This article inspired me to check if Google has something similar for Google Workspace, which also just increased its price due to a bunch of Gemini integration I have absolutely no need for.
As it turns out, they do—but it's hidden from the "Plans and Upgrade" page, which only shows the Standard plan and above. After some digging, I finally found an inconspicuous dropdown on my plan's billing page that had an option to downgrade my plan. Upon clicking it, I was taken back to the earlier "Plans and Upgrade" page, but this time, the Starter plan was made visible on the page.
It's exactly half the price of the Standard plan, just with less storage, no Gemini, and some restrictions on other enterprise features I've never even heard of. Pretty bizarre and upsetting that they completely hide the existence of the Starter plan like that.
I'm hoping I can eventually bring my reliance on Google services down to zero, whenever I can afford the effort it takes to migrate to something better.
As it turns out, they do—but it's hidden from the "Plans and Upgrade" page, which only shows the Standard plan and above. After some digging, I finally found an inconspicuous dropdown on my plan's billing page that had an option to downgrade my plan. Upon clicking it, I was taken back to the earlier "Plans and Upgrade" page, but this time, the Starter plan was made visible on the page.
It's exactly half the price of the Standard plan, just with less storage, no Gemini, and some restrictions on other enterprise features I've never even heard of. Pretty bizarre and upsetting that they completely hide the existence of the Starter plan like that.
I'm hoping I can eventually bring my reliance on Google services down to zero, whenever I can afford the effort it takes to migrate to something better.