Review the subscription options in Microsoft 365

  • 4 minutes

One of your first actions when planning for Microsoft 365 is examining the available subscriptions and determining which one best satisfies your organization’s requirements. Choosing the right subscription ensures that users have access to the necessary features and services.

If you choose a subscription that offers more than you need, you end up paying for services and features that you never use. Conversely, if you choose a subscription based solely on price, it may not have the features and services that meet your organization’s requirements. To prepare for your Microsoft 365 project, you must become familiar with the functionality and subscriptions provided by each Microsoft 365 plan:

  • Microsoft 365 Business
  • Microsoft 365 Enterprise
  • Microsoft 365 Education

Microsoft 365 Business

Microsoft 365 Business subscriptions target small and medium-sized organizations that need a cloud collaboration solution and have up to 300 users. There are four Microsoft 365 Business subscriptions:

  • Microsoft 365 Apps for Business (formerly Office 365 Business)

    • Get desktop versions of Office apps: Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote (plus Access and Publisher for PC only).
    • Store and share files with 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage per user.
    • Use one license to cover fully installed Office apps on five mobile devices, five tablets, and five PCs or Macs per user.
    • Automatically update your apps with new features and capabilities every month.

  • Microsoft 365 Business Basic (formerly Office 365 Business Essentials)

    • Host email with a 50-GB mailbox and custom email domain address.
    • Create a hub for teamwork to connect your teams with Microsoft Teams.
    • Access web versions of Office apps: Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote (plus Access and Publisher for PC only).
    • Store and share files with 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage per user.
    • Host online meetings and video conferencing for up to 250 users.

  • Microsoft 365 Business Standard (formerly Office 365 Business Premium)

    • Get desktop versions of Office apps: Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote (plus Access and Publisher for PC only).
    • Host email with a 50-GB mailbox and custom email domain.
    • Create a hub for teamwork with Microsoft Teams.
    • Store and share files with 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage per user.
    • Use one license to cover fully installed, Office apps on five mobile devices, five tablets, and five PCs or Macs per user.

  • Microsoft 365 Business Premium (formerly Microsoft 365 Business)

    • Stay up to date with the latest versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more.
    • Connect with customers and coworkers using Outlook, Exchange, and Teams.
    • Manage your files from anywhere with 1 TB of cloud storage on OneDrive per user.
    • Defend your business against advanced cyberthreats with sophisticated phishing and ransomware protection.
    • Control access to sensitive information using encryption to help keep data from being accidentally shared.
    • Secure devices that connect to your data and help keep iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac devices safe and up to date.

Microsoft 365 Enterprise

Microsoft 365 Enterprise subscriptions target medium-sized and enterprise organizations that need a cloud collaboration solution, compliance tools, a corporate social network, an intranet site and web conferencing, and the ability to include an unlimited number of users. There are four Microsoft 365 Enterprise subscriptions:

  • Office 365 E3
  • Office 365 E5
  • Office 365 F3
  • Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise

The Office 365 E3, E5, and F3 subscriptions offer the following similarities:

  • They all include online versions of Office such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and cloud file storage and sharing capabilities with 1-TB storage per user.
  • They all include email with 100-GB mailbox per user, unlimited instant messaging and HD video conferencing, intranet sites, a corporate social network, Office Graph, a corporate video portal, and meeting broadcast for up to 10,000 users.

The Office 365 E3, E5, and F3 subscriptions have the following differences:

  • Office 365 E3 includes business services such as email, file storage and sharing, Office for the web, meetings and IM, and more, plus the ability to install Office applications locally. However, Office 2019 apps cannot be installed on Office 365 E3. It also includes application enterprise management, self-service business intelligence, and compliance tools such as archiving and legal hold, rights management, data loss prevention, and email and file encryption.
  • Office 365 E5 includes all the features of the E3 subscription, plus advanced security, analytic tools, public switched telephone network (PSTN) conferencing, and cloud PBX (private branch exchange) for cloud-based call management.
  • Office 365 F3 (formerly F1) is designed for Firstline Workers. It doesn't include a license to install Office applications locally because it's a cloud-based subscription that only provides access to online versions of Office.

Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise

Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise (formerly Office 365 Pro Plus) includes online versions of Office, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and cloud file storage and sharing capabilities with 1-TB storage per user. Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise also includes the option to fully install Office applications locally. It also provides enterprise app management and self-service business intelligence capabilities.

Enterprise Mobility and Security

The Enterprise Mobility and Security suite is an add-on service that can be added to the Office 365 E3 and E5 subscriptions. This service provides organizations with other options to protect against unknown device intrusions, malware threats, and other identity protection. When an Enterprise Mobility and Security suite is added to a Microsoft 365 E5 subscription, Cloud App Security and Azure Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) are also included. The Enterprise Mobility and Security suite components are examined in greater detail in the next unit.

Additional reading. For more information, see Enterprise Mobility + Security Pricing Options.

Microsoft 365 Education

Microsoft 365 offers subscriptions for education, nonprofit and government institutions, and home users as well.

Microsoft 365 offers free subscriptions plans for education. Educational institutions can apply for the Office 365 Education subscription, which provides cloud productivity and collaboration solutions for students and teachers. Office 365 Education includes online versions of Office, including Word, OneNote, Excel and PowerPoint, cloud file storage, and sharing capabilities with 1 TB of storage per user.

Microsoft 365 Education also includes email with a 50-GB mailbox per user, instant messaging and Skype connectivity, team sites, school video portals, online classes with audio and HD video conferencing, Yammer for school social network, and compliance tools. Exchange Online provides the email, and Skype for Business Online provides the IM and HD video conferencing.