Comparison
Jan 25, 2026
CEO and co-founder
Google Workspace Pricing for Agencies: The Hidden Cost of Scaling Cold Email
The true cost of Google Workspace for cold email agencies
Google Workspace works well for business collaboration, but using it for high-volume cold email creates a cost structure that works against your margins as you grow.
Per-inbox licensing fees at scale
Google Workspace Business Starter costs $7 per user per month with an annual commitment. Choose monthly billing and you're paying $8.40 per user. Google increased these prices from the $6 per user rates that many agencies budgeted around when they started.
Here's what that looks like at scale:
Inbox | Annual Commitment ($/month) | Monthly Billing ($/month) | Annual Cost |
20 inboxes | $140 | $168 | $1,680-2,016 |
50 inboxes | $350 | $420 | $4,200-5,040 |
100 inboxes | $700 | $840 | $8,400-10,080 |
200 inboxes | $1,400 | $1,680 | $16,800-20,160 |
Domain costs add another layer. Most agencies purchase domains at$10-20 per yearfor standard .com extensions. For 50 domains, that's another $500-1,000 annually, or roughly $42-83 per month.
The critical issue is that per-seat pricing scales linearly with your inbox count. Land five new clients requiring 40 new inboxes, and your infrastructure costs jump $280-336 per month before those clients generate a single dollar in revenue. As one Inframail user noted:
"So affordable that it will make your unit economics work, even for lower ticket b2b businesses like ours" - Verified user review of Inframail (38 5-star reviews)
The hidden administrative tax of manual setup
The licensing fees are visible on your invoice. The time costs hide in your calendar. Manual DNS configuration for cold email domains requires logging into registrar panels, creating SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records, waiting for propagation, and testing before campaigns launch.
Manual DMARC, DKIM, and SPF setup takes about an hour per domain in active work, then 24 to 48 hours for DNS propagation. If you value your time at $100 per hour, a 50-domain deployment represents thousands in hidden labor costs just to get infrastructure operational. As one cold email operator put it after switching to automated infrastructure:
When to switch: The 20-inbox breaking point
Below 20 inboxes, Google Workspace works fine for cold email. The costs stay manageable, and you can personally monitor deliverability across all accounts. The math changes as you scale toward 50 inboxes.
At 20 inboxes on Google Workspace annual billing, you're paying $140 per month. Add $17 per month in amortized domain costs and you're at $157 per month total. That's within the range where the administrative overhead hasn't become a major time sink yet.
Cross the 50-inbox threshold and the dynamics shift. Your licensing hits $350-420 per month. Infrastructure setup that should take 2 days stretches to 7-10 days waiting for DNS propagation. As one agency operator described the experience after making the switch:
"I can set-up inboxes in 5mins while saving money on Google Workspace subscriptions and benefit from great deliverability." - Verified user review of Inframail (38 5-star reviews)
The Ultimate Cold Email Infrastructure Guide walks through exactly where these breaking points occur. For most agencies, the 20-30 inbox range is where you should start evaluating flat-rate alternatives.
Google Workspace vs. Inframail: A cost analysis
Here are the actual numbers using Google's published pricing and Inframail's Unlimited Plan at $129 per month for unlimited inboxes (or $327/month for the Agency Pack). Domain costs assume an average of $12 per domain annually.
Scenario A: 50 inboxes (The margin killer)
At 50 inboxes, the cost difference becomes material to your agency's profitability.
Cost Component | Google Workspace | Inframail |
Platform/Licensing | $350-420/month | $129/month |
Domain costs (50 × $12/yr) | $50/month | $50/month |
Monthly Total | $400-470/month | $179/month |
Annual Total | $4,800-5,640 | $2,148 |
Monthly Savings vs GW | Baseline | $221-291 |
That $221-291 per month improves net margin by 1.4-1.8 percentage points for an agency billing $16,000 monthly across 8 clients. It's the difference between struggling to afford a $50k junior hire and having the financial runway to invest in growth.
Our help center explains how to calculate your email sending capacity to determine the right plan for your agency's volume.
Scenario B: 200 inboxes (The growth blocker)
At 200 inboxes, per-seat pricing becomes a genuine barrier to scaling.
Cost Component | Google Workspace | Inframail |
Platform/Licensing | $1,400-1,680/month | $129/month |
Domain costs (200 × $12/yr) | $200/month | $200/month |
Monthly Total | $1,600-1,880/month | $329/month |
Annual Total | $19,200-22,560 | $3,948 |
Monthly Savings vs GW | Baseline | $1,271-1,551 |
At this scale, you're saving over $15,000 annually on infrastructure alone. That's enough to fund a significant portion of a full-time hire or invest in business development.
