microsoft 365 business plan vs e3

Office 365 E3 (no Teams)

Office 365 E3 is a cloud-based suite of productivity apps and services with information protection and compliance capabilities included. 

• Install Microsoft 365 for mobile on up to five PCs or Macs, five tablets, and five phones per user.
• Help protect information with message encryption, rights management, and data loss prevention for email and files.
• Safeguard corporate data by allowing more secure access to company resources and enabling safe sharing of sensitive information inside and outside your organization.
• Facilitate legal compliance and email archiving with e-discovery and mailbox hold.

System requirements >

Microsoft Teams licensed separately. Learn more about the new subscription structure >

Originally starting from $20.75 now starting from $20.75

$20.75 $20.75

Annual subscription—auto renews 1

Move your business ahead

Get the latest Microsoft 365 desktop and mobile apps, plus enterprise collaboration services, coupled with advanced compliance features and full IT power. 

Office 365 E3 includes

Benefits unique to Office 365 E3

Exchange Online

Work smarter with 100 GB of business-class email and calendaring.

Microsoft Purview Information Protection

Help protect information with basic Microsoft 365 message encryption and Microsoft 365 Data Loss Prevention (for emails and files).

Microsoft OneDrive for work

Access 1–5 TB (or more) of personal cloud storage from anywhere, on any device. 3 Easily share documents with others inside and outside your organization and control who can see and edit each file.

Additional compliance capabilities

Add to your compliance capabilities with Microsoft Purview eDiscovery and Microsoft Purview Audit (Standard).

SharePoint in Microsoft 365

Share and manage content, knowledge, and apps with SharePoint storage. Empower teamwork, quickly find information, and seamlessly collaborate across the organization.

Shared Office 365 features

Microsoft 365 apps

Install Microsoft 365 apps, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote (PC only), and Access (PC only), on up to five PCs or Macs, five tablets, and five phones per user.

Multilingual user interface for Microsoft 365 apps

Microsoft 365 for mobile

Use Microsoft 365 apps designed for mobile devices and tablets.

Microsoft 365 on the web

Create, share, and collaborate from wherever you are.

Connect and stay organized with email, calendar, and contacts all in one place.

Microsoft Delve

Manage your Microsoft 365 profile with Delve. Discover and organize the information that’s most relevant to you right now across all your Microsoft 365 apps.

Microsoft Whiteboard

Collaborate on ideas and content with a freeform digital canvas.

Microsoft 365 Groups

Use this service, along with the Microsoft 365 tools you already use, to collaborate with teammates when writing documents, creating spreadsheets, working on project plans, scheduling meetings, or sending email.

Microsoft Stream

Upload, organize, and share intelligent video content companywide.

Create visually striking newsletters, presentations, and documents in minutes.

Power Apps for Microsoft 365

Build the business apps you need and extend or customize the apps you already use.

Microsoft Forms

Easily create surveys, quizzes, and polls.

Power Automate for Microsoft 365

Make repetitive tasks easy with workflow automation.

Microsoft Planner

Organize teamwork, create new plans, assign tasks, share files, chat, and get updates on progress.

Microsoft To Do

Plan your day and manage your life.

Microsoft Viva Insights (personal insights)

Help employees thrive with data-driven, privacy-protected insights and personal wellbeing experiences. 4

Microsoft Graph

Use this unified programmability model to access data to build apps for organizations and consumers that interact with millions of users.

Microsoft Viva Engage (community and conversations)

Build meaningful relationships at work by giving employees a place to connect, express themselves, and find belonging. 4

Shared computer activation

Group policy support, Microsoft 365 telemetry, roaming settings

Facilitate legal compliance with email archiving, content search, basic audit, manual retention policies and sensitivity labels.

On-premises Active Directory sync for single sign-on (SSO)

Visio for the web

Create, edit, share, and coauthor professional diagrams and flowcharts with Visio for the web.

Add-on services

Microsoft copilot for microsoft 365.

Use AI to help your organization achieve more than ever before.

Microsoft Teams Enterprise

Add Microsoft Teams as a standalone solution to chat, meet, share files, and work with business apps within a shared workspace.

Microsoft Viva

Create an engaged and productive workforce.

Microsoft Priva Privacy Risk Management

Help identify and protect against privacy risks, and automate and manage subject requests at scale. 

Get more done with Microsoft 365

Help people and teams do their best work.

Microsoft 365 uses the power of the cloud to help people and organizations be more productive.

Office 365 vs. Microsoft 365

Discover which solution will meet your organization’s needs.

Upgrade to Microsoft 365 E3

Help securely enhance workplace productivity and drive innovation with Microsoft 365 E3.

Deployment resources

Get information on Microsoft 365 planning, deployment, and other topics.

Find your path to business resiliency

New research from Enterprise Strategy Group has shown that businesses reap multifaceted benefits from moving to the cloud with Microsoft 365. Answer three simple questions to reveal the next steps on your cloud journey.

Frequently asked questions

What forms of payment can i use.

You can pay with all major credit cards, and your subscription amount will appear on your credit card statement. You also have the option to receive an invoice and, depending on your choice of services, you will be billed monthly or annually. You receive an email message when your invoice is ready to be viewed and, if a purchase order (PO) number is entered when you buy your subscription, that number will be included in your invoice.

What payment options are available? Can I pay monthly or annually?

Annual commitment payment is available for Office 365 Enterprise plans. With annual commitment, you sign up for a one-year subscription, but you can choose to pay month to month or pay for the entire year at the time you sign up.

Do you offer volume discounts to businesses?

Yes, discounts are available for Enterprise Agreement customers who want to purchase through volume licensing. A Microsoft partner can help you explore the purchasing options for large enterprises and help you determine which is best for you. Learn more about volume licensing . Find a Microsoft partner .

Can I cancel my subscription at any time?

You can cancel your subscription at any time. For annual commitment subscriptions, such as Office 365 E3, there is a penalty for canceling before the end of your contract. Read the complete Microsoft Online Subscription Agreement .

What happens to my data if I cancel my subscription?

Your data is yours. If you decide to cancel your Office 365 subscription, you can download your data—for example, your email and documents on team sites—and save it to another location. You should save your data before you cancel. After you cancel your subscription, data associated with your Microsoft 365 account will be available to your administrator(s) in a limited function account for 90 days.

Can I switch to other Office 365 plans?

Yes. If you need to upgrade, you can transition your account to a different plan. For example, you can upgrade from a Microsoft 365 Apps for business plan to an Office 365 Enterprise plan.

In most cases, you can use the Switch plans wizard in your Admin center to upgrade your plan. If your subscription has more than 300 users or if you used a prepaid card to purchase your plan, the Switch plans wizard is not available. Plans that are not eligible for the Switch plans wizard can be upgraded manually. Learn more about upgrading Office 365 plans . 

NOTE: When you upgrade your account, your domain name is transferred to your new account, whether you brought your own domain name to the Microsoft 365 account or you set up a domain name with Microsoft 365.

Will my trial information be transferred to my Office 365 subscription?

Yes. If you purchase an Office 365 subscription with the same number of user accounts you created by the end of your free trial, the information and configuration for these users' accounts will remain intact. Once your free trial expires, you won't be able to continue using Office 365 for free. You will have an additional 30 days to purchase Office 365 before your account information is deleted. Once your trial account information has been deleted, it cannot be retrieved.

I will need extra help setting up my Office 365 subscription. Who can help?

Microsoft partners are trained IT and development companies that can help you move to Office 365 or develop custom solutions for your business. Find a Microsoft partner .

What if I already own a domain name?

You can add the domain name you own to Microsoft 365 to create domain-based email addresses. Find your domain registrar or DNS hosting provider . Compare domain management in Office 365 subscriptions .

Is internet access required for Microsoft 365?

Internet access is required to install and activate all Office 365 plans and to manage your subscription account. Internet connectivity is also required to access Microsoft 365 cloud productivity services, including email, conferencing, IT management, and other services. 

Many Office 365 plans also include the desktop version of Microsoft 365, for example, Microsoft 365 Business Standard and Office 365 E3. One of the benefits of having the desktop version of Microsoft 365 apps is that you can work offline and have the confidence that the next time you connect to the internet all your work will automatically sync, so you never have to worry about your documents being up to date. Your desktop version of Microsoft 365 is also automatically kept up to date and upgraded when you connect to the internet, so you always have the latest tools to help you work. Compare Office 365 plans .

What is Microsoft FastTrack?

FastTrack for Microsoft 365 is the customer success service that helps you move to Microsoft 365, smoothly and with confidence, and deliver business value faster.

The FastTrack Center is a team of hundreds of engineers around the globe, committed to providing IT professionals and partners with a successful Microsoft 365 experience.

Our FastTrack engineers will provide you with remote and personalized assistance to help you prepare your technical environment and ensure a smooth onboarding and migration experience.

The FastTrack Center will contact eligible customers within 30 days of purchasing an Office 365 subscription. FastTrack resources and services are included in subscription plans for customers with at least 50 seats of Microsoft 365 Apps for business and Enterprise plans, as well as paid Government, Kiosk, and Nonprofit plans.

