Most small businesses choose between three Microsoft 365 plans: Business Basic, Business Standard and Business Premium. From July 2026, UK list prices are £5.40, £10.80 and £16.90 per user per month respectively, excluding VAT, on an annual commitment. The right choice depends on whether staff need the desktop Office apps, and how much protection your data needs. Here’s what you get for the money.
The three plans at a glance
| Business Basic | Business Standard | Business Premium | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price (per user/month, ex. VAT) | £5.40 | £10.80 | £16.90 |
| Business email (Exchange) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Office apps in the browser and on mobile | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Desktop Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intune device management | ✓ | ||
| Conditional access (Entra ID P1) | ✓ | ||
| Defender for Business | ✓ | ||
| Information protection and data loss prevention | ✓ |
Prices are Microsoft’s UK list prices for annual commitment paid yearly. Monthly billing costs more. Check current prices before you buy, because Microsoft adjusts them periodically.
What Business Premium actually adds
Premium is often described as “Standard plus security”, which undersells it. Its extra features address the ways small businesses actually get attacked.
Intune: control over every device
Laptops and phones are enrolled, encrypted, kept up to date and configured automatically. A new laptop can be posted to a new starter, who signs in and finds everything ready. If a device is lost, it can be locked or wiped remotely. Read more about mobile device management.
Conditional access: smarter sign-in rules
You decide who can sign in, from where and on which devices. For example: require MFA outside the office, block sign-ins from countries you don’t work in, or only allow company data on managed devices. A stolen password alone becomes much less useful.
Defender for Business: endpoint protection
Detection and response on every Windows and Mac device, spotting suspicious behaviour rather than only known viruses.
Information protection
Sensitivity labels and data loss prevention help stop documents such as payroll or client files being shared where they shouldn’t be.
Which plan for whom
- Business Basic suits staff who mainly use email and Teams on the web or a phone: warehouse staff, drivers, part-time and seasonal workers.
- Business Standard suits office staff who need desktop Office apps, where devices and security are managed by other tools.
- Business Premium is what we recommend for most small businesses that handle client data, take payments or need Cyber Essentials, because it brings device management and conditional access into one licence.
Common licensing mistakes
- Everyone on the same plan by default. Plans were often chosen once, years ago, and never reviewed.
- Paying for desktop apps nobody installs. If someone only uses Outlook on the web and Teams, Business Basic may be enough.
- Buying Standard, then adding security products separately. Separate antivirus and device management can cost more than the step up to Premium.
- Monthly billing by accident. Month-to-month subscriptions are flexible but cost more than annual commitments for stable staff.
- Shared accounts. Several people using one licence and password breaks Microsoft’s terms and makes MFA impossible. Use shared mailboxes instead, which don’t need a licence.
Mixing plans to save money
You don’t need the same plan for everyone. A common set-up is Premium for directors, finance and anyone handling sensitive data, and Basic for staff who only need email and Teams. Bear in mind that security features generally protect only the users licensed for them, so anyone handling sensitive data should be on Premium.
Review licences every few months too. Licences still assigned to people who left months ago are one of the most common and easiest savings.
Don’t forget backup
No Microsoft 365 plan includes a full, independent backup. Microsoft keeps its service running and holds deleted items for a limited time, but if something is deleted, overwritten or encrypted and nobody notices for a while, it can be lost. An independent Microsoft 365 backup gives you point-in-time restores of email, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams.
Get the right plan, set up properly
As a Microsoft Partner, we supply and manage Microsoft 365 licences and, more importantly, set them up securely. Our free Microsoft 365 health check reviews your licences, security settings and sharing, and flags any savings. Book a Microsoft 365 check.