# Microsoft 365

> Microsoft's business suite of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive, with Copilot Chat included.

Microsoft 365 business plans bundle Office apps, Exchange email, 1 TB of OneDrive storage per user, Teams and SharePoint. Business Basic has web and mobile apps only; Business Standard adds desktop apps plus Loop, Clipchamp and webinars; Business Premium adds Intune, Defender and Purview security. All three include Copilot Chat (AI chat with web grounding). Full Microsoft 365 Copilot inside the apps and grounded in work data is a paid add-on or a 'with Copilot' bundle; see the separate microsoft-365-copilot record.

- Vendor: Microsoft
- Website: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business
- Category: productivity_suite
- Free plan: no
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-13
- Canonical: https://onelesstool.com/tools/microsoft-365
- JSON: https://onelesstool.com/api/v1/tools/microsoft-365

## Plans

| Plan | USD | Unit | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Basic | $7 (annual billing) | seat/month | verified 2026-10-13 | https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/microsoft-365-business-basic |
| Business Standard | $14 (annual billing) | seat/month | verified 2026-10-13 | https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/microsoft-365-business-standard |
| Business Premium | $22 (annual billing) | seat/month | verified 2026-10-13 | https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/microsoft-365-business-premium |
| Apps for business | $10 (annual billing) | seat/month | verified 2026-10-13 | https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/compare-all-microsoft-365-business-products |

## Capabilities

| Capability | Fit | Plans | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Write documents and notes (`docs-notes`) | native | all | Business Basic has web and mobile apps only; Loop is not in Business Basic |
| Store structured data in a shared database or spreadsheet (`database-spreadsheet`) | strong | all | Lists is simpler than Airtable for relational data |
| Analyse data and spreadsheets (`data-analysis`) | strong | all | Desktop Excel (best for analysis) needs Business Standard or above; Copilot inside Excel needs the paid Copilot add-on |
| Build dashboards from spreadsheets and data (`dashboards`) | partial | all | Power BI is sold separately; Sharing refreshable dashboards is clumsy in Excel |
| Collect information with forms and surveys (`forms-surveys`) | strong | all | Limited branding and advanced survey logic |
| Create presentation decks (`presentation-decks`) | native | all | Full desktop PowerPoint needs Business Standard or above |
| Hold video meetings (`video-conferencing`) | native | business-basic, business-standard, business-premium | Not included in 'no Teams' versions or Apps for business |
| Transcribe and summarise meetings (`meeting-transcription`) | partial | business-basic, business-standard, business-premium | AI meeting summaries and recaps need the paid Copilot add-on; Only for Teams meetings |
| General-purpose AI assistant (`ai-chat-assistant`) | strong | business-basic, business-standard, business-premium | Copilot Chat is web-grounded; grounding in your emails and files and Copilot inside Word/Excel/PowerPoint need Microsoft 365 Copilot (add-on) |
| Write marketing and business copy (`writing-copy`) | partial | business-basic, business-standard, business-premium | In-app drafting in Word and Outlook needs the Copilot add-on |
| Proofread and improve writing (`grammar-editing`) | partial | all | Only inside Microsoft apps; Less detailed tone feedback than dedicated tools |
| Run an internal knowledge base / wiki (`knowledge-base`) | partial | all | SharePoint is powerful but hard for non-experts to structure well |
| Ask questions across company documents (`enterprise-search`) | partial | all | AI answers grounded in work data need Microsoft 365 Copilot; Limited to Microsoft content without connectors |
| Build internal tools and lightweight apps (`internal-tools`) | partial | all | Premium connectors need separate Power Apps licences; Steeper learning curve than Airtable interfaces |
| Automate simple app-to-app workflows (`workflow-automation`) | partial | all | Premium connectors and advanced flows need separate Power Automate licences |
| Manage projects and tasks (`project-management`) | partial | all | Basic compared with dedicated project management tools |
| Edit videos (`video-editing`) | partial | business-standard, business-premium | Simple edits only; Not in Business Basic |

## Why people pay for it

- Desktop Word, Excel and PowerPoint remain the standard for many clients and industries
- Business email and calendar via Exchange and Outlook
- Teams for chat, calls and meetings in one place
- 1 TB OneDrive storage per user and SharePoint team sites
- Copilot Chat included at no extra cost
- Business Premium adds device management and threat protection

## Reasons to keep paying

- Complex Excel models, macros and PowerPoint templates rely on desktop Office
- Exchange email, calendars and Teams history are core infrastructure
- SharePoint permissions and document libraries are deeply embedded in many companies
- Business Premium security (Intune, Defender) would need several separate tools to replace

## Risks

- **migration_complexity** (high): Moving email, Teams and SharePoint for a whole company is a large project.
- **vendor_lock_in** (medium): Power Platform apps, Teams workflows and SharePoint permissions are Microsoft-specific.
- **functionality_loss** (medium): Dropping to Business Basic loses desktop apps; the AI most people expect inside Office needs the separate Copilot add-on.
- **security** (medium): Downgrading from Business Premium removes Intune and Defender protections.

Data portability: easy — Office files are industry-standard formats. Mailboxes export to PST. SharePoint structure, Teams history and Power Platform flows are harder to move.

## Sources

- Compare all Microsoft 365 business plans: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/compare-all-microsoft-365-business-products (accessed 2026-10-13)
- Microsoft 365 Business Basic: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/microsoft-365-business-basic (accessed 2026-10-13)
- Microsoft 365 Business Standard: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/microsoft-365-business-standard (accessed 2026-10-13)
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/microsoft-365-business-premium (accessed 2026-10-13)