For a long time, Microsoft sold individual Office Products such as Excel and Word, and Business products such as Powerpoint and SharePoint. Now they have shifted to a subscription model where users have to pay monthly to use these services. One can consider any subscription plan, according to your needs or budget.
Let’s start with the proper understanding of these plans i.e.
Best Cost Differentiate Between Business & Enterprise Microsoft 365 Plans
Choosing the right plan for your needs is essential to your workflow. Now, we will compare Office 365 plans in detail.
| Plan | Cost per Month / User | Cost per Year / User |
| Windows 365 Premium | 66 USD | — |
| Windows 365 Standard | 41 USD | — |
| Basic Windows 365 | 31 USD | — |
| Teams Essentials | 4.80 USD | 48 USD |
| Teams Enterprise | 6.3 USD | 63 USD |
| Microsoft Office 365 E5 | 42.9 USD | 429 USD |
| Office 365 E3 | 24.9 USD | 249 USD |
| Microsoft Office 365 E1 | 9.3 USD | 93 USD |
| Office 365 F3 | 8 USD | — |
| Office 365 F1 | 2.25 USD | — |
| Apps of Microsoft 365 for Enterprise | 12 USD | — |
| Apps of Microsoft 365 for Business | 9.9 USD | 99 USD |
| Business plan with Teams | 26.4 USD | 264 USD |
| Microsoft 365 Business Premium | 23.7 USD | 237 USD |
| Business Standard with Teams | 15 USD | 150 USD |
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard | 12.3 USD | 123 USD |
| Business Basic with Teams | 7.2 USD | 72 USD |
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic | 5.7 USD | 57 USD |
The key takeaways(compare Office 365 plans) from looking at this table:
- These business plans are designed to focus more on smaller businesses and include applications such as Outlook, Word, Excel, and more. For collaborative features, Microsoft has included Teams in some plans.
- A new category for frontline personnel is also available and it is named as the F-N category. This comes with Teams for collaboration and is generally cheaper as compared to other plans.
- The Microsoft 365 Apps plan gives users access to productivity applications without additional services that are generally included in other plans.
- Microsoft Enterprise E3 and E5 plans are more focused on larger organizations as they offer a larger number of features and options for security.
- Windows 365 gives users a cloud-based desktop experience and its pricing is per month.
Overview of Office 365 Business Plans – Compare Office 365 Plans!
These business plans are developed by Microsoft for smaller businesses with less than 300 employees. Let us see what is included in this plan:
| Business app | Basic | Standard | Premium |
| Word | Available for web and mobile only. | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Excel | Available for web and mobile only. | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| PowerPoint | For web and mobile only. | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Azure Information Protection | — | — | ✔️ |
| Microsoft Defender | — | — | ✔️ |
| Intune | — | — | ✔️ |
| Microsoft Entra ID | — | — | ✔️ |
| Microsoft Loop | — | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Clipchamp | — | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Exchange | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| SharePoint | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| OneDrive | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Teams | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Outlook | Available for web and mobile only. | ✔️ | ✔️ |
#Microsoft 365 Business Basic Plan Features:
- OneDrive space of 1TB
- SharePoint is available.
- Chat-based workspace for Microsoft Teams.
- Microsoft Planner is included.
- 24/7 web and telephonic support.
- Get custom email addresses.
- Automatic spam and filtering of malware.
#Business Standard Features:
- Onedrive storage space of 1TB.
- Quick deployment of support is available.
- 24/7 web and telephonic support is given to the users.
- Desktop and web versions of Office 2016 suite.
#Microsoft 365 Business Premium Plan Features:
- A custom email domain with 50GB of mailbox storage is available for the users.
- SharePoint is included.
- Desktop versions of Office 365 Suite are available.
- 24/7 Support.
- OneDrive space of 1TB.
- Microsoft Bookings for scheduling appointments.
- Microsoft planner.
Understanding the Office 365 Enterprise Plans
For organizations that have more than 300 users, Office 365 enterprise plans are more suitable. A user can choose between Microsoft E3 vs E5 or E1 licenses. Microsoft has separated the Teams app due to security reasons, but you can still opt for this separately. Let’s compare Office 365 plans for enterprise.
#Office 365 E1:
This plan is great for users just beginning as it has all the basic features a user would need. You should note that this plan does not include any desktop apps. Additionally, it is one of the most popular plans due to its budget-friendly price point and having all the basic applications that a user would need.
#Microsoft Office 365 E3:
This option is the best since it combines security and app availability at an affordable price. It allows message encryption and rights to the management portal along with other features already available in the Office 365 E1 plan.
#Office 365 E5:
This subscription allows users a complete Office experience. It includes advanced features in compliance as well as capabilities which makes it the best choice for users working with important data.
Difference Between Microsoft 365 Enterprise & Business Plans
If we compare Office 365 plans i.e. Microsoft 365 Enterprise and Business Plans, we have to understand many factors including:
- Up to 300 employees can use the business edition. When the number of users increases, you can shift to Microsoft enterprise plans.
- All the business plans have an option to opt for teams. In the enterprise plans, an organization would have to separately subscribe to Teams.
- Enterprise plans are more expensive and even the cheapest plan is $10 more than the premium business plan.
- Enterprise plans get a wider selection of Microsoft apps for users.
The enterprise plans have different & cost-effective options for organizations. It is the F series of plans for workers on the frontline who provide goods or services to customers. If communication is a must, then these plans are the best for you as it comes with a Teams subscription. Despite that, due to any reason if you want to move Office 365 subscription to another tenant, then there are multiple options available online to choose from.
Choosing the Right Plan –
Selecting the right Microsoft 365 plan depends on several factors:
- Number of Users: Home plans suit individuals or families; business plans fit larger teams.
- Application Needs: Decide if you need web/mobile apps or full desktop versions.
- Storage Requirements: All plans include OneDrive; storage amounts and features differ.
- Collaboration Needs: Check if advanced tools like Teams and SharePoint are necessary.
- Security and Compliance: Choose a plan with appropriate security and compliance for sensitive data.
Author’s Suggestion!
Office 365 has become one of the most popular office suites. Over the years, it has shifted from selling individual products to a subscription model where users pay monthly or yearly to make use of the services they need. However since Microsoft has a huge range of services to choose from, it has become quite confusing for users to select the plan according to their needs. Throughout this discussion, we compare Office 365 plans and features. So, from now you have a clear insight as to which subscription is best for you!
Common Queries
Q1. Is the monthly plan or annual plan more cost-effective?
The monthly options are more costly in the long term. Moreover, with the annual plan, users get two months of free usage to try out the service before they purchase the plan. You should keep in mind that enterprise plans do not have an option for a free trial.
Q2. How many licenses can I buy under a plan?
You can get a maximum of 300 licenses for each plan that you purchase. For example, You can get 300 business premium licenses and 300 business essential licenses.
Q3. Can I cancel my subscription at any time?
You can cancel your subscription as you wish. However, you should note that you will not get any refund for the remaining time of your plan.