain