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Which Microsoft 365 License is Right for My Organization?

zachary sawtelle

As organizations move towards digital transformation, Microsoft 365 (formerly known as Office 365) has become an essential productivity suite for many businesses. However, with so many different versions and licenses available, it can be challenging to determine which one best suits your organization's needs.

In this blog, we'll explore the differences between some of the most common Microsoft 365 licenses, including the Business Basic, Business Standard, Business Premium, Enterprise E3, and Enterprise E5 licenses to provide a more comprehensive understanding of which license is right for your organization.

When searching for the Microsoft 365 license that's most appropriate for their end-users, some organizations find where to start the most overwhelming part of the entire process.

How do you know which one is right for your organization? Should you choose Enterprise E3, or will Business Standard be sufficient? What's the difference between Business Premium and Enterprise E5? What apps and services come with each of the licenses?

To help you make the right decision, we've created a Microsoft 365 Decision Tree and provided you with a quick overview of each of the licenses. Read along to learn about the various versions of Microsoft 365 and use our Microsoft 365 Decision Tree to choose the right Office 365 license for your organization!

What is the difference between 365 for enterprise and 365 for Business?

For the sake of this post, we'll focus on the most common licenses included with Microsoft 365. For add-ons and packages, you can include with your subscription, contact us! 

Business Licenses (for organizations with under 300 Users)

Microsoft Business Basic
$6.00/user/month (annual commitment)

  • Best for businesses that need easy remote solutions.

  • Web and mobile apps only: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook.

  • Secure cloud services: Teams, Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint.

Microsoft 365 Apps for Business
$8.25/user/month (annual commitment)

  • Best for businesses that need desktop versions of Office apps with premium features.

  • Desktop, web, and mobile apps and secure cloud services include: Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, OneDrive.

Microsoft 365 Business Standard
$12.50/user/month (annual commitment)

  • Best for businesses that need full remote work and collaboration tools.

  • Desktop, web, and mobile apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint, Exchange.

  • Secure Cloud Services: Clipchamp, Microsoft Loop.

Microsoft 365 Business Premium
$22.00/user/month (annual commitment)

  • Best for businesses that require secure, remote work solutions with everything included in Business Standard, advanced cyber threat protection, and device management.

  • Desktop, web, and mobile apps: Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint, Exchange.

  • Secure cloud services: Clipchamp, Microsoft Loop, Microsoft Entra ID, Intune, Microsoft Defender, Microsoft Purview.

Enterprise Licenses (for organizations with 300+ Users)

Connect and empower every employee across your organization with a Microsoft 365 solution that enhances productivity and drives innovation.

Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise
$12.00/user/month (annual commitment)

  • Best for businesses looking for best-in-class productivity apps combined with core security and compliance capabilities.

  • Apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive, OneNote, Microsoft Access (PC Only), Microsoft Publisher (PC Only), Microsoft Forms.

  • Services: Delve, Sway.

Microsoft 365 E3 (No Teams)
$33.75/user/month (annual commitment)

  • Best for businesses looking for best-in-class productivity apps combined with core security and compliance capabilities.

  • Apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Windows, Outlook, Exchange, SharePoint, OneNote, OneDrive, Microsoft Stream, Microsoft Publisher (PC Only), Microsoft Access (PC Only), Microsoft Forms, Microsoft Planner.

  • Services: Microsoft Bookings, Viva Engage, Viva Insights, Microsoft Lists, Sway, Visio, Power Apps, Power Automate, Microsoft To Do, Microsoft Loop, Clipchamp.

Microsoft 365 E5 (No Teams)
$54.75/user/month (annual commitment)

  • Best for businesses looking for best-in-class productivity apps and advanced security, compliance, voice, analytical capabilities, along with automated features.

  • Apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Windows, Outlook, Exchange, SharePoint, OneNote, OneDrive, Microsoft Stream, Microsoft Publisher (PC Only), Microsoft Access (PC Only), Microsoft Forms, Microsoft Planner.

  • Services: Microsoft Bookings, Viva Engage, Viva Insights, Microsoft Lists, Sway, Visio, Power Apps, Power Automate, Microsoft To Do, Microsoft Loop, Clipchamp, PowerBI Pro.

Microsoft 365 F3
$8.00/user/month (annual commitment)

  • Best for businesses needing essential productivity tools with reduced storage, where the focus is on mobile and web access.

  • Apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Windows, Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Exchange, SharePoint, OneNote, OneDrive, Microsoft Stream, Microsoft Forms.

  • Services: Microsoft Bookings, Viva Connections, Viva Engage, Microsoft Lists, Sway, Visio, Power Apps, Power Automate, Power Virtual Agents, Microsoft Planner, Microsoft To Do.

Office 365 Enterprise E1 (No Teams)
$7.75/user/month (annual commitment)

  • Best for startups or other companies that want to keep costs low, where the focus is on mobile and web access.

  • Apps: OneDrive, Exchange, SharePoint, Viva Engage, Viva Insights, Microsoft Bookings, Delve, Microsoft Stream.