Learn more in the service description  and FastTrack FAQ .

• [1] Cancellation policies for paid subscriptions may vary based on factors such as your customer status, your product, and your domain selections on Microsoft. You may cancel your subscription at any time in the Microsoft 365 admin center. Certain subscriptions may incur a cancellation fee. Learn how to cancel your Microsoft 365 subscription . When a subscription is canceled, all associated data will be deleted. Learn more about data retention, deletion, and destruction in Microsoft 365 .
• [2] After your one-month free trial ends, your subscription will automatically convert into a 12-month paid subscription and you will be charged the applicable subscription fee. Cancel anytime during your free trial to stop future charges. A credit card is required to sign up. Learn more .
• [3] Unlimited OneDrive storage for subscriptions of five or more users. Microsoft will provide initial 5 TB of OneDrive storage per user. Customers who want additional OneDrive storage can request it as needed by contacting Microsoft support. Subscriptions for fewer than five users receive 1 TB of OneDrive storage per user.
• [4] Premium features require a Microsoft Viva license. Microsoft Teams-integrated features require a Teams license to enable but can be used without Teams via web or other in-app experiences.  Learn more .

Connect with Microsoft 365 :

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Office 365: Business Plans Vs. E5, E3 and E1

If you’re looking to migrate to the Cloud, the first thing you need to do is choose a proper Office 365 license. There are multiple options available for SME businesses, and finding the right plan that suits your requirements can be quite a task. We have sorted the difference between Business and Enterprise Office 365 plans that will help you in making the right choice.

Here’s the price comparison between Office 365 Business plans and Enterprise licenses:

Office 365 Business Plans:

Office 365 enterprise plans:.

The unit price for each Office 365 Business and Enterprise plan goes from $6 to $38. The costs can shoot up quickly for organizations with a large number of users. However, you can save money if you organize your plan properly taking into consideration the right functionalities you need. Bundling your required services into your license can help you save a lot of money.

Difference Between Enterprise and Business Plans

If an organization has less than 300 users, both Office 365 plans – Business and Enterprise – can be available. As large organizations use Office 365 plans, you might be still wondering which the right Office 365 plan for you is.

Features of Office 365 Enterprise plans:

• Microsoft Teams – PSTN and PBX conferencing is available as E3 & E5 addons
• Advanced Security Protection
• Advanced Directory Integration
• Delve Analytics
• Litigation Hold
• Application management for enterprise
• Advanced Threat Protection

If you are willing to opt for an annual commitment, you can go for the Enterprise plan. But Business plans are also available on a monthly subscription, as well as a yearly subscription.

Comparison of Office 365 Business Plans:

Fundamentally, Office 365 Business plans were made for small and medium businesses (SMEs) that have fewer than 300 users. Office 365 can be overwhelming with a lot of features, and small businesses might not need them all. Thus, they can opt for Office 365 Business plans.

Let’s see how small businesses can use the Office 365 Business plans. Comparison between Office 365 Business plans:

Microsoft 365 Business Basic (no Teams) (formerly Office 365 Business Essentials)

$4.75/user/month – Annual commitment

Preferred by: Small businesses that don’t depend on Office 365 apps too much.

If you want the basic functions of Office 365 without all the bells and whistles, Office 365 Business Essentials is the best plan for you.

What you get in the Office 365 Business Essentials plan:

• 50 GB mailbox email
• Custom email domain address
• Web-based MS Office 2016 – Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint
• 1 TB of OneDrive storage
• Microsoft Planner
• Yammer to collaborate across departments and locations
• 24/7 technical support via phone, char, and email (Including weekends and U.S. public holidays)

Microsoft 365 Apps for business (Formerly Office 365 Business)

$8.30/user/month – Annual commitment

Preferred by: Small businesses that require only Office 365 apps, online storage, and file sharing

What you get in Office 365 Business plan :

• Desktop-based MS Office 2016 – Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote
• OneDrive and 1 TB of OneDrive storage

Microsoft 365 Business Standard (Formerly Office 365 Business Premium)

$12.50/user/month – Annual commitment

Preferred by: Small businesses that require recent versions of Office 365 applications, preferably desktop versions.

It is the costliest business plan in Office 365. Enterprise E1 is cheaper than Business Premium, so the right choice should be made after looking at all the features.

What you get in the Office 365 Business Premium plan:

Comparison of Office 365 Enterprise Plans:

As the name suggests, Office 365 Enterprise plans are for large enterprises that have more than 300 users. Big companies need more vigorous solutions because their needs are more complicated than those SME. The plans focus more on the needs of enterprise, which heavily focus on compliance and security issues.

Office 365 Enterprise plans offer three plans: E1, E3, E5. These plans are available on the annual contract only.

Let’s see the comparison between Office 365 Enterprise plans:

Office 365 Enterprise E1 (no Teams)

$7.75/user/month – Annual commitment

Preferred by: Enterprises that need features like data governance, but very limited use of MS Office applications

If you want to opt for an Enterprise plan within your budget, opt for the Enterprise E1 plan. This costs less than the Business Premium plan while allowing the benefits of an enterprise plan.

What you’ll get in the Office 365 Enterprise E1 plan:

• Email 50 GB mailbox (only accessible from Outlook online)
• Microsoft Teams for web conferencing, Instant Messaging, online meetings, and presence (Option to add Teams Enterprise at $5.25 u./m.)
• OneDrive for Business
• Video Sharing
• 1 TB OneDrive storage, File sharing
• HD video conferencing
• eDiscovery search
• Data Governance

Difference Between Business Premium and Enterprise E1:

• Email can be accessed only via the online app in the Enterprise E1 plan
• There are no desktop versions of MS Office in the E1 plan, only web-based versions

Office 365 Enterprise E3 (no Teams)

$20.75/user/month – Annual commitment

Preferred by: Enterprises that need features like security, compliance, business intelligence, and voice capabilities.

At best, the E3 plan can be compared to the Business Premium plan because of similar features.

All the features of the Enterprise E1 plan are included in the E3 plan as well. In addition to that, here’s what you’ll get in the Office 365 Enterprise E3 plan:

• Office Client Apps
• Legal compliance
• Information protection: Email Encryption, Rights Admin, DLP
• Azure Rights Management and functions of doc management – Email Encryption, Rights Admin, DLP, Document Encryption
• Email storage for in-place archive
• Unlimited OneDrive storage
• eDiscovery legal hold
• eDiscovery export and case management
• Support for hosted voicemail

There are more features like Exchange Online Archiving, unified eDiscovery, PSTN adding, rights management, DLP, and encryption in the Enterprise E3 plan in comparison with the Business Premium plan.

Office 365 Enterprise E5 (no Teams)

$35.75/user/month – Annual commitment

Preferred by: The costliest Office 365 plan. Enterprises that need all the features of E1 and E3 plan. With the E5 plan, you get all the consolidated features available in Office 365.

All the features of the Enterprise E1 & E3 plans are included in the Enterprise E5 plan as well. In addition to that, here’s what you’ll get in Office 365 Enterprise E5 plan :

• Enhanced security features
• Microsoft’s Business Intelligence tools for end-user organizational analytics
• Office 365 Cloud App Security
• Microsoft Teams (Option to add Teams Enterprise at $5.25 u./m.)
• PSTN conferencing to dial into Teams meetings from anywhere
• Call management in the cloud
• Advanced analytics with Power BI Pro and Microsoft MyAnalytics
• Advanced eDiscovery
• Advanced-Data Governance and Audit
• Advanced security with Advanced Threat Protection and Customer Lockbox
• Data loss prevention for Microsoft Teams chat and channel messages
• Advanced control and presence of Office 365 environment

Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise (Formerly Office 365 ProPlus)

$12/user/month – Annual commitment

Preferred by: Enterprises that don’t really have an email in focus but want compliance and BI features, and who use MS Office on mobile.

• File sharing and 1 TB OneDrive online document storage
• Fully installed Office on PC/Mac
• Office apps on tablets and phones
• Self-service BI in Excel
• Office Online: Create, view, and edit rights for online versions of core Office apps for collaborating on documents
• On-premises AD sync for single sign-on
• Mobile device management

If you are still wondering what’s the right Office 365 plan for you, talk to our Sales team. We’ll understand your requirements, and propose the best possible solution for you.

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Microsoft 365 License Comparison: M365 Business Standard vs. O365 E3

• Post published: April 27, 2021

During your Microsoft 365 License Comparison of Microsoft 365 Business Standard vs. Office 365 E3 , you’ll see that both subscriptions include Office applications for up to 5 PCs, an Exchange mailbox, OneDrive for Business, Microsoft Teams , and Microsoft 365 SharePoint Online , while the price difference is an additional $10.50 user/month for the Office 365 E3 plan.

So, the question is: what exactly is included that justifies the price difference and does your organization need these additional capabilities?

