Detailed comparison
BélugavsvsGoogleWorkspace. Microsoft 365
Side by side, no embellishment, on 40+ criteria that truly matter for Québec organizations.
up to 65 %
less expensive than MS 365 Business at equivalent features
100 %
sovereign — data, code, keys and jurisdiction in Québec
8 modules
at functional parity with MS 365 and Google Workspace
Criterion
40+ points across 5 axes
Our solution
béluga · PME Standard
6,99 $ CAD / util · mois
Giant 1
Microsoft 365 Business
20,10 $ CAD / util · mois
Giant 2
Google Workspace Bus.
19,20 $ CAD / util · mois
Sovereignty & jurisdiction
Strictly hosted in Québec
Live data + backups
Yes · 3 QC sites
No · global
No · global
Québec / Canadian parent company
No U.S. subsidiary
Québec
USA
USA
Out of reach of the U.S. CLOUD Act
2018 extraterritorial law
Yes
No
No
Out of reach of FISA 702
U.S. electronic surveillance
Yes
No
No
Encryption keys operated in Québec
Physical HSMs under our control
Québec HSM
Paid BYOK
Paid EKM
Government request notification
Contractual commitment
Yes · contractual
When allowed
When allowed
Regulatory compliance
Loi 25 compliant by default
No configuration required
By default
Must configure
Must configure
PIA template provided
Pre-filled for your instance
Included
Not provided
Not provided
Incident registry operated for you
Automatic 72-hour notification
Included
Your responsibility
Your responsibility
DPA in Québec French
Under the Civil Code
Yes
FR-FR · U.S. law
FR-FR · U.S. law
Listed on SEAO
QC public tenders
Yes
Yes
Yes
MAMH compliance (municipalities)
Native retention schedule
Native
Manual
Manual
Pricing & contractual terms
Pricing shown in CAD
No USD-CAD swings
Native CAD
Converted USD
Converted USD
Pricing locked for 36 months
Written into the contract
Yes · 36 months
+12-25 % in 2026
2025 increase
Free assisted migration
Emails, files, contacts, calendars
Included
Self-serve tools
Self-serve tools
Favorable nonprofit pricing
Free up to 5 users
Free ≤5
Limited donation
Limited donation
Contracts under Québec Civil Code
Québec jurisdiction
Yes
State of Washington
California
No minimum commitment
Monthly cancellation
Monthly
1 year minimum
Monthly +20 %
Feature parity
Professional email + custom domain
IMAP/SMTP
Yes
Yes
Yes
Collaborative office suite
Docs, sheets, slides
OnlyOffice
Office Online
Docs/Sheets
Integrated video conferencing
HD with transcription
Béluga Meet
Teams
Meet
Cloud storage per user
Included base quota
250 GB
1 TB
2 TB shared
Team messaging
Channels, mentions, sharing
Convo (Matrix)
Teams Chat
Chat
Outlook / Apple / Mobile compat.
IMAP, CalDAV, CardDAV standards
Open standards
Outlook + EAS
IMAP/EAS
SSO / SAML / SCIM
AD, Okta, Keycloak integration
Included
P1 required
Higher tier
Sovereign AI assistant
Open models hosted in QC
Matelot · 2027
Copilot · OpenAI
Gemini · Google
Support & Québec ecosystem
Support in Québec French
Eastern Time hours
QC · 8 AM-6 PM ET
FR-FR · 24/7
EN/FR-FR
Open source code
Auditable, no lock-in
AGPL-3.0
Proprietary
Proprietary
Full export in standard formats
mbox, vCard, iCal
Free · standards
PST/limited
Takeout
Québec economy (taxes, salaries)
Money that stays here
100 %
~0 %
~0 %
Code escrow with QC third party
Continuity guaranteed
Yes
No
No
Your data never used for AI
Written into the contract
Guaranteed
Settings-dependent
Settings-dependent
Comparison established in May 2026 based on Microsoft 365 Business Standard and Google Workspace Business Standard plans.
Verdict
On the criteria that matter
On the criteria that matter
for Québec — Béluga wins.
Sovereignty, native compliance, predictable pricing, Québec support, local economy. None of our competitors can check every box.