Google unveils paid Gmail upgrade for small businesses 

Workspace Individual will launch soon in the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Australia and Japan. File photo: Gareth Fuller/PA

Google has unveiled an option for small businesses in a a number of countries to upgrade their Gmail accounts for greater calendaring, video chat and email newsletter functionalities.

Google Workspace Individual, which starts at $7.99 (€6.60) monthly in the US including a temporary $2 discount, adds to the company's expanding efforts to have users subscribe to some of its services such as YouTube and Google Photos.  

Subscription sales could help Google grow revenue beyond advertising. The small-business offering compares with existing plans aimed at larger organisations that have their own websites to use in email addresses. 

Javier Soltero, vice president for Google Workspace, told reporters his unit had been informally saving photos of business cards or work vehicles mentioning an "@Gmail.com" address to "remind ourselves of the sheer number of people using our consumer products to run their businesses".

Those that upgrade for appointment booking, newsletter production and other tools should be able to provide a more professional experience to clients, he said. 

Workspace Individual will launch soon in the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Australia and Japan. 

Reuters