Office 365 and Microsoft 365 License Comparison

Scalability Limits

Firstly, you want to consider scalability limits..

With the Microsoft 365 Business Standard plan, you may run into a few scalability issues. You will only be allowed to license up to 300 users , so if you have more than that currently or plan to soon, you’ll need to ditch the M365 Business Standard options and choose an Enterprise License.

Essentially , you will need to plan for scalability very carefully if you choose Microsoft 365 Business Standard license.

Security Comparison

Moreover, you want to consider security threats to your organization..

To clarify, the Microsoft 365 Business Standard license is a great price for all the features you receive for a small business, with one caveat – Security . 

Above all, Email is still considered the most vulnerable entry-point for security breach due to the public nature of the service. Securing cloud services such as Microsoft Office 365 and Azure requires a comprehensive approach to your devices, networks, and SaaS applications. 

Office 365 E3 Security Additions

Unlike the Business Standard license, Office 365 E3 license is equipped to secure your environment from threats presented daily.  Above all, with Office 365 E3 you will have information protection , including message encryption, rights management, and data loss prevention for email and files.  Lastly, you will also have group policy support and roaming settings. 

How to decide?

In conclusion, review these questions below to decide what Microsoft 365 license is right for your organization:

“ Do we have more than 300 users? “

• Microsoft 365 Business Standard only allows up to 300 users
• Office 365 E3 allows unlimited users

“ What size mailboxes do our users have?”

• Microsoft 365 Business Standard allows up to 50GB mailbox size
• Office 365 E3 allows up to 100GB mailbox size

“ What is our need for security and device management? “

• Office 365 E3 has security and device management included

Contact Enclyne for a Microsoft 365 License Comparison

You might also like, microsoft office 365 rebranding 101: email address changes, what you need to know about office 365’s tls 1.2 rollout, microsoft office 365 e1 vs. business basic.

Compare all Microsoft Office 365 Plans in one Overview

The Microsoft Office 365 plans offer great tools for businesses and enterprises to fully work in the cloud. Microsoft has changed the names of most plans to Microsoft 365 but also kept partially the Office 365 label. Comparing all the plans together on the Microsoft site can sometimes be a bit challenging, so to help you out I have created an overview to compare all office 365 plans.

If you have a small business with less than 300 users, then the most interesting plans are the Microsoft 365 Business plans. Large organizations will have to look at the Office 365 Enterprise and Microsoft 365 plans.

I have also written a couple of articles where I go more into detail between the different plans, you can find the links further down in the article.

Microsoft Office 365 Comparison Chart

The table below will help you to compare the Office 365 plans. The prices are based on an annual subscription model. Enterprise plans are only available in a yearly agreement.

Note Microsoft added new plans without Teams wich are only available in the European Union. These plans are less expensive. Read everything about it in this article

Microsoft 365 Business plans

For most small businesses is the Microsoft 365 Business Standard plan the best choice. With a price of $12.50 per user per month, you get the full Office 365 suite, with the desktop apps, Exchange Online, SharePoint, OneDrive, etc. Everything you need to get your business started in the cloud. If you also want to fully manage your devices (computers, mobile phones) or make use of advanced threat protection, then take a look at the Business Premium plan.

Office 365 Enterprise plans

The Enterprise plans can also be used by companies with less than 300 users, but they are more meant for companies that also need Active Directory integration or features like Litigation Hold and eDiscovery. You get more storage for Exchange Online, OneDrive, and SharePoint with the Enterprise plans.

You can check the prices for your country or buy one of the Office 365 plans here at Office.com

Microsoft Office 365 license comparison

Start with an microsoft office 365 trial.

It can be difficult to select the right plan for your business with the many options that are available for Office 365. It’s good to start with the comparison of Office 365 plans, but keep in mind that you can also start with an Office 365 Trial . This way you can see what will work for your organization.

You can use your own domain for the trial, but only do that when you are really sure you are going to proceed with Office 365. Otherwise use a temporary domain, like Contoso-lab01, to test out Office 365.

There are a couple of trails available, Microsoft 365 Business Standard and Premium and Office 365 Enterprise E3 and E5 . If you have a small company, with less than 50 employees I recommend starting with a Microsoft 365 Business Premium trial. The business plans give you some nice features like Invoicing and Outlook Customer Manager which can be really useful in smaller companies.

If you have more than 50 employees I would recommend going for the Enterprise solution. It’s more expensive, but the Compliance and Information Protection services will help you protect your data and make it easier for you to comply with Business regulations and industry standards.

Comparing the plans side-by-side

I have written multiple in-depth articles about the differences between specific plans. These articles will help you when you can’t choose between E3 and E5 for example.

Microsoft 365 F1 vs Office 365 E1

I got a lot of questions on what the differences are between the Microsoft 365 F1 plan and the existing Office E1 plan. I worked out the details between them, you can read more about it in the in-depth article Microsoft 365 F1 vs Office 365 E1

Office 365 E1 vs E3

Do you want to know when Office 365 E1 is sufficient and what the differences are with Office 365 E3? Check out this article where we go into the differences between the two.

Microsoft 365 Business Premium vs Office E3

They look almost the same, but there is a huge price difference between these two plans. Want to know what these differences are and if E3 is worth the extra money? You can read all the details here in this article .

Microsoft 365 Business Plans

Are you a small business and do you want to know which Microsoft 365 Business Plan is the best fit for you? Then you should check out this article with all the details you need to know about the Business Plans.

Microsoft 365 Plans

Interested in Microsoft 365 as well? Take a look at this article where I explain the differences between Office 365 and Microsoft 365

Wrapping Up

Microsoft offers a lot of different plans, but in general, they offer you a lot of flexibility and can really help your business to grow. I hope this article helped you to compare Office 365 plans. If you have any questions, then just drop a comment below.

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What's the difference between Microsoft 365 plans for home or business

Microsoft 365 is a subscription service that makes sure you always have the most up-to-date modern productivity tools. If you're looking to buy Microsoft 365, but not sure which plan is right for you, use the information below to help guide your decision.

Watch: Business plans versus personal and family plans

Business plans versus personal and family plans

Microsoft 365 business subscriptions

Microsoft 365 business subscriptions  can help you grow your business, no matter if you're a team of one or more. 

Microsoft 365 Family and Personal

Personal and family subscriptions are ideal for personal use like home, personal, or family projects and school related activities.

The right plan for you will depend on what your needs are. Let's explore the options.

If you're leaning towards a business plan, deciding which one can depend on your specific business needs. The Microsoft 365 plan chooser is designed to help you with this. The chooser will make recommendations based on your answers to questions such as the size of your business, your field of work, the devices you use, and what kind of features, IT support, and security you're looking for. See Find the right plan for your business .

Looking for more product details and prices? Check out the comparison tables:  Compare Microsoft 365 for business plans

Buy or try Microsoft 365:

For business      For personal and family

Do you need both a business plan and a personal plan?

In some cases, a single Microsoft 365 plan will suit all your needs, but there might be instances when having both plans is the correct decision for you.

For example, you may want to keep your personal files, photos, and other documents separate from your business, having two plans will allow you to do this.

Additionally, if you already have Microsoft 365 Family that you're sharing with friends and family who aren't part of your business, keeping that personal subscription might be the best thing for everyone. This means you don't have to move anyone off that plan, and you don't have to worry about any personal files you already have associated with that subscription and your personal account. 

Switch from a personal Microsoft 365 subscription to Microsoft 365 for business

Have you already been using Microsoft 365 Family or Personal for your business and now you're ready to switch your business to Microsoft 365 for business? It's possible to transfer your business documents and files to your new business plan. Learn more about your options to help you with this process.

Follow the steps in  Switch from Microsoft 365 for home to a business subscription .

Work with a Microsoft 365 business partner in your area: Find the right partner for you .

Our product experts are available to help you with this free of charge:  Contact product experts online. Note: Help from Microsoft business consultants isn't available in all markets.

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Office 365 License Comparison: Business Plans Vs. E5, E3, and E1

Microsoft 365 business basic (formerly office 365 business essentials), microsoft 365 apps for business (formerly office 365 business), microsoft 365 business standard (formerly office 365 business premium), microsoft 365 business premium, office 365 enterprise f3, office 365 enterprise e1.

• Here’s how Office 365 Enterprise E1 differs from Business Premium:

Office 365 Enterprise E3

• Unlike Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Office 365 E3 includes: 

Office 365 Enterprise E5

Microsoft 365 apps for enterprise (previously office 365 proplus):, microsoft 365 enterprise licenses, microsoft 365 f1, microsoft 365 f3, microsoft 365 e3, microsoft 365 e5, have questions about which office 365 license is right for your organization request a quote to see how much you can save..

