# Microsoft 365 Business Premium: what's included and who it suits URL: https://computecloud.co.uk/microsoft-365/business-premium/ Last updated: 2026-11-07 > What Microsoft 365 Business Premium includes: Office apps, Intune, Entra ID P1, Defender and compliance, and how it differs from Office 365 Business Premium. What Microsoft 365 Business Premium includes, grouped by job, from our own data, with a link to Microsoft's documentation for every feature. ## Key facts - **Price:** £16.90 per user a month (£14.40 without Teams) - **Users:** 300 users across all Business plans - **Mailbox:** 100 GB mailbox - **Office app installs:** 5 PCs or Macs, 5 tablets and 5 phones per user - **Prices:** UK list, annual, paid yearly, ex VAT (checked 24 Oct 2026) ## What is Microsoft 365 Business Premium? Microsoft 365 Business Premium is the most complete of the three Microsoft 365 Business plans, for organisations with up to 300 users. It includes everything in Business Standard, and adds the products that manage and protect devices and accounts: - Intune, for device management; - Entra ID P1, for Conditional Access; - Defender for Business, for endpoint detection and response; - Defender for Office 365 Plan 1, against phishing. It suits any organisation under 300 users that issues company laptops or phones, or handles customer, staff or financial data. Until April 2020 this plan was called Microsoft 365 Business. The older name Office 365 Business Premium belongs to today's [Business Standard](https://computecloud.co.uk/microsoft-365/business-standard/). ## What's included in Business Premium? The features people compare most, grouped by job. Each one links to the Microsoft page that confirms it for Business Premium. From [our Microsoft 365 plans dataset](https://computecloud.co.uk/data/microsoft-365-plans/), version 7 November 2026. ### Email and calendar - [Exchange Online](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/exchange-online-service-description/exchange-online-limits#storage-limits): 100 GB mailbox - [Exchange Online Archiving](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/exchange-online-service-description/exchange-online-limits#storage-limits): 100 GB archive, auto-expanding to 1.5 TB - [Exchange Online Protection (built-in mailbox security)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/exchange-online-protection-service-description/exchange-online-protection-service-description#built-in-security-features-for-cloud-mailboxes-service-description) ### Files and storage - [OneDrive storage per user](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/onedrive-for-business-service-description#storage-limits): 1 TB per user - [SharePoint plan and storage](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/sharepoint-online-service-description/sharepoint-online-limits#limits-by-plan): Plan 1; tenant storage 1 TB + 10 GB per licence ### Teams and meetings - [Microsoft Teams](https://www.microsoft.com/licensing/terms/productoffering/Microsoft365/MCA): included with a condition. Sold with and without Teams. Business suites keep both versions. - [Teams webinars and town halls](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/events-licensing#teams-events-capabilities-by-license): 1,000 attendees; 10,000 view-only ### Apps - [Desktop Office apps (edition)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/office-applications-service-description/office-applications-service-description#feature-availability): Microsoft 365 Apps for business - [Office for the web](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/office-365-platform-service-description/office-365-plan-options#service-availability-within-each-microsoft-365-and-office-365-plan) - [Clipchamp Standard](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/windows-365-service-description/microsoft-clipchamp-service-description#available-plans) ### Security and devices - [Microsoft Entra ID Free](https://learn.microsoft.com/entra/fundamentals/licensing#microsoft-entra-licensing-options) - [Microsoft Entra ID P1](https://learn.microsoft.com/entra/fundamentals/licensing#microsoft-entra-licensing-options) - [Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication](https://learn.microsoft.com/entra/identity/authentication/concept-mfa-licensing#available-versions-of-microsoft-entra-multifactor-authentication) - [Self-service password reset (cloud users)](https://learn.microsoft.com/entra/identity/authentication/concept-sspr-licensing) - [Single