What Does Your Microsoft 365 Include? Everything You Need to Know
If you are wondering what you will get in Microsoft 365? Then, read this article to the end. Here, I am going to share all the information about Office 365 to help you choose the perfect plans for you. So, get ready to see what is included in Office 365.
Overview of Office 365
Now it is called Microsoft 365; it is a cloud-based suite developed by Microsoft. Office 365 is a popular productivity suite among the users because of its advanced collaboration and communication features. In this, you will get well-known applications like Word, Excel, Outlook, etc., but also cloud services like OneDrive and SharePoint.
Many users ask us if Office 365 and Microsoft 365 are the same. The answer is no, they are not the same. Microsoft 365 is the advanced and upgraded version of Office 365, where you can get all the core applications and services of the old suite. But, in advance, it offers many advanced tools, which I am going to explain to you later in the article.
Microsoft Office 365 works on a subscription-based model. It means that users have to purchase a subscription that has a monthly and annual fee. Therefore, with these subscription models, you will get continuous updates, cloud features, and technical support. If you want to know what core applications a Microsoft 365 account includes. So, below I have created a list of all the tools it provides.
Core Applications Offered by Microsoft 365
In each Office 365 plan, you will get different applications. But there are some Microsoft tools that you will get in all the plans.
- MS Word
- MS Excel
- MS PowerPoint
- MS Outlook
- OneDrive
- Microsoft Teams
- OneNote
- SharePoint
- Exchange Online
There are other tools that I am going to mention while discussing all the subscriptions of Microsoft 365.
What is Included in the Office 365 Personal Subscription?
For home use, Microsoft provides you with basic, personal, and family plans. For your clear understanding, I am going to compare these subscriptions side by side.
| Features | Microsoft 365 Basic | Microsoft 365 Personal | Microsoft 365 Family |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99/month (US) | $6.99/month (US) | $9.99/month (US) |
| No. of users | 1 user | 1 user | 1 to 6 users |
| Cloud Storage | 100 GB OneDrive | 1 TB OneDrive | 1 TB OneDrive per user |
| Office Applications | Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are available only on the Web and mobile. | Word, Excel, PowerPoint (complete desktop app) | Word, Excel, PowerPoint (complete desktop app) |
| Security Facilities | Basic protection and recovery | Advanced security and ransomware detection | Each user will get the same personal security features |
| Collaboration Tools | Microsoft Teams is only available for web and mobile. | Teams application | Teams application |
Which Plan is Suitable for You?
- The Microsoft 365 Basic subscription is suitable for those whose main work is online. They only need it for email, storage, and a budget-friendly option.
- Microsoft 365 Personal is best for individual users who want full access to desktop Office apps with a cloud storage facility.
- Microsoft 365 Family is used for your household. The subscription is shared by family members.
What does Microsoft Office 365 Business Contain?
This subscription is best for small businesses. There are several plans based on features and prices, which I have mentioned below.
| Features | Microsoft 365 Business Basic | Microsoft 365 Business Standard | Microsoft 365 Business Premium | Microsoft 365 Apps for Business |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices | $7.20/user/month | $15.00/user/month | $26.40/user/month | $9.90/user/month |
| Office Applications | Web and mobile versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook | Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook on desktop, web, and mobile | Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook on desktop, web, and mobile | Desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. |
| Users | Up to 300 users | Up to 300 users | Up to 300 users | Up to 300 users |
| Mailbox Storage | 50 GB | 50 GB | 50 GB | No mailbox storage |
| Cloud Storage | 1 TB/user | 1 TB/user | 1 TB/user | 1 TB/user |
| Collaboration Tools | Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, & Exchange Online | Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, & Exchange Online | Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, & Exchange Online | No collaboration tools |
| Contain Windows OS License | No | No | Windows 11/10 business | No |
Which Subscription Is Best for You?
- Business Basic is suitable for small businesses that primarily run online and require professional email, Teams, and cloud storage.
