What matters most in this plan, and the business problem each part solves
Email that looks like the company, not a Gmail address, with shared mailboxes for sales@ and support@ at no extra cost.
Meetings and files in one place: no more attachments by email and “which version is current?”.
Fine for people who work in the browser; the finance team will want Business Standard.
What it is
Microsoft 365 Business Basic is the entry plan of the Business family. Each user gets a 50 GB Exchange Online mailbox, Teams, SharePoint, 1 TB of OneDrive and Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook in the browser and on phones. What it does not include is Office installed on a PC or Mac, and any security beyond Exchange Online Protection. It is licensed per user, sold through CSP, and capped at 300 users per tenant.
Choose it if
- Companies whose people work in the browser or on shared devices and do not need Office installed
- Organisations moving off Google Workspace that want a like-for-like starting point
- Seats for staff who mainly read mail and join Teams meetings
- Charities and small offices watching cost per seat
Do not choose it if
- Anyone who needs Word, Excel or PowerPoint installed on a computer — that is Business Standard
- Companies that need Intune, Conditional Access or Defender for Business — that is Business Premium
- Organisations over 300 users on this plan — Enterprise plans have no cap
- Mailboxes that need litigation hold or an expanding archive — Exchange Online Archiving is an add-on here
What is included
Exchange Online, 50 GB mailbox, custom domain, shared mailboxes free up to 50 GB
Teams: chat, meetings up to 300 people, calling between users; phone system is an add-on
1 TB OneDrive per user; SharePoint team sites; 1 TB pooled plus 10 GB per licence
Web and mobile Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote; no desktop apps
Entra ID Free: MFA, security defaults; no Conditional Access
Exchange Online Protection for mail; no Defender for Office 365, no endpoint protection
Bookings, Forms, Planner, Lists, Clipchamp basic
What Microsoft 365 Business Basic does not do, and what that means for the business
The names above in plain language: what each capability is, what goes wrong without it, and how to add it. Most of them are included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium; each can also be bought on its own on top of this plan.
Desktop Office apps
Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook installed on PCs and Macs, working offline and with add-ins.
Without it: People work in the browser. Complex Excel models, mail merges, offline work on a flight and Outlook add-ins for CRM or e-signature do not work; the finance team notices first.
Add it: Microsoft 365 Apps for business — from €11.00 per user per month Add to proposal What it is and what it costs →
Or step up to Microsoft 365 Business Premium, which includes it.
Device management (Microsoft Intune)
IT enrols company laptops and phones, pushes settings and apps, requires encryption and updates, and can wipe a lost device from a browser.
Without it: A laptop left in a taxi still holds company files and mail with no way to wipe it. Staff install what they like. When the insurer or a client’s auditor asks “are your devices encrypted and managed?”, there is no honest yes.
Add it: Microsoft Intune Plan 1 — from €6.90 per user per month Add to proposal What it is and what it costs →
Or step up to Microsoft 365 Business Premium, which includes it.
Conditional Access (Microsoft Entra ID P1)
Rules for who may sign in, from where and from what: require MFA, block unknown countries, allow company data only on a managed device.
Without it: A password stolen by a phishing page works from anywhere in the world, because nothing checks where the sign-in comes from. MFA is all-or-nothing instead of “always outside the office”. There is no way to say “company laptops only”.
Add it: Microsoft Entra ID P1 — from €6.10 per user per month Add to proposal What it is and what it costs →
Or step up to Microsoft 365 Business Premium, which includes it.
Endpoint protection (Microsoft Defender for Business)
Antivirus that also watches for the attack behind the virus: detects a ransomware chain, isolates the machine, shows what was touched.
Without it: A ransomware click on one PC has no automated containment; the first sign is the ransom note, and the question “which other machines did it reach?” has no answer.
Add it: Microsoft Defender for Business — from €2.60 per user per month Add to proposal What it is and what it costs →
Or step up to Microsoft 365 Business Premium, which includes it.
Advanced mail security (Defender for Office 365 Plan 1)
Links and attachments are opened in a sandbox before the user gets them; mails pretending to be the CEO or a supplier are flagged.
