How to find the best Microsoft 365 plan for your needs

Microsoft 365 is the cloud-based sub­scrip­tion model of the popular Office suite. Depending on the use case, various Microsoft 365 plans are available. Here you can find out which variant suits you and what to consider when pur­chas­ing.

How to find the right Microsoft 365 plan

The sub­scrip­tion packages for the pro­duc­tiv­i­ty software Microsoft 365 are offered by Microsoft in the form of plans. The company provides various plans for private users, busi­ness­es, ed­u­ca­tion­al in­sti­tu­tions, and non-profit or­ga­ni­za­tions, which differ sig­nif­i­cant­ly in the scope of available ap­pli­ca­tions and features.

All data in this article is accurate as of August 2025.

Microsoft 365 plans for personal use

The range of features in Microsoft 365 depends on the chosen sub­scrip­tion type – the plan. Microsoft offers the following plans for personal use:

Microsoft 365 Personal

The Microsoft 365 Personal plan is designed for in­di­vid­ual users who wish to use the pro­duc­tiv­i­ty software alone. By pur­chas­ing the software sub­scrip­tion, you gain access to the following programs:

• Word
• Excel
• Pow­er­Point
• Defender
• OneNote
• Access
• Publisher
• Forms
• Outlook
• Teams
• Clipchamp

The tools are available as Office Online via the web browser and can be installed as a desktop ap­pli­ca­tion on PCs or Macs. There are also cor­re­spond­ing apps for smart­phones and tablets. In total, you can install the software on up to five different devices. All created documents can be saved offline. Ad­di­tion­al­ly, the sub­scrip­tion includes 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage.

Microsoft 365 Family

With the Microsoft 365 Family plan, the company targets families. The features included in the sub­scrip­tion mostly align with those of the Microsoft 365 Personal version, but they are available for up to six users. Ad­di­tion­al­ly, the optional Family Safety service is offered.

All ap­pli­ca­tions can also be installed locally here. Ad­di­tion­al­ly, tablets and smart­phones are supported, dis­play­ing the pro­duc­tiv­i­ty software on an interface optimized for mobile devices. Moreover, Microsoft 365 Family provides up to six accounts with 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage each.

Microsoft 365 plans for business customers

Microsoft also offers sub­scrip­tion models for business customers, which cover the needs of small and medium-sized busi­ness­es depending on the plan or are tailored to large en­ter­pris­es in the form of en­ter­prise plans.

Microsoft 365 Business Basic

If you’re a business owner wanting to buy Microsoft 365 at a low cost, Microsoft 365 Business Basic is worth con­sid­er­ing. This entry-level business sub­scrip­tion already includes the essential ap­pli­ca­tions for everyday business tasks:

• Word
• Excel
• Pow­er­Point
• Teams
• Outlook
• Exchange
• OneDrive
• Share­Point

However, in this plan, you are dependent on web and mobile versions of the programs in the Office suite, as you cannot install the software on your desktop devices. In addition to the ap­pli­ca­tions, you receive a 50 GB mailbox and a custom domain for an email address. Fur­ther­more, there is 1 TB of OneDrive storage.

Microsoft 365 Apps for Business

With this business plan, you receive the programs of the Office suite not only as web or mobile versions but also as down­load­able versions for in­stal­la­tion on PC or Mac:

• Word
• Excel
• Pow­er­Point
• Outlook
• OneDrive
• Access
• Publisher

Microsoft’s col­lab­o­ra­tion tools, such as Teams and Share­Point, are not included in this plan. An email address is also not provided, so Outlook needs to be paired with a different email provider. The 1 TB of OneDrive storage, however, is still part of the package.

Microsoft 365 Business Standard

The plan in the mid-range segment builds on the base version. Therefore, the ap­pli­ca­tions included are almost identical:

• Word
• Excel
• Pow­er­Point
• Teams
• Outlook
• Exchange
• OneDrive
• Share­Point
• Access
• Publisher
• Clipchamp
• Microsoft Loop

This plan also includes the two programs Access and Publisher. Unlike the basic version, the standard model allows for software in­stal­la­tion on a PC or Mac. It also includes your own email domain with a 50 GB mailbox as well as OneDrive with 1 TB of storage.

Microsoft 365 Business Premium

The premium offer for small and medium-sized busi­ness­es includes the full suite of software solutions:

• Word
• Excel
• Pow­er­Point
• Teams
• Outlook
• Exchange
• OneDrive
• Share­Point
• Access
• Publisher
• Clipchamp
• Microsoft Loop
• Microsoft Entra ID
• Intune
• Microsoft Defender
• Microsoft Purview

As can be seen from the ad­di­tion­al services, Microsoft 365 Business Premium places a greater emphasis on security measures compared to the more af­ford­able options. This plan also includes 1 TB of cloud storage and a custom email domain with a 50 GB mailbox.

Microsoft 365 En­ter­prise E3

Sub­scrip­tion options are also available for large cor­po­ra­tions: All plans offer a wide range of ap­pli­ca­tions. The Office suite is a standard component. These programs can be used both in the browser as a web version and locally installed. The software can be installed on up to 15 devices per user: 5 desktop computers (PC/Mac), 5 tablets, 5 smart­phones.

Also included with Microsoft 365 En­ter­prise E3 is Windows 11. For OneDrive, each user gets 1 TB of cloud storage. If you set up more than 5 users, the storage increases to 5 TB each. Exceeding this limit allows you to request ad­di­tion­al storage from Microsoft support.

