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4-Step guide to choosing a Microsoft 365 plan for your business

• 8 December 2023

The widespread adoption of Microsoft 365 by many businesses is understandable, given its extensive capabilities and numerous business benefits. However, deciding on which Microsoft 365 plan can be formidable, thanks to the plethora of features available. This decision is further complicated by budgetary constraints. Use this article to navigate the decision-making process and identify the plan that best fits your business.

Why do businesses use Microsoft 365?

Microsoft 365 provides businesses with a centralized and streamlined way to conveniently access and manage their files and emails from any device, anywhere in the world, thanks to its cloud-hosting features. And it’s this cloud-based nature of the service that enables Microsoft 365 users to secure business continuity should anything happen to their devices. 

How to choose the plan best suited for your business

Selecting the right Microsoft 365 plan for your business can be broken down into four steps:

• Assess compatibility

Before subscribing to a Microsoft 365 plan, ensure that your employees’ computers meet the necessary system requirements for Microsoft 365 to function. Incompatibility issues may arise if the hardware fails to match minimum system requirements, leading to reduced functionality of Microsoft 365 features. Additionally, you need to evaluate the compatibility of existing software and third-party applications, as some may not work seamlessly with Microsoft 365, necessitating the adoption of compatible software. Consider also consulting the providers of the third-party applications about potential compatibility issues with Microsoft 365. 

• Identify your needs

It is essential that you choose a plan with features that align with your company’s needs. Otherwise, you risk overspending on a plan like Business Premium when Business Standard easily meets your needs. Answer the following key questions to identify your needs:

• Do you aim to enhance collaboration and communication within your organization?
• Will transitioning to the cloud benefit your business operations?
• Are you seeking advanced protection against various security threats?

By addressing these questions, you can focus on the features that fit with your answers and identify an appropriate plan. For example, if you are especially concerned about cybersecurity due to the confidential nature of the data you handle, then you may need the Microsoft 365 Business Premium plan, which offers Microsoft Defender in addition to standard online security. 

• Plan your budget

Planning a budget for your chosen Microsoft 365 plan means accounting for the user count and the migration costs.

• User count refers to the number of employees within your organization who will access and utilize Microsoft 365. When budgeting for users, it’s better to slightly overshoot to accommodate for potential growth or the addition of new employees.
• Migration costs occur whether you are transferring your systems and data from physical servers or another cloud environment, costing you time, money, and productivity. If you have an in-house IT team, leverage their expertise to handle the migration process and avoid additional expenses.

By factoring in these considerations, you can select a Microsoft 365 subscription plan that not only meets your business needs but also aligns with your budget constraints.

• Choose a Microsoft 365 business plan

After you’ve addressed the above considerations, you can go over your options. Microsoft 365 offers four different plans to businesses: Business Basic, Apps for Business, Business Standard, and Business Premium. These plans represent different tiers of pricing and offered features.

Contact us today to learn more about integrating Microsoft 365 into your business.

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Compare Microsoft Office 365 Business Plans: Apps, Features and Pricing

Microsoft 365 for Business (previously known as Office 365 for Business) is a cloud productivity subscription-based service geared towards small to medium-sized businesses. With a Microsoft 365 for Business subscription, your organization gets access to the most up-to-date Office applications as well as Microsoft’s flagship collaborative online services.

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Microsoft Office 365 Plans for Business Overview

Microsoft Office 365 for Business is a complete solution that brings together the best-in-class productivity of Office 365, advanced security, and device management tools. Within your organization, you and your co-workers can be more productive and work better together with Office apps, email, cloud storage, and a hub for teamwork. Microsoft Office 365 plans for business come with building tools that let you manage access to your data, keep sensitive data safe, and keep your business compliant and protected against most (but not all) security threats.

Microsoft currently offers four business plans to choose from, depending on an organization’s needs. The Microsoft 365 plans for businesses are:

Microsoft 365 Business Basic

Microsoft 365 apps for business, microsoft 365 business standard, microsoft 365 business premium.

Note that all Microsoft 365 plans for business have a limit of 300 users per license. If your organization requires more users, you may want to consider subscribing to a Microsoft Office 365 enterprise plan.

Now, let’s take a closer look at each of the Microsoft 365 plans for businesses and see what they have to offer in terms of features and pricing.

For a subscription fee of $5.00 per user/month, Microsoft 365 Business Basic (formerly known as Office 365 Business Essentials) offers web and mobile versions only of Office apps. These apps include Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and OneNote. This entry-level plan also gives your organization access to collaborative services like Exchange Online with 50 GB of mailbox storage, SharePoint Online, Yammer, Skype for Business Online, and Microsoft Teams. Also included with this subscription is 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage per user.

This Microsoft Office 365 plan is ideal for small and medium-sized businesses that want to unlock the benefits of cloud integration and remote work using the Office for the web suite and online communication services.

For a subscription fee of $8.25 per user/month, Microsoft 365 Apps for Business (formerly known as Office 365 Business) gives your organization access to the most up-to-date desktop versions of Office applications. These include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive, Access, and Publisher. The Office suite in this plan can be installed on up to 5 devices per user. None of the collaborative tools and services are available in this plan but the 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage per user feature and the Office for the web suite are still present.

Microsoft 365 Apps for Business provides both cloud-based and on-premises Office suites to deliver the right set of capabilities to your organization. This plan is ideal for organizations whose computing workload heavily revolves around Office applications.

Priced at $12.50 per user/month, the Microsoft 365 Business Standard plan  (formerly known as Office 365 Business Premium) combines in one package the features available in both Business Basic and Apps for Business plans. In addition to the cloud-based and on-premises Office suites, Microsoft 365 Business Standard includes a complete set of collaborative tools thus making this Microsoft Office 365 plan ideal for organizations looking to expand their remote work capabilities.

Priced at $20.00 per user/month, Microsoft 365 Business Premium (formerly known as Microsoft 365 Business) includes all the features available in the lower Business tiers in addition to an advanced security infrastructure and device management tools. The Business Premium plan is ideal for organizations that require a comprehensive remote work solution with cyber threat protection and a powerful mobile management system.

Microsoft Office 365 Comparison of Plans

Here is a comparison of pricing and available apps and collaboration services between all four Microsoft 365 plans for business:

Microsoft 365 suite apps comparison

Along with the traditional Office applications and online collaborative services, Microsoft 365 plans for businesses include applications used for knowledge, insights, content, project and task management, automation, and app building.