Updated September 2022 Choosing an Office 365 license is a critical step before migrating to the cloud. With multiple options for small, medium, and enterprise businesses, navigating the differences can get overwhelming. This Office 365 license comparison will reveal the options available within Business and Enterprise options to help you make the correct choice for your organization. Learn more about:

• Microsoft Licensing Changes in 2022 - The New Commerce Experience
• Microsoft Government Licensing
• Office 365 Educational Licensing
• Microsoft GCC and GCC High Licensing
• Microsoft First Line Worker (F1 & F3) Licensing

Price Comparison for Office 365 Business Plans and Enterprise Licenses

When comparing Office 365 licenses, price is one of the first questions decision-makers ask. Here are the prices of each Office 365 Business and Enterprise license:

The base price per user for Office 365 Business and Enterprise Plans ranges from $6 to $35, and this cost can quickly add up for larger organizations. On the other hand, if you rely on certain functionalities like Rights Management or cloud PBX, bundling these services into your license can actually save your organization money. If you have third party tools for Anti-Virus, eDiscovery, MFA, SIEM etc, these savings can become immense.

It is important to know that Microsoft now requires an annual term for all licensing. Under “The New Commerce Experience” licensing can be accquired as P1Y (Pay One Year) or P1M (Pay One Month) licensing. Month-to-Month pricing is available at a 10% premium. To learn more read our run down on Microsoft New Commerce Experience. To better weigh the costs to your organization, let’s compare the features of the Microsoft 365 Business and Enterprise plans.

How Office 365 Enterprise and Business Plans Differ

Both the Microsoft 365 Business plans and Enterprise plans are available for organizations with fewer than 300 employees.

Because larger companies are more likely to be using Office 365 , you might be contemplating whether to go with a Business or Enterprise option.

Here are some major features you gain with Office 365 Enterprise plans:

• Microsoft Teams PBX and PSTN conferencing (PSTN calling is available as an add-on in E3 and E5)
• Advanced Information Protection
• Advanced Threat Protection
• Active Directory integration
• Viva Insights
• Litigation Hold
• Unlimited archive and mail storage
• Enterprise app management

Enterprise plans are only available when purchased as a one-year commitment.

Here’s a breakdown of all Microsoft 365 Business plans so you can better understand how they differ.

Microsoft 365 Business Plans

Microsoft 365 Business plans were created for small businesses with fewer than 300 employees that might not need all the bells and whistles Enterprise Microsoft 365 and Office 365 offer.

Here’s what’s included in each Microsoft 365 Business plan for small companies.

Looking to get basic Microsoft 365 functionality? Microsoft 365 Business Basic offers business email with 50 GB mailbox storage, custom email domain, and web versions of essential Office 365 applications like Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Here’s what you need to know about the Business Essentials license:

Next is the Office 365 Business plan. Here are the price and specs for this license option:

Microsoft 365 Business Standard adds critical small business tools such as Microsoft Bookings to allows customers to schedule appointments, and Mile IQ for real-time mileage tracking from your mobile devices.

The most powerful Microsoft Business Suite without going for full enterprise plans, Microsoft 365 Business premium takes all of the features of Microsoft 365 Business Standard and rolls in industry leading advanced security features, including Advance Threat Protection against zero-days, ransomware, malware, the ability to selectively wipe company data from mobile devices with Intune, Restrict copying and saving of company information on mobile devices, apply document restrictions and provide unlimited archiving.

Note on GoDaddy’s Microsoft 365

We strongly suggest against purchasing Office 365 or Microsoft 365 from GoDaddy due to both hidden costs, and lack of feature availability. To learn more, read our blog on Migrating from GoDaddy Office 365 to Microsoft Office 365 .

Office 365 Enterprise Plans

Office 365 Business plans are great for companies just starting out or that only require limited functionality. For organizations looking for a more robust solution, Office 365 Enterprise plans are available. With Enterprise plans, your can choose from Office 365 and Microsoft 365 plans. Office 365 only includes Office, while Microsoft 365 is a full suite that includes Office 365, Enterprise Mobility and Security, and Windows 10 Enterprise. These licenses are broken up into E1, E3, and E5 enterprise plans, and F1 and F3 first line worker plans. (Learn all about Microsoft First Line Worker licensing )

Ideal for line workers, drivers, retail staff, Office 365 F3 is focused on workers who do not spend much time in front of a computer. Including popular office apps for web and mobile devices, including Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint. Bring every employee into the fold with Teams collaboration including Task and Shift Management and the unique Walkie Talkie voice mode on mobile.

E1 is the least expensive Enterprise plan. Here’s what you get with the E1 license:

Here’s how Office 365 Enterprise E1 differs from Business Premium :

• With E1, you can only access email via the online application.
• With E1, you lose desktop versions of Office applications. You must use the online versions of Outlook and other Office applications like Word or PowerPoint online.

The E3 license is one of the more popular options for digital-driven businesses. With E3, you gain desktop apps, You gain email, archiving, information protection and more storage options. Additionally, you gain Intune for device management and Azure Information Protection (plan 1) for data loss protection.

Here’s what’s included in E3:

The Microsoft 365 Business Premium plan is most comparable to the Enterprise E3 plan in terms of base features.

Unlike Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Office 365 E3 includes:  

• Exchange Online Archiving (EOA) and Legal Hold
• Unified eDiscovery Center
• Rights management, data loss prevention and encryption
• Ability to add on PSTN

Building off the E1 and E3 business plans, Office 365 E5 is the highest tier Microsoft offers. With this license, you gain Audio Conferencing, Phone System, Power BI pro, Customer Lockbox, and Microsoft Cloud App Security: 

Next, we look at Office 365 Enterprise ProPlus. It is the last Enterprise plan offering.

Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise offers a option for users who don’t need email but want Office 365 applications.

Unlike the consumer branded Microsoft 365, Microsoft 365 Enterprise  is a suite that includes Office 365, Enterprise Mobility and Security, and Windows Enterprise. M365 Enterprise gives you the enterprise security and compliance features you need, while providing cost savings through vendor consolodation and reduced management and training overhead.

While Office 365 F1 was retired in April 2020, Microsoft 365 F1 remains. A cost effective way to give first line workers collaboration tools including Teams, Sharepoint and Yammer, M365 F1 lacks email and while it includes Office apps for Web and Mobile devices, that access is just read only. This gives desk-less workers the ability read documentation no matter where they are. While this license is incredibly cost effective, you should consider if users may have a need to edit for tasks such as inventories, security logging, etc. before settling on F1 licensing.

M365 F3 bring email into the fold for desk-less workers, but also gives workers the ability to edit documents with mobile and web Office applications, while providing Windows 10 Enterprise features for users with existing Win 10 Pro installs. Enabling M365 enterprise security features including Device and Credential Guard, Windows Hello for Passwordless sign on, Secure Score, and Windows Virtual Desktop (Additional licensing needed)

M365 E3 brings together best in productivity and collaboration with Office 365 Enterprise E3, Enterprise Mobility and Security E3. and Windows 10 E3

E5 is the most feature packed of the suites, bringing an integrated phone system and audio conferencing into the mix, as well as advanced security tools such as Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat protection, and Microsoft Cloud App Security.

If any license doesn’t suit your needs, you can also add on specific features via add-on licensing. But often, the cost of upgrading is cheaper than ballooning a license with monthly add-on charges. (Read more about add-ons here .) You can also mix and match licenses depending on user needs to better control costs.

Agile IT’s cloud licensing services make it easy to purchase, transfer, and manage your licenses. As your cloud solutions provider, Agile IT handles all billing and subscriptions for your Office 365 products. You continue paying Microsoft the monthly license fee, and we take care of the rest.

Published on: Sep 26, 2022 .

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Upgrade or change to a different Microsoft 365 for business plan

• 9 contributors

When your business needs change, or you want more features, you can change to a different Microsoft 365 for business plan. Most of the time, you can change plans automatically. An automatic change walks you through the entire process from beginning to end. After you buy a new plan, all users are automatically assigned licenses in the new plan, and your old plan is canceled for you. In some cases, you can't automatically change to a new plan, and instead must change plans manually .

Before you begin

• Find out what type of billing account you have.
• If you have a Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA) billing account type, you must be a billing account owner or contributor, or a billing profile owner or contributor to do the tasks in this article. For information about billing account and billing profile roles, see Understand your Microsoft business billing account and Manage your Microsoft business billing profiles .
• If you have a Microsoft Online Services Agreement (MOSA) billing account type, you must be a Global or Billing admin to do the tasks in this article. For more information, see About admin roles in the Microsoft 365 admin center .

If you’re the person who signed up for the subscription, you’re automatically a billing account owner or global admin.

When should I change plans?

Changing plans is the right choice when you want to move all users assigned to a single plan. When you change plans, all users in the current plan are assigned licenses for the new plan at the same time. If you only want to move some users to a new plan, buy a new plan with the number of licenses you need, and assign those licenses to the users that you want to move. For more information, see Move users to a different subscription .

Automatically change your subscription to a new plan

If you have an mca billing account type.

