Explore the available licensing and management options
Every organization and person has unique requirements, so Microsoft offers various subscription plans and a range of licensing options to meet the needs of people and organizations.
Subscription plans
The pricing associated with your account depends on the subscription and the number of licensed users. Each service has a specified price that's typically rated on a per-user, per-month basis.
Note
The plans, exact set of features, pricing, and licensing requirements can vary between countries and regions. If you require a Microsoft 365 subscription for a non-US organization, contact your regional sales representative to learn what subscriptions, plans, features, and pricing are available.
Let's explore some of the more familiar subscription plans offered:
Microsoft 365 for home
Microsoft 365 for home exists to bring the same great productivity benefits into your personal and family life. Microsoft 365 Home comes in two plans, Microsoft 365 Personal and Microsoft 365 Family. Personal is for a single person with multiple devices and family is for up to six people. For more information, see Compare All Microsoft 365 Plans (Formerly Office 365) - Microsoft Store.
Microsoft 365 Education
Microsoft 365 Education is available for educational institutions to help empower educators to unlock creativity and promote teamwork while providing a safe experience in a single, affordable solution. Academic licenses can be tailored to fit any institution’s needs, including productivity and security solutions for faculty, staff, and students. Microsoft 365 Education has three subscription plans for faculty and students that include different features: A1, A3, and A5. For more information, see Microsoft 365 Education - Microsoft Education.
Microsoft 365 Government
Microsoft 365 Government is available for government institutions to help empower US public sector employees to work together in a secure way. Microsoft 365 Government has two subscription plans that include different features: G3, and G5. Your organization can also choose from two Office 365 subscription tiers: Office 365 Government G3 and Office 365 Government G5. For more information, see Microsoft 365 Government.
Microsoft 365 for business
Microsoft 365 for business is designed for small to medium-sized organizations that have up to 300 employees. It offers the full set of Office 365 productivity tools and includes security and device management features. There are four subscription tiers that include different features: Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Microsoft 365 Business Premium, and Microsoft 365 Apps for business. For more information, see Microsoft 365 for Business | Small Business | Microsoft 365.
Microsoft 365 Enterprise
Microsoft 365 Enterprise is designed for enterprise-sized organizations. It provides enterprise-class services to organizations that want a productivity solution that includes robust threat protection, security, compliance, and analytics features. Microsoft 365 Enterprise has three subscription tiers that include different features: Microsoft 365 E3, Microsoft 365 E5, and Microsoft 365 F3. For more information, see Compare Microsoft 365 Enterprise plans. Your organization can also choose from four Office 365 subscription tiers: Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, Office 365 E1, Office 365 E3, and Office 365 E5. For more information, see Compare Office 365 Enterprise | Microsoft.
To learn more about subscription plans offered to empower frontline workers or nonprofit organizations, see Frontline worker Productivity Tools | Microsoft 365 and Compare Microsoft 365 Nonprofit Plans | Microsoft 365 respectively.
Licenses
A license, or base license allows users to use the features and services included in the subscription plan. When you buy a subscription, you specify the number of licenses you need, based on the number of people you have in your organization. After you buy a subscription, you create accounts for people in your organization, and then assign a license to each person. As your organizational needs change, you can buy more licenses to accommodate new people, or reassign licenses to other users when someone leaves your organization.
Microsoft 365 products and services are available as user subscription licenses (USLs) and are licensed on a per-user basis. Each user accessing Microsoft 365 products and services is required to be assigned a USL. Administrators manage licenses in the Microsoft 365 admin center. They can assign the licenses to individual user or guest accounts. The following list describes the options available:
- Full USLs are for new customers who haven't previously purchased Microsoft products and services.
- Add-on USLs are for on-premises software customers who want to add Microsoft 365 cloud products and services.
- From SA USLs are for on-premises Software Assurance customers that want to transition to the cloud.
- Step Up USLs are for customers who want to upgrade the level of their service.
Types of add-ons
Microsoft 365 business plans have add-ons that you can purchase for your subscriptions. Add-ons provide more capabilities to enhance your subscription. There are two types of add-ons:
- Traditional add-ons are linked to a specific subscription. If you cancel the subscription, the linked add-on is also canceled.
- Standalone add-ons appear as a separate subscription on the "Your products" page within the Microsoft 365 admin center. They have their own expiration date and are managed the same way you would any other subscription.