Google has decided to start charging $50 per user, per year for companies that use Google Apps for businesses.

Existing customers will not be charged this new fee and individuals can still open a free personal account. If you want to open a free trial of the business account, follow this link. What do you think about Google’s new pricing structure? Here’s more from Google:

For Businesses, instead of two versions, there will be one. Companies of all sizes will sign up for our premium version, Google Apps for Business, which includes 24/7 phone support for any issue, a 25GB inbox, and a 99.9% uptime guarantee with no scheduled downtime. Pricing is still $50 per user, per year. Please note this change has no impact on our existing customers, including those using the free version. And as before, Google Apps for Education will be available as a free service for schools and universities. Also, as the first cloud productivity suite with FISMA certification, we’ll continue to offer Google Apps for Government for $50 per user, per year.