- Microsoft Office 365 Business Standard
- Microsoft 365 Business Standard License
- Microsoft 365 Business Standard Subscription
- Microsoft 365 Business Standard Features
- Microsoft 365 Business Standard Login
If you have a Microsoft 365 for business subscription, for example, Microsoft 365 Business Standard, you can easily upgrade to Microsoft 365 Business Premium. Upgrade to Microsoft 365 Business Premium if you want to add:
Windows 10 Pro (to PCs running Windows 8 or later)
Simple controls that manage business data on devices
Advanced security capabilities.Find out more about Microsoft 365 Business Premium at Microsoft.com
Recommended Reading: Office 365 Business vs Office 365 Enterprise In this blog, we will draw a comparison between the two major Office 365 plans – Home and Business. While the basic Microsoft Office suite remains the same in the two plans, there are a few differences in the features offered, userbase, etc. Microsoft 365 Business Standard supports a maximum of 300 users. If you have more than 300 users or think you will soon, take a look at our other plan options. What forms of payment can I use? You can pay with all major credit cards, and your subscription amount will appear on your credit card statement. Microsoft 365 Business Standard and Power BI 12:08 AM. Hi all, I am strugelling with understanding PBI pricing and what licenses are neccesary.
Recommended Reading: Office 365 Business vs Office 365 Enterprise In this blog, we will draw a comparison between the two major Office 365 plans – Home and Business. While the basic Microsoft Office suite remains the same in the two plans, there are a few differences in the features offered, userbase, etc. Microsoft 365 business standard plan is designed to provide best productivity solutions for business and startups in India with no dedicated office or workers without desk – retail, shift or those using shared PCs. Email & Calendars. Get business-class email through Outlook with a 50 GB mailbox per user and send attachments up to 150 MB.
What's the difference between Microsoft 365 Business Standard and Microsoft 365 Business Premium?
We've added a side-by-side comparison of these two plans to the Microsoft 365 Business Premium Service Description.
Before you get started
When should I choose to upgrade? Upgrade is the right choice when you want to upgrade all users assigned to a single plan. When you choose upgrade, all plan users get switched to another plan at the same time. If you don't want to upgrade everyone assigned to a single plan, buy licenses for the new plan (in this case Microsoft 365 Business Premium), and assign those licenses individually to each user that you want to upgrade.
Some add-ons might prevent the upgrade If you try to start an upgrade and you have an add-on that prevents you from continuing, you can remove the add-on first, and then add it back later if you still need it.
If you prepaid your plan There isn't a straightforward upgrade path for prepaid plans. You'll know if you have a prepaid plan because you set up your plan using a product ID that you might have purchased in a store. Contact a partner, go to the Microsoft Store, or wait until your prepaid plan expires to switch to a new plan.
Upgrade to Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Sign into the admin center at https://admin.microsoft.com.
Go to the navigation pane and select Billing > Your products. Find your current subscription and select it to view the details.
On the next page, select Upgrade.
Note
If you see a message that says Upgrading your subscription is not supported with group-based licensing in Azure Active Directory, you can safely ignore this unless you have a very large organization. Organizations who have selected this option will be aware that they're using group-based licensing.
Next, you can view a list of plans that you can upgrade to. In this case, find the Microsoft 365 Business Premium plan. You can scroll down if you want to see all the apps and services that are included with this plan. Under Microsoft 365 Business Premium, select Upgrade to add Microsoft 365 Business Premium to your cart.
In the cart:
- We'll automatically include licenses for all your current users. If you need more or fewer licenses, you need to buy and assign those licenses individually.
- You can adjust how you'd like to pay: monthly or yearly. Select the drop-down menu to make your choice.
Select Go to Checkout where you'll see a summary of your purchase, including the payment method for this account. You can also add a promo code here if you have one.
Select Place order to complete your purchase.
It takes Microsoft a few minutes to set up your new service plans. To check on progress, select Check upgrade status.When your plan is ready, you might need to complete some additional setup steps in the admin center. In the navigation pane, select Home to complete any additional setup steps.
Note
You'll receive a prorated refund for the Microsoft 365 licenses that you no longer need. Your bank account or credit card will be charged about two days after you set up the new plan.