If you're using Microsoft 365 operated by 21Vianet in China, use the following link to access the admin center: https://portal.partner.microsoftonline.cn/

• If you’re using the Simplified view , select Subscriptions .
• If you’re using the Dashboard view , go to the Billing > Your products page.
• Select the subscription that you want to manage.
• On the subscription details page, in the Other subscription options section, select Change to a different subscription option .
• On the Compare products and select another option page, select a different plan to compare with your current plan. When you find the one that you want to buy, select Next .
• Choose when to schedule the change, enter the number of licenses that you want, select a subscription length and a billing frequency, then select Next .
• Review your selections, then select Save changes .

If you have an MOSA billing account type

If the View upgrades recommended for your org link is grayed out, see Why can't I change plans?

• On the Available upgrades page, find a new product, then select Upgrade .
• On the Checkout page, select or add a payment method, then select Place order .

After you place the order, it might take a few minutes to finalize the change. You can start using your new subscription right away.

Why can't I change plans?

The information in this section only applies if you have an MOSA billing account type.

If you can't select the View upgrades recommended for your org link, it means that you can't automatically change your plan right now. In some cases, you can resolve the issue so that you can view available plans. In other cases, you can change plans manually , instead. The following table lists issues you might encounter when you try to change your plan, and tells how to resolve them.

What does automatically changing plans do to my service and billing?

When you change plans automatically, your services and billing are affected in the following ways.

Access to services

• Admins: Admins can't make changes to the subscription details page while the change is in process, but you can use the rest of the admin center. The change between plans can take up to an hour.
• Users: Users experience no interruption of service during the plan change. They continue to have the existing service until the change is finished.

Users and licenses

• Users: Users on the old subscription are automatically moved to the new subscription.
• Services: If your old subscription includes multiple services, and if you changed which of these services your users are assigned to, make note of these changes before you change plans. Your notes can help you can recreate these changes afterwards. All users are given access to all services in the new subscription. For example, if you previously bought Microsoft 365 Business Premium for all 10 of your users, but you unassigned the SharePoint Online service from five of them, this change isn't kept after you change plans.
• License assignments: If you have more than one subscription before you change plans, and users have licenses to more than one subscription, this assignment pattern is kept as much as possible in the new subscription.
• Data: All user data is retained during the change, including Exchange mailboxes and SharePoint Online documents, lists, and other information.

The day your plan change is complete, the billing on your old subscription is turned off and the billing on your new subscription is turned on. Depending on the new plan you selected, you might receive a prorated credit. You receive a new invoice that includes the credit for your old subscription within 30 days of changing to the new subscription.

The length of time it takes to receive your prorated credit depends on the payment method used for the old subscription.

Change plans manually

Most of the time, you can change plans automatically. However, sometimes this isn't possible. You can change plans manually if:

• You can't select the View upgrades recommended for your org link.
• When you select the View upgrades recommended for your org link, the plan you want isn't listed.
• You don't want to move all your users to the same plan. Some businesses need different users licensed for different plans.

If you're changing to a plan with fewer data-related services than your current plan, you must manually back up any data that you want to keep. For more information, see Back up data before changing Microsoft 365 for business plans .

Step 1: Buy a new subscription

Already bought a new subscription? If you already have the subscription that you want to move users to, skip this step and go to Step 2: Check your new subscription and licenses .

Need to buy a new subscription and licenses? Follow the steps in Buy a different subscription .

Make sure that you buy a subscription for the same organization that the users are in now. For example, check the email addresses for the users that you want to move. If their email addresses include @contoso.com , you must buy a new subscription for contoso.com. Buy a license for each user that you want to move.

Step 2: Check your new subscription and licenses

In the Microsoft 365 admin center , go to the Billing > Your products page, then do the following:

• Verify that both the old and new subscriptions are listed and active. The subscription that you're moving users from and the subscription that you're moving users to must be listed together. If the new subscription isn't there when you first check, try again later. Verify that both subscriptions are listed as Active .
• Check that you have enough licenses for each user. Each user needs a license that matches their subscription. If you want to move 10 users to Microsoft 365 Business Premium, make sure 10 unassigned licenses are available in that subscription.
• Need more licenses for the new subscription? Go to the Your products page, select the subscription, and buy more licenses .

The new subscription isn't listed, or isn't active

If you bought two subscriptions and they aren't both listed on the Your products page, you might have bought them for different organizations (for different domains). Subscriptions can't cross organization boundaries.

If you know you have another subscription, and it isn't listed here, or isn't active, contact support .

What about old licenses?

The licenses for the current subscription are removed in Step 4: Cancel subscriptions or remove licenses that you no longer need (Optional) . After that, you only pay for the new licenses.

Step 3: Move users to the new subscription

After you confirm the number of licenses in your new subscription, you can move users from the old subscription to the new one .

Step 4: Cancel subscriptions or remove licenses that you no longer need (Optional)

If you moved all users from one subscription to another, and you don't need the original subscription anymore, just cancel the subscription .

If you have an MCA billing account type, you can only cancel and receive a prorated credit or refund if you cancel within seven days after the start or renewal of your subscription. If you cancel during this limited time window, the prorated amount is either credited towards your next invoice or returned to you in the next billing cycle. For details, see Determine your cancellation option .

If you moved only some users to a different subscription, remove licenses that you no longer need .

If you upgraded to Microsoft 365 Business Premium, use the steps in the Business Premium library to set up your new security capabilities.

Visit the Microsoft 365 Business Premium library

Related content

Move users to a different subscription (article) Try or buy a Microsoft 365 for business subscription (article)

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Office 365 E1 Vs E3 Vs E5: Plans Breakdown And Security Comparison

Office 365 is available in three distinct business plans, e1, e3 and e5. which is right for your organization.

Microsoft 365 is the market leader in cloud productivity suites for business, providing businesses with Microsoft Office applications, cloud storage, email, instant messaging, video conferencing, and more, all in one monthly subscription.

Office 365 is available in three plans: E1, E3, and E5. E1 is the most basic plan, offering essential business services like email, file sharing, and storage. E3 provides the full suite of enterprise functionality with Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) and additional security functionality. E5 is the most advanced package, with all the features of E3, alongside advanced email security functionality, analytics, and phone systems.

Commonly asked questions are: which plan offers the best value for money? Is it better value to use E3 and implement third-party email security? Do I need the additional security and analytics functionality offered in E5?

In this article, we’ll attempt to answer these questions and recommend which service is the best fit for your organization. We’ll start with a breakdown of each plan and what it has to offer. All pricing shown is the current information found on Microsoft’s pricing grid . 

Before we get started, there’s one thing to be aware of: in this article, we’re just looking at Office 365’s pricing options. Microsoft recently renamed it’s enterprise productivity suite as a whole from Office 365 to Microsoft 365, but still advertizes Office 365 plans for SMBs. Microsoft 365 (a suite for large enterprise organizations of over 300 users) also offers E3 and E5 solutions, but these are more expensive and offer even more advanced security technologies, including identity and access management, and Microsoft’s Defender antivirus.

For the purposes of this article, we’re looking at the Office 365 packages on this page . These are aimed at small to mid-sized organizations and cover all Office 365 functionality outside of endpoint management and the Windows operating system.

Office 365 E1 Vs E3 Vs E5: Key Takeaways

E1: The best option if you’re looking for basic email and file sharing capabilities, and you absolutely do not need to use the Office 365 application suite. Best for a very small team of users.

E3: The best all-round option if you don’t need audio-conferencing or advanced compliance features. Includes the full Microsoft Office 365 suite and better storage for email and file sharing. We recommend using it alongside third-party email security , which is often more cost-effective than E5.

E5: The best option for businesses with more enterprise needs looking for telephone conferencing and additional compliance features. Additional security features are an important consideration, but third-party email security can be more powerful and cost-effective.

Let’s take a look at each of these plans in more detail. 

Office 365 E1

Price: $10.00 Per User Per Month

The E1 package is the most basic of the three packages we’ll consider on this list and, as you would expect, the cheapest. It provides the “core” cloud business functionality, including email with Microsoft Outlook, file storage and sharing with OneDrive, and some security controls like multi-factor authentication.

• Office: You can only access Microsoft’s Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, and Excel) on the web and on mobile devices. You cannot use the desktop versions of these applications.
• Email: Email is available with Outlook, with a 50GB mailbox size. You have access to the calendar and contacts functionality, as well as email archiving. Be aware you cannot install the desktop client for Outlook, and will only be able to access email in the web-based portal.
• Meetings: Microsoft’s instant messaging and meeting app Teams is included, as well as live events. Audio functionality and phone systems are not included.
• File Sharing: SharePoint and Yammer are included, allowing users to share and collaborate on files (again, this is only possible on mobile or in the web version of cloud office applications). Up to 1TB storage is included for each user.
• Productivity: Power Automate, Planner, and To Do are all included.
• Analytics: Some basic analytics are included, such as Productive Score and compliance management.
• Email: Emails are protected by Exchange Online Protection, Office 365’s basic layer of email security. This will block basic spam, but will not be effective against more sophisticated email attacks.
• Identity and Access Management: Supports single sign-on and multi-factor authentication.