Business plans security and management options

As stated before, when it comes to advanced security options and management tools, Microsoft 365 Business Premium is the most feature-packed plan. The other Microsoft 365 plans do include basic security tools, but they pale in comparison to the Business plan’s features, as shown below:

Despite the advanced security features available in Microsoft 365 Business Premium, third-party Office 365 backup solutions is necessary to ensure that your SaaS data is safe and recoverable.

Your Microsoft 365 data can be compromised by human error or malicious cyber threats like ransomware. Files can be deleted or encrypted even when stored in the cloud. To keep your data safe, NAKIVO Backup & Replication offers full backup and recovery functionality for Exchange Online, OneDrives for Business, and SharePoint Online.

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COMPARISON OF Microsoft 365 BUSINESS PLANS AND PRICING

Since April 21, 2020, Microsoft has officially renamed all ‘Office 365 Business’ plans to ‘Microsoft 365 Business’. Here’s the table of feature comparison of Microsoft 365 Business plans:

Business Plans without Teams

Business plans with teams.

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All Our Microsoft 365 Business Plans Include

Free end-user support, free migration help, 24 x 7 phone, chat, & email, online knowledge base, savings on it costs, fully automatic updates, regular data backup, 1 tb of online storage, business email service, tier-1 partner expertise, faqs on m365 business plans, why microsoft changed name from office 365 to m365.

Name changes are not unconventional at Microsoft. The tech giant changes the names of its popular products and services from time to time. The reason behind this name change is cited as a more holistic approach which appeals to a wider base, rather than just the ‘office’ sphere.

What plan should I choose if I do not need Microsoft Office apps?

If you do not need Microsoft Office applications, go with the most basic plan – Microsoft 365 Business Basic (earlier called as Office 365 Business Essentials). This plan is priced at only $6 user/month. At $8.30 user/month, Microsoft 365 Apps for Business is a standard plan includes Microsoft Office applications along with OneDrive for Business. In addition to all the features of the above plans, Microsoft Business Standard has more advanced features priced at $12.50 user/month.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OFFICE 365 AND MICROSOFT 365?

Microsoft 365 is a bundle of services including Office 365, comprising of Microsoft services including Windows 10 Enterprise. Office 365 is a cloud-based productivity suite which is a bundle of popular Microsoft apps.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO USE MY OWN DOMAIN NAME FOR THE EMAILS IN MICROSOFT 365?

Yes, you can add the domain name you own to your Microsoft 365 account and set up your domain-based email addresses. You can even add multiple domains and sub-domains to Office 365 and host any of the services, including email, on any of the domains that you add. You must own a domain name and as an admin, you will have to make some changes on the DNS records of your domain – we will guide you for this.

WHAT OFFICE VERSIONS ARE COMPATIBLE WITH MICROSOFT 365 BUSINESS BASIC?

Microsoft 365 Business Basic, earlier known as Office 365 Business Essentials, is most compatible with the latest version of Office, Office 2016, and Office 2011 for Mac. The ancient versions of MS Office before 2013 may work with the plan, but with reduced functionality.

HOW EXACTLY WILL APPS4RENT HELP ME WITH THE PLANS?

As your Cloud Solution Provider for Office 365, we will provide free migration and 24/7/365 support to end-users for issues that take up your time, such as email configuration accounts, password resets, setting up aliases and contacts, creating groups, configuring MS Teams, synchronizing OneDrive, exploring search features, and optimizing browser settings. We will also help you with installing and configuring the latest Office version on your devices and handling DNS records.

IS A DESKTOP VERSION OF OFFICE REQUIRED TO USE MICROSOFT 365 BUSINESS BASIC?

No. You do not need to have a desktop version of Office to use Microsoft 365 Business Basic plan. However, you will have a richer experience and also be able to work offline when you connect a desktop version of Office to the Microsoft 365 services and get it in sync.

WILL BY MS OFFICE BE AUTOMATICALLY UPDATES TO THE LATEST VERSION IF I HAVE MICROSOFT 365 PLANS?

Yes. MS Office apps are always up to date on Microsoft 365. If you already had subscription of erstwhile Office 365 plans which is now Microsoft 365, you already have a version of Office that has all the functions of the latest MS Office version.

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How to choose the right Microsoft 365 for Business plan

Microsoft’s business plans are aimed in particular at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) . The Microsoft business plans are called Business Basic, Apps for Business, Business Standard and Business Premium. Included in all four business plans are Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneDrive applications.

• Microsoft business plans vs. Office home plans
• What are the 4 Microsoft business plans?
• The essentials in a nutshell
• Business Basic in detail
• Apps for Business in detail
• Business Standard in detail
• Business Premium in detail
• Microsoft 365 Business solutions from IONOS

All information in this article is correct as of August 2023.

Microsoft business plans vs. Office home plans ¶

The difference between Office plans for individuals and those for SMBs is what you get with them. For the the private sector , Microsoft offers plans that include the usual programs such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint. For companies, the plans include additional or business-optimized services that simplify collaborative work processes.

Microsoft 365 small business plans offer you familiar and trusted Microsoft applications as an online app or installable component. Microsoft also grants you access to useful tools and programs that primarily help you to develop, manage and advance collaborative projects as well as facilitate internal and external communication.

What are the 4 Microsoft business plans? ¶

Microsoft 365 is available for small and medium-sized businesses in four different plans for up to 300 people:

• Microsoft 365 Business Basic
• Microsoft 365 Apps for Business
• Microsoft 365 Business Standard
• Microsoft 365 Business Premium

All of the small business solutions require you to sign up for a subscription, and you can choose between the slightly more expensive monthly subscription and an annual subscription . You pay for the former on a monthly basis, and you can cancel it at any time without incurring any additional costs. On the other hand, early cancellation of the annual subscription, which can be paid both monthly and annually, usually results in additional costs. You will not receive a refund for payments already made for annual subscriptions.

There are special solutions such as Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise for businesses with over 300 employees. Exchange Online Plan 1 offers a professional email server solution with Outlook support.

Microsoft 365 Business Basic ¶

The essentials in a nutshell ¶.