Microsoft Office 365 Business Standard
Protect user devices and files
Now that Microsoft 365 Business Premium licenses have been assigned, complete steps to start protecting devices and files. You'll use some new options included in the admin center navigation pane.
In the admin center, in the navigation pane, go to Devices > Policies.
On the Device policies page, select Add.
In the Add policy pane give the policy a name (for example, Protect work files), and then choose a Policy type from the drop-down list.
You can set up application policies for protecting files on Android and iPhone devices, as well as Windows 10, and you can set up device configuration policies for company owned Windows 10 devices. See the following links for details:
After you set up policies, you and your employees can set up devices:
If your Windows devices aren't already using the Windows Pro Creator update, you'll need to upgrade them to Windows Pro Creators Update.
See Set up Windows devices for Microsoft 365 Business Premium users for steps for Windows devices.
See Set up mobile devices for Microsoft 365 Business Premium users for steps for Android phones and iPhones.
In this article, we are comparing the Microsoft 365 Business Basic vs Standard vs Premium to understand their differences better.
Microsoft 365 comes with three major Business plans. You would need to pick the one that you would exactly need depending on the workflow and other requirements you may have. You can choose the one among Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard, and Premium.
Related: Microsoft Visio Plan 1 vs Plan 2 – Whats the difference?
Designed to bring all the productivity apps and services from Microsoft under one common platform and one single subscription, you mostly have three different options to pick from – Microsoft 365 Business, Microsoft 365 Business Premium, and Microsoft 365 Business Essentials.
Image: Microsoft
How does each of them differ from one another? We will check out the three plans and find the differences between the three programs. Before we continue, it may be worthwhile to understand that the preceding Office 365 has changed into Microsoft 365 and has gone through a few name changes.
- Office 365 Business Essentials has now become Microsoft 365 Business Basic.
- Office 365 Business Premium has now become Microsoft 365 Business Standard.
- Office 365 Business has now changed over to Microsoft 365 Apps for business.
With that knowledge, let us compare and analyze the three products and understand their differences.
Comparison of Microsoft 365 Business Essentials vs Business Premium vs Business:
| Features | Microsoft 365 Business Essentials | Microsoft 365 Business Premium | Microsoft 365 Business |
| Office Applications Included | – | Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access (PC Only), Outlook | Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access (PC Only), Outlook |
| Services Included | Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams | Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams | OneDrive |
| Maximum number of users | 300 | 300 | 300 |
| Latest desktop versions of Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint for Windows or Mac | Not Included | Included | Included |
| Latest desktop versions of Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint for iOS, Android devices (up to 5 phones and 5 tablets) | Included | Included | Included |
| Microsoft Teams – Desktop and mobile versions | Included | Included | Not Included |
| Email & calendaring (50 GB mailbox for email hosting with custom email domain address) | Included | Included | Not Included |
| 1 TB OneDrive for Business file storage and sharing | Included | Included | Included |
| Exchange Online Protection – from spam, malware, and other threats | Included | Included | Not Included |
| Custom permission for accessing crucial business information | Included | Included | Included |
| Password policy creation | Included | Included | Included |
| Microsoft Teams for scheduling and planning | Not Included | Included | Not Included |
| Microsoft Bookings for managing appointments | Not Included | Included | Not Included |
| MileIQ for real-time precise on-the-go mileage tracking | Not Included | Included | Not Included |
| 24/7 Support for end users via phone, chat, and email | Included | Included | Included |
| 99.9% uptime guarantee | Included | Included | Included |
| Licensed for commercial use | Included | Included | Included |
| Money-back guarantee | 15 days | 15 days | 15 days |
| Price | $5 user/month (annual commitment) | $12.5 user/month (annual commitment) | $8.25 user/month (annual commitment) |
Microsoft 365 Business Basic
Available at $5 per user per month, the Microsoft 365 Business Basic offers you what the name itself means. It does provide you access to the basic features of Microsoft 365 suite and includes Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Microsoft Teams. Right from email to an online storage to online meetings, the Microsoft 365 Business Basic provides you with everything that you would necessarily need to carry out your operations.
