Those who registered a Gmail account with their own domain name for free in the past will have to pay from now on. Google stopped the free registration back in 2012, but until now left users alone.
Google has ruled that G Suite users with free accounts will no longer be able to use the service at no cost. Those affected will have until July 1 to switch to a paid subscription or export and move to another service. Google’s official support page clarifies the entire process.
Attention: those who use the free version and have payment details known to Google will be automatically transferred to a paying version of Google Workspace at 5.20 euros (excl. VAT) per user per month from May 1. Why Google Workspace all of a sudden? Because the search giant made a name change in late 2020. The free version that is now being dropped does still carry the name Google G Suite (legacy free edition).
Free accounts until 2012
Since 2006, Google has allowed users to choose their own domain name within its Gmail platform under the name “Google Apps for Your Domain. Over the years, that name has evolved into “Google Apps for Work,” then “G Suite” and then today “Google Workspace.
However, anyone who signed up with their own domain name between 2006 and 2012 could use the service for free. It is remarkable that Google has left these users alone all this time, until now a decade later. Just goes to show that free is never really free and online services can always change their own terms.
Upgrading to a paid Google Workspace subscription can be done seamlessly where you can keep all current settings. Would you rather not? Then you can use Google Takeout to export all your data. Converting all your data to a free Gmail account in one click is not provided by Google. You have to manually create a new account and use the export function to collect all your data first and then import it.
Do you have to pay?
Unsure if you are a victim of this new rule? Surf to admin.google.com and go to Billing. If you’re sitting there at the top with a notification that you’re using “G Suite legacy free edition” and better upgrade to “Google Workspace Business Starter,” you’ve been hit.
Below that, you can see how many users you have configured and therefore also know at 5.20 euros (excl. VAT) per user what your monthly cost would be. Do you have other Google apps like Google Drive linked to the same G Suite account? Double check your account’s entire Google ecosystem if you are not switching to a paid version and are considering another service.
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