Microsoft 365 En­ter­prise E5

The E5 plan closely resembles the more af­ford­able E3 version. It also allows Office apps to be installed on up to 15 devices, includes Windows 11, and follows the same cloud storage rules. What sets it apart are the ad­di­tion­al com­pli­ance features in­tro­duced with this plan.

The biggest dif­fer­ence is likely the scalable business analytics ca­pa­bil­i­ty with Power BI. So if you want to make faster, more informed decisions with Microsoft 365, you’ll need to choose this en­ter­prise plan.

Microsoft 365 En­ter­prise F3

If you want to purchase Microsoft 365 af­ford­ably as a cor­po­ra­tion, you should choose the F3 plan. Unlike E3 and E5, this sub­scrip­tion model is sig­nif­i­cant­ly pared down. It includes the Windows operating system and all Office suite ap­pli­ca­tions, but they cannot be installed on desktop computers. Instead, you must use the ap­pli­ca­tions as web apps in a browser or in a mobile version.

This plan also econ­o­mizes on storage space: The included mailbox provides only 2 GB, and OneDrive storage is limited to 2 GB per user. Otherwise, compared to E3 and E5, there are lim­i­ta­tions in security, com­pli­ance, and analytics.

In the F-series, there’s also the F1 plan. This is even more af­ford­able but ac­cord­ing­ly has an even smaller feature set. For example, Windows is not included.

Microsoft 365 Apps for En­ter­prise

Another af­ford­able option for busi­ness­es is found in this plan. You have access to the complete Office suite—both as web apps and in in­stal­lable versions. If you wish to install Word and others, you can do so on up to 15 devices: 5 desktop computers (PC or Mac), 5 smart­phones, and 5 tablets.

In this plan, you do not get a personal email mailbox with Exchange. However, it includes OneDrive cloud storage with 1 TB of space. Un­for­tu­nate­ly, the com­mu­ni­ca­tion software Teams is not included in this plan.

Microsoft 365 Plans from IONOS, specif­i­cal­ly for SMBs

As a small or medium-sized business, you can also purchase Microsoft 365 Business from IONOS. Here, you get the complete Office package and com­mu­ni­ca­tion solutions Exchange and Teams. It also includes storage: A 50 GB mailbox and 1 TB of OneDrive storage are included.

As a special service, there is the con­ve­nient setup service. You don’t have to worry about con­fig­u­ra­tion. Expert support is also available to you for the long-term with questions and problems—24/7.

At IONOS, you can choose from two plans:

In the basic version, you can easily use the Office ap­pli­ca­tions as a web app in the browser, no matter where you are and what device you are using. The standard plan also offers the software for in­stal­la­tion on up to 5 desktop computers. Apps for mobile devices are also available for download in this plan.

Microsoft 365 Business

The Office you know, only better

Powerful Exchange email and the latest versions of your favorite Office apps on any device — get started with our free setup as­sis­tance.

See plans

Microsoft 365 plans for students and educators

For the education sector, Microsoft offers its own rates. The plans are available for both students and educators, as well as staff of ed­u­ca­tion­al in­sti­tu­tions. The two options differ in price, but not in features. To book the plans at dis­count­ed rates, ap­pro­pri­ate proof must be provided.

Microsoft 365 A1

In the smallest, free plan option, you already get access to the essential ap­pli­ca­tions of the Office suite. Other important services include Teams, OneDrive, and Exchange. However, in this plan, every­thing can only be used online. The ap­pli­ca­tions cannot be installed.

Microsoft 365 A3

With the mid-tier option for the education sector, you have access to es­sen­tial­ly the same ap­pli­ca­tions. Ad­di­tion­al­ly, enhanced security and man­age­ment tools are included. Moreover, with this version, you can also install all ap­pli­ca­tions. Prices are available upon request.

Microsoft 365 A5

The plan with the most com­pre­hen­sive features includes every­thing from the A3 package, plus ad­di­tion­al learning, com­pli­ance, security, and man­age­ment tools that help you optimize licensing. Prices are also available upon request.

Microsoft 365 plans for non-profit or­ga­ni­za­tions

To support non-profit or­ga­ni­za­tions, Microsoft offers special con­di­tions. These are not separate plans. Instead, business plans are offered at a dis­count­ed rate for employees of non-profit or­ga­ni­za­tions.

To be eligible for the dis­count­ed prices, you have to meet certain criteria set by Microsoft:

• Your or­ga­ni­za­tion must be of­fi­cial­ly rec­og­nized as a non-profit at its place of head­quar­ters.
• The non-profit or­ga­ni­za­tion must benefit the local community.
• The or­ga­ni­za­tion must also commit to anti-dis­crim­i­na­tion within its own struc­tures.

Where can you buy Microsoft 365?

You can order the Microsoft 365 product packages directly from Microsoft. Specif­i­cal­ly for small and medium-sized busi­ness­es, IONOS offers Microsoft 365 business plans with ad­di­tion­al benefits:

• European servers: Your data is secured in certified data centers that comply with both European data pro­tec­tion and high security standards.
• 24/7 expert support: If you have questions or issues, you can reach out to support at any time—by phone, chat, or email.
• Setup service: The experts at IONOS set up Microsoft 365 for you so you can start working with the software right away.

Microsoft 365 or Office 365?

In 2020, Microsoft of­fi­cial­ly rebranded Office 365 as Microsoft 365. Since then, only Microsoft 365 plans have been available for different target groups. In addition to the classic Office apps like Word, Excel, and Pow­er­Point, Microsoft 365 also includes a wide range of com­mu­ni­ca­tion and col­lab­o­ra­tion tools. What can be confusing, however, is that some Office 365 plans are still on the market.