Microsoft 365 and Office 365 platform service description
Microsoft 365 and Office 365 are available in a variety of plans to best meet the needs of your organization. If you're looking for the differences between the plans, including Exchange Online plans, this article will show you which features are included in each of them.
Microsoft 365 and Office 365 deliver the power of cloud productivity to businesses of all sizes, helping save time, money, and free up valued resources. The Microsoft 365 and Office 365 plans combine the familiar Microsoft Office desktop suite with cloud-based versions of Microsoft's next-generation communications and collaboration services—including Microsoft Exchange Online, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Office for the web, and Microsoft Skype for Business Online—to help users be productive from virtually anywhere through the internet.
To compare features across plans, see Powerful tools to support your enterprise or, for a more detailed list of features, see the relevant service description under Microsoft 365 and Office 365 service descriptions.
For information on Office 365 Education plans, start with the Office 365 Education page.
For information on Office 365 US Government plans, start with the Office 365 US Government page.
For information on Office 365 operated by 21Vianet, start with the Office 365 operated by 21Vianet page.
For information on Office 365 Germany, start with the Office 365 Germany page.
Office 365 plans
Office 365 is available in a variety of plans to best meet the needs of your organization. For information about different plans, including standalone plan options and information on moving from one plan to another, see Office 365 plan options.
To learn about volume licensing, see Licensing Terms and Documentation.
Microsoft 365 and Office 365 plans and pricing for nonprofits
For organizations that qualify for Microsoft 365 and Office 365 plans for nonprofits, these plans include exactly the same features as the corresponding business plans (for example, Office 365 E5 for nonprofits includes the same features as Office 365 E5). The only difference between the equivalent plans is the price you pay. For more information about Microsoft 365 and Office 365 plans for nonprofits, see Compare Microsoft 365 and Office 365 offers for nonprofits, and Productivity solutions for nonprofits.
System requirements
For system requirements for Microsoft 365 and Office 365, the monthly subscription-based services available for business, education, and government organizations, see System requirements for Microsoft 365 and Office resources.
Service Level Agreement
For information about Service Level Agreements, see Service Level Agreement. For information about recent uptimes for Office 365, see Service health and continuity.
Security & Compliance Center
For information about the Security & Compliance Center and links to additional information and availability, see Security & Compliance Center.
Data storage location
To learn where your data is stored, see the Where your customer data is stored.
Multi-Geo capabilities
Multi-Geo enables a single organizations to span multiple Office 365 datacenter geographies, and gives you the ability to store data for Exchange Online and OneDrive for Business, at-rest, on a per-user basis, in your chosen geography.
Available Geos: Asia Pacific, Australia, Canada, European Union, India, Japan, Korea, United Kingdom, United States.
To learn more, see Introducing Multi-Geo in Office 365.
Feature availability across plans
The following table lists all platform features.
For specific information about pricing and features in the plans for various business types, see the following pages:
Education: Office 365 Education plans and pricing
U.S. Government: Office 365 U.S. Government plans
Nonprofit: Compare Microsoft 365 and Office 365 offers for nonprofits
Office 365 Germany: Office 365 Germany plans
Several of the Microsoft 365 for business plans have add-ons that you can buy for your subscription. An add-on provides additional functionality to the subscription. For more information, see Buy or manage add-ons.
| Feature | Microsoft 365 Business Basic | Microsoft 365 Apps for business | Microsoft 365 Business Standard | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 administration |
|||||||
| Administer Office 365 by using the Microsoft 365 admin center or Windows PowerShell |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Protect content by using Azure Information Protection |
No2 |
No2 |
No2 |
No2 |
Yes |
Yes |
No2 |
| Microsoft 365 suite features |
Microsoft 365 Business Basic |
Microsoft 365 Apps for business |
Microsoft 365 Business Standard |
Office 365 Enterprise E1 |
Office 365 Enterprise E3 |
Office 365 Enterprise E5 |
Office 365 Enterprise F3 |
| Microsoft Bookings |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Microsoft Briefing email20 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Microsoft Power Automate |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes12 |
| Microsoft Forms |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Microsoft Graph API |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Microsoft MyAnalytics18 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Microsoft Planner |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Microsoft PowerApps |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Microsoft Project for the web 21 |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Microsoft StaffHub |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Microsoft Stream |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes16 |
| Microsoft Sway |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes8 |
Yes8 |
Yes8 |
Yes8 |
| Microsoft Teams10 |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Microsoft Delve |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Microsoft 365 Groups |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Office 365 Video |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes11 |
| OneNote Class Notebook |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes13 |
No |
| Microsoft Kaizala17 |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Microsoft Search | No |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
| User account management |
Microsoft 365 Business Basic |
Microsoft 365 Apps for business |
Microsoft 365 Business Standard |
Office 365 Enterprise E1 |
Office 365 Enterprise E3 |
Office 365 Enterprise E5 |
Office 365 Enterprise F3 |
| Cloud identity, Federated identity, or Multi-factor authentication |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Office 365 desktop setup |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Bulk upload Using .csv files |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Directory Sync tool |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Exchange simple (cutover) migration |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Delete accounts and reset user passwords from Microsoft 365 or by using Windows PowerShell3 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Users can change their own password4 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Manage licenses |
Yes6 |
Yes6 |
Yes6 |
Yes6 |
Yes6 |
Yes6 |
Yes6 |
| Manage security groups from Microsoft 365 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Multiple administrator roles available |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Allow a partner to administer Microsoft 365 for you |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Azure Active Directory services19 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Domains |
Microsoft 365 Business Basic |
Microsoft 365 Apps for business |
Microsoft 365 Business Standard |
Office 365 Enterprise E1 |
Office 365 Enterprise E3 |
Office 365 Enterprise E5 |
Office 365 Enterprise F3 |
