Microsoft 365 offers several plans, and picking the wrong one means overpaying or missing key features.

Microsoft 365 Business Basic

Includes web and mobile versions of Office apps, Exchange email, Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive. Good for staff who don’t need desktop Office applications, such as frontline workers.

Microsoft 365 Business Standard

Adds the full desktop Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) and more advanced features. The default choice for most knowledge workers.

Microsoft 365 Business Premium

Everything in Standard, plus advanced security and device management: Intune, Microsoft Defender for Business, Conditional Access, and more. Our recommendation for most businesses that take security seriously.

Microsoft 365 Apps for Business

Desktop Office apps without email or Teams services. Useful if email is hosted elsewhere.

Enterprise plans (E3, E5)

Designed for larger organizations. Business plans are limited to 300 users, so growing companies may move to Enterprise plans.

Which to choose

User type	Likely plan
Frontline, shared-device workers	Business Basic
Typical office staff	Business Standard
Anyone handling sensitive data, or the whole company if security matters	Business Premium
Large or compliance-heavy organizations	E3 / E5

Tips

– You can mix plans across users

– Review licenses every year and remove unused ones

– Consider add-ons such as Copilot, Exchange Online Archiving, or advanced backup

DBR Soft is a Microsoft partner and can help you license correctly. Contact us for more information.