Among Microsoft business plans, Business Basic is the ideal office suite for any company whose employees travel extensively or work from home but need access to project files and emails at all times . The plan provides your company’s data with a secure storage platform and your employees with access to the most important Office applications via their browser . In addition, communication features such as shared inboxes, web conferences or team websites facilitate project collaboration.

Costs : $6.00 (per user per month) with an annual subscription or $7.20 (per user per month) with a monthly subscription.

Business Basic in detail ¶

Business Basic is the most affordable model for small and medium-sized businesses. It gives you access to the online versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote via any standard web browser.

All employees can work on files from the above programs in real time at any time and from anywhere as long as they have internet access. Files created with the online programs are compatible with the latest versions of the desktop applications, so you can send your own documents or open and edit external documents.

However, the focus of the Business Basic plan is to help you and your company communicate and collaborate. To that end, the plan includes useful online services, which is where Exchange really stands out. Protected from viruses, spam and phishing attacks, the email system provides a central hosting platform for your company’s entire email traffic . Access messages at any time from any device via the Outlook Web app.

What’s more, every user gets an inbox with 50 GB of storage space , as well as the ability to send attachments up to 150 MB in size. If you also purchase an installable Outlook version, you can retrieve your mails as usual via the client application interface. You can set up shared inboxes and calendars too.

Get Microsoft 365 Business Basic from IONOS and benefit from all the features that come with it.

The other services of Microsoft 365 Business Basic at a glance:

Skype for Business

With the help of the business version of the well-known video conferencing software Skype, you can communicate comfortably by voice, chat or video – internally or with business partners. With Outlook integration, schedule your online meetings in advance and send personalized links for participation . Hold video conferences with up to 250 participants and up to HD 1080p quality. If you want to use Skype for Business, you need to download it from the Microsoft 365 portal beforehand.

OneDrive for Business

Microsoft’s secure cloud storage OneDrive is the perfect solution to store and manage your company’s data. Create custom directory structures and specify which people can view, create or edit files. All files are available online, can be accessed from anywhere and with any device, and are always up to date thanks to synchronization. In Business Basic, 1 TB of storage space is available per person.

In addition to the Google Drive alternative OneDrive, you can use the SharePoint application. Create team websites , which – simply put – are folders where you can store files of a specific project. All users involved can access the team documents and share files, info, etc. with each other.

With Sway, Microsoft offers you an application that lets you easily create a presentation of your latest products, an informative newsletter or an online training. Interactive and web-based , the created “Sways” can be easily shared and displayed on various display sizes.

Microsoft 365 Apps for Business ¶

Microsoft 365 Apps for Business is the right choice if you’re happy with the digital information and work structure within your company but are looking for a feature-rich and versatile office suite. This Microsoft business plan, unlike the other Business offerings, only offers OneDrive by itself and does not include SharePoint. The plan also assumes you already run an email server and rely on your own communications software, as Exchange is also not available. In return, however, you get access to the desktop versions of the Office apps, including Premium features , as well as the handy Access and Publisher apps when you sign up for a subscription.

Costs : $8.25 (per user per month) with an annual subscription or $9.90 (per user per month) with a monthly subscription.

Apps for Business in detail ¶

Microsoft 365 Apps for Business also allows you to use the online applications of Word, OneNote, PowerPoint and Excel via a browser or mobile app (iOS and Android). Users can install the suite on up to five Windows or macOS devices, as well as five mobile devices and five tablets, for a maximum of fifteen devices.

Since Apps for Business has a link to the OneDrive for Business cloud , it is possible to share and collaborate on all files in real time. If you have been working offline, the cloud service will synchronize your documents as soon as you have an internet connection again. Microsoft also provides 1 TB of OneDrive storage per person in this business plan.

While the Sway presentation tool is also part of Apps for Business, Skype for Business and SharePoint team websites are not included. So, when it comes to project and corporate communications, it’s a matter of setting up alternative solutions. The Exchange mail hosting environment is also not included in Microsoft 365 Apps for Business. You therefore need your own mail server solution for email communication and archiving.

Microsoft 365 Business Standard ¶

Microsoft’s Business Standard plan is the right choice for users who want to use the Apps for Business features, but also need email hosting in the form of the Exchange application . Business Standard offers you the usual Office programs like Word, Excel and Powerpoint, but also scores points with practical tools such as Teams and SharePoint, which optimize collaboration.

Costs : $12.50 (per user per month) with an annual subscription or $15.00 (per user per month) with a monthly subscription.

Business Standard in detail ¶

With the Microsoft 365 Business Standard plan, you get all the apps and services from Business Basic , such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneDrive. Just as with Apps for Business, the desktop versions of the apps are available here, including premium features.

Other applications in Business Standard are Access and Publisher , but these can only be used via a PC. Access allows you to create and manage databases, while Publisher is used, for example, to design layouts for print publications and contains numerous templates.

You can promote your teamwork in Business Standard with the help of the Teams application , which enables online meetings with up to 300 people. Unlike Business Basic and Apps for Business, the Business Standard version gives you the option of holding webinars , which users can register for.

Finally, benefit from email hosting thanks to Microsoft’s cloud solution Exchange . The application gives you access to an inbox with 50 GB of storage and a personal calendar for professional scheduling.

You can get Microsoft 365 Business Standard from IONOS at an affordable price. This plan comes with many features for effective collaboration with your team.

Microsoft 365 Business Premium ¶

With the Microsoft 365 Business Premium plan, you acquire the all-in-one solution for your company’s everyday office life, which not only presents a cross-company email solution (including calendar and 50 GB of storage per person) , but also offers more security as well as protection against ransomware and other cyber threats.

Costs : $22.00 (per user per month) with an annual subscription or $26.40 (per user per month) with a monthly subscription

Business Premium in detail ¶

Microsoft 365 Business Premium includes all the features of Business Standard . This means that the plan includes both the latest Microsoft Office products (online and desktop version) and access to the powerful communication platforms Exchange and Teams.

Business Premium offers you all the tools you need as a modern small business for structuring and collaborating on projects in one place. You are not dependent on additional hardware or software to operate an email server or a file server.

Unlike the other Microsoft business plans, the Exchange application gives you an additional archiving option that lets you customize policies around cloud archiving, for example. Your email hosting inbox includes 50 GB, as with the other plans.

Another benefit that sets Business Premium apart from the rest of the Microsoft business plans is Advanced Threat Protection. With various protections like Defender, App Protection, and Information Rights Management, your company’s devices and data are secure.

