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Plans + pricing · honest 2026 comparison

Six Microsoft 365 plans. Six different price points.
Here is exactly what each one includes — and what it doesn't.

Microsoft's pricing page is accurate but optimized for the Microsoft sales motion. Below is the same information organized for buyers — what each plan actually includes, what it does NOT include (the gotchas), and which org sizes / compliance postures fit each one. With current 2026 pricing including the July 1, 2026 E5 increase and the May 1, 2026 E7 launch.

Book a Microsoft 365 license reviewE5 vs E7 decision framework →

Microsoft 365 Business Basic

$6/user/mo· Up to 300 users

Best fit: Smallest organizations, fully cloud-native, OK with browser-only Office

Productivity

  • Web/mobile Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook (no desktop apps)
  • Exchange Online (50 GB mailbox)
  • OneDrive for Business (1 TB)
  • SharePoint, Teams, Loop

Security + management

  • Anti-spam + anti-phishing baseline (Exchange Online Protection)
  • No Defender suite
  • No Intune
  • No Entra premium
  • No Purview DLP
Verdict: Use only when budget is the constraint. Below the security bar that any cyber-insurance carrier or B2B procurement team will accept.

Microsoft 365 Business Standard

$14/user/mo· Up to 300 users

Best fit: The most common SMB starting point — productivity stack without security depth

Productivity

  • Desktop + web/mobile Office apps
  • Exchange Online (50 GB)
  • OneDrive (1 TB)
  • SharePoint, Teams, Loop, Clipchamp
  • Microsoft Bookings, Forms

Security + management

  • Anti-spam + anti-phishing baseline
  • No Defender for Endpoint
  • No Intune
  • No Purview DLP
  • No Entra premium
Verdict: Fits an early-stage business that has not yet faced a SOC 2 audit, cyber insurance renewal, or B2B vendor questionnaire. Most growing businesses outgrow it within 12-18 months.

Microsoft 365 Business Premium

$22/user/mo· Up to 300 users

Best fit: The Kootechnikel default for SMBs that need to pass any kind of compliance review

Productivity

  • Everything in Business Standard

Security + management

  • Defender for Business (entry-level endpoint protection)
  • Defender for Office 365 P1 (Safe Links, Safe Attachments, anti-phishing)
  • Microsoft Intune (device + app management)
  • Entra ID P1 (Conditional Access, MFA enforcement, group-based licensing)
  • Azure Information Protection P1 (basic sensitivity labels)
  • No Defender for Cloud Apps (CASB)
  • No full Purview suite
Verdict: The right choice for any SMB that needs to pass SOC 2, cyber insurance renewal, or B2B vendor questionnaires. The security layer is materially better than Business Standard at a manageable cost delta.

Microsoft 365 E3

$36/user/mo· Unlimited

Best fit: The Enterprise floor — most large mid-market organizations land here

Productivity

  • Office Enterprise apps (full feature set)
  • Exchange Online (100 GB)
  • OneDrive (5 TB, expandable)
  • SharePoint, Teams, Loop

Security + management

  • Defender for Endpoint P1
  • Defender for Office 365 P1 (added in 2024 rebundling — was a separate $1.50/user line)
  • Microsoft Intune
  • Entra ID P1
  • Information Protection P1
Verdict: Where most enterprise mid-market starts. Unlimited seats, full Office Enterprise apps, deeper SharePoint/OneDrive footprint, and a proper baseline security stack. Power BI Pro and the full Defender XDR suite are NOT included — those require E5.

Microsoft 365 E5

$57 → $60/user/mo (rises July 1, 2026)· Unlimited

Best fit: The enterprise default for security-conscious mid-market and up

Productivity

  • Everything in E3
  • Power BI Pro
  • Audio Conferencing
  • Phone System (Teams Phone)

Security + management

  • Defender for Endpoint P2
  • Defender for Identity (on-prem AD threat detection)
  • Defender for Cloud Apps (CASB)
  • Defender XDR (cross-domain detection)
  • Full Purview suite (DLP, Information Protection P2, Records Management, Insider Risk Management, eDiscovery Premium, Communication Compliance)
  • Entra ID P2 (Privileged Identity Management, Identity Governance, risk-based Conditional Access)
Verdict: Required for genuine SOC 2 Type II compliance with a complete audit trail. The default for any regulated mid-market business (financial services, healthcare, professional services, legal, government).