| Add custom 2nd-level domains, like fourthcoffee.com |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Add custom 3rd-level domains, like marketing.fourthcoffee.com |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Add up to 900 custom domains |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| DNS records managed by Office 365 (full redelegation) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| DNS records managed at your DNS hosting provider (partial redelegation) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Use name.onmicrosoft.com domain or a custom domain name for email addresses and Skype for Business Online |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Use name.sharepoint.com for your team site |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Use a custom domain name for your team site |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
| Host a public website with a different provider |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Use a different provider for email and IM |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Domain ownership verification required for custom domains |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Automated domain purchase and domain verification available for domains purchased through Go Daddy |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Service health and continuity |
Microsoft 365 Business Basic |
Microsoft 365 Apps for business |
Microsoft 365 Business Standard |
Office 365 Enterprise E1 |
Office 365 Enterprise E3 |
Office 365 Enterprise E5 |
Office 365 Enterprise F3 |
| Status information available on the Service health or Service status page |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Status of individual alerts available on the Microsoft 365 admin center dashboard |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Reports |
Microsoft 365 Business Basic |
Microsoft 365 Apps for business |
Microsoft 365 Business Standard |
Office 365 Enterprise E1 |
Office 365 Enterprise E3 |
Office 365 Enterprise E5 |
Office 365 Enterprise F3 |
| Active and inactive mailboxes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| New and deleted mailboxes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| New and deleted groups |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Mailbox usage |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Types of mailbox connections |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Sent and received mail |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Top senders and recipients |
Yes |
-- |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Spam detections |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Malware detections |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Top malware for mail |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Rule matches for mail |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Top rule matches for mail |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Top DLP policy matches for mail |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| DLP policy matches by severity for mail |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| DLP policy matches, overrides, and false positives for mail |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Top DLP rule matches for mail |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| IM and audio sessions |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Application sharing, web, and dial-in conferences |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Video, application sharing, and file transfer sessions |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| IM and audio/video conferences |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Downloadable mail protection reports |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Browser used |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Operating system used |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Create your own reports using Microsoft 365 reporting web services |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Service updates |
Microsoft 365 Business Basic |
Microsoft 365 Apps for business |
Microsoft 365 Business Standard |
Office 365 Enterprise E1 |
Office 365 Enterprise E3 |
Office 365 Enterprise E5 |
Office 365 Enterprise F3 |
| Regular updates provided to all customers |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Notifications sent to Message Center when action is required |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Roadmap.office.com for some service updates |
Yes |
-- |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Option to turn on Targeted release |
Yes |
-- |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Help and training |
Microsoft 365 Business Basic |
Microsoft 365 Apps for business |
Microsoft 365 Business Standard |
Office 365 Enterprise E1 |
Office 365 Enterprise E3 |
Office 365 Enterprise E5 |
Office 365 Enterprise F3 |
| Online help |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Community |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Other self-help resources |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Self-paced training |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Networking |
Microsoft 365 Business Basic |
Microsoft 365 Apps for business |
Microsoft 365 Business Standard |
Office 365 Enterprise E1 |
Office 365 Enterprise E3 |
Office 365 Enterprise E5 |
Office 365 Enterprise F3 |
| IPv4 and IPv6 protocols |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Trust |
Microsoft 365 Business Basic |
Microsoft 365 Apps for business |
Microsoft 365 Business Standard |
Office 365 Enterprise E1 |
Office 365 Enterprise E3 |
Office 365 Enterprise E5 |
Office 365 Enterprise F3 |
| Privacy, security, and transparency |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Office 365 Cloud App Security |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
| Microsoft Defender for Office 365 |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
| Customer Lockbox |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
| Customer Key14 |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
| Advanced eDiscovery15 |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
| Basic Audit22 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Advanced Audit22 |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
| Microsoft Secure Score7 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Threat Intelligence |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
| Compliance |
|||||||
| SAS 70 / SSAE16 Assessments |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| ISO 27001 certified |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| EU Model Clauses |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| EU Safe Harbor |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| HIPAA-Business Associate Agreement |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| FISMA Authority to Operate |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Microsoft Data Processing Agreement |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| PCI-governed PAN data |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
| BlackBerry |
Microsoft 365 Business Basic |
Microsoft 365 Apps for business |
Microsoft 365 Business Standard Office 365 Germany Business Premium |
Office 365 Enterprise E1 |
Office 365 Enterprise E3 |
Office 365 Enterprise E5 |
Office 365 Enterprise F3 |
| Use BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Partners |
|||||||
| Create trial invitations and purchase orders for a customer who is using the specified plan |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Provide delegated administration |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Service Level Agreement |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Product use rights |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
1 Microsoft 365 and Office 365 do not provide support for any operating system that is not supported by its manufacturer.