The availability of fully installed office applications should be yet another major plus point that you would stand to gain with the plan. Of course, you do not get the desktop versions of the Office applications. That would mean it should be the prime option you would prefer if you have already installed the updated Office applications, or maybe you are happy with the web versions of the Office applications.
You would get the email services as part of the plan. Ideally speaking, this is the 100 percent online version of Microsoft 365.
Microsoft Business Standard
This is the next level of Microsoft 365 subscription. It offers you a few more benefits when compared to the Microsoft Office 365 Business Basic. Previously called Office 365 Business Premium, it provides you access to all the features available on Microsoft 365 Business Basic but comes with an additional suite of full Office applications.
Available at $ 12.50 per user per month, the plan lets you install Office applications on 5 PCs or Macs, 5 tablets, and 5 phones. It should be one of the excellent options for small and medium-sized businesses. Of course, you can combine the plan with other extra packages depending on the additional requirements that you may have.
The Microsoft 365 Business Standard plan comes equipped with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Exchange, Publisher, and Access. Please note that Publisher and Access can only be used on the PC, and no online access is available.
Microsoft 365 Apps for business
This plan is made available at $ 8.25 per user per month. This is the mid-tier plan available on Microsoft 365. Previously known as Office 365 Business, it lets you use of the features midway between Microsoft 365 Basic and Microsoft 365 Standard.
The difference in pricing is since the Microsoft Office 365 Apps for Business comes with offline Desktop Office applications. Still, it does not come with other features such as unlimited online meetings, email, and Sway from this subscription. The services available on the platform would include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive, Publisher, and Access. As in the case of Microsoft Office 365, Publisher and Access are available only as Desktop applications.
The features – Microsoft 365 Business Basic vs Standard vs Premium
Having gone through an overview of the three different plans from Microsoft 365, let us now check out a few features offered by the three platforms one by one. That would provide you with a clear understanding of the quality of the service.
Microsoft 365 Business Basic (or erstwhile Office 365 Business Essentials)
The prime features offered by Microsoft 365 Business Basic plan can be summarised as
- Email and Calendar – You can get access to a business-class email with 50 GB mailbox per user. You should be able to send emails with attachment up to 150 MB in size.
- Instant Messaging and Online meetings – You get access to a host of options for online meetings as part of the package. You can chat, meet, and collaborate with Microsoft Teams. You can combine messaging, voice calls, and video calls. Get all those options in one single app.
- Secure Cloud storage – You can get 1 TB OneDrive cloud storage per user with a Business Basic plan. This will enable you to edit and share your documents, photos, and anything else on almost all your devices.
Business Basic plan from Microsoft 365 comes with the following options –
- Hosting online meetings or video conferencing with up to 250 users
- Share files with 1 TB OneDrive cloud storage per user.
- Get access to online versions of all Office applications – Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote (plus Access and Publisher for PC only).
- 50 GB mailbox per user with a custom email domain address.
- Round the clock phone and web support.
Compatibility – Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7 Service Pack 1, and the two most recent versions of macOS
Microsoft Business Standard (or erstwhile Office 365 Business Premium)
The salient features offered by Microsoft Business Standard are –
- Monthly Updates – You can be assured of the latest features and updates with the fully installed applications. You can get access to apps such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
- Web and mobile app development – You can quickly build and develop custom business applications. You can either choose to build the apps from scratch or decide to use the built-in templates.
- Work across all multiple devices – You can get access to Office apps installed on various PCs. You can use your applications and work with Macs, tablets, and mobile devices.
- Connections and collaborations – You can instantly access to almost everything with your teams that include chat, content, tools, and people with Microsoft Teams.
- Cloud Storage – As with the basic plan, you can be assured of an enhanced experience with 1 TB OneDrive storage per user. You can edit and share all your documents, photos, and everything else.
- Intelligent search and discovery – You can have access to all the content and across all your organizations. Go with a smart search across SharePoint, Delve, and Office apps.
- Intranet and Team sites – You can connect with content, expertise, and processes across different team sites through SharePoint.
- Automated workflow – You would be able to build automated workflows between your apps and services. All the tasks such as file synchronization, data collection, and other actions with Power Automate.
Microsoft 365 Business Standard plans would include the following options –
- Get access to desktop versions of Office apps – Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote (plus Access and Publisher for PC only).
