What matters most in this plan, and the business problem each part solves
One security team sees one attack across mail, endpoints, identities and cloud apps, and hunts it, instead of four consoles and a guess.
No permanent global admins: rights are granted for the hour they are needed, and risky sign-ins are blocked automatically.
Regulated-industry obligations — holds, reviews, insider risk, ten-year audit — handled in the platform, not by consultants.
Phone system and reporting included, so two separate vendor contracts disappear.
What it is
Microsoft 365 E5 is every security, compliance, voice and analytics product Microsoft sells for the enterprise, bundled. Over E3 it adds Defender for Endpoint Plan 2, Defender for Office 365 Plan 2, Defender for Identity, Defender for Cloud Apps, Entra ID P2 with Privileged Identity Management and identity protection, the Purview premium set — eDiscovery Premium, Insider Risk, Communication Compliance, advanced DLP — plus Teams Phone system, Audio Conferencing and Power BI Pro, and Windows Enterprise E5. Its price is justified when an organisation would otherwise buy four or more of those add-ons for the same users; for a security team that wants the integrated Defender XDR, it is usually the cheaper route.
Choose it if
- Enterprises building security operations on Defender XDR and Sentinel
- Regulated industries needing eDiscovery Premium, Insider Risk and Customer Lockbox
- Organisations running Teams Phone and Power BI for most users
- Zero-trust programmes that need Entra ID P2 and Conditional Access risk policies
Do not choose it if
- Companies that need two or three E5 features — buy them as add-ons on E3
- Under 300 users — Business Premium plus the Defender and Purview suites is a fraction of the cost
- Users who will never use voice or analytics — mixed licensing (E5 for some, E3 for most) is normal
What is included
Defender for Endpoint Plan 2: EDR, threat hunting, vulnerability management
Defender for Office 365 Plan 2: attack simulation, automated investigation
Entra ID P2: Privileged Identity Management, identity protection, access reviews; Defender for Identity
Defender for Cloud Apps
Purview eDiscovery Premium, Insider Risk Management, Communication Compliance, advanced DLP, Customer Lockbox, 10-year audit
Teams Phone system, Audio Conferencing
Power BI Pro
Windows 11 Enterprise E5
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, no cap; three-year SKU available
- Calling plan or operator connect for Teams Phone bought separately
- Sentinel and Defender for Cloud consumption billed through Azure, not included
- New customers worldwide buy the no-Teams SKU since April 2024
- 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 CFQ7TTC0LFLZ:0002 | €69.76 | €837.12 | Cancel or reduce at any monthly renewal Temporary staff, pilots, headcount that moves | Add to proposal |
| Annual commitment, billed annually upfront CFQ7TTC0LFLZ:0002 | €58.13 | €697.56 | Seats can be added, not reduced, until renewal The headcount you are sure of; lowest price | Add to proposal |
| Annual commitment, paid monthly CFQ7TTC0LFLZ:0002 | €61.04 | €732.48 | 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 CFQ7TTC0LFLZ:000Z | €60.85 | €730.20 | Cancel or reduce at any monthly renewal Temporary staff, pilots, headcount that moves | Add to proposal |
| Annual commitment, billed annually upfront CFQ7TTC0LFLZ:000Z | €50.71 | €608.52 | Seats can be added, not reduced, until renewal The headcount you are sure of; lowest price | Add to proposal |
| Annual commitment, paid monthly CFQ7TTC0LFLZ:000Z | €53.25 | €639.00 | 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 |
| Three-year term | ||||
| Three-year commitment, billed upfront CFQ7TTC0LFLZ:002W | €58.13 | €697.56 | Fixed price for three years, one invoice Stable estates; best per-seat price | Add to proposal |
| Three-year commitment, billed annually CFQ7TTC0LFLZ:002W | €58.13 | €697.56 | Fixed price for three years; no reductions Stable estates, protection from price rises | Add to proposal |
| EEA without Teams, three-year term | ||||
| Three-year commitment, billed annually CFQ7TTC0LFLZ:002T | €50.71 | €608.52 | Fixed price for three years; no reductions Stable estates, protection from price rises | Add to proposal |
| Three-year commitment, billed upfront CFQ7TTC0LFLZ:002T | €50.71 | €608.52 | Fixed price for three years, one invoice Stable estates; best per-seat price | Add to proposal |
| EEA without Teams, without Audio Conferencing, three-year | ||||
| Three-year commitment, billed annually CFQ7TTC0LFLZ:002S | €50.71 | €608.52 | Fixed price for three years; no reductions Stable estates, protection from price rises | Add to proposal |
| Three-year commitment, billed upfront CFQ7TTC0LFLZ:002S | €50.71 | €608.52 | Fixed price for three years, one invoice Stable estates; best per-seat price | Add to proposal |
In one paragraph, for the record
- Microsoft 365 E5 includes the Microsoft Defender suite, Entra ID P2, Purview premium compliance, Teams Phone, Audio Conferencing and Power BI Pro on top of Microsoft 365 E3.
- It is licensed per user with no user cap; a three-year term is available.
- A calling plan for Teams Phone is not included.
Questions
E3 plus add-ons, or E5?
Price the add-ons you actually need: Defender for Endpoint P2, Entra ID P2, Defender for Office 365 P2, Teams Phone, Power BI Pro. If the total for the same users passes the E5 difference — it usually does at four add-ons — E5 is cheaper and simpler. The E5 Security suite (the Defender products plus Entra ID P2) is a middle step that attaches to E3.
Do all users need E5?
No. The usual pattern is E5 for IT, security, legal and leadership, E3 for everyone else, F3 for frontline. Licensing is per user.
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.
Is there a user cap?
No. Enterprise plans have no maximum; they also carry the Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise edition of Office, which is the version with shared-computer activation for terminal servers and virtual desktops.
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.
Should I buy the three-year term?
Only for the headcount you are certain of for three years. The three-year SKU is the cheapest per seat and protects against Microsoft price rises, but seats cannot be reduced until the end of the term.