sign-on to SaaS apps](https://learn.microsoft.com/office365/servicedescriptions/azure-active-directory#available-plans) - [Microsoft Entra Conditional Access](https://learn.microsoft.com/entra/fundamentals/licensing#microsoft-entra-conditional-access) - [Microsoft Intune Plan 1](https://learn.microsoft.com/intune/intune-service/fundamentals/licenses#microsoft-intune-plans) - [Windows Autopilot](https://learn.microsoft.com/autopilot/requirements?tabs=licensing#licensing-requirements) - [Windows licence included](https://www.microsoft.com/licensing/terms/productoffering/Microsoft365/MCA) (Windows Business: Windows 11 Pro upgrade) - [BitLocker and BitLocker To Go](https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/security/operating-system-security/data-protection/bitlocker/#windows-edition-and-licensing-requirements) - [Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 1](https://learn.microsoft.com/office365/servicedescriptions/microsoft-365-service-descriptions/microsoft-365-tenantlevel-services-licensing-guidance/microsoft-defender-service-description#which-licenses-provide-the-rights-for-a-user-to-benefit-from-the-service) - [Microsoft Defender XDR](https://learn.microsoft.com/defender-xdr/prerequisites#licensing-requirements) - [Microsoft Defender for Business](https://learn.microsoft.com/office365/servicedescriptions/microsoft-365-service-descriptions/microsoft-365-tenantlevel-services-licensing-guidance/microsoft-defender-service-description#microsoft-defender-for-business) - [Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 1](https://learn.microsoft.com/defender-endpoint/defender-endpoint-plan-1#licensing): included with a condition. Business Premium includes Defender for Business instead, which has all Plan 1 features plus some from Plan 2. - [Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 2](https://learn.microsoft.com/defender-business/mdb-overview#how-does-defender-for-business-compare-to-microsoft-defender-for-endpoint): included with a condition. Includes Defender for Business, with some Plan 2 features (EDR, automated investigation). Full Plan 2 can be added only for every user: Defender for Business does not support mixed licensing. - [Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management (core capabilities)](https://learn.microsoft.com/defender-business/mdb-overview#how-does-defender-for-business-compare-to-microsoft-defender-for-endpoint) ### Compliance - [Microsoft Purview Audit (Standard)](https://learn.microsoft.com/office365/servicedescriptions/microsoft-365-service-descriptions/microsoft-365-tenantlevel-services-licensing-guidance/microsoft-purview-service-description#microsoft-purview-audit-standard) - [Microsoft Purview eDiscovery (Standard)](https://learn.microsoft.com/office365/servicedescriptions/exchange-online-service-description/exchange-online-service-description#features-available-to-some-plans) - [Basic org-wide or location-wide retention policies](https://learn.microsoft.com/office365/servicedescriptions/microsoft-365-service-descriptions/microsoft-365-tenantlevel-services-licensing-guidance/microsoft-purview-service-description#licensing-for-retention-policies) - [Data loss prevention for email and files](https://learn.microsoft.com/office365/servicedescriptions/microsoft-365-service-descriptions/microsoft-365-tenantlevel-services-licensing-guidance/microsoft-purview-service-description#which-licenses-provide-the-rights-for-a-user-to-benefit-from-the-service) - [Sensitivity labels (manual)](https://learn.microsoft.com/office365/servicedescriptions/microsoft-365-service-descriptions/microsoft-365-tenantlevel-services-licensing-guidance/microsoft-purview-service-description#microsoft-purview-information-protection-sensitivity-labeling) - [Message Encryption](https://learn.microsoft.com/purview/ome-faq#what-subscriptions-do-i-need-to-use-microsoft-purview-message-encryption-) [See every Business Premium feature in the comparison tool](https://computecloud.co.uk/tools/microsoft-365-plans/#tab=table&p=biz-prem), with Microsoft's source for each. ## Mailbox, user and device limits | Limit | Business Premium | |---|---| | [Users](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/office-365-platform-service-description/office-365-plan-options#service-families-and-plans) | 300 users across all Business plans | | [Mailbox](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/exchange-online-service-description/exchange-online-limits#storage-limits) | 