Microsoft 365 for Business with IONOS!

Powerful Exchange email and the latest versions of your favorite Office apps on any device - get started with our free setup assistance.

Microsoft 365 Business solutions from IONOS ¶

If you are interested in one of the Microsoft 365 Business Plans we have shown you, you can also take out a subscription directly with IONOS . In addition to the standard Microsoft features, this includes an optional setup service that guides you step by step through the installation and configuration of the applications.

To protect your data in the best possible way, IONOS offers you spam filtering and virus protection in addition to backups in certified data centers . In case of problems or questions about software, subscription or similar issues, support is available around the clock.

A great pro of these office solutions is that they combine IONOS hosting products with powerful Microsoft applications . If you have questions about your invoice, require technical support or need help logging into the Control Center, you only need to contact one person.

If you want to purchase a Microsoft business plan or another Office offering, you can find more relevant information on subscriptions and licensing models in our dedicated articles:

• Microsoft 365 in subscription model
• Microsoft 365 license models

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Realigning global licensing for Microsoft 365

Learn about changes to Microsoft 365, Office 365, and Microsoft Teams licensing effective April 1, 2024.

April 1, 2024

Last year Microsoft updated the way Microsoft 365, Office 365, and Teams were licensed in the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland . Now we are announcing our plan to extend that approach worldwide.

Globally consistent licensing helps ensure clarity for customers and streamline decision making and negotiations. To that end, we are now updating the way Microsoft 365, Office 365, and Teams are licensed outside of Europe in keeping with the recent changes in the EEA. Starting today, we are introducing 1) a new lineup of commercial Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites that do not include Teams in regions outside the EEA and Switzerland, and 2) a new standalone Teams offering for Enterprise customers in those regions.

As in the EEA and Switzerland, customers with existing subscriptions that include Microsoft Teams will be able to continue using plans they have already chosen. Additional details follow below.

Changes to Enterprise Suites:

With today’s introduction of the new commercial lineup outside the EEA and Switzerland,  Office 365 E1, Office 365 E3, Office 365 E5, Microsoft 365 E3, and Microsoft 365 E5 suites with Teams will no longer be available to net new subscribers, worldwide. Here is how customers may be impacted: 

• Customers who are currently subscribed to any of the suites involved will have new options. They can continue to use, renew, upgrade, and add seats to their current plans as usual. Or, if they wish to switch to the new lineup, they can do so on their contract anniversary or renewal.
• Net new subscribers to Office/Microsoft 365 Enterprise suites outside the EEA and Switzerland who wish to provide their end users with Teams will need to purchase two SKUs : one Microsoft 365 (no Teams) or Office 365 (no Teams) suite and Microsoft Teams Enterprise. See details of the new lineup in the table below:

Changes to Frontline suites:

Current Frontline suites will coexist with the new lineup. Customers will be able to choose between the existing Microsoft 365 F1, Office 365 F3, and Microsoft 365 F3 suites with Teams included, or the new versions of those suites without Teams. See details of the new lineup on the table below:

Changes to Microsoft 365 Business suites:

Microsoft 365 Business suites will coexist with the new lineup. Customers will be able to choose between the existing Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Microsoft 365 Business Standard, and Microsoft 365 Business Premium suites with Teams or the new versions of those suites without Teams. See details of the new lineup on the table below:

These changes are intended to realign our global subscription structure following changes made in Europe in 2023. For additional context on those changes, please read the official announcement on the EU Policy Blog and the accompanying licensing details on Licensing News .

Existing customers who already subscribe to Microsoft 365 or Office 365 suites with Teams will have new options. They may continue to use, renew, upgrade, and otherwise adjust their subscriptions as before. They may also now switch to suites without Teams at anniversary/renewal or add new user subscriptions to suites without Teams or to the new Teams standalone at any time (including alongside suites with Teams).

Starting today in regions outside the EEA and Switzerland:

New commercial customers who wish to provide information workers with both Microsoft Teams and the value in existing Microsoft 365 E3/E5 or Office 365 E1/E3/E5 suites will need to purchase two SKUs: one E1/E3/E5 (no Teams) suite and Microsoft Teams Enterprise.

New small and medium business customers will be able to choose between the existing Microsoft 365 Business Basic/Standard/Premium suites with Teams or the new (no Teams) versions of those suites.

For Frontline workers , customers will be able to choose between the existing Microsoft 365 F1, Office 365 F3, and Microsoft 365 F3 suites with Teams included or the new (no Teams) versions of those suites.

No. All the EEA-specific offerings introduced in October 2023 will remain available alongside the offerings for other regions announced above. Licensing details for the EEA and Switzerland are available here .

The changes announced above apply only to commercial SKUs (Enterprise, Business, and Frontline). Consumer, Academic, US Government, and Nonprofit-specific SKUs are not currently impacted.

Microsoft Teams Enterprise provides meetings, chat, calling (VOIP), and collaboration without any limitation on seat numbers and a 1000-seat cap on meeting attendees.

Microsoft Teams Essentials remains unchanged; it provides meetings, chat, calling (VOIP), and collaboration for customers worldwide with up to 300 users, with a 300-seat meeting attendee cap.

No. The new “no Teams” suites and Teams Enterprise are intended for purchase by customers with enrollments in countries outside the EEA and Switzerland, from non-EEA pricelists, for deployment on non-EEA/Switzerland tenants out of datacenters outside the EEA and Switzerland.

Multinational organizations will be able to purchase “EEA (no Teams)” SKUs to cover enrollments and tenants inside the EEA/Switzerland, and non-EEA “no Teams” SKUs to cover enrollments and tenants outside the EEA/Switzerland.

Retaining a separate structure in the EEA is intended to minimize change for EEA customers while realigning the available options worldwide.

Microsoft 365 Business Pricing & Plans

Choose the productivity solution that best fits your business! Compare and choose from a variety of plans designed for businesses like yours.

Microsoft 365 Business Basic

$ 5.00 user/month (annual commitment)

Best for businesses that need Microsoft Teams (Microsoft Collaboration Tool) and cloud storage. Desktop versions of Office apps not included.

Office apps included

Services included

• Host email with a 50 GB mailbox and custom email domain address.
• Create a hub for teamwork to connect your teams with Microsoft Teams.
• Access web versions of Office apps: Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote (plus Access and Publisher for PC only).
• Store and share files with 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage.
• Host online meetings and video conferencing for up to 250 users.
• Get help anytime with around-the-clock phone and web support from Microsoft.