Without it: A well-made phishing mail with a clean-looking link reaches the inbox untouched; the only defence is the person reading it, and one in ten clicks.
Add it: Microsoft Defender for Office 365 (Plan 1) — from €1.73 per user per month Add to proposal What it is and what it costs →
Or step up to Microsoft 365 Business Premium, which includes it.
Archiving and litigation hold (Exchange Online Archiving)
An archive mailbox that grows to 1.5 TB, and the ability to put a mailbox on hold so nothing in it can be deleted, by anyone.
Without it: A leaver empties the mailbox on the last day and it is gone. A regulator or a court asks for two years of correspondence and gets whatever survived. Mailboxes hit their limit and people delete to keep working.
Add it: Exchange Online Archiving for Exchange Online — from €2.60 per user per month Add to proposal What it is and what it costs →
Or step up to Microsoft 365 Business Premium, which includes it.
Licensing rules and limits
Commercial summary; the rights are governed by the Microsoft Product Terms and the Microsoft Customer Agreement. Reviewed by IT Partner engineers; date at the foot of the page.
- Licensed per user; one licence covers that person on up to five phones and five tablets and web access on any PC
- Maximum 300 users on this plan per tenant; additional users need another plan
- Prerequisite for many add-ons: Defender for Office 365 P1, Exchange Online Archiving, Teams Phone, Copilot all attach to it
- No downgrade rights or perpetual rights: the service stops when the subscription ends; mailboxes are retained 30 days after expiry
- Not for shared devices in kiosk mode — that is Microsoft 365 F1 or F3
- Annual commitment: seats can be added at any time; they cannot be reduced until renewal. Cancellation with refund only within the first seven days of the term.
- Monthly commitment: about 20% more per seat than annual; reduce or cancel at each monthly renewal.
- A Microsoft Customer Agreement must be accepted by the customer before the first order; we send it for e-signature.
How to buy it: every option that exists for this product
Only the terms and billing options Microsoft actually sells for this SKU. Prices are Microsoft list prices in EUR; the same table in the other currencies is one click above. “Add to proposal” puts the line with ten licences into the proposal builder, where the quantity is changed.
| Commitment and billing | Per user / month | Per user / year | Flexibility · who it suits | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard, with Teams | ||||
| Monthly commitment, billed monthly CFQ7TTC0LH18:0001 | €7.28 | €87.36 | Cancel or reduce at any monthly renewal Temporary staff, pilots, headcount that moves | Add to proposal |
| Annual commitment, billed annually upfront CFQ7TTC0LH18:0001 | €6.07 | €72.84 | Seats can be added, not reduced, until renewal The headcount you are sure of; lowest price | Add to proposal |
| Annual commitment, paid monthly CFQ7TTC0LH18:0001 | €6.37 | €76.44 | One-year commitment under a signed agreement; monthly payments, about 5% more By arrangement: the commitment is for the year, the invoice is monthly | Enquire by email agreement required |
| EEA and Switzerland, without Teams | ||||
| Monthly commitment, billed monthly CFQ7TTC0LH18:000D | €5.60 | €67.20 | Cancel or reduce at any monthly renewal Temporary staff, pilots, headcount that moves | Add to proposal |
| Annual commitment, billed annually upfront CFQ7TTC0LH18:000D | €4.67 | €56.04 | Seats can be added, not reduced, until renewal The headcount you are sure of; lowest price | Add to proposal |
| Annual commitment, paid monthly CFQ7TTC0LH18:000D | €4.90 | €58.80 | One-year commitment under a signed agreement; monthly payments, about 5% more By arrangement: the commitment is for the year, the invoice is monthly | Enquire by email agreement required |
| With Microsoft 365 Copilot | ||||
| Monthly commitment, billed monthly CFQ7TTC0LH18:001K | €29.11 | €349.32 | Cancel or reduce at any monthly renewal Temporary staff, pilots, headcount that moves | Add to proposal |
| Annual commitment, billed annually upfront CFQ7TTC0LH18:001K | €24.26 | €291.12 | Seats can be added, not reduced, until renewal The headcount you are sure of; lowest price | Add to proposal |
