Which Microsoft 365 licence do we need?

A plain-English guide to the main business plans and the questions that actually decide it.

Last reviewed 20 August 2026

Microsoft's plan names don't describe what they do, so here's the practical version for a small business.

Business Basic — email, Teams and the web versions of Word, Excel and Outlook. No installed desktop apps. Suits shared and light-use accounts.
Business Standard — everything in Basic plus the full desktop applications installed on the user's machines. The common choice for office-based staff.
Business Premium — Standard plus the security and device management layer: conditional access, device compliance, better threat protection and data controls.
Exchange Online (Plan 1) — mailbox only. Useful for a warehouse or shop-floor account that just needs email.

The questions that decide it

Do staff need Word and Excel installed, or is the browser enough?
Do people work from personal or unmanaged devices? That pushes you towards Premium.
Do you handle sensitive client or health data, or have contractual security obligations? Premium.
Are there shared accounts — info@, accounts@ — that don't need a full licence? Shared mailboxes are free.

You can mix plans within one tenant. There's rarely a good reason to put every user on the same licence.

Use our pricing calculator to compare options before you commit.

Log it with the helpdesk and a real engineer will pick it up — or book a call if you'd rather talk it through.