Choosing Between Microsoft 365 Business Basic and Business Standard
What Both Plans Include
Both Microsoft 365 Business Basic and Business Standard allow you to use email at your company's own domain. They each provide a 50 GB mailbox, 50 GB of archive storage, Microsoft Teams, and 1 TB of file storage per person.
Your staff can run Word, Excel, and Outlook in a browser using either plan. To help secure your email, both plans include URL time-of-click protection for attachments and links.
Both plans allow up to 300 people.
Microsoft 365 Business Basic
Microsoft 365 Business Basic costs $7 per user per month, paid yearly on an annual subscription. Figures provided are Microsoft's published US list prices checked on November 1, 2026.
In addition to the browser-based applications, Business Basic includes Bookings, Planner, Forms, and Sway.
Microsoft 365 Business Standard
Microsoft 365 Business Standard costs $14 per user per month, paid yearly on an annual subscription.
Business Standard installs the full Word, Excel, and Outlook on a Windows PC or Mac, and they work offline.
Business Standard includes Bookings, Planner, Forms, and Sway, and adds Loop and Clipchamp. It also includes webinars and meeting recording, which Business Basic does not.
What Neither Plan Includes
Neither plan includes a Windows 11 upgrade, control over company devices, protection on the computers themselves, or rules about who can sign in and from where.
Neither plan includes finding and protecting sensitive records.
Mixing Licenses and Alternative Plans
Licences are assigned per person, so one tenant can run both plans at the same time.
If you need to install the Office apps without email, Microsoft 365 Apps for business costs $10 per user per month. Above 300 people, the enterprise range applies.
You may also have other decisions in the same range, such as choosing between Business Standard or Business Premium, Exchange Online Plan 1 or Plan 2, and Microsoft 365 F1 or F3.
Contact CloudCentric
CloudCentric is a managed IT provider in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, serving businesses across Charleston and the Lowcountry.
To discuss your Microsoft 365 licensing options, call us at (844) 422-7000.