100 GB mailbox | | [Archive](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/exchange-online-service-description/exchange-online-limits#storage-limits) | 100 GB archive, auto-expanding to 1.5 TB | | [Office app installs](https://www.microsoft.com/licensing/terms/productoffering/Microsoft365Applications/MCA) | 5 PCs or Macs, 5 tablets and 5 phones per user | Each limit links to the Microsoft page that states it. ## With or without Teams, annual or monthly? | How you pay | With Teams | Without Teams | |---|---|---| | Annual subscription, paid yearly | £16.90 | £14.40 | | Annual subscription, paid monthly | £17.75 | £15.12 | | Monthly subscription | £20.28 | £17.28 | Per user a month, ex VAT (add 20% for VAT). Microsoft's UK list prices, last checked on 24 October 2026. Paying monthly for an annual subscription costs 5% more, under [Microsoft's rule for annual subscriptions paid monthly](https://computecloud.co.uk/microsoft-365/licensing-changes/#2025-04-01-monthly-billing-annual-subscriptions-5-percent), and a monthly subscription, which you can cancel at any time, costs 20% more on the Business plans. Those two rows are worked out from the annual price and rounded to the penny. Sources: [Microsoft 365 for business: plans and pricing (UK)](https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/microsoft-365/business/microsoft-365-plans-and-pricing), [Microsoft 365 for business: plans without Teams (UK)](https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/microsoft-365/business/no-teams-plans-and-pricing), [Microsoft security for small and medium businesses (UK)](https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/security/small-medium-business), [Microsoft 365 blog: flexible billing and pricing updates for annual subscriptions (12 November 2024)](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft_365blog/flexible-billing-for-microsoft-365-copilot-pricing-updates-for-annual-subscripti/4288536). [What Business Premium costs for 10 to 300 users](https://computecloud.co.uk/microsoft-365/business-premium-cost/), and ways to pay less, is on its cost page. ## Is Business Premium right for you? ### Who it suits - **Organisations that issue company laptops or phones.** Intune enrols and configures them, Windows Autopilot sets up a new PC when its user first signs in, and a lost device can be wiped remotely. - **Firms that handle customer, staff or financial data.** Data loss prevention, sensitivity labels, Message Encryption, retention policies, eDiscovery (Standard) and Litigation Hold are all included. - **Staff who read work email on their own phones.** Intune app protection keeps company data inside Outlook and the Office apps without enrolling the phone. - **Shared PCs, remote desktops and Azure Virtual Desktop.** Shared computer activation and the right to use Azure Virtual Desktop are included. The virtual machines are billed through Azure. - **Anyone paying separately for device management, antivirus or email filtering.** Premium includes Microsoft's own version of each, so check for overlap at renewal. - **Organisations with 150 to 300 licences.** Microsoft's FastTrack deployment help is available once a tenant has 150 or more eligible licences. ### Who it doesn't suit - **More than 300 users across the Business plans.** The cap covers Business Basic, Standard and Premium together. The people above it need Microsoft 365 E3 or another Enterprise, Office 365 or Frontline plan, and you don't have to move everyone. [Business Premium vs Microsoft 365 E3](https://computecloud.co.uk/microsoft-365/business-premium-vs-e3/) explains how to mix them. - **People who only use email, Teams and the web apps.** Business Basic is enough for them. Shift and deskless staff who share devices may qualify for Frontline F1 or F3; Microsoft's terms define who does. - **People who need Windows Enterprise.** Credential Guard, 36 months of support for each Windows 11 release (Premium gets 24), and Windows Server CAL rights come with Microsoft 365 E3, not Business Premium. - **A phone system or Power BI reports.** Teams Phone and Power BI Pro aren't included. Teams Phone Standard is sold as an add-on, and Microsoft 365 E5 includes both. - **Advanced identity and compliance.