Microsoft 365 Business Standard

$ 12.50 user/month (annual commitment)

Best for businesses that need the Microsoft Office apps across devices plus business email, cloud file storage, and online meetings and chat.

• Get desktop versions of Office apps: Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote (plus Access and Publisher for PC only).
• Host email with a 50 GB mailbox and custom email domain.
• Create a hub for teamwork with Microsoft Teams.
• Use one license to cover fully installed, Office apps on five mobile devices, five tablets, and five PCs or Macs per user.

Microsoft 365 Business Premium

$ 20.00 user/month (annual commitment)

Best for businesses that need everything included in Business Standard plus advanced cyberthreat protection and device management.

• Stay up to date with the latest versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more.
• Connect with customers and coworkers using Outlook, Exchange, and Teams.
• Manage your files from anywhere with 1 TB of cloud storage on OneDrive for Business.
• Defend your business against advanced cyberthreats with sophisticated phishing and ransomware protection.
• Control access to sensitive information using encryption to help keep data from being accidentally shared.
• Secure devices that connect to your data and help keep iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac devices safe and up to date.

Fill out the form to get started with Microsoft 365

Be more collaborative so you can achieve more together.

Microsoft 365 Business can help your employees:

A Dynamics 365 subscription doesn’t include Microsoft 365 applications such as Exchange Online or SharePoint Online. You can significantly enhance your company’s online, collaborative experience by integrating Microsoft 365 applications with your Dynamics 365 subscription. Microsoft 365 is compatible with Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7 Service Pack 1, and the two most recent versions of macOS. All languages included.

Take ‘find business solution’ off your to-do list.

Microsoft 365 Business is an integrated cloud-based solution that simplifies IT, amps up your data security and keeps employees’ devices up-to-date with the latest from Windows 10 and Office 365.

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Microsoft Calling Plans for Teams

• 28 contributors
• Applies to: Skype for Business, Microsoft Teams

Microsoft provides complete Private Branch Exchange (PBX) capabilities for your organization through Teams Phone System. However, to enable users to make calls outside your organization, you need to connect Phone System to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) by selecting a calling plan.

This article describes Phone System with Microsoft Calling Plan--Microsoft's all-in-the-cloud voice solution for Teams users. This solution is the simplest option that connects Phone System to the PSTN for external calling. With this option, Microsoft acts as your PSTN carrier.

To find out if Microsoft Calling Plans are available in your area, see Country and region availability .

If Calling Plans are not available in your area, Microsoft provides other PSTN connectivity options. For more information about planning your voice solution, and for information on all PSTN connectivity options, see the following articles:

• Plan your voice solution
• PSTN connectivity options

After reading this article, see Set up Calling Plans .

Calling Plan options

Microsoft Calling Plan options include the following:

Domestic Calling Plan

International calling plan, pay-as-you-go calling plan.

To decide which option is right for your organization, ask yourself the following:

• Are Calling Plans available in my area? Which user locations will have Calling Plan service?
• Do my users need international calling?
• If some of my users don't make a significant number of outgoing calls, is the Pay-As-You-Go Calling Plan the most economical option for them?

All users in the same country/region with the same Calling Plan share a pool of minutes. For example, if you have 100 users located in the same country/region with a 120 minutes Domestic Calling Plan assigned, they share a pool of 12,000 minutes. All calls exceeding these minutes are billed per minute. Pooling is only available on identical Calling Plans.

The country/region is based on the location of the user's license in the Microsoft 365 admin center > Active users and NOT the billing address listed under the Organization Profile in the Microsoft 365 admin center .

For more information about monthly minutes available in each country/region, see Country and region availability .

With the Domestic Calling Plan, licensed users can call out to numbers located in the country/region where they're assigned in Microsoft 365. Unlimited incoming minutes are included. Outgoing minutes are included based on the license purchased.

There are three Domestic Calling Plan options to choose from:

Domestic Calling Plan Zone-1 US : For users in the United States and Puerto Rico.

Domestic Calling Plan Zone-1 Canada/UK : For users in Canada and the United Kingdom.

Domestic Calling Plan Zone-2 : For users in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

The International Calling Plan includes both domestic and international minutes for outbound calls. Domestic minutes allow users to call numbers in the country or region where their Microsoft 365 license is assigned. International minutes allow users to call international numbers in 196 countries/regions . Unlimited incoming minutes are included. Outgoing minutes are included based on the license purchased.

With the Pay-As-You-Go Calling Plan, licensed users can call out to numbers located in the country/region where their Microsoft 365 license is assigned to the user based on the user's location, and to international numbers in 196 countries/regions .

Unlimited incoming minutes are included. No outgoing minutes are included. All outgoing calls are charged based on the minutes used, either with Communication Credits or post-usage billing (for new commerce experience calling subscriptions only). Licenses are assigned to users based on their location.

To learn how to fund and use minutes for a Pay-As-You-Go Calling Plan, see How to fund a Pay-As-You-Go Calling Plan .

There are three Pay-As-You-Go Calling Plan options to choose from:

Pay-As-You-Go Calling Plan Zone 1 - US : For users in the United States and Puerto Rico.

Pay-As-You-Go Calling Plan Zone 1 - UK & Canada : For users in the United Kingdom and Canada.

Pay-As-You-Go Calling Plan Zone 2 : For users in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Zone 2 licenses aren't currently available for sale in the United States and Puerto Rico.

Mexico has its own Pay-As-You-Go Calling Plan. It's not part of any zone. You must purchase the independent Pay-As-You-Go Calling Plan for Mexico.

How to buy Calling Plans

You must first purchase a Phone System add-on license . To do that, sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center and choose Billing > Purchase services > Add-on subscriptions > Buy now .

Depending on your plan, you may need to buy more add-ons before you can buy Phone System licenses. To learn more, see Microsoft Teams add-on licensing .

After you buy Phone System licenses, you can buy a Calling Plan by signing in to the Microsoft 365 admin center and choose Billing > Purchase services > Add-on subscriptions , and then selecting Buy now .

You can buy and assign different Calling Plans to different users, depending on the needs of your organization. After you select the Calling Plan you need, proceed to checkout. You assign a plan to each user in the Microsoft 365 admin center. To learn how, see Assign Microsoft Teams add-on licenses .

