There is no denying it, Microsoft’s different license options are confusing, even for us. Here are four key questions to help you choose the right one.
Business or Enterprise?
The first thing to consider when selecting a Microsoft 365 license, is whether you can go down the Business or Enterprise path.
If your company has less than 300 employees, you may choose Business licenses. Otherwise, only Enterprise licenses are available.
Enterprise licenses have more features compared with Business licenses, and their price points are accordingly higher. For smaller companies though, these additional features may not be needed.
Desktop Apps or not?
Microsoft Office is the de-facto option when it comes to productivity apps on the desktop, and many of us have been using these for as long as we can remember. If you want to keep the same familiar desktop experience, then you need an option that includes these. If not, you can choose a web-only license.
Windows PC Management?
As you might expect from the company behind Windows, Microsoft have some amazing PC management tools. AutoPilot allows computers to set themselves up when they are first signed into, with the right security, applications, favourites and data access for your staff.
This means you can provide the right computer setup for your team, regardless of whether they are in the office, working from home or even another country.
AutoPilot (and other PC Management and security features such as Windows Defender) are only available in licenses that include Windows PC Management.
Security settings
Microsoft 365 standard security is great out of the box and there is an army of Microsoft engineers dedicated to ensuring the security of their cloud and products so your information is safe. The higher tier products provide further comprehensive features for securing information and user identities.
The most frequent choices
The following table gives the most frequent choices from the Microsoft Business and Enterprise plans with pricing per person per month for the Annual Commitment term (a minimum term of 12 months). Monthly Commitment (one month term) licenses are 20% more expensive. Broadly equivalent licenses are listed on the same line.
Note that Enterprise licensing consists of two product families; Office 365 and Microsoft 365 and these are very often confused with one another:
|
Feature summary |
Business Plans |
Enterprise Plans |
|
Email, File Storage and Office Apps through the Web only. Standard Security. |
Microsoft 365 Business Basic £4.50 pppm |
Office 365 E1 £7.50 pppm |
|
Email, File Storage and Office Apps, through the Web and Desktop. Standard Security. |
Microsoft 365 Business Standard £9.00 pppm |
|
|
Email, File Storage and Office Apps through the Web and Desktop, Better Security. |
|
Office 365 E3 £20.20 pppm |
|
Email, File Storage and Office Apps through the Web and Desktop, Windows 10 PC Management & Security Features, Better Security. |
Microsoft 365 Business Premium £16.60 pppm |
Microsoft 365 E3 £31.70 pppm |
|
Email, File Storage and Office Apps through the Web and Desktop, Analytics and Phone System, Best Security. |
|
Office 365 E5 £33.40 pppm |
|
Email, File Storage and Office Apps through the Web and Desktop, Analytics and Phone System, Windows 10 PC Management & Security Features, Best Security |
|
Microsoft 365 E5 £48.10 pppm |
Decision Tree
If you want the best security options, choose Enterprise licenses, or buy additional licenses with the security features you need.