Recommendation

We would recommend E1 only for businesses who do not wish to use Office cloud applications, but require basic email and file sharing functionality. The service is more cost-effective when considering this use case than E3.

However, when it comes to security—particularly email security—this solution is lacking. If you’re investing in E1, we recommend that you implement third-party email security solutions to protect your business against sophisticated phishing and ransomware attacks.

Office 365 E3

Price: $23.00 Per User A Month

Microsoft Office 365 E3 is the middle option for Office 365 users, including all the features of E1, with the full desktop suite of Office 365 applications and greater storage for email and SharePoint. Office 365 E3 can broadly be considered the “Goldilocks” plan: it’s not too basic and not too advanced.

The main missing features here are the enhanced email security functionality provided by Defender for Office 365, and audio-conferencing. There are numerous third-party email security solutions that provide more powerful email security than Defender (for a more cost-effective price), so the decision between E3 and E5 may come down to whether you need those audio-conferencing features.

• Office: The full suite of Microsoft cloud applications is included.
• Email: Email is included with mailbox sizes up to 100GB, with the full range of features.
• Meetings: Microsoft Teams is included, but not the phone system or audio-conferencing.
• File Sharing: SharePoint is included with unlimited personal OneDrive storage for each user.
• Productivity: Power Automate, Planner, and To Do are all included. Power BI Pro is not included.
• Analytics: There are analytics included, such as Productive Score and compliance management. Admins can also manage group policies that are not available in E1.
• eDisovery and Auditing: Content search, eDiscovery and basic auditing features are included. Advanced auditing and records management are not included.
• Email: Emails are protected by Exchange Online Protection. Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is also included for emails and files. Basic email encryption functionality is provided, as well as email retention policies and audit logs.
• Identity and Access Management: Supports Single Sign-On and Multi-Factor Authentication.

E3 is a strong option for most small- and mid-sized businesses looking for Microsoft Office applications, emails, cloud-file management, and file sharing, with strong enterprise analytics and compliance controls. The service provides all the basic enterprise controls that most small businesses require, at an affordable price-point. However, there are two main areas where this solution is lacking.

The first is security. When it comes to protecting email, this solution only provides Exchange Online Protection (EOP), which filters email for malicious links, spam and basic phishing attacks. However, this level of protection is very limited, and will not protect your business against sophisticated email attacks such as social engineering (or “spear-phishing”) and ransomware. These attacks are increasingly common and should be a core consideration for your business when deciding which plan to invest in.

However, there are third-party email security solutions available that can offer a far higher level of protection than EOP and indeed Microsoft’s own email security solution, Defender for Office 365 (available on the E5 plan). These services can be more cost effective than the price difference between E3 and E5, and are often very easy to install. This is because they use the Microsoft Graph API, so users can be easily onboarded with no MX redirects or new configurations necessary.

You can read our guide to the Top Email Security Solutions for Office 365 here.

The second area in which Microsoft E3 is lacking is audio-conferencing and the phone system. Teams is included, but you can only use it to communicate with other Teams users, and not to make external phone calls. If you need to regularly make phone calls—to support a sales team for example—and prefer the convenience of using one solution for all your users, Microsoft E5 may be the better plan to go for. If this is not a consideration, or only small numbers of your employees need telephone functionality, E3 is a good all-rounder.

Office 365 E5

Price: $38.00 Per User A Month

Microsoft Office 365 E5 can be described as the “Premium” Office 365 option, providing the most advanced functionality for businesses. It’s more expensive, has more features, and is also split into two plans.For the purposes of this article, we’ll just be considering Plan 2.

The core differences between E3 and E5 are audio-conferencing features and security functionality. But there are also other benefits, including advanced analytics, compliance and information protection, and advanced retention policies for email. E5 is the best option if you want everything Office 365 has to offer—but it may not always represent the best value.

• Meetings: The full suite of meetings, calling and chat functionality is included. This means you get Teams, Live Events, a business phone system, and audio conferencing.
• Productivity: Power Automate, Planner, and To Do are all included. Power BI Pro is included for more granular analytics and automation.
• Analytics: There are analytics included, such as Productive Score and compliance management. Admins can also access advanced analytics and auditing unavailable in E1 or E5.
• eDisovery and Auditing: Advanced eDiscovery and advanced auditing features are supported.
• Email: Emails are protected by Exchange Online Protection and Windows Defender for Office 365, which provides advanced protection against phishing and ransomware, as well as more advanced reporting and admin controls. Data Loss Prevention is included for emails, Teams, and files. Advanced email encryption functionality is also provided, as well as email retention policies. Customer keys for Office 365 are supported.
• Identity and Access Management: Supports Single Sign-On and Multi-Factor Authentication. Cloud App Security Discovery is also provided to manage third-party application security.
• Information Protection: Automatic sensitivity labels are applied and DLP is also applied to Teams. Rules-based automated archiving and advanced auditing are supported.
• Insider Risk Management: Communication compliance, information barriers, and Privileged Access Management are included.

E5 provides the most features and functionality of the three plans, so from the perspective of getting the best possible version of Office 365, this plan is the way to go. It provides all the Office 365 applications, advanced email control and functionality, better auditing and analytics, and the telephone system and audio-conferencing capabilities.

So, the question for your business has to be: do you need those additional features and, if so, do they need to be part of Office 365?

As we’ve covered, there are numerous extremely powerful third-party solutions dedicated to providing organizations with email security and compliance functionality. This covers security, but also encryption and archiving—two of the other advanced features present in E5 but not E3. These solutions are often more cost-effective than E5 and will often have more extensive security features and reporting. In most cases, for example, we’d recommend that Office 365 E5 users implement a third-party email security solution to augment the security offered by Defender.

However, it is a clear benefit to have one system from which users can access all applications and services. It’s far easier to manage and can boost productivity. This is especially important with the phone system, and adding audio-conferencing to Teams makes it easy for users to make calls and speak to colleagues—especially remotely.

Our final recommendation is that, if you need a telephone system and audio-conferencing, E5 is the best plan. If you’re considering E5 just for the additional security functionality, we’d instead recommend that you invest in E3 and implement a third-party email security, archiving or encryption solution.

Email Security For O365

If you are looking to implement an email security solution for O365 as an alternative to the Office 365 E5 license, there are a number of solutions on the market. You can read our guide to the top email security solutions for Office 365 here.

Let’s wrap up by recapping our recommendations for each Office 365 plan:

E3: The best all-round option if you don’t need audio-conferencing or advanced compliance features. Includes the full Microsoft Office 365 suite and better storage for email and file sharing. We recommend using it alongside third-party email security, which is often more cost-effective than E5.

Finding the most relevant plan for your organization will come down to your unique business needs and use cases. If you don’t need a telephone system, using a combination of E3 with an additional layer of third-party security is the best option. If you do need a telephone system, E5 would be our recommendation.

If you’d like to take a look at the best email security systems for Office 365, we’ve put together a useful guide, which you can read here:

• The Top Email Security Solutions for Office 365.

Content Director

CEO and Founder

Microsoft 365 Business Standard vs E3: Difference and Comparison

Microsoft Cooperation is responsible for developing software and hardware for its customers. Bill Gates and Paul Allen started this well-known American corporation.

Microsoft 365 Business Standard and E3 are two premium plans of Microsoft cooperation that comprise security, databases, and other beneficial software for small and large companies.

Key Takeaways Microsoft 365 Business Standard targets small and medium-sized businesses, while E3 targets larger organizations with more complex needs. E3 offers additional security features and compliance tools not available in Business Standard. Business Standard is more affordable than E3, catering to businesses with budget constraints.

Microsoft 365 Business Standard vs E3

Microsoft 365 Business Standard is a subscription plan for small and medium-sized businesses with up to 300 users. This plan includes Word, Excel , PowerPoint, and Outlook. Microsoft 365 E3 is a subscription plan for larger companies with more advanced needs. This plan includes all the applications and services.

Microsoft 365 Business Standard is a subscription-based software package. It also consists of a box of famous software product ( Microsoft Office products).

It’s the standard plan of Microsoft 365, having an old name, office 365 , introduced in 2010. The former name of the Microsoft 365 Business Standard was Microsoft 365 Business Premium.

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• Google Workspace vs Office 365: Difference and Comparison

Microsoft 365 E3 is a large-scale collaboration software solution available on a subscription basis. It provides massive businesses with secure cloud connectivity.

It also allows users to access the software from numerous electronic devices. Furthermore, it covers all of E1’s services with office applications on both desktop and mobile screens.

Comparison Table

What is microsoft 365 business standard.

Microsoft 365 Business Standard package is a component of Microsoft 365. It was previously known as Microsoft 365 Business Premium.

This package is more than twice the Microsoft 365 Business Basic version in terms of cost.

Microsoft Office ( Outbox , Word, Excel, PowerPoint)is available on a desktop and a cloud version under the standard package.

Microsoft 365 Business Standard features all of Microsoft 365 Business Basic’s applications and Microsoft Booking and MileIQ (supported in a few nations.)

