Guide
Microsoft 365 licence comparison guide
A plain comparison of the main Microsoft 365 plans by the capabilities that matter most for security and compliance. Microsoft changes plans and add-ons regularly, so confirm the details against Microsoft's current documentation before buying.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
- For organisations of up to 300 users
- Intune for device management
- Entra ID P1, including Conditional Access
- Defender for Business for endpoints
- Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 for email and collaboration
- Core Purview information protection and data loss prevention
Microsoft 365 E3
- No user cap
- Intune and Entra ID P1, including Conditional Access
- Core Purview compliance, retention and eDiscovery
- Endpoint and email security usually added separately
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Microsoft 365 E5
- Everything in E3
- The full Defender XDR suite: Endpoint Plan 2, Office 365 Plan 2, Identity and Cloud Apps
- Entra ID P2, including Privileged Identity Management and risk-based policies
- Advanced Purview: automatic labelling, advanced DLP, insider risk and premium eDiscovery
Add-ons
- E5 Security and E5 Compliance add E5 capabilities to specific users
- Some E5 security capabilities are available as add-ons for Business Premium
- Mixing plans by user group often costs less than one plan for everyone
Questions to ask
- How many users do you have, and how many will you have in two years?
- Which controls do the Essential Eight, your insurer and your customers require?
- Which licensed features are in use today?
- When does your agreement renew?
Next step
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