Microsoft 365 licensing, in plain English
Which Microsoft 365 plan does your organisation need?
Microsoft sells 620 overlapping subscriptions. LicenseLens shows what each one really includes, how the main plans differ, and which is the leanest fit for your requirements.
Source: Microsoft's official licensing reference · 796 services mapped · updated 24 Sep 2026
The main plans at a glance
Most organisations choose between these 9. Click a plan name for everything it includes.
| Feature | Business up to 300 users | Enterprise any size | Frontline frontline staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | Standard | Premium | O365 E1 | O365 E3 | M365 E3 | M365 E5 | M365 F1 | M365 F3 | |
| Everyday work | |||||||||
| Business email Exchange Online mailbox & calendar | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Teams Chat, meetings and channels | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| SharePoint & OneDrive Intranet, team sites, file storage | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Office apps Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook | Web & mobile | Desktop | Desktop | Web & mobile | Desktop | Desktop | Desktop | — | Web & mobile |
| Security & devices | |||||||||
| Conditional access Entra ID Premium sign-in policies | — | — | P1 | — | — | P1 | P2 | P1 | P1 |
| Device management Intune for laptops and phones | — | Basic | ✓ | Basic | Basic | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Endpoint protection Microsoft Defender on devices | — | — | Business | — | — | Plan 1 | Plan 2 | — | — |
| Email threat protection Defender for Office 365 | — | — | Plan 1 | — | Plan 1 | Plan 1 | Plan 2 | — | — |
| Compliance | |||||||||
| Data loss prevention Stop sensitive data leaving | — | — | ✓ | — | — | — | ✓ | — | — |
| eDiscovery Legal hold and investigations | — | — | ✓ | — | — | — | ✓ | — | — |
| Insider risk Detect risky user activity | — | — | — | — | — | — | ✓ | — | — |
| Extras | |||||||||
| Teams Phone Cloud phone system | — | — | — | — | — | — | ✓ | — | — |
| Power BI Pro Reports and dashboards | — | — | — | — | — | — | ✓ | — | — |
| Windows Enterprise Enterprise edition licence | — | — | — | — | — | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ |
✓ included — not included Plan 1 edition included · Business plans are capped at 300 users · Always confirm in the Microsoft 365 admin center before buying.
Common decisions
The comparisons IT teams make most often — showing only what differs.
Browse by product family
Every subscription and add-on in Microsoft's reference, grouped by product line.