Which Microsoft 365 license do you need?

A short set of questions, and every combination of answers with the plan it lands on.

The questions are a tree rather than a form. Answering the first one with frontline staff removes three of the remaining four, which is why the answers below are split into two tables.

What decides it

Not every question applies to everyone. The first answer can make two of the others unnecessary.

Who needs an account?

People working at a desk or on a laptop · Staff on a shop floor, a site or a shift, mostly on a phone

Do they need email at your own domain?

Yes · No, they already have email another way

Do they need Word, Excel and Outlook installed on the computer?

Installed on the computer · The browser versions are enough

Do you need control over the computers and phones themselves?

Wiping a lost laptop, requiring a PIN, enforcing encryption.

Yes · No

Do you hold client records that would matter if they got out?

Health, financial, legal or personnel files.

Yes · No

People working at a desk

Find the line that describes the situation. Every combination the questions can produce is here.

With email at your own domain

If this is you	The plan	Why
Office installed on the computer · Device control needed	Business Premium $28	Control over company devices is in Business Premium and is not in the plans below it. Adding those pieces to Business Standard separately comes to $44 a seat. Business Premium is $28. Also worth looking at: Business Standard ($18).
Office installed on the computer · No device control · Sensitive client records	Business Premium $28	Business Premium is the step that adds the tools for finding and protecting sensitive records. Adding those pieces to Business Standard separately comes to $44 a seat. Business Premium is $28. Also worth looking at: Business Standard ($18).
Office installed on the computer · No device control · No sensitive records	Business Standard $18	Business Standard is email plus the installed Office apps. Business Premium is the same thing with device control and the security tools added. Also worth looking at: Business Premium ($28).
Browser Office is enough · Device control needed	Business Premium $28	Control over company devices is in Business Premium and is not in the plans below it. Adding those pieces to Business Standard separately comes to $44 a seat. Business Premium is $28. Also worth looking at: Business Standard ($18).
Browser Office is enough · No device control · Sensitive client records	Business Premium $28	Business Premium is the step that adds the tools for finding and protecting sensitive records. Adding those pieces to Business Standard separately comes to $44 a seat. Business Premium is $28. Also worth looking at: Business Standard ($18).
Browser Office is enough · No device control · No sensitive records	Business Basic $9	Business Basic is email, Teams and the browser versions of the Office apps. Business Standard is the same plus Word, Excel and Outlook installed on the computer. Also worth looking at: Business Standard ($18).

Where email is already handled elsewhere

If this is you	The plan	Why
Office installed on the computer · Device control needed	Apps for business $13	Apps for business is the installed Office apps on their own, without a mailbox. Control over company devices is not in that plan. Intune adds it on top, and is the same component that already sits inside Business Premium. Also worth looking at: Business Premium ($28). With: Intune Plan 1 ($10 a seat).
Office installed on the computer · No device control · Sensitive client records	Apps for business $13	Apps for business is the installed Office apps on their own, without a mailbox. The tools for finding and protecting sensitive records are part of Business Premium, which includes email as well. Also worth looking at: Business Premium ($28).
Office installed on the computer · No device control · No sensitive records	Apps for business $13	Apps for business is the installed Office apps on their own, without a mailbox.
Browser Office is enough · Device control needed	Business Basic $9	Business Basic is the lowest plan that includes the browser versions of Word, Excel and Outlook. Control over company devices is not in that plan. Intune adds it on top, and is the same component that already sits inside Business Premium. Also worth looking at: Business Premium ($28). With: Intune Plan 1 ($10 a seat).
Browser Office is enough · No device control · Sensitive client records	Business Basic $9	Business Basic is the lowest plan that includes the browser versions of Word, Excel and Outlook. The tools for finding and protecting sensitive records are part of Business Premium, which includes email as well. Also worth looking at: Business Premium ($28).
Browser Office is enough · No device control · No sensitive records	Business Basic $9	Business Basic is the lowest plan that includes the browser versions of Word, Excel and Outlook.

Staff on a shift or a site

The frontline plans are a separate range for people who work mostly from a phone.

If this is you	The plan	Why
Office installed on the computer	Business Standard $18	The frontline plans give web and mobile versions of the Office apps, not the installed ones. For installed Word, Excel and Outlook the range starts at Business Standard.
Browser and mobile Office is enough	F3 $13	F3 covers a shift worker who needs a mailbox and the web and mobile Office apps. F1 is the lower step, for staff who need Teams and the company intranet but not a mailbox of their own. Also worth looking at: F1 ($4).