Business
Up to 300 users. Straightforward bundles for small and medium-sized organisations.
Microsoft 365 licensing, decoded
Know exactly what
you’re buying.
A clear, current guide to Microsoft’s Business, Office 365 Enterprise and Microsoft 365 Enterprise licences in the United Kingdom.
Plan catalogue13licence options
Updated11 Aug 2026
MarketUnited Kingdom
Office 365
Apps and cloud services without Windows Enterprise or full endpoint management.
Microsoft 365
Office 365 plus Windows, identity, device management and deeper security.
The catalogue
Find your fit
Search by need or filter by licence family. Click any plan for its complete service breakdown, or select up to four plans to compare.
Price variant
13 plans shown Prices are per user/month, paid yearly, excluding VAT
Apps only
Apps for business
Desktop apps and cloud storage
£9.80/ user
/ month
/ month
Paid yearly · excludes VAT
- ✓Desktop Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
- ✓1 TB OneDrive per user
- ✓Install across PCs, Macs and mobile devices
Business
Business Basic
Cloud-first productivity
£5.40/ user
/ month
/ month
Paid yearly · excludes VAT
- ✓Web and mobile Office apps
- ✓Custom business email
- ✓1 TB OneDrive per user
Business
Business Standard
Full apps and collaboration
£10.80/ user
/ month
/ month
Paid yearly · excludes VAT
- ✓Everything in Basic
- ✓Desktop Office apps
- ✓Bookings, Loop, Planner, Forms and Clipchamp
Business
Business Premium
Productivity plus advanced protection
£16.90/ user
/ month
/ month
Paid yearly · excludes VAT
- ✓Everything in Standard
- ✓Intune device management
- ✓Defender for Business and Entra ID P1
Business
Business Standard with Copilot
AI includedFull productivity with work-grounded AI
£18.10/ user
/ month
/ month
Paid yearly · excludes VAT
- ✓Everything in Business Standard
- ✓Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
- ✓Research, analysis and agent creation
Business
Business Premium with Copilot
AI includedProtected work with built-in AI
£24.60/ user
/ month
/ month
Paid yearly · excludes VAT
- ✓Everything in Business Premium
- ✓Microsoft 365 Copilot Business
- ✓Advanced device, identity and threat protection
Apps only
Apps for enterprise
Enterprise desktop applications
£13.70/ user
/ month
/ month
Paid yearly · excludes VAT
- ✓Enterprise desktop Office apps
- ✓1 TB OneDrive per user
- ✓No hosted email or Teams
Office 365
Office 365 E1
Enterprise cloud productivity
£7.70/ user
/ month
/ month
Paid yearly · excludes VAT
- ✓Web and mobile Office apps
- ✓Enterprise email and collaboration
- ✓Baseline security and Copilot Chat
Office 365
Office 365 E3
Full enterprise productivity suite
£23.30/ user
/ month
/ month
Paid yearly · excludes VAT
- ✓Desktop, web and mobile Office apps
- ✓Exchange Plan 2 and SharePoint Plan 2
- ✓DLP, standard audit and eDiscovery
Office 365
Office 365 E5
Advanced compliance and analytics
£36.80/ user
/ month
/ month
Paid yearly · excludes VAT
- ✓Everything in Office 365 E3
- ✓Power BI Pro and advanced Purview
- ✓Teams Phone and Audio Conferencing in the Teams version
Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 E3
Productivity, Windows and management
£33.50/ user
/ month
/ month
Paid yearly · excludes VAT
- ✓Office 365 E3 capabilities
- ✓Windows 11 Enterprise E3
- ✓Entra ID P1, Intune P1 and endpoint protection
Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 E5
Advanced security, compliance and analytics
£51.60/ user
/ month
/ month
Paid yearly · excludes VAT
- ✓Everything in Microsoft 365 E3
- ✓Entra ID P2 and Microsoft Defender XDR
- ✓Power BI Pro, advanced Purview and Teams Phone
Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 E7
AI includedMicrosoft’s frontier enterprise suite
£81.60/ user
/ month
/ month
Paid yearly · excludes VAT
- ✓Everything in Microsoft 365 E5
- ✓Microsoft 365 Copilot, Agent 365 and Entra Suite
- ✓Unified governance for people, data, devices and agents
Side-by-side
Compare the detail
Choose any plan above. When a fifth is added, the oldest selection is replaced.
| Capability | BusinessBusiness Standard£10.80 | BusinessBusiness Premium£16.90 | Microsoft 365Microsoft 365 E3£33.50 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Most small and medium-sized organisations | SMBs that manage devices or sensitive data | Enterprises managing users, devices and data together |
| Seat limit | Up to 300 | Up to 300 | Any size |
| Productivity apps | Desktop, web and mobile apps | Desktop, web and mobile apps | Desktop, web and mobile apps |
| Exchange Plan 1 · 50 GB mailbox | 50 GB mailbox + auto-expanding archive up to 1.5 TB | Exchange Plan 2 · 100 GB mailbox | |
| Teams | Chat, meetings and webinars | Chat, meetings and webinars | Chat, meetings and webinars |
| Cloud storage | 1 TB OneDrive per user | 1 TB OneDrive per user | 1–5+ TB OneDrive per user |
| Identity & devices | Core identity controls | Entra ID P1 + Intune P1 | Entra ID P1, Intune P1, Windows 11 Enterprise E3 |
| Security & compliance | Baseline email protection | Defender for Business, Defender for Office 365 P1, information protection | Defender for Endpoint P1 and core Purview |
| AI & analytics | Copilot Chat; full Copilot optional | Copilot Chat; full Copilot optional | Copilot Chat; full Copilot optional |
The short version
What actually changes?
Need desktop apps?
Skip Business Basic and Office 365 E1. Every other suite here includes installable desktop apps.
Need to manage devices?
Start with Business Premium for up to 300 users, or Microsoft 365 E3 and above for enterprise.
Need advanced security?
Microsoft 365 E5 adds advanced identity, Defender XDR and Purview. E7 layers Copilot and agent governance on top.
Need Copilot included?
Choose a Business “with Copilot” bundle or Microsoft 365 E7. For most other suites it is an add-on.
Service-level detail
What each service does
Every label in a licence breakdown opens to explain its practical capabilities, limits and important exclusions.
34 documented services and entitlements
Read before buying
Important licensing notes
Business plan user limit +
Microsoft 365 Business base plans are designed for organisations with up to 300 provisioned users across the Business family. Enterprise plans do not carry that 300-seat ceiling.
Teams and no-Teams versions +
Microsoft sells several suites both with and without Microsoft Teams. The switch above changes displayed pricing and the comparison table. Apps-only plans never include Teams.
Copilot Chat versus Microsoft 365 Copilot +
Copilot Chat is included with eligible subscriptions, but agents can create metered Azure charges. Work-grounded Copilot inside Microsoft 365 apps is a paid add-on unless the plan name says “with Copilot” or you choose Microsoft 365 E7.
Pricing and procurement +
Displayed UK list prices are per user per month, paid yearly, and exclude VAT. Microsoft partners, volume agreements, monthly terms and promotions can produce different prices.