Microsoft 365 E7 — Frontier Suite (GA May 1, 2026)

$99/user/mo· Unlimited

Best fit: The new default for any client refreshing licensing in 2026

Productivity

  • Everything in E5

Security + management

  • Everything in E5

AI + identity bundle

  • Microsoft 365 Copilot ($30/user/mo when bought separately)
  • Microsoft Entra Suite ($12/user/mo separately) — Entra ID Governance, Internet Access, Private Access, Verified ID
  • Microsoft Agent 365 ($15/user/mo separately) — agent control plane, GA same day
  • Cowork (Anthropic Claude inside Copilot) — Frontier program
Verdict: Saves about $18/user/mo vs buying E5 + Copilot + Entra Suite + Agent 365 separately. The conversation prompt for every renewal in 2026. Decision framework on the /microsoft-365/e5-vs-e7 page.
FAQ

Plans + pricing questions, answered.

What is the cheapest Microsoft 365 plan that includes desktop Office apps?

Microsoft 365 Business Standard at $14/user/mo includes the desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook (alongside the web and mobile apps). Business Basic at $6/user/mo only includes web and mobile Office — no desktop apps. If you need to run desktop Office on a Windows or Mac machine, Business Standard is the floor.

When should we upgrade from Business Premium to E3 or E5?

The crossover usually triggers at one of three thresholds. (1) Seat count: Business Premium caps at 300 users. Above that, you must move to E3 or E5. (2) Security depth: Defender for Endpoint P2 (full XDR for endpoints) and the Defender XDR cross-domain correlation are E5 features — Business Premium gets you the entry-level Defender for Business. If you need genuine SOC 2 Type II compliance with full audit trail, you need E5. (3) Compliance: the full Purview suite (Insider Risk Management, eDiscovery Premium, Communication Compliance) is E5-only and is required for many regulated workloads.

What is included in Microsoft 365 E5 that is NOT in E3?

E5 adds: Defender for Endpoint P2 (E3 has P1), Defender for Identity, Defender for Cloud Apps (CASB), Defender XDR (cross-domain detection), the full Purview suite (Information Protection P2, Records Management, Insider Risk Management, eDiscovery Premium, Communication Compliance), Entra ID P2 (Privileged Identity Management, Identity Governance, risk-based Conditional Access), Power BI Pro, Audio Conferencing, and Phone System (Teams Phone). Net: E5 is the genuine enterprise security + compliance + analytics stack; E3 is the enterprise productivity floor.

How does Microsoft 365 E7 compare to E5?

E7 includes everything in E5 plus Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft Entra Suite, and Microsoft Agent 365. À la carte: E5 ($60) + Copilot ($30) + Entra Suite ($12) + Agent 365 ($15) = $117/user/mo. E7 = $99/user/mo, saving $18. The math favors E7 for any client who already has Copilot deployed and wants the agent governance layer Agent 365 provides. For clients still piloting Copilot, the right sequence is usually E5 + standalone Copilot for the pilot population, then transition to E7 when adoption justifies organization-wide Copilot.

Is Power BI Pro included in Microsoft 365?

Only in E5 and E7. NOT in Business Standard, Business Premium, or E3. If you need Power BI Pro on a Business Premium or E3 tenant, license it separately at $14/user/mo. This is a common gotcha — buyers assume Power BI Pro is bundled because Microsoft markets the analytics story, but the licensing catalog does not match the marketing.

The right plan saves you money in three ways: list price, gotchas, and renewals.

Picking E3 when you need E5 means you buy Defender for Endpoint P2 and Power BI Pro separately for more total cost. Picking E5 when you need only Business Premium means you over-pay by 3x. We do the analysis explicitly and show you the math.

E5 vs E7 decision →Security architecture →Book a license review →