How to fund a Pay-As-You-Go Calling Plan

Pay-As-You-Go Calling Plans don't have a set number of outgoing call minutes like the Domestic or International Calling Plans. Instead, some admins may need to take additional steps to fund their Pay-As-You-Go Calling Plan. Until the Pay-As-You-Go Calling Plan is properly funded, users won't be able to make outgoing calls.

There are two ways you can fund and use minutes with a Pay-As-You-Go Calling Plan:

Purchase the Pay-As-You-Go Calling Plan through the new commerce experience (NCE)

• Customers who purchased their calling plan through the new commerce experience are able to pay for the outgoing call minutes they used in the previous month. This is also called post-usage or post-consumption billing.
• For instructions on purchasing a calling plan through the new commerce experience, see Enable pay-as-you-go for your subscription and New commerce overage for telco pay-as-you-go .

Purchase Communication Credits

• This option is for customers who didn't purchase their calling plan through the new commerce experience (NCE). These customers need to purchase Communication Credits to fund their Pay-As-You-Go Calling Plan.
• For instructions on how to purchase and assign Communication Credits, see Set up Communication Credits for your organization .

Pricing information

• Pricing for Calling Plans and Phone System .
• Pricing for Audio Conferencing .
• Microsoft Teams Essentials and Microsoft Teams Phone Bundles .
• Audio conferencing .

Related articles

• Set up Calling Plans
• Microsoft Teams add-on licensing .
• Add funds and manage Communications Credits

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Microsoft To Raise Various Dynamics 365 Commercial Prices

Offerings will increase by as much as 17 percent and as little as 9 percent.

Microsoft plans to increase prices for a variety of Dynamics 365 offerings on Oct. 1 by an average of 12 percent or $17 per user or per device per month as the vendor adds more generative artificial intelligence functionality and options for the suite.

This marks the first price update for users of the Redmond, Wash.-based vendor’s relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) suite in more than five years, according to a blog post Friday . Offerings will increase by as much as $30 and as little as $10 – as much as 17 percent and as little as 9 percent.

“Each year, we release hundreds of new features and enhancements designed to help people work smarter, reclaim time, and collaborate seamlessly,” Bryan Goode, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of business applications and platform, said in the blog post.

[RELATED: 10 Coolest Upcoming Microsoft Copilot Offerings ]

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Prices

CRN has reached out to Microsoft for comment. The vendor is a member of CRN’s 2024 Channel Chiefs and has more than 400,000 channel partners worldwide.

Michael Goldstein, CEO of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Microsoft partner LAN Infotech – a member of CRN’s 2024 MSP 500 – told CRN in an interview that D365 has been benefiting from Microsoft’s GenAI push lately and added plenty of capabilities since the 2019 price change to justify an increase.

Goldstein felt similarly when the vendor raised prices for its Microsoft 365 suite back in 2021 after 10 years with the same cost, he said.

“We have seen a lot of value added in that time,” he said.

Prices for Dynamics 365 on-premises customer engagement and operations products will increase by the same percentage as the corresponding cloud versions, according to Microsoft. D365 Business Central and other offerings not explicitly named by Microsoft will keep the same price.

The price changes kick in Oct. 1 for new customers and existing ones upon their renewal date as of Oct. 1, according to Microsoft. U.S. government prices for the same products will increase first by 10 percent Oct. 1 and then on Oct. 1, 2025, they will have a smaller increase to equal commercial prices.

D365 Price Changes Breakdown

The price increases hit 14 D365 offerings. Facing the largest hikes of about 17 percent – or $30 per user per month – are the following offers:

• D365 Finance
• D365 Supply Chain Management
• D365 Commerce

Those three D365 offerings will increase from $180 to $210, according to Microsoft.

The following D365 offerings will increase from $145 to $160, up about 10 percent.

• D365 Sales Device
• D365 Customer Service Device
• D365 Field Service Device

And the following D365 offerings will increase from $95 to $105, an increase of about 11 percent:

• D365365 Sales Enterprise
• D365 Field Service
• D365 Customer Service Enterprise

D365 Human Resources and Project Operations will increase from $120 to $135, up about 13 percent. D365 Operations Device will increase from $75 to $85, up about 13 percent.

Finally, Microsoft Relationship Sales will increase from $162 to $177, up about 9 percent. All tiers of MRS per user per month prices will increase by $15, according to Microsoft.

In January , during Microsoft's latest quarterly earnings call, the vendor reported that Dynamics products and cloud services revenue increased 19 percent year over year. Dynamics 365 revenue grew 24 percent year over year.

Microsoft said at the time that Dynamics revenue should grow in the mid-teens the following quarter. The vendor will report those quarterly earnings on April 25.

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What's the difference between Microsoft 365 plans for home or business

Microsoft 365 is a subscription service that makes sure you always have the most up-to-date modern productivity tools. If you're looking to buy Microsoft 365, but not sure which plan is right for you, use the information below to help guide your decision.

Watch: Business plans versus personal and family plans

Business plans versus personal and family plans

Microsoft 365 business subscriptions

Microsoft 365 business subscriptions  can help you grow your business, no matter if you're a team of one or more. 

Microsoft 365 Family and Personal

Personal and family subscriptions are ideal for personal use like home, personal, or family projects and school related activities.

The right plan for you will depend on what your needs are. Let's explore the options.

If you're leaning towards a business plan, deciding which one can depend on your specific business needs. The Microsoft 365 plan chooser is designed to help you with this. The chooser will make recommendations based on your answers to questions such as the size of your business, your field of work, the devices you use, and what kind of features, IT support, and security you're looking for. See Find the right plan for your business .

Looking for more product details and prices? Check out the comparison tables:  Compare Microsoft 365 for business plans

Buy or try Microsoft 365:

For business      For personal and family

Do you need both a business plan and a personal plan?

In some cases, a single Microsoft 365 plan will suit all your needs, but there might be instances when having both plans is the correct decision for you.

For example, you may want to keep your personal files, photos, and other documents separate from your business, having two plans will allow you to do this.

Additionally, if you already have Microsoft 365 Family that you're sharing with friends and family who aren't part of your business, keeping that personal subscription might be the best thing for everyone. This means you don't have to move anyone off that plan, and you don't have to worry about any personal files you already have associated with that subscription and your personal account. 