- An Email mailbox with 50 GB mailbox with a custom email domain address.
- Create a hub of teams with Microsoft Teams
- Online 1 TB OneDrive cloud storage per user.
- Licensed installation of all office apps on up to five devices.
Compatibility – Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7 Service Pack 1, and the two most recent versions of macOS
Microsoft 365 Apps for Business (or erstwhile Office 365 Business)
The significant features offered by the plan include –
- Monthly updates – Get fully installed features and abilities on all Office apps.
- Use them across multiple devices – You can use the fully installed Office apps across various devices. Get them installed them on up to PCs, Macs, tablets, and mobile devices.
- Digital Storytelling – You can create engaging and interactive reports. This would be one of the excellent options for almost every story, presentation, newsletter, and training.
- Cloud storage – The plan, as with the other two plans, offers you access to 1 TB OneDrive storage per user. You should be able to get access to editing and sharing your documents, photos, and other content.
The options available with Microsoft 365 Apps for Business would include –
- Get desktop versions of all your Office apps – Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote (plus Access and Publisher for PC only).
- 1 TB OneDrive cloud storage per user.
- License to install Office desktop apps on up to 5 devices.
- Update your apps automatically each month.
- Round the clock help on web and phone.
Compatibility – Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7 Service Pack 1, and the two most recent versions of macOS
The head to head Comparison Chart – Microsoft 365 Business Basic vs Standard vs Premium
Having gone through the features and functions offered by each of the plans, how about checking out a few elements in a head to head comparison chart? That would clarify the differences quite clearly enough.
| Features | Microsoft 365 Business Basic | Microsoft 365 Business Standard | Microsoft 365 Apps for Business |
| Yes, included | Yes, included | No | |
| Skype Functionality, Teams, & Yammer | Yes, included | Yes, included | No |
| OneDrive for Business | Yes, included | Yes, included | Yes, included |
| Microsoft Apps Online | Yes, included | Yes, included | Yes, included |
| Microsoft apps Offline | No | Yes, included | Yes, included |
| Price | $5 per user per month | $12.50 per user per month | $8.25 per user per month |
Which among them should you go with?
Each of the plans come with their own advantages and disadvantages. If you are looking for an affordable option that lets you get access to excellent web-based productivity, the best program you can go with would be Microsoft 365 Business Basic. A full-powered option with all desktop applications can e achieved with the help of Microsoft 365 Apps for Business. This is the second-best plan concerning affordability.
If you are looking ahead to a complete package with almost every aspect, the Microsoft 365 Business Standard should be an excellent option. While it may be a little expensive option, it does provide you access to a complete suite of what Microsoft has on offer for you.
Before choosing an Office 365 plan, it is essential to understand the needs of your business. There are many different features available based on the price plan you select. A suitable plan will let you customize your Office 365 subscription according to your company’s needs and budget. Also, it depends on your workflow.
The below list mentions the three Microsoft 365 Business plans:
- Microsoft 365 Business Essentials (earlier called Microsoft 365 Business Basic)
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium (earlier called Microsoft 365 Business Standard)
- Microsoft 365 Business (earlier called Business Premium)
Some users have confusion regarding whether Microsoft 365 and Office 365 the same or not. Well, Microsoft 365 Business is the new naming assigned for all these Office 365 Business plans that were announced in March 2020. All pricing and features remain the same.
Let’s understand in detail about each of these plans:
Microsoft 365 Business Essentials:
It is the most affordable option, i.e., just $5 per month per user, the Microsoft 365 Business Essentials plan offers all the essential features. Right from email to file storage to online meetings, this plan covers the basic online services of Office 365. Moreover, you get access to the Team Sites through SharePoint to allow flawless access and sharing of the critical business documents.
One of the crucial features removed from this plan is the fully installed Office applications. Those customers who already have an advanced version of the Office applications installed or are pleased with the online versions of these applications, this plan is a suitable choice. In case you have distribution email boxes you want to consider adding, then instead of buying one of the costly Office 365 plans, the Business Essentials is useful to consider.
Though you do not get the desktop Office apps, you get the web versions of Microsoft Teams, Office, Exchange, SharePoint, and 1TB of OneDrive storage. One of the best things is you get business email support. All of that comes at $5 per user per month.