This additional application Microsoft Booking allows the company’s customers to make bookings. Regarding MileIQ, it is an application that tracks the company’s vehicles.

With the help of this tracker, one can keep a check on their drivers and allocate transportation resources accordingly.

Self-service password reset (SSPR) is also included in this subscription package for accessing cloud services.

This feature benefits not just the company by decreasing the pressure on the help desk but also benefits end customers by allowing them to unlock their software without needing external assistance.

Under Microsoft 365 Business Standard, one can avail of add-on services such as data loss prevention for preventing all the data of the company and customers.

It is compatible with multiple operating systems, such as Windows 8.1, 10, 11, and all Mac versions.

What is Microsoft 365 E3?

Microsoft 365 E3 is a subscription bundle based on the Microsoft Enterprising license for larger enterprises with services in many regions.

It combines the functionality of a desktop program, a mobile app, and a cloud application in one package.

It means one can use both online and offline applications. Advanced applications are available in the Microsoft 365 E3 plan related to cloud storage.

It provides access to more than 300 licenses in a single subscription plan, unlike the Microsoft 365 Business plan.

Under a single plan, Microsoft Office products could be installed on up to five desktops, five mobile devices, five tablets, or five Mac devices per user.

Security technologies such as message encryption, proper management, and data loss prevention (intelligent security to protect data) secure all users’ information.

Moreover, it also provides the service of self-service password reset (SSPR) for all end users. So that customers are not troubled if they sometimes forget their passwords.

Along with the Microsoft Intune applications, Microsoft 365 E3 includes health-related tools to aid users with health-related problems and VOIP services for calling purposes.

The problem with Microsoft 365 E3 subscription plan is that it does not have a monthly subscription. It requires a yearly subscription, which is more expensive than other Microsoft programs.

Main Differences Between Microsoft 365 Business Standard and E3

• Microsoft 365 Business Standard only supports up to 300 licenses per firm in a single subscription plan. On the other hand, Microsoft 365 E3 allows buying unlimited requests per firm.
• Microsoft 365 Business Standard provides 1 TB of cloud space per user. However, under Microsoft 365 E3 subscription, 5 TB of cloud space is available per user.
• Microsoft 365 Business Standard can store emails and calendar events up to 50 GB. On the other hand, Microsoft 365 E3 provides unlimited storage for emails and calendars.
• Microsoft 365 Business Standard provides all kinds of subscription plans (monthly and yearly). On the contrary, Microsoft 365 E3’s subscription is purchased for at least one year.
• Microsoft 365 Business Standard do not provide Microsoft’s voice-over IP services to the users as the Microsoft 365 E3 provides for business purpose.
• https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4842-5778-4_1
• https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4842-6683-0_2

Last Updated : 04 July, 2023

I’ve put so much effort writing this blog post to provide value to you. It’ll be very helpful for me, if you consider sharing it on social media or with your friends/family. SHARING IS ♥️

Sandeep Bhandari holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computers from Thapar University (2006). He has 20 years of experience in the technology field. He has a keen interest in various technical fields, including database systems, computer networks, and programming. You can read more about him on his bio page .

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11 thoughts on “microsoft 365 business standard vs e3: difference and comparison”.

I’m impressed with the details. The comparison table is really helpful.

The comparison table really helped me see the pros and cons of both plans more clearly.

This was very informative. It helped me understand the differences between Microsoft 365 Business Standard and E3 plans.

I agree with you. This article is very thorough and descriptive. It’s helpful.

Very interesting! I never thought about the cloud space differences between the two. That’s something to consider.

Agreed. This is actually crucial when deciding which plan is best for your company.

Totally! Now I need to reevaluate my current plan.

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Compare Office 365 Plans & Features: Choose the Best One

Before migrating to the cloud, choosing a reliable Office 365 license is a very critical task. Therefore, to resolve this problem for business users, we are going to compare different Office 365 plans and features. This Office 365 license comparison will help users choose their organization correctly. Most of the Office 365 lineup is now absorbed under the Microsoft brand name. With just a few enterprise-grade distinctions. As cost is the most important factor in determining the overall ROI on a service. Let’s check where different variants of Microsoft 365 plans stand.

Table of Contents

• Price Distribution Between Microsoft 365 Plans

Office 365 E1

Office 365 E3

Office 365 E5

• Office 365 vs Microsoft 365 Enterprise
• Difference Between Business and Enterprise Plans

Compare Office 365 Plans & Features: Office 365 Business & Enterprise Licenses Price Comparison

Price is the first thing that decision-makers ask while comparing Office 365.

From this table, we can extract these points:

• Microsoft 365 Business plans are designed for smaller businesses and typically include core applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Some plans include Teams for collaboration features.
• Microsoft 365 Apps plans provide access to the core productivity applications without the additional services included in other Microsoft 365 plans.
• Microsoft 365 Enterprise plans (E3 and E5) offer a broader range of features and security options for larger organizations. The pricing listed is per user, per year.
• A new subcategory of plans for frontline personnel is also available under the F-N category. These are typically cheaper with access to Teams as well.
• Microsoft Teams is a collaboration application available in some Microsoft 365 and Office 365 plans. There are also separate subscription plans for Teams only.
• Windows 365 provides a cloud-based Windows desktop experience. The pricing listed is per user per month.

Microsoft Office 365 Business Plans

Renamed to Microsoft 365 Business. These plans are developed for small businesses with fewer than 300 employees. Let us check out what is included in each Office 365 Business plan for small-scale companies.

1. Microsoft 365 Business Basic

Microsoft 365 Business Basic Features

• OneDrive Storage space of 1 TB
• Microsoft Team chat-based workspace
• Microsoft Planner: To manage tasks and teamwork
• Yammer: To collaborate across departments and locations
• 24*7 Web and Telephonic Support
• Manage up to 300 users & get custom email addresses.
• Stay secure with automatic spam & malware filtering.

2. Microsoft 365 Business Standard

Office 365 Business Plan Features

• OneDrive with storage space of 1 TB
• FastTrack deployment support
• 24*7 Web and Phone Support
• Desktop Version of MS Office 2016 Suite: Outlook, Excel, Word, OneNote, and PowerPoint
• A web version of MS Office 2016 suite: Outlook, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint

3. Microsoft 365 Business Premium

Office 365 Plan Business Premium Features

• Custom email domain addresses with 50 GB mailbox storage space
• Skype for Business Purposes
• Desktop versions of Office 2016 applications: Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, etc.
• Microsoft Bookings: To enable customers to schedule appointments
• Managing tasks and teamwork using Microsoft Planner
• FastTrack Deployment Support
• 24*7 Telephonic and Web Support

Office 365 Enterprise Plans

For companies that have just started or require limited functionalities, Office 365 Business plans work best. But for organizations with 300+ users for them, Office 365 Enterprise plans are the most suitable. With Enterprise plans, one can choose from Office 365 E5, E3, or E1 licenses. However, note that due to some anti-trust regulations Microsoft has separated the Teams app from all its enterprise editions. You can still subscribe to it separately.

1. Office 365 Enterprise E1

Office 365 Plan E1 Features

• 50 GB Mailbox Online Storage Space
• Skype for Business web conferencing, IM, online meetings and presence
• OneDrive for Business
• SharePoint, Yammer, Video Sharing, HD video conferencing, Data Governance
• File sharing and 1 TB OneDrive storage
• eDiscovery search

2. Office 365 Enterprise E3

Office 365 Plan E3 Features

• A popular option for digital-driven business
• Include all the features of Office E1 Licenses
• Office Client Apps
• Legal Compliance and Archiving needs for email
• Message encryption, rights management, data loss prevention
• Azure Rights Management and document management functions
• Unlimited OneDrive storage
• Email storage for in-place archive
• eDiscovery legal hold and eDiscovery export tool and case management
• Hosted voicemail support

3. Office 365 Enterprise E5

Office 365 Plan E5 Features

• Includes all features of E3 and E5 Licenses
• Enhanced security features: Secure attachments and URLs and access controls, Advanced eDiscovery
• Enterprise voice with Skype for Business
• Skype for Business Cloud PBX
• PSTN conferencing
• Cloud-based call management
• Advanced analytics with Power BI Pro and Microsoft MyAnalytics
• Enhanced visibility and control of your Office 365 environment
• Advanced eDiscovery and Data Governance
• Customer Lockbox and Advanced Threat Protection

Comparing Office 365 Plans E1, E3 & E5

Start the Office 365 E1 vs E3 vs E5 comparison by identifying plan highlights:

If administrators are completely new to the enterprise-grade cloud, this plan is a great starting point. It covers almost all the basic features (emails & file sharing) that an organization would require to manage its day-to-day operations.

However, this relatively lightweight edition has no desktop apps. It more than makes up for it with its web-based counterparts. Being on the lowest price out of all the available options, this is the go-to plan for those who have a tight budget.

The middle option may be the best of both worlds, combining app availability with security at an affordable price. It is the cheaper option for accessing desktop apps on up to 5 PCs. Moreover, it builds up on the 5 layer security present in E1. Some highlighted features are message encryption, DLP for email and files, and a rights management portal.