2 Azure Information Protection is not included, but can be purchased as a separate add-on and will enable the supported Information Rights Management (IRM) features. Some Azure Information Protection features require a subscription to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, which is not included with Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Office 365 Enterprise E1, Office 365 Education, or Office 365 Enterprise F3. The Office client apps that come with Microsoft 365 Apps for business also support full Azure Information Protection (Plan 1) features.
3 If using directory synchronization with a local Active Directory, you must delete accounts or change passwords by using the local Active Directory, rather than the Microsoft 365 portal by using the Azure Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell.
4 To learn how to set self-service password management policies for users, see Reset your work or school password using security info.
6 Reducing seats that were purchased with a term discount may be subject to an early termination fee. This is not applicable for subscriptions paid on a monthly basis.
7 Available at the Microsoft Secure Score security page. Requires admin permissions. For more information, see Microsoft Secure Score.
8 Microsoft Sway is not currently available for customers in certain geographies. Some legacy Office 365 plans that are no longer in market as of August 2015 may also not have access to Microsoft Sway.
9 Diminished experience. If your organization is dependent upon Internet Explorer 8 or Internet Explorer 9 to access older web apps and services, you may want to consider upgrading to Internet Explorer 11 and evaluating Enterprise Mode for Internet Explorer 11. This update helps provide better backward compatibility for legacy web apps.
10 Microsoft Teams is available in Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Office 365 Enterprise (E1, E3, E5, F3), and the Office 365 Education plans.
11 In Office 365 Enterprise F3, Office 365 Video is limited to viewing only (no publishing or sharing).
12 In Office 365 Enterprise F3, Flow is limited to consumption only and runs are limited to 750 per user per month.
13 Only available in Office 365 Education plans, including Office 365 E5 Education. It is not available in Office 365 Enterprise E5.
14 For more information, see Service encryption with Customer Key.
15 Advanced eDiscovery is supported in the United States and in the Western Europe (Netherlands) region. (Customer data from Canada and Asia Pacific is exported to the United States. Customer data from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa is exported to Western Europe [Netherlands].)
16 Consumption only for Microsoft Stream: no publishing or sharing.
17 Starting in May 2019, existing eligible SKUs of Office 365 and Microsoft 365 will be backfilled with Kaizala Pro. From June 1, 2019, Kaizala Pro will be included in all eligible Office 365 and Microsoft 365 SKUs.
18 For more information, see MyAnalytics plans and environments.
19 Includes the Azure Active Directory features described in the Office 365 Apps column on the Azure Active Directory pricing page. You must add Azure Active Directory Plan 1 or Plan 2, Enterprise Mobile Security, or Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 to get the premium Azure AD features.
20 The Briefing email is provided automatically to all users of Exchange Online. For more information, see Configure Briefing email.
21 Users are provided view-only access to Project for the web. These rights are restricted for use only with the Project for the web application and only for tenants that have a Project Plan 1, Project Plan 3, or Project Plan 5 license. These rights do not grant access to Power Platform applications or other data sets, Project Online desktop client, or Project Online. For feature details, see the Microsoft Project service description.
22 Audit in Microsoft 365 provides organizations with visibility into many types of audited activities across different services in Microsoft 365. Use the Security & Compliance Center audit log search to view user and administrator activity in your organization. You can also use the Office 365 Management Activity API to retrieve events from the unified audit log. When an audited activity is performed by a user or admin, an audit record is generated and stored in the audit log for the customer organization. The length of time that an audit record is retained (and searchable in the audit log) depends on the customer's Office 365 or Microsoft 365 Enterprise subscription and the type of the license assigned to specific users.