- The Business standard is for companies that need both desktop Office applications and collaboration tools.
- Business Premium—companies that need advanced security, device management, and all the productivity applications.
- Apps for Business for those who only want desktop Office apps and OneDrive.
What is Included in Microsoft 365 Enterprise?
For the big organizations and corporations, they use these plans. Here, you will get subscriptions E3, E5, and F3 with various functions and features.
| Features | Microsoft 365 F3 | Microsoft 365 E3 | Microsoft 365 E5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prices | $8.00/user/month | $33.75/user/month | $54.75/user/month |
| Target Users | Frontline workers | Standard enterprise users | Premium enterprise users |
| Office apps | All applications for only Web and mobile | Complete desktop applications on desktop, Web, and mobile (install on 5 devices) | Complete desktop applications on desktop, Web, and mobile (install on 5 devices) |
| Mailbox Storage | 2 GB | 100 GB | 100 GB |
| Cloud Storage | 2 GB OneDrive | Up to 5 TB OneDrive | Up to 5 TB OneDrive |
| Collaboration Tool | Teams and Basic SharePoint | Teams are separately available and full SharePoint | Teams are separately available and full SharePoint |
| Power Platform | Basic Power Apps | Power Apps, Power Automate, Power Virtual Agents | Power Apps, Power Automate, Power Virtual Agents |
| Security Features | Basic | Standard | Advanced |
Which Enterprise Subscriptions Are Suitable For?
- The F3 subscription is a cost-effective plan for the frontline workers, who only need limited communication and collaboration tools.
- E3 is for those big companies that require desktop apps and advanced compliance and security tools.
- E5 is suitable for large enterprises that require premium security, analytics, and compliance solutions.
These are the Office 365 plans and their features. By the way, there are other subscriptions, for example, for education, government, and non-profit organizations. But commercially, these plans are mostly used. Now, let’s see what security measures Microsoft provides to you.
Microsoft 365 Security & Compliance Features
For small, mid-sized, and large businesses, Office 365 offers enterprise-grade security to help your workflow run securely and smoothly.
- Threat Protection Functions: The advanced threat detection tool is used to defend your emails and file sharing against malware, phishing, and ransomware attacks. So, once an email is received, Microsoft Defender scans attachments and links in real time to block any threats that could reach your users.
- Data Loss Prevention: The policy of DLP is used to prevent accidental sharing of sensitive data, such as credit card numbers or any confidential information.
- Information Rights Management: This feature manages how documents and emails should be used after you share them. For example, after you receive your emails, you can restrict forwarding and copying to protect your sensitive data.
- Multi-Factor Authentication: To make sure only an authorized user accesses your account. The MFA provides you with an extra layer of security. It is used to verify your identity using two or more methods.
- Compliance Manager & Auditing: Other than that, it also offers you Compliance Manager and audit logs to help organizations maintain the industry standards, GDPR, HIPAA, and ISO 27001.
Above all, there is one downside associated with Office 365. It does not provide any option for data backup. So, users have this question in mind: Does Microsoft Backup Office 365?
The answer is NO
Also, Microsoft clearly states that we are not liable for any loss. So, it is recommended that you regularly back up your content and data that you store on the services or store using third-party apps and services.
Therefore, it is recommended to use Systools software for Office 365 backup to keep a local copy of emails, contacts, and calendars on Windows as well as the Mac operating system in popular file formats. Moreover, the software just costs $19. Thus, whenever you are going to purchase any Office 365 plans, always include a backup solution in your system to protect the data from potential threats.
Related: Why is it necessary to back up Office 365?
The demo version is also available which has complete functionalities with some limitation and you can download the free version from the below links –
Let’s Sum Up
Always choose a plan that fulfills all the requirements of your business. Therefore, we have illustrated information about what is included in the Microsoft Office 365 Home, Business, and Enterprise subscription plans in detail. So, one can easily analyze which subscription plan is best for the firm.