The top-of-the-line cloud subscription option allows for a complete Office experience. The inclusion of even more advanced capabilities in both security, as well as compliance, makes it the best choice if you work with critical data.

However, not everything between these apps is different so check out some points that tell us they are part of the same family.

View Similarities Before Checking the Difference Between Office 365 E1, E3, and E5

• All three plans are available on a subscription-based model, which can either be paid for monthly or yearly.
• None of them include an MS Teams subscription. Microsoft has made Teams into a separate product pack for which organizations have to pay extra.
• Co-Pilot the AI integration feature can be added to any of the Office enterprise subscriptions.
• Moreover, admins get access to the admin center for monitoring and managing user activity no matter the plan their organization opts for.
• The web/mobile-based applications are also identical. The same can be said for email and other basic tasks.
• Now we are ready to see the points where they differ from each other. As price is the first thing in the minds of organizations let’s start from there.

Compare Office 365 E1 E3 E5 Price

Source: Microsoft

Subscription length and billing frequency date are two different things. If you select the annual subscription category you can set the billing to the lowest amount even if you pay monthly.

However, if your subscription length is on a monthly renewal cycle then you pay $1.65, $4.25, and $7.25 more on a per-user basis for E1, E3, and E5 respectively. So if you want to check out the subscription we suggest you go for a 1-month trial. After the trials end you are automatically put on an annual cycle.

These prices are in US dollars if you purchase directly from Microsoft. It may vary based on your geographical location. Moreover, taxes and vendor costs may make the actual price you pay a little different from what you see here.

We want to inform readers that price is just one part of the total value proposition. It is the features you get in a plan that prove if your money’s worth or not. Moreover, the addition of the features the apps you get alongside helps to get a better idea of what’s different between the enterprise editions. So to help you we offer a tabular layout with all apps and the plans that contain them.

Office 365 E1 vs E3 vs E5 Comparison on App Availability

On a strict app matchup, almost all E5 apps are available in the E3 edition except for Power BI Pro. However, the E1 category lags behind the other two quite a bit. Especially, the lack of desktop options for core apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. This limits the offline work that can be done even with a premium plan. Next, our discussion moves toward another major point, which is security.

Security Difference Between Office 365 E1, E3, and E5

No administrator wants to move their organization to an insecure cloud environment. There is no doubt that Microsoft provides top-notch Office 365 security for all their products. However, there is a significant difference among them that may lead to the admin selecting one plan over the other. Check out what they are.

Available in all O365 plans (E1, E3, E5):

• Basic Security: Multi-factor authentication, antimalware protection
• Content Search
• Manual Retention Labels
• Audit (Standard)

Present in Office 365 E3 and E5 version:

• Microsoft Editor premium features
• Multilingual user interface for Microsoft 365 apps
• Inactive Mailboxes
• Auto-expanding email archive
• Exchange Plan 2 (100 GB mailbox + up to 1.5 TB archive)
• SharePoint Plan 2 (1+ 10 TB OneDrive storage)
• DLP for emails & files
• Manual, default, and mandatory sensitivity labeling in Microsoft 365 apps
• Group Policy support for Microsoft 365 apps
• Cloud Policy service for Microsoft 365 (Full access)
• Shared computer activation for Microsoft 365 apps
• Basic org-wide or location-wide retention policies
• eDiscovery (Standard) (including Hold and Export)
• Litigation Hold

Available only in Office 365 E5 variant:

• Audit (Premium)
• DLP for Teams chat
• Premium personal insights and experiences
• Automatic sensitivity labeling in various Microsoft 365 apps and services (Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams chat)
• Sensitivity labels based on advanced classifiers
• Default sensitivity labels for SharePoint document libraries
• Advanced Message Encryption
• Customer Key
• Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 2
• Rules-based automatic retention policies
• Records Management
• eDiscovery (Premium)
• Communication Compliance
• Information Barriers
• Customer Lockbox
• Privileged Access Management

Difference Between Enterprise Edition of Office 365 and Microsoft 365

Office 365 Enterprise edition beats the newer Microsoft 365 version on price. It also has an extra edition on the starting side of the spectrum tagged E1. However, organizations can’t add Co-Pilot with this plan. Other than that the common Apps in both Office 365 E5 and Microsoft 365 E5 variants are as follows.

• Microsoft Stream
• Microsoft Bookings
• Microsoft Forms
• Microsoft Planner
• Microsoft To Do
• Power Automate (potentially included in Power Apps)

Apps Only in Office category:

• Microsoft Access (PC only)
• Microsoft Publisher (PC only)
• Exchange (email server software)
• Delve (social networking for work)

Apps Only in Microsoft 365:

• Windows (operating system)
• Microsoft Lists (web-based list management)
• Clipchamp (video editing)
• Microsoft Loop (real-time collaboration)
• Visio (diagramming tool)
• Power BI Pro (advanced business intelligence)

How Microsoft 365 Enterprise and Business Plans are Different from Each Other?

• Up to 300 employees can be managed easily via the business edition. When the number of personnel increases beyond this, it is encouraged to move on to enterprise-grade.
• Cost is the biggest differentiator. Enterprise plans are the more expensive variant; even the cheapest enterprise-grade plan is $10 more costly than the premium business plan.
• All Business grade plans have a with or without teams option. For enterprise plans, organizations have to get the Teams subscription separately.
• Other than Teams, Enterprise plans have a wider selection of Microsoft apps available for users when compared to their business-level counterparts.

Even the enterprise-grade, has variants. Among them, a cost-effective option for organizations can be the F series of plans. Designed for frontline workers those who provide goods or services to customers directly.

These plans come with the premium Teams subscription. So if communication is something you cannot go without then this plan might be the best for you.

Purchasing a new plan is easy but shifting the entire workforce there is not. So that’s why it’s better to rely on a trusted Office 365 to Office 365 migration utility. It can help you align the user data with their new plan.

Other than the intra-cloud upgrade, there are instances where organizations using alternative cloud solutions want to move to Microsoft 365. For that, too we. have the right tools for the job.

• Scenario 1. Admins who want to shift from G Suite to Office 365 can do it with our migration utility.
• Scenario 2. There is also the option to migrate Lotus Notes to Office 365 without any data loss.
• Scenario 3. There is a chance that you are reading this because you have an on-premise. Don’t worry, as we offer a solution to transition from Exchange On-Premise to Office 365 cloud.

In this blog,  we compare Office 365 plans and features of Microsoft 365 business and enterprise licenses with each other. So, that a user can make a correct decision by selecting an appropriate Office 365 plan for his/her business.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Is the annual subscription plan more cost-effective than the monthly plan? The monthly option ends up being costlier in the long term, as with the annual plan, you get 2 free months. Adding 16% more savings on top of the 30% employee discount. Users might want to first try out the service and for that, they can use the free trial. Keep in mind that enterprise-grade plans don’t have a free trial option.

Q2. I have a poor connection problem, So I am looking to buy the desktop-only Office 2021. But many experts say that it is a poor choice. Can you tell me why? Is there a new desktop-only Office suite coming out soon? The last desktop-only variant of the Microsoft business suite came back in 2021. Previously, Microsoft released a new version every 2-3 years, but it’s 2024 and there’s still no sign of a new desktop version.

Q3. Why do experts say that a new desktop-only Office suite may not come? So should I purchase the current available one? Although, the end of the life cycle of the current version is due on Oct 13, 2026. So, we still have a few more years, but it is unlikely that we will get an offline version in the future. There are multiple reasons for this. Above all, there is no doubt that it is far more profitable to have a subscription-based model. Moreover, updates can be deployed in real-time across the globe. And the new industrial trends like AI use the cloud-based model as their foundation. In the end, understanding your use case is the best way to make the final decision. So, you can go for the desktop variant if you want. The cloud is always available, just a few clicks away.

By Kumar Raj

A versatile writer with the vast knowledge of technology helps to reduce the gap between a user and technology. Provides easy and reliable ways to resolve multiple technical issues, which users encounter in their day-to-day life.

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Microsoft Project - what are the differences between planner 3 and planner 5?

Microsoft Project - If we sign up to planner 3 can we sign into this app from different computers at different work sites? Does this effect the other Microsoft apps that you are signed in on your computer?

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• Microsoft Agent |

Good day, thanks for querying in this forum. We're happy to help you.

From your description, it seems that you want to know the difference between Project plan 3 and Project plan 5, and you also want to sign in this app in different computers.

If my understanding is right, for the difference between Project plan 3 and Project plan 5, you can refer to this page: Compare All Planner Options and Prices| Microsoft Planner

And for your second question, you can use your account with Microsoft Project plan 3 on the other computers, and it will not affect the other office apps.

If the scenario above is not consistent with yours, you can also post back and provide more details about "planner 3 and planner 5 .

Your understanding and patience will be greatly appreciated. I hope you're staying safe and well!

Sukie | Microsoft Community Moderator

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