What matters most in this plan, and the business problem each part solves
Word, Excel and Outlook installed, offline, with add-ins: complex spreadsheets, mail merges, CRM plug-ins all work.
Customer events and appointment scheduling without buying a third-party tool.
A lost laptop or a clicked phishing link is handled by luck; that is the gap Business Premium closes.
What it is
Microsoft 365 Business Standard adds the desktop Office apps — Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, plus Access and Publisher on Windows — to the email, Teams and SharePoint of Business Basic. It is the plan most small companies on Microsoft 365 actually run, and the one that most often turns out to be one step short: it has no Intune, no Conditional Access and no Defender for Business, so a lost laptop or a phishing click is handled by luck rather than policy. Licensed per user, sold through CSP, capped at 300 users.
Choose it if
- Offices where everyone needs Office installed and nobody manages devices centrally
- Companies with an external IT provider that handles security separately
- Businesses that need webinars and Bookings but not compliance tooling
- Firms replacing perpetual Office 2016/2019 with a subscription
Do not choose it if
- Companies that manage laptops and phones, or want to — Business Premium is the step
- Regulated firms needing DLP, sensitivity labels or litigation hold without add-ons
- Over 300 users
- Users who only work in the browser — Business Basic is half the price
What is included
Desktop Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote on 5 PCs/Macs, 5 tablets, 5 phones per user; Access and Publisher on Windows
Exchange Online, 50 GB mailbox
Teams with webinars for up to 300 attendees, meeting recordings, breakout rooms
1 TB OneDrive per user; SharePoint
Bookings, Forms, Planner, Loop, Clipchamp standard
Exchange Online Protection; Entra ID Free; no Intune, no Conditional Access, no Defender for Business
What Microsoft 365 Business Standard 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.
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.
- Per user; the desktop apps activate on up to five computers signed in with that user
- Maximum 300 users per tenant on this plan
- Not licensed for shared-computer activation: terminal servers and virtual desktops need Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise or an E-plan
- Trial available: one month, up to 25 users, converts to paid or expires
- 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 CFQ7TTC0LDPB:0001 | €14.56 | €174.72 | Cancel or reduce at any monthly renewal Temporary staff, pilots, headcount that moves | Add to proposal |
| Annual commitment, billed annually upfront CFQ7TTC0LDPB:0001 | €12.13 | €145.56 | Seats can be added, not reduced, until renewal The headcount you are sure of; lowest price | Add to proposal |
| Annual commitment, paid monthly CFQ7TTC0LDPB:0001 | €12.74 | €152.88 | 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 CFQ7TTC0LDPB:000F | €11.21 | €134.52 | Cancel or reduce at any monthly renewal Temporary staff, pilots, headcount that moves | Add to proposal |
| Annual commitment, billed annually upfront CFQ7TTC0LDPB:000F | €9.34 | €112.08 | Seats can be added, not reduced, until renewal The headcount you are sure of; lowest price | Add to proposal |
| Annual commitment, paid monthly CFQ7TTC0LDPB:000F | €9.81 | €117.72 | 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 CFQ7TTC0LDPB:001X | €24.43 | €293.16 | Cancel or reduce at any monthly renewal Temporary staff, pilots, headcount that moves | Add to proposal |
| Annual commitment, billed annually upfront CFQ7TTC0LDPB:001X | €20.36 | €244.32 | Seats can be added, not reduced, until renewal The headcount you are sure of; lowest price | Add to proposal |
| Annual commitment, paid monthly CFQ7TTC0LDPB:001X | €21.38 | €256.56 | 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 CFQ7TTC0LDPB:001Z | €21.10 | €253.20 | Cancel or reduce at any monthly renewal Temporary staff, pilots, headcount that moves | Add to proposal |
| Annual commitment, billed annually upfront CFQ7TTC0LDPB:001Z | €17.58 | €210.96 | Seats can be added, not reduced, until renewal The headcount you are sure of; lowest price | Add to proposal |
| Annual commitment, paid monthly CFQ7TTC0LDPB:001Z | €18.46 | €221.52 | 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 CFQ7TTC0LDPB:001W | €21.10 | €253.20 | Cancel or reduce at any monthly renewal Temporary staff, pilots, headcount that moves | Add to proposal |
| Annual commitment, billed annually upfront CFQ7TTC0LDPB:001W | €17.58 | €210.96 | Seats can be added, not reduced, until renewal The headcount you are sure of; lowest price | Add to proposal |
| Annual commitment, paid monthly CFQ7TTC0LDPB:001W | €18.46 | €221.52 | 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 Standard includes desktop Office apps on up to five devices per user and is capped at 300 users.
- It does not include Intune, Conditional Access or Microsoft Defender for Business; those are in Business Premium.
- It is not licensed for shared-computer activation on terminal servers.
- It is a per-user CSP subscription, not a perpetual licence.
Questions
What is the difference between Business Standard and Business Premium?
Premium adds device and identity management — Intune, Entra ID P1 with Conditional Access — Microsoft Defender for Business for endpoints, Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 for mail, and Exchange Online Archiving. For most companies over ten people the difference is what turns a lost laptop from an incident into a non-event.
Can I install Office on a terminal server with Business Standard?
No. Shared-computer activation needs Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, Office 365 E3/E5 or Microsoft 365 E3/E5.
Is there a version with Copilot?
Yes: Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot is a single SKU that bundles the plan and Microsoft 365 Copilot; it costs about ten euros more per user per month than buying Copilot separately would save nothing — the bundle is a convenience, priced the same as the parts.
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.