Google Workspace for Non-Profits
Google Workspace for charities: free where it counts.
Eligible not-for-profits get Google Workspace free, with steep discounts on the bigger plans. What the Google for Nonprofits program includes in Australia and how to claim it without the paperwork pain.
Plans & pricing
Non-profit offers
Google's published non-profit pricing (USD, converted at billing), current as at July 2026 - up to 2,000 users.
Workspace for Nonprofits — Free
The Business Starter feature set - Gmail on your domain, Meet, Docs and 30 GB per user - granted at no cost.
Business Standard — ~US$3.00
Around 80%+ off: 2 TB per user, shared drives, recordings and full Gemini AI.
Business Plus — ~US$5.04
Vault retention, endpoint management and 5 TB per user at a fraction of commercial pricing - right for NFPs with funding-body compliance obligations.
What the Google for Nonprofits program gives you
- Google Workspace for Nonprofits - free, roughly equivalent to Business Starter, for up to 2,000 users
- Business Standard at about US$3 and Business Plus at about US$5 per user per month - discounts north of 75%
- Enterprise tiers at around 70%+ off for large organisations - quoted case by case
- The same program unlocks Google Ad Grants (US$10,000/month of search advertising) and YouTube for Nonprofits
Eligibility in Australia
Australian organisations qualify through the Google for Nonprofits program with charity status - in practice, ACNC registration, validated through Google's verification partner. Government entities, schools (use Education licensing), hospitals and some membership bodies sit outside the program. Verification typically takes a few days to two weeks; we run it as part of onboarding.
Free tier or paid tier?
The free tier is a genuine workhorse for small charities. The jump to discounted Business Standard is usually driven by storage (30 GB fills quickly once you store photos and program records), shared drives so files survive staff turnover, and meeting recordings for committees. At about US$3 a user, it is rarely a hard decision - the harder question is configuring retention and security properly for donor data, which is where we spend our time.
Prices are Google's published non-profit rates as at July 2026, billed in USD or AUD equivalent depending on billing setup - confirmed on quote.
Non-profit Workspace FAQs
Our charity is ACNC-registered - are we eligible?
Almost certainly, unless you're a government entity, school, hospital or purely professional/membership body. Google validates registration through its verification partner - we handle the submission and the follow-ups.
Is the free tier limited or time-boxed?
Neither - it's an ongoing grant for up to 2,000 users with the Business Starter feature set. It stays free as long as your organisation remains eligible.
We already pay for Workspace - can we get the discount retroactively?
Not retroactively, but once verified you can move existing licences onto non-profit pricing at the next billing cycle - for most NFPs that is an immediate 75%+ reduction on the same product.
Google or Microsoft for a non-profit?
Both run generous programs - free Workspace versus free Microsoft 365 Business Basic, with deep discounts either side. The right answer depends on what your staff know, what your systems integrate with, and your security obligations. We support both, so you'll get a straight recommendation, not a religious one.