The flat-rate model means adding 50 more inboxes costs you only the domains. On Google Workspace, that same expansion adds $350-420 per month in licensing. One user managing over 1,000 accounts shared their experience:
"I personally have over 1,000 email accounts with Inframail for one flat price. Adding all those records would have probably taken dozens of hours. Instead all records were added within 10 minutes." - Verified user review of Inframail (38 5-star reviews)
Watch the 200+ Appointments PER MONTH w/ Inframail interview with Bhavesh Kumar for a real example of what this infrastructure enables at scale.
How to migrate from Google Workspace without losing deliverability
The biggest fear when switching infrastructure is deliverability disruption. You've spent months building domain reputation. The thought of starting over feels risky. But the migration process is more straightforward than most founders expect.
Exporting data and warming up new domains
Migration follows a clear sequence:
Purchase or transfer domains: Bring existing domains into the new platform or purchase new ones. Inframail charges $5 per domain for transfers, versus $10-20 typical market rates.
Automated DNS configuration: Platforms like Inframail auto-configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records without manual panel access. What takes hours per domain manually happens in seconds automatically.
Connect to sending tools: Export IMAP/SMTP credentials as CSV files and import directly into Instantly, Smartlead, or Reachinbox. Our help center covers what email platforms work with Inframail.
Warmup new inboxes: New inboxes require warmup before campaign volume. Our guide on how to warm up your inboxes after migrating walks through the process.
One user described the migration experience:
For a complete walkthrough, watch How to send 1000+ Cold Emails Per Day using Inframail which covers the 4-minute setup process. The Dedicated IP vs Shared IP Pools video explains why isolated reputation control matters for deliverability.
"One of the best mailbox infra vendors I have ever used...support is practically 24/7 with at max a 2min wait to get a question answered." - Verified user review of Inframail (38 5-star reviews)
Protect your margins to scale
Beyond direct cost savings, automated DNS configuration reclaims dozens of hours for a 50-domain deployment. That's time you can redirect toward sales calls, client strategy, and the activities that actually grow revenue.
As one long-term user summarized:
"Been using Inframail for 2+ years now...Pretty solid deliverability compared to other platforms I've used in the past." - Verified user review of Inframail (38 5-star reviews)
Stop paying a tax on your growth. Sign up to Inframail and get started today.
Frequently asked questions
Is Google Workspace better for deliverability than dedicated infrastructure?
Not necessarily. Google Workspace uses shared IP pools where your reputation can be affected by other senders. Dedicated IPs give you isolated reputation control based on your own sending practices.
Can I mix Google Workspace and Inframail for different purposes?
Yes. Many agencies keep Google Workspace for their primary business inboxes (internal communication, client calls) and use Inframail for high-volume cold outreach domains where flat-rate pricing makes financial sense.
What are the hidden fees in Google Workspace for cold email?
Beyond the $7-8.40 per inbox licensing, consider: storage limits (30GB pooled per user on Business Starter), potential price increases, and the labor cost of manual DNS configuration.
How long does it take to set up infrastructure on Inframail versus manually?
Manual DNS setup takes approximately 1 hour of active work per domain plus 24-48 hours for propagation. Inframail users report setting up 10 inboxes in under 10 minutes with automatic DNS configuration.
Do I need separate warmup tools with Inframail?
Warmup is available on Unlimited and Agency plans. For higher volumes or advanced use cases, some agencies layer external warmup tools for additional control.
Key terminology
Per-seat pricing: A pricing model where you pay a separate fee for each individual user or inbox added to your account. Google Workspace charges $7-8.40 per seat, meaning costs scale directly with inbox count.
Dedicated IP: An IP address used exclusively by one sender for email delivery. Unlike shared IP pools where your reputation depends partly on other users' behavior, dedicated IPs let you control your deliverability through your own sending practices.
DNS propagation: The time required (typically 24-48 hours) for DNS changes like SPF, DKIM, or DMARC records to update across global internet servers after you make changes at your domain registrar.
SPF/DKIM/DMARC: Email authentication protocols that verify sender identity. SPF specifies which servers can send email for your domain, DKIM adds a digital signature to verify message integrity, and DMARC tells receiving servers how to handle authentication failures.
Flat-rate pricing: A pricing model where you pay one fixed monthly fee regardless of how many users or inboxes you add. Inframail charges $129 per month whether you have 10 inboxes or 200 inboxes.
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): The complete cost of using a tool or service including licensing fees, setup labor, domain costs, and administrative time. TCO reveals hidden costs beyond the sticker price.