  • Services: Sway, Microsoft Forms, Power Apps, Power Automate, Microsoft Planner, Microsoft To Do.

Office Enterprise E3 (No Teams)
$20.75/user/month (annual commitment)

  • Best for businesses looking for best-in-class productivity apps combined with core security and compliance capabilities.

  • Apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive, Microsoft Access (PC Only), Microsoft Publisher (PC Only), Exchange, SharePoint,  OneNote, Microsoft Stream, Sway, Microsoft Forms,  Microsoft Planner.

  • Services: Viva Engage, Viva Insights, Delve, Power Apps, Power Automate, Microsoft To Do, Microsoft Bookings.

Office Enterprise E5 (No Teams)
$35.75/user/month (annual commitment)

  • Best for businesses looking for best-in-class productivity apps and advanced security, compliance, voice, analytical capabilities, along with automated features.

  • Apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive, Microsoft Access (PC Only), Microsoft Publisher (PC Only), Exchange, SharePoint, OneNote, Microsoft Stream, Sway, Microsoft Forms,  Microsoft Planner.

  • Services: Viva Engage, Viva Insights, Delve, Power Apps, Power Automate, Microsoft To Do, Power BI Pro, Microsoft Bookings.

Microsoft Teams Enterprise - New Commerce Experience
$6.36/user/month

  • Apps: Teams

GOVERNMENT Licenses

Government plans are designed for the unique needs of government organizations. They provide all the features and capabilities of Microsoft 365 services in a segmented government cloud community that enables organizations to meet U.S. compliance and security standards.

Office 365 G3 (Governmental Community Cloud Pricing) - New Commerce Experience
$27.60/user/month (annual commitment)

  • Best for businesses that handle data subject to government regulations and requirements.

  • Apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Exchange, Teams, OneDrive, OneNote, SharePoint, Microsoft Access (PC Only), Microsoft Stream, Microsoft Forms, Power Apps, Power Automate, Microsoft Planner.

  • Services: Microsoft Bookings, Power Virtual Agents, Microsoft To do, VIva Connections, Viva insights, Delve.

Office 365 G5 (Governmental Community Cloud Pricing) - New Commerce Experience
$46.60/user/month (annual commitment)

  • Best for businesses looking for enhanced security and compliance services, and meet specific government regulations and standards.

  • Apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Exchange, Teams, OneDrive, OneNote, SharePoint, Microsoft Access (PC Only), Microsoft Stream, Microsoft Forms, Power Apps, Power Automate, Microsoft Planner

  • Services: Microsoft Bookings, Power Virtual Agents, Microsoft To do, Viva Connections, Viva insights, Delve. Power BI Pro.

Microsoft 365 Government G3 (Governmental Community Cloud Pricing) - New Commerce Experience
$43.20/user/month (annual commitment)

  • Best for businesses looking for best-in-class productivity apps combined with core security and meets US compliance standards.

  • Apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Exchange, Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, OneNote, SharePoint, Microsoft Access (PC Only), Microsoft Stream, Microsoft Forms, Power Apps, Power Automate, Microsoft Publisher (PC Only) Microsoft Planner.

  • Services: Microsoft Bookings, Power Virtual Agents, Microsoft To Do, Viva Connections, Viva Insights, Microsoft Lists, Visio, Windows.

Microsoft 365 Government G5  (Governmental Community Cloud Pricing) - New Commerce Experience
$68.40/user/month (annual commitment)

  • Best for businesses looking for enhanced security and compliance services, and meet specific government regulations and standards.

  • Apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Exchange, Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, OneNote, SharePoint, Microsoft Access (PC Only), Microsoft Stream, Microsoft Forms, Power Apps, Power Automate, Microsoft Publisher (PC Only) Microsoft Planner.

  • Services: Microsoft Bookings, Power Virtual Agents, Microsoft To Do, Viva Connections, Viva Insights, Microsoft Lists, Visio, Windows, Power BI Pro.

NONPROFITS

Microsoft Tech for Social Impact is dedicated to providing affordable and accessible technology and tools to help nonprofits of all sizes achieve their missions. That’s why we offer grants and discounts for our products and services to eligible nonprofits around the world.

Microsoft 365 Business Basic (Nonprofit Staff Pricing)
Grant - Free up to 300 users

  • Apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, Outlook, Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint.

Microsoft 365 Business Standard (Nonprofit Staff Pricing)
$3.00/user/month (annual commitment)

  • Apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, Outlook, Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, Exchange, Access (PC Only), Publisher (PC Only).

Microsoft 365 Business Premium (Nonprofit Staff Pricing)
Grant - free up to 10 users | Above 10 Users: $5.50/user/month (annual commitment)

  • Apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, Outlook, Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, Exchange, Access (PC Only), Publisher (PC Only), Intune.

  • Services: Microsoft Purview, Microsoft Defender for Business.

Which Office 365 License Is Right for My Organization?

It’s important to note that this Office 365 Decision Tree isn’t an exact science – every customer is different, and some customers require more customization than others. However, the below graphic will walk you through some basic questions to help you understand which version could suit your unique business needs.