Interactive tool
Which Microsoft 365 plan fits?
Five questions, an honest recommendation, and the full feature matrix underneath so you can check the reasoning yourself.
Suggested starting point
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Standard plus Intune device management, Entra ID P1, and Defender protection.
Why
- Device management and security tooling put you on Business Premium — bought separately, Intune and Entra ID P1 alone cost more than the gap from Standard.
Plan the move to Enterprise before you reach 300 seats. A migration forced at renewal is where avoidable cost gets locked in.
This is a starting point, not a quote. Real estates are usually a mix of plans — we size the actual split during a licensing review.
The plans
What each one is actually for
Business
Business Basic
Seat limit: 300
Hosted email, Teams, and the web and mobile versions of the Office apps.
Best for: Light users who work in a browser and do not need installed Office.
Business
Business Standard
Seat limit: 300
Everything in Basic plus the installed desktop Office applications.
Best for: Standard knowledge workers with no formal security requirement.
Business
Business Premium
Seat limit: 300
Standard plus Intune device management, Entra ID P1, and Defender protection.
Best for: Any business handling client or regulated data below 300 seats. The default recommendation.
Enterprise
Enterprise E3
Seat limit: Unlimited
No seat ceiling, unlimited archiving, Windows Enterprise, and virtualization rights.
Best for: Organizations above 300 seats, or with long-term retention or VDI requirements.
Enterprise
Enterprise E5
Seat limit: Unlimited
E3 plus the advanced Defender stack, Purview compliance, Power BI Pro, and Teams Phone.
Best for: Organizations with a security function that will actually act on what it surfaces.
Feature matrix
Side by side
Pricing is quoted rather than listed — it varies by seat count, term, and agreement structure, and a number that drifts out of date helps nobody.
| Feature | Business Basic | Business Standard | Business Premium | Enterprise E3 | Enterprise E5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core | |||||
| Seat limit | 300 | 300 | 300 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Desktop Office applications | Web and mobile only | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Exchange mailbox size | 50 GB | 50 GB | 50 GB | 100 GB | 100 GB |
| Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Device & identity | |||||
| Intune device management | — | — | Included | Included | Included |
| Entra ID (conditional access) | — | — | P1 | P1 | P2 |
| Windows Enterprise licensing | — | — | Windows Business | Included | Included |
| Virtualization / VDI rights | — | — | — | Included | Included |
| Security | |||||
| Defender for Office 365 | — | — | Plan 1 | — | Plan 2 |
| Endpoint detection & response | — | — | Defender for Business | — | Defender for Endpoint P2 |
| Defender for Identity | — | — | — | — | Included |
| Defender for Cloud Apps | — | — | — | — | Included |
| Compliance | |||||
| Unlimited auto-expanding archiving | — | — | — | Included | Included |
| Data loss prevention | — | — | Email and files | Email and files | Adds Teams chat |
| eDiscovery | — | — | Standard | Standard | Premium |
| Insider risk management | — | — | — | — | Included |
| Extras | |||||
| Power BI Pro | — | — | — | — | Included |
| Teams Phone system | — | — | — | — | Included |
| Eligible for Microsoft 365 Copilot | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included |
Microsoft repackages plans periodically. We keep this table current, but entitlements should be confirmed against your quotation before you commit to a term.
FAQ
Common questions
Can we mix Microsoft 365 plans in one tenant?
Yes, and most organizations should. Licensing is assigned per user, so a warehouse supervisor checking email on a phone and an analyst living in Excel do not need the same plan. Correct segmentation usually saves more than any discount you could negotiate.
What happens when we exceed 300 seats?
You cannot buy the 301st Business plan seat — the cap is enforced, not advisory. Existing seats keep working, but growth beyond 300 has to be licensed on an Enterprise plan, so most organizations transition the whole estate at that point.
Is upgrading between plans disruptive?
No. Moving from Business Premium to E3, or E3 to E5, is a licensing change rather than a migration. Users keep their mailboxes, files, and settings, and the additional entitlements simply become available.
Why does this tool not show prices?
Because a stale price on a public page is worse than none. Pricing depends on seat count, term length, agreement structure, and current Microsoft rates. We quote it properly rather than publishing a number that drifts out of date.
Is the recommendation binding?
No — it is a starting point from five questions. Real estates are almost always a mix of plans, and the right split falls out of a licensing review that looks at how your users actually work.
Turn the shortlist into a quote.
Send us your current plan mix and headcount. We will tell you what to keep, what to change, and what it costs — in writing.