| Annual commitment, paid monthly CFQ7TTC0LH18:001K | €25.47 | €305.64 | One-year commitment under a signed agreement; monthly payments, about 5% more By arrangement: the commitment is for the year, the invoice is monthly | Enquire by email agreement required |
| With Copilot, without Teams | ||||
| Monthly commitment, billed monthly CFQ7TTC0LH18:001L | €27.44 | €329.28 | Cancel or reduce at any monthly renewal Temporary staff, pilots, headcount that moves | Add to proposal |
| Annual commitment, billed annually upfront CFQ7TTC0LH18:001L | €22.87 | €274.44 | Seats can be added, not reduced, until renewal The headcount you are sure of; lowest price | Add to proposal |
| Annual commitment, paid monthly CFQ7TTC0LH18:001L | €24.01 | €288.12 | One-year commitment under a signed agreement; monthly payments, about 5% more By arrangement: the commitment is for the year, the invoice is monthly | Enquire by email agreement required |
| With Copilot, EEA without Teams | ||||
| Monthly commitment, billed monthly CFQ7TTC0LH18:001J | €27.44 | €329.28 | Cancel or reduce at any monthly renewal Temporary staff, pilots, headcount that moves | Add to proposal |
| Annual commitment, billed annually upfront CFQ7TTC0LH18:001J | €22.87 | €274.44 | Seats can be added, not reduced, until renewal The headcount you are sure of; lowest price | Add to proposal |
| Annual commitment, paid monthly CFQ7TTC0LH18:001J | €24.01 | €288.12 | One-year commitment under a signed agreement; monthly payments, about 5% more By arrangement: the commitment is for the year, the invoice is monthly | Enquire by email agreement required |
In one paragraph, for the record
- Microsoft 365 Business Basic is licensed per user and capped at 300 users per tenant.
- It includes Exchange Online with a 50 GB mailbox, Teams, SharePoint and 1 TB OneDrive, and web and mobile Office apps only.
- It does not include desktop Office, Intune, Conditional Access or Defender for Business.
- It is a subscription sold through the Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider programme; it is not a perpetual licence.
- In the EEA and Switzerland it is sold without Teams at a lower price, with Teams as a separate licence.
Questions
Does Business Basic include Office on the desktop?
No. It includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook in the browser and on mobile. For installed apps you need Business Standard or Apps for business.
How big is the mailbox and can I archive?
50 GB primary mailbox. An archive mailbox of 50 GB is included and does not expand; the Exchange Online Archiving add-on brings auto-expanding archiving up to 1.5 TB and litigation hold.
Can I put a Business Basic mailbox on litigation hold?
Only with the Exchange Online Archiving add-on; Business Basic alone does not support litigation hold. Business Premium and Enterprise plans do.
Which SKU do I buy in the EU: with Teams or without?
In the European Economic Area and Switzerland Microsoft sells the suite without Teams at a lower price, and Teams as a separate licence — Microsoft Teams EEA. If your people use Teams, the total is close to the old bundled price; if you use another meeting platform, the no-Teams SKU saves the difference. Outside the EEA the bundled SKU is still sold.
Does the UK buy the version with Teams?
Yes for Business plans: the UK is outside the EEA, so the bundled SKU with Teams is sold. New Enterprise (E3, E5) customers worldwide have bought the no-Teams version since April 2024.
Can I mix Business plans with other plans in one tenant?
Yes. Business Basic, Standard and Premium can be mixed with each other, with Enterprise plans and with Frontline plans in one tenant; each user gets the plan that fits. The 300-user cap applies per Business plan, not per tenant.
What happens when we pass 300 users?
The Business plans stop accepting new seats at 300 each. Users beyond that move to Enterprise plans — Office 365 E3 or Microsoft 365 E3 — which have no cap. A mixed tenant is normal.
Can an existing tenant move its licences to IT Partner?
Yes, without migration: the tenant, data and users stay; we become the partner of record and issue the next invoice. Existing annual commitments run to their renewal date. Nothing is paid twice.