Over the years, Google’s productivity suite has had many names. What started out as Google Apps and is now known as . In that same period, the company has offered so many ways to access this software, announcing new subscription plans and phasing out older ones. It now plans to close a level that survived the suite’s most recent rebrand.
In an email discovered by , the company told Workspace admins that it will not be offering the free legacy edition of G Suite from . The company plans to transition these users to paid accounts starting May 1. Google says it will automatically select a subscription plan for users who don’t choose one on their own by early May, noting that it will look at your current usage when making the decision. Any individual or organization that the company migrates to an automatically paid subscription plan will not be billed for at least two months. However, the company says it will suspend the accounts of individuals and organizations that do not enter their billing information by July 1.
Business and Enterprise Workspace accounts start at a monthly cost of $6 per user. The company will offer “deep” discounts to those affected by the decision. To be clear, if you’re using Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and other apps through a free google account, you will not be affected by the change. In addition, Google will continue to offer free Workspace plans for and schools that qualify for your . That doesn’t change with today’s announcement, nor do organizations with legacy G Suite Basic, Business, Education or Nonprofit subscriptions need to worry about a potential surprise account.
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