Microsoft 365 vs Office 365 Comparison to Pick A Business Plan

Organizations that want a business suite often turn to Microsoft, as they are known for delivering the best-in-class solution. All was well until Microsoft did a makeover of its product line. This led to unnecessary confusion among admins. They now had to explain the difference between the plans other words make a Microsoft 365 vs Office 365 comparison chart. Moreover, we all know why Microsoft Office 365 is better than Google Workspace the real question is, among M365, which one is the better variant?

However, this is easier said than done. There are multiple different metrics on which Office 365 plans differ from each other. The problem increases because there are as many similarities as there are differences. All this causes decision-making to become longer and may lead to a sub-optimal selection. To ease the process, we give you this blog, which contains all the points an admin should look at while selecting between Microsoft 365 and Office 365.

Before we look at what’s different, let’s first see where they remain the same.

Microsft 365 vs Office 365 Similarities Explained

As both are part of the same parent company and occupy a similar niche, there are bound to be a few similarities. The biggest cause of similarities is that Microsoft 365 absorbed the Office 365 personal and business level lineup altogether. 

Users had no say in this change as it was Microsoft’s decision. As this change was mandatory, users with Office 365 home/business editions could not stay with their original plan even if they wanted to. 

Also Read: Find How to Switch From Office 365 Home to Business Subscription Easily

The legacy app functionality remained untouched. So your Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc behave as usual. Moreover, the newer version cloud just as easily loads the external files created in the previous edition. This backward compatibility was the main reason that Microsoft not only retained but added on more customers post-renaming.

The button placement within apps was also virtually unchanged. This was done so that users don’t face any major disruption in productivity. Also, it meant that organizations could skip over the training required to make their workforce ready.

The way one pays for the subscription is also the same and your payment modes work as they were before the update.

Differences Between Office 365 and Microsoft 365 Enterprise Plans

The price of the Office 365 edition is cheaper. If we can see that by arranging them in increasing order. 

• Office 365 E1: $7.75 user/month
• Office 365 E3: $20.75 user/month
• Microsoft 365 E3: $33.75 user/month
• Office 365 E5: $35.75 user/month
• Microsoft 365 E5: $54.75 user/month

Note this price is in US dollars the regional price in your area may vary. However, the trend remains the same regardless.

Of course, if M365 users pay a markup, they also get other advantages in terms of extra apps and features. And that is where the next level of Microsoft 365 vs Office 365 comparison can be made.

Cloud access security broker: This is an extra level of security to keep your cloud-based data safe and sound. Intruders will find it more difficult to break into data stored under the Microsoft 365 E series plans than their equivalent Office categories. 

Microsoft Entra: It is a new way of user management. It is the upgraded form of Azure AD and is only available to admins whose organizations have deployed the new plans.

Threat protection: M 365 plans give the edge in Antivirus, Firewall, Exploit guard, Credential, guard, Apart from Office 365 E5 no other plan has this enabled. Even there the support is limited.

Another advantage is that M 365 plans give access to Windows. The desktop operating system is a part of the new version of enterprise plans. Its addition alone makes the extra price worth it for many users. As a result, they move to the new plans. There is a subset of plans apart from the enterprise edition so let’s see how do they differ.

Microsoft 365 vs Office 365 Comparison Guide for Frontline Edition Plans

The frontline apps are special editions of the Microsoft Business suite. These are cheaper variants that have built-in team subscriptions. All but one O365 F series plan is now terminated.

Office 365 F3 may still be available from third-party vendors and distributors that have legacy stock. However Microsoft may have already given them instructions to forbid any new account creations, so if you are in the market for a frontline edition then it’s best to continue with a Microsoft 365 F series plan. 

If due to a grandfather clause your MSP gave you access to the Office 365 F3 and you wish to change the plan you can do that as well. Before we reveal to you the best way to conduct data transfer during the O365 plan change it’s important that you know which plan to select as the destination.  For that we have a unique approach let’s what it is.

Flow Chart to Select Between Microsoft 365 and Office 365 

Start by analyzing what user demands are, as they are the ones who are going to use the actual product. Moreover, if there is a large majority who are not satisfied they may want you to change the plan altogether. Which is a project on its own. So to avoid unnecessary trouble we suggest that you put your situation through this flow chart. It is designed to help admins pick a plan that matches their requirements.

With this flow chart if you find that your current plan is not up to the mark then shift your users. 

Best Way to Shift Between Microsoft 365 and Office 365

It may so happen that you are already a subscriber of the Office 365 E series but are not satisfied with the current plan. It could be a lack of features or any other reason. Moreover, there is always a chance that Microsoft can announce the discontinuation of the remaining Office 365 lineup. These together make a strong enough case to move towards the safer Microsoft 365 E lineup. 

Other than this there are also instances where the extra price of M365 can trigger a reverse exodus. That means users may move from Microsoft 365 back to the still available Office 365 category of plans.

Not to worry, we have assisted countless organizations like yours who bought the wrong plan and wished to move their user data. The tool admins can trust for moving all user data from any Microsoft/Office 365 plan to another is SysTools Office 365 to Office 365 Migration utility. It comes with an easy-to-use interface and the ability to pull and put all user data in its intended location. 

Here are some quick steps to give you an idea of how the tool works

• Open, choose endpoints, select workloads, and apply dates.
• Validate source and destination admin credentials
• Map user data
• View, select, prioritize, validate, and start moving the data.

For a more in-depth explanation, you must see the Microsoft 365 to 

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we provided readers with well-thought-out Microsoft 365 vs Office 365 comparison points. This feature and function level difference should be more than enough to decide on the business suite plan you need. Moreover, if, by chance, you pick the wrong edition and want to shift, we have utility for that as well.