Switch from a personal Microsoft 365 subscription to Microsoft 365 for business

Have you already been using Microsoft 365 Family or Personal for your business and now you're ready to switch your business to Microsoft 365 for business? It's possible to transfer your business documents and files to your new business plan. Learn more about your options to help you with this process.

Follow the steps in  Switch from Microsoft 365 for home to a business subscription .

Work with a Microsoft 365 business partner in your area: Find the right partner for you .

Our product experts are available to help you with this free of charge:  Contact product experts online. Note: Help from Microsoft business consultants isn't available in all markets.

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• News and product updates

New pricing for Microsoft Dynamics 365 effective October 2024

• By Bryan Goode, Corporate Vice President, Business Applications and Platform
• Content type

Today, we’re announcing the first pricing update for Microsoft Dynamics 365 in more than five years. Since our last pricing update, Dynamics 365 has transformed customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) processes with connected applications across lines of business—from marketing, sales, customer and field service, to finance, operations, and supply chain—and each year, we release hundreds of new features and enhancements designed to help people work smarter, reclaim time, and collaborate seamlessly. You can read the official Dynamics 365 blog post here .

Below is the list of products for which prices are being updated with effect from October 1, 2024 1 :

Prices for Dynamics 365 on-premises customer engagement and operations products will increase by the same percentage as the respective cloud versions. Pricing for cloud products not listed above, such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, will remain unchanged.

These increases will apply globally to new and existing customers (upon renewal as of October 1, 2024), and the products will be priced comparably in other currencies. To comply with local regulations, US government list prices for the same products will increase by 10% effective October 1, 2024, followed by another smaller increase effective October 1, 2025, to bring parity with commercial pricing outlined above. Be sure to explore the release plans for Dynamics 365 to see the many capabilities recently released, and the Dynamics 365 release planner to check out those that are planned for release in upcoming months.

1 All prices are per user per month (or per device per month where noted).  2 Prices shown are for informational purposes only and may not be reflective of actual list price due to currency, country, region, and variant factors. Contact a Microsoft sales representative for additional information on pricing.  3 Pricing per user per month will increase by $15 in all tiers in Microsoft Relationship Sales. Only 10-99 user tier shown for simplicity. 

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Microsoft unveils AI features for manufacturers at Hannover Messe 2024  

Introducing new Microsoft Copilot capabilities to optimize Dynamics 365 Field Service operations    

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Google workspace for business pricing: which plan should i choose.

In recent years, Google Workspace – the productivity and collaboration suite by Google – has seen a rapid increase in adoption. According to MarketSplash, over 6 million businesses across 190 countries use Google Workspace*  – and that numbers are steadily increasing.

This widespread popularity of this suite showcases its effectiveness to offer tools –  Gmail, Docs, Drive, and more – that can enhance productivity and facilitate seamless collaboration. 

But, the best part about Google Workspace – and why it’s become so popular – is that it offers great value for money through flexible pricing plans. There is always something for your budget.

In this article, we’ll take a look at how the Google Workspace pricing works, and how you can decide which plan is best suited for you and your team.

Table of Contents

Which google workspace for business plan is right for me.

GW for Business offers four plans: Business Starter , Business Standard, Business Plus, and Enterprise . 

Here is the comparison of the pricing plans in 2024:

The Business Starter , as the name suggests, is the most basic plan. You get access to tools like Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and Slides. You also get access to Google’s AI-powered assistant, Gemini . 

This plan costs $6/user/month and comes with 30GB of Google Drive storage. The major limitation here is limited storage. Most companies hit that limit easily, and that’s where the Business Standard plan comes in.

The Business Standard Plan costs twice as much — $12/user/month. And, it comes with a total of 2TB storage. According to Google, this is their most popular package.

If you are looking for more storage space, then the Business Plus Plan is something you can consider. It is priced at $18/user/month and has 5TB of storage. You also get enhanced security and management controls as part of this plan.And then comes the Enterprise Plan. It offers unlimited storage and advanced controls. You need to contact their sales team to find out the exact price.

The Similarities

Here’s a list of features that are common to all the GW for Business plans:

The Differences

The similarities make you think if it’s worth paying more for the premium editions. We’ll clear up this confusion by

The similarities make you think if it’s worth paying more for the premium editions. We’ll clear up this confusion by analyzing the differences between the four GW for Business editions.

Here’s a comparison table of all the Google Workspace Editions and their capabilities:

Pricing structure

The 2024 pricing structure is fairly simple and attractive:

The billing cycle for all the packages is on a yearly basis. And you won’t get any refunds for cancellations during the billing cycle.

There are also a few special editions of Google Workspace available:

1. Google Workspace for Education

Google Workspace for Education is a set of Google tools and services that are tailored for schools and homeschools to collaborate, streamline workload, and ensure that learning happens in a secure manner.

Google Workspace for Education offers several pricing packages to accommodate the needs of different educational institutions. Each of these plans is designed to enhance collaborative learning, security, and administrative control. 

Here’s a pricing overview of the packages available in 2024:

You can find the eligibility criteria for qualifying institutions here .

2. Google Workspace for Non-profits

Google Workspace for Nonprofits offers eligible organizations access to collaborative and secure business apps like Gmail, Docs, Calendar, Drive, and Google Meet. This suite is designed to help nonprofits collaborate more effectively, allowing them to focus on what matters most. 

Google Workspace offers a variety of pricing packages specifically tailored for nonprofit organizations. This ensures that these entities have access to powerful tools for communication, collaboration, and productivity at significantly lower costs or even for free. 

Here’s a pricing overview of the available packages in 2024:

You can find the eligibility criteria of the qualifying organizations here .

Storage space

Most of you must be accustomed to seeing a progress bar at the end of your Gmail inbox indicating the space remaining out of a maximum of 15 GB. This is when you are a free Gmail user.

It increases when you switch to a paid Google Workspace for the Business plan. The Business Starter users get 30 GB of secure cloud-based storage per user. Business Standard users get 2TB of cloud storage, and Business Plus users get 5TB of storage. The Enterprise edition users get unlimited storage.

The storage limit you need to keep an eye on – if you use Google Workspace for Business – is Shared Drive (formerly known as Team Drive).. It is a separate storage space for teams. Unlike your regular Google Drive, the files saved on Shared Drive belong to the team and not the individuals. You don’t have to worry about data loss when someone leaves your organization.

