Microsoft 365 Business:
which plan do you need?

Business Basic — the essentials, in the browser

Basic covers email and the core Microsoft 365 collaboration tools: Exchange mailboxes, Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive. The catch is the Office apps — on Basic you get the web and mobile versions only (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook in a browser or on a phone). There are no installed desktop apps for Windows or Mac. It suits lighter users, front-line or shift staff, and businesses whose people mostly live in email and the browser.

Business Standard — adds the desktop apps

Standard is Basic plus the full installed desktop Office suite — the "proper" Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook you download onto each PC or Mac, which keep working offline and handle heavier documents and spreadsheets far better than the web versions. If your team relies on real Excel (pivot tables, macros, large workbooks) or the desktop Outlook experience, Standard is the practical minimum.

Business Premium — adds security & device management

Premium includes everything in Standard, then layers on the tools that keep company data and devices safe. That's where Microsoft Intune (manage and secure laptops and phones), Defender for Business (business-grade anti-malware and threat protection), Microsoft Entra ID P1 (conditional access and stronger sign-in controls) and data loss prevention (DLP) live. For most professional-services and regulated SMBs, this is the tier that actually meets the security bar.

1. Basic → Standard: the desktop appsThe single biggest jump from Basic to Standard is getting the installed desktop Office apps instead of the web-only versions. Everything else (email, Teams, storage) is essentially the same.
2. Standard → Premium: security & controlStandard and Premium give you the same apps. The difference is the security and management stack — Intune, Defender for Business, Entra ID P1 and DLP — which only Premium includes.
3. Device managementOnly Premium can enrol, configure and remotely wipe company devices through Intune. On Basic or Standard you're managing laptops and phones manually.
4. Threat protectionPremium's Defender for Business adds antivirus, ransomware defence and attack-surface reduction across your devices — protection that isn't part of Basic or Standard.
5. Sign-in securityEntra ID P1 in Premium unlocks conditional access — rules like "block sign-ins from overseas" or "require a compliant device" — which the lower tiers can't do.
6. Data protectionDLP in Premium can automatically detect and stop sensitive information (like credit-card or tax-file numbers) from leaving your organisation by email.

1. Choose Basic if…Your people mainly use email, Teams and light document editing, you're comfortable with web/mobile Office, and you don't yet need centrally managed device security. A common starting point for very small or budget-conscious teams.
2. Choose Standard if…Your team needs the full installed desktop apps for real work in Excel, Word, Outlook and PowerPoint, but you're handling device security separately (or don't have a strong compliance requirement yet).
3. Choose Premium if…You hold client or financial data, work in a regulated industry (accounting, legal, finance, real estate), have staff on laptops and phones out of the office, or simply want your IT properly secured. This is the most common fit for established SMBs.
4. Mind the 300-user capAll three Business plans are capped at 300 licensed users per tenant. If you're growing past that, plan a move to the Enterprise plans (E3/E5), which have no seat limit and add extra compliance tooling — before you hit the wall.
5. You can mix plansYou don't have to put everyone on the same tier. It's common to give office staff Premium and shift or casual workers Basic, all within the same 300-user tenant.