** Entra ID P2, Insider Risk Management and eDiscovery (Premium) aren't in Business Premium. You don't need E5 to get them: the Defender and Purview Suites for Business Premium add them as add-ons. ## Moving up or down a plan ### Moving up: add-on suites or Microsoft 365 E3 There are two ways up from Business Premium. Most organisations under 300 users want the first. **More security and compliance, on the same plan.** The Defender Suite and Purview Suite for Business Premium are add-ons, sold separately or together. Together they bring: - Entra ID P2, with risk-based Conditional Access and Privileged Identity Management; - Defender for Office 365 Plan 2, Defender for Identity and Defender for Cloud Apps; - Insider Risk Management, eDiscovery (Premium) and automatic sensitivity labelling. They also add Defender for Endpoint Plan 2, which the tenant gets only when every user is licensed for it. **Microsoft 365 E3.** E3 removes the 300-seat cap and swaps in the Enterprise editions listed below, plus Remote Help, Advanced Analytics and Windows Server CAL rights. It doesn't improve endpoint security: its Defender for Endpoint Plan 1 lacks the endpoint detection and response that Defender for Business gives Premium. Move people to E3 when you pass 300 seats or need a specific Enterprise feature. Microsoft 365 E3 is £33.50 a user a month with Teams and £27.00 without, £16.60 and £12.60 more than Business Premium (annual subscription paid yearly, ex VAT). Of the features people compare most, Microsoft 365 E3 adds: - **Users:** Maximum users (Unlimited users, against 300 users across all Business plans) - **Files and storage:** OneDrive storage per user (1 TB per user, can be raised to 5 TB, against 1 TB per user); SharePoint plan and storage (Plan 2; tenant storage 1 TB + 10 GB per licence, against Plan 1; tenant storage 1 TB + 10 GB per licence) - **Teams and meetings:** Teams webinars and town halls (3,000 engaged attendees; 10,000 view-only, against 1,000 attendees; 10,000 view-only) - **Apps:** Desktop Office apps (edition): Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, against Microsoft 365 Apps for business - **Security and devices:** Microsoft Intune Plan 2; Windows licence included (Windows 11 Enterprise E3, against Windows Business: Windows 11 Pro upgrade); Credential Guard; Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 1 (Business Premium has it only with a condition) [Compare Business Premium and Microsoft 365 E3 row by row in the tool, with Microsoft's sources](https://computecloud.co.uk/tools/microsoft-365-plans/#tab=compare&c=biz-prem%2Cm365-e3), or read [Business Premium vs Microsoft 365 E3](https://computecloud.co.uk/microsoft-365/business-premium-vs-e3/). ### Moving down to Business Standard Business Standard keeps the desktop apps, the 100 GB mailbox, Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive, but drops the security and management layer listed below, and Litigation Hold. What remains is multi-factor authentication through security defaults, Exchange Online Protection, URL time-of-click protection, and Basic Mobility and Security for simple phone management. Standard is enough for people who need the desktop apps on a device the company doesn't own, and whose work data you don't need to control. Before you move anyone down, check for: - mailboxes on Litigation Hold; - archives over 50 GB; - people who sign in to a shared PC or remote desktop, because Business Standard has no shared computer activation. A [licensing assessment](https://computecloud.co.uk/microsoft-365/assessment/) can sort your staff between the two plans. Business Standard is £10.80 a user a month with Teams and £8.30 without, £6.10 less than Business Premium with or without Teams (annual subscription paid yearly, ex VAT). Of the features people compare most, Business Standard doesn't have: - **Email and calendar:** Exchange Online Archiving (100 GB archive, auto-expanding to 1.5 TB, against 50 GB archive) - **Security and devices:** Microsoft Entra ID P1; Microsoft Entra Conditional Access; Microsoft Intune Plan 1; Windows Autopilot; Windows licence included (Windows Business: Windows 11 Pro upgrade); BitLocker and BitLocker To Go; Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 1; Microsoft Defender XDR; Microsoft Defender for Business; Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management (core capabilities) - **Compliance:** Microsoft Purview eDiscovery (Standard); Basic org-wide or location-wide retention policies; Data loss prevention for email and files; Sensitivity labels (manual); Message Encryption [Compare