Shared Drive feature is available for Business Standard, Business Plus and Enterprise users. 

Google Vault

Vault is is an archiving and eDiscovery tool for Google Workspace. Use it to easily retain, access, track, and manage your domain’s corporate data saved on Google products – from Gmail to on-record chats.

With Google Vault, you can:

Without Vault, if a GW admin deletes an employee’s account, their data will be lost forever.

This tool is available only to Business Plus and Enterprise edition users. Business Starter and Business Standard are not protected by Vault. They will have to get the license separately. This costs an extra $5/user/month.

Data loss prevention (DLP)

Lately, we’ve all seen how dangerous information leaks are for businesses. With DLP for Google Drive, GW admins can prevent leaks to a great extent.

They can set up rules to scan files for sensitive content and assign what actions to be taken if someone tries to share those files with external parties.

For instance, an admin can set up a rule to detect files containing credit card numbers and stop the external sharing of such files.

This feature is only available for Enterprise edition users.

Analyze Gmail logs in BigQuery

BigQuery is a web service that processes large read-only datasets. Now, GW Enterprise edition users can analyze their organization’s Gmail logs using BigQuery.

Admins can run Gmail log queries to gain insights into employee behavior and activity. Queries could be based on parameters such as subject line, recipient name, marked as spam, emails that triggered a particular rule, and more.

Like most other Google products, BigQuery too has a library of third-party integrations. These integrations can be used to gain more insights from the data you have.

This premium Google Workspace feature is available only to Enterprise users.

Security Center

Employees extensively use online suites like Google Workspace for storing sensitive information, internal communication and collaboration. Due to this,a significant amount of data handled through Google apps, making it a prime target for hacking, phishing, malware attacks, and other security threats.

As a GW admin, it is up to you to keep a track of all the potential security threats. You can monitor this easily with Google’s new Security Center for GW.

Two major parts of this Security Center are:

Security dashboard: A central hub from where you can track all the metrics spread across different Google products.

You can get an overview of external file sharing and spam/malware targeting your organization. Along with that, you can view metrics that demonstrate your security effectiveness, flag suspicious activity, and more.

Security Health: Here, you can get a review of the current security settings and also, customized advice/recommendations for potential improvements – on data storage, sharing policies, and so on.

The Security Center is only available to Google Workspace Enterprise edition users.

Google Meet

Google Meet is Google’s designated video conferencing solution for businesses. It is lightweight, fast, and supports multi-person video calls.

Google Meet comes with all four GW for Business editions, with varying capabilities —

When should I buy the Google Workspace Basic Business Starter Plan?

The GW Business starter plan will suit the following types of users:

Recommended read:   Office 365 vs. Google Workspace – Which Suite Should Your Small Business Invest In?

When should I buy the Google Workspace Business Standard Plan?

The GW Business Standard Plan will suit the following types of users:

When Should I Buy the Google Workspace Business Plus Plan?

The Google Workspace Business Plus Plan is designed for organizations that need even more robust capabilities.

This plan is particularly well-suited for:

Recommended read: The Complete Guide to Set Up Google Workspace for Your Organization

When should I buy the Google Workspace Enterprise plan?

The GW Enterprise plan will suit the following types of users:

It is possible to use different plans for different teams within your company. This would help you reduce your monthly costs.

Can I use Google Workspace for free?

Google Workspace has a lot of freebies in stock for its users, and even prospective users. The benefits you can enjoy without payment are:

14-day free use

This offer is designed to help potential users decide whether it’s the right choice for them. The 14-day trial period hands you two weeks of free use. 

Discount and promo codes

Yes, it is possible to get a discount on GW for Business packages, and these discounts abound everywhere. There are several GW promo codes and deals online. Web hosts sometimes sell off with discounts too. 

You can always check the web host to see if they are offering discounts before signing up for the GW package directly on Google’s website. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to use promo codes for your purchase.

Personal Google account

In this approach, you can use a Google Workspace package for free but only through the use of a personal Google Account.

The downside to the package is that the user will not get a customized email address such as [email protected] . The user’s address will have a suffix of ‘@gmail.com’.

Another downside is that the user will not have administrative control over the organization’s email use.

How do I pay for Google Workspace for Business?

Users have the choice to pay monthly or annually. These payment plans are called the Flexible and the Annual plan.

The Flexible Plan

This plan allows you to be billed monthly for each user account. In this plan, you have the advantage of adding and removing accounts at any time and only pay for the accounts you use during that month.

The flexible plan allows temporary employees in a company to operate with GW and only pay for the service while it is being used.

Basically, what this plan sells is — ease of customization and an exact cost. It is suitable for small-sized organizations where the size of the workforce changes frequently. 

The Annual Plan

The Annual Plan is the alternative GW for Business payment plan. It is a commitment towards the purchase of a Google Workspace package for a full year.

If during the year, you have a need to add more users, all you need to do is purchase more licenses and then your annual rate goes up.

But, you can not reduce your licenses or monthly payments during the year. That can only be changed when you are renewing your plan at the end of the year. It is advisable for use only for organizations that have a constant or growing workforce.

Switch between Plans

It is always possible to switch between payment plans.

A switch from an Annual Plan to a Flexible Plan can be done during your free trial or at the time of subscription renewal.

A switch from a Flexible Plan to an Annual Plan can be done anytime without restrictions. 

Google Workspace pricing Vs. Microsoft 365 pricing

Google Workspace’s competitive pricing sets it apart from Microsoft 365.

Even after recent pricing updates, Google Workspace’s Business Standard and Business Plus plans are more affordable than equivalent pricing plans of Microsoft 365.

Apart from the differences in pricing, here are some of the other comparison pointers between both the suites:

Recommended read: A Quick-Guide to help you choose between Google Docs and Microsoft Office

Google Workspace for Business presents a viable option for online business tools, offering a pricing scheme that accommodates various business sizes and needs.

But then, I should warn you to take heed whenever it looks like your bill is running out of proportion. Take time to do an audit on your GW account every once in a while.

Ensure to thoroughly review instances where access may have been inappropriately provided to contractors, or to developers for projects that are no longer active.

Check if there are situations where admin officers or operations users can be consolidated into fewer accounts. This can help your bill get lessened.

* – https://marketsplash.com/google-workspace-statistics/

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