Which Microsoft 365 plan do I need? Business Basic vs Standard vs Premium
The short answer: choose Business Basic if people only need email, Teams and Office in a browser or on their phone. Choose Business Standard if they need the full desktop apps like Excel and Outlook. Choose Business Premium if you hold customer data or want your accounts and laptops properly protected. For most businesses with sensitive information, that's Premium. You can mix plans across your staff.
The three plans at a glance
| Business Basic | Business Standard | Business Premium | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per person per month (yearly term, inc VAT)* | about £6.48 | about £12.96 | about £20.28 |
| Business email (50 GB mailbox) | Yes | Yes | Yes, plus archiving |
| Teams, SharePoint, 1 TB OneDrive | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook | Web and mobile only | Desktop apps on up to 5 PCs or Macs | Desktop apps on up to 5 PCs or Macs |
| Enforce safe sign-in (Conditional Access) | No | No | Yes |
| Manage and secure laptops and phones (Intune) | No | No | Yes |
| Protection from viruses, ransomware and dodgy links (Defender) | Basic | Basic | Advanced |
*Microsoft's UK list prices at the time of writing (October 2026), for licences on a yearly term. Monthly-term licences cost 20% more. All three plans are for up to 300 users.
Business Basic: for people who work in a browser
Good for staff who mostly use email and Teams, or who work from a phone or tablet. Everything runs in a web browser or the mobile apps. It's the cheapest way to give someone a proper business email address, Teams and file storage.
Not right if people rely on the desktop version of Excel, Word or Outlook every day.
Business Standard: for people who need the desktop apps
Everything in Basic, plus the full Office apps installed on up to five computers per person. This suits most office-based staff.
What's missing is the security layer: you can't enforce safe sign-in rules, manage company laptops or get Microsoft's stronger protection against phishing and ransomware.
Business Premium: for businesses that need to stay secure
Everything in Standard, plus the tools that stop the most common attacks on small businesses:
- Conditional Access: sign-ins only work with two-step sign-in, and you can block sign-ins from countries you don't work in.
- Intune: set up, secure and wipe company laptops and phones remotely.
- Defender for Business: proper protection against viruses and ransomware on your computers.
- Safer email: links and attachments in emails are checked before people open them.
- Email archiving for long-term storage.
If you handle customer data, take payments, or would struggle if your email was hacked for a week, Premium is usually worth the extra few pounds a month.
Can I mix plans?
Yes. A common setup is Premium for office staff and anyone handling money or customer data, and Basic for people who only need email and Teams. Plans can also be changed later, though on yearly licences you can only reduce the number at renewal.
Common questions
Is there a free version of Microsoft 365 for business?
No. There are free trials, and some charities qualify for discounted plans, but business email and Office need a paid licence.
What about Office 365 E3 and Microsoft 365 E3?
These are enterprise plans for larger organisations, or for specific needs like unlimited archiving. For most businesses under 300 people, Business Premium does the same job for less.
Does Copilot come with these plans?
Copilot is an add-on licence on top of your plan, at extra cost. Check that your data and sharing settings are tidy before you add it, because Copilot can find anything a person already has access to.
Not sure which plan you're on now?
See How do I check which Microsoft 365 licences I have?, or let our free audit check for you and recommend the right mix.
Want us to check yours?
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