Business Standard and Business Premium row by row in the tool, with Microsoft's sources](https://computecloud.co.uk/tools/microsoft-365-plans/#tab=compare&c=biz-std%2Cbiz-prem), or read [Business Premium vs Business Standard](https://computecloud.co.uk/microsoft-365/business-premium-vs-business-standard/). ## Frequently asked questions ### What's included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium? Everything in Business Standard: the desktop Office apps, a 100 GB mailbox, Teams, SharePoint and 1 TB of OneDrive per user. On top of that, it adds the security and management layer: Intune Plan 1 and Windows Autopilot, for devices; Entra ID P1, with Conditional Access; Defender for Business, for endpoint detection and response; Defender for Office 365 Plan 1, against phishing; data loss prevention, sensitivity labels, Message Encryption, retention policies, eDiscovery (Standard) and Litigation Hold; an archive that grows to 1.5 TB; the right to upgrade Windows Pro to Windows Business. It is for organisations with up to 300 users. [What Business Premium costs](https://computecloud.co.uk/microsoft-365/business-premium-cost/) for 10 to 300 users is set out separately. ### Is Office 365 Business Premium the same as Microsoft 365 Business Premium? No. Office 365 Business Premium was renamed Microsoft 365 Business Standard on 21 April 2020. The plan now called Business Premium was sold as Microsoft 365 Business until then. An older quote or invoice for "Office 365 Business Premium" means today's [Business Standard](https://computecloud.co.uk/microsoft-365/business-standard/). That plan has the Office apps, but not Intune, Conditional Access or Defender for Business. ### Is Business Premium the same as Microsoft 365 E3? No. Both include the desktop Office apps, Intune, Entra ID P1 with Conditional Access, Windows Autopilot, Defender for Office 365 Plan 1, data loss prevention and sensitivity labels. The differences: Business Premium is capped at 300 users across the Business plans, and E3 has no cap; E3 adds the Enterprise editions, such as Windows Enterprise with 36 months of support per Windows 11 release (24 months in Premium), Intune Plan 2 and Windows Server CAL rights; Premium is ahead on endpoint security, because Defender for Business includes endpoint detection and response, which E3's Defender for Endpoint Plan 1 doesn't. [Business Premium vs Microsoft 365 E3](https://computecloud.co.uk/microsoft-365/business-premium-vs-e3/) compares them, with prices. ### How many devices does a Business Premium licence cover? Each user can install the Office apps on 5 PCs or Macs, 5 tablets and 5 phones. For Windows, Business Premium gives the right to upgrade PCs from Windows Pro to Windows Business. It's an upgrade, not a full Windows licence, so PCs on Windows Home first need Microsoft's Windows 11 Home to Pro Upgrade for Business Premium, which is licensed separately. It also includes the right to use Azure Virtual Desktop, with the virtual machines billed through Azure. ### How big is the Business Premium mailbox? 100 GB per user, the same as Business Basic and Standard. The archive mailbox starts at 100 GB and grows automatically to 1.5 TB. Business Premium also includes Litigation Hold, which preserves a mailbox's contents, including deleted items, for a dispute or investigation. Microsoft added 50 GB to the mailboxes in the Business plans in 2026. ### Does Business Premium include Defender for Endpoint Plan 2? Not in full. It includes Defender for Business, which has the Defender for Endpoint Plan 1 features plus some from Plan 2, including endpoint detection and response and automated investigation. You can add full Plan 2, for example with the Defender and Purview Suites for Business Premium. But Defender for Business doesn't support mixed licensing, so the tenant moves to Plan 2 only when every user is licensed for it. ### Can Business Premium protect company data on staff's own phones? Yes. Business Premium includes Intune app protection. Microsoft says it protects company data in apps such as Outlook, Word and Excel without enrolling the device in management. You can require a PIN, block copying work data into personal apps, and wipe only the company data when someone leaves. Each person needs an Intune licence for this. Business Premium includes one, and Business Standard doesn't. --- Get a free Microsoft 365 licensing assessment: https://computecloud.co.uk/microsoft-365/assessment/