The difference between the Business Essentials and Business Premium is the inclusion of the desktop. If the desktop apps are not much use to you and your business, then Office 365 Business Essentials is the right choice. Except for the desktop apps, you get many other tools to boost your productivity.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium:
The Microsoft 365 Business Premium provides a few more features compared to the Essentials plan. This plan comes with all the features of the Business Essentials and also contains the full Office suite on all devices. At the price of $12.50 per month per user, the users gain access to the features and services of Business Essentials. Moreover, they get the ability to install the Office applications on 5 phones, 5 tablets, and 5 PCs or Macs.
In recent times, this plan is the most popular Business Plan choice for all small and medium-sized businesses. It can be combined with some other packages for extra features. With this plan, you get access to Microsoft’s desktop apps, Microsoft Teams, the web versions of Office, SharePoint support, Exchange support, and 1 TB of OneDrive storage. To apparent confusion, you can contact business email support. All these features indicate that this plan is a comprehensive productivity suite covering every useful feature.
It comes with a downside i.e.; its cost seems expensive to some users. The price appears affordable to large businesses, but it is not feasible for small companies that have low overhead. In short, Microsoft 365 Business Premium plan offers you the fundamental Office 365 functionality that most customers require to enhance the productivity of the business.
Microsoft 365 Business:
The Microsoft 365 Business plan is priced as the middle-tier option i.e., $8.25 per month per user. It is known that this plan offers the most basic services, and hence the price is the lowest. It comes installed with the Office desktop applications but does not include additional services such as unlimited email, online meetings, and few more.
This plan does not support Microsoft Team, email and calendaring, and protection against security threats. For tiny businesses, this plan can be the right choice. It just fulfills the basic needs of your business. However, you can go for advanced plans if you want to streamline the communication and processes in your company.
You get access to every Office desktop apps like Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access, and Publisher. Furthermore, you receive 1TB of OneDrive storage and access to the web versions of the Office apps.
Microsoft 365 Business Standard License
The critical drawback of this plan is its access to powerful desktop applications of Microsoft. There is no access to Microsoft Teams. Microsoft Teams is a comparatively advanced communication tool. It allows you to communicate via video calls, chats, and file sharing.
What’s the difference between these 3 plans?
When evaluating the different requirements of your company, it is essential to note that you can combine and match plans. This holds true as long as you put up with the licensing limit of 300 users for a single program. Moreover, you can customize your subscription as per the requirements of your employees.
Each of the 3 plans comes with their pros and cons. If you need an affordable program that provides access to web-based productivity apps for your employees and Microsoft Teams for communication, then the Office 365 Business Essentials is the right choice. You can get access to plenty of services at just $5 per month per user.
If you just require the fully-functional desktop applications and do not want Microsoft Teams for communication or the business email support, go for the Office 365 Business plan. The Business plan is quite affordable than the other two plans and yet provides all the desktop Office applications to your employees the desktop Office applications. For example, your employees gain access to the OneDrive cloud storage, and access to work on the web through the Office web apps.
To obtain all the features for efficient streamlining of your business, the Office 365 Business Premium is the right choice. Its features justify the price. Though the cost may seem higher, you get Microsoft’s entire offering. Make sure you access everything it offers before subscribing to it. For many businesses, this plan appears to be loaded with lots of unnecessary features.
The 99.9% guaranteed uptime, 24/7 support (through phone, chat, and email), and 15 days money-back guarantee are the basic features included in all 3 plans.
Microsoft 365 Business Standard Subscription
Concluding Note:
Each of the Microsoft 365 Business plans is intended to streamline your business operations and communications. Their features truly justify the price, and they are suitable for most businesses. Choose the one that best suits your business” requirements and budget.
Microsoft 365 Business Standard Features
The Closing Remarks
Well, that was all about how effective the Microsoft 365 provides you access to an enhanced degree of productivity option. Of course, you can study all the three-plan offered by Microsoft and pick the option that best meets your requirements.
We assume we have been of some help in understanding the different features offered by the different plans. That way, you would be able to pick the best features and get access to the best options among the three plans.
More on Microsoft 365:
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