Google tightens free Google Apps limit

Stephen Withers
Thursday, 28 April 2011 13:09

Small businesses that have been thinking of adopting Google Apps may have missed their chance of getting the service for free. Google used to allow up to 50 seats at no charge, but now that limit has been slashed to 10.

One of the big attractions of cloud computing is the ability to ramp services up and down as necessary. The problem with the paid version of Google Apps has been that after the initial free trial period subscriptions ran for a full year.

That's changed with the introduction of the 'flexible plan'. This gives customers the option of paying $US5 per user per month rather than $US50 per user per year.

The flexible plan will be particularly convenient for businesses that take on people to cope with seasonal peaks, or for one-off events.

In a related change, Google with switch to monthly billing even for customers that have opted for annual subscriptions. As an alternative to credit card transactions, Google will offer direct debit facilities in US, UK, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, and Spain.

But when Google gives with one hand, it takes away with the other. Small businesses will no longer be able to use the free version of Google Apps for up to 50 users. The new limit is 10, after which the paid Google Apps for Business must be selected instead.

Why is that change being made? You'll find Google's explanation on page 2.