Microsoft 365 Business Premium vs E3 Office 365 Enterprise Comparison
Microsoft 365 Business Premium Vs E3 Office 365 Enterprise? Which one best serves your business needs? In this article you’ll learn the similarities and differences between Office 365 Enterprise E3 and Microsoft 365 Business Premium, so you can make an informed choice.
A Microsoft 365 Business Premium subscription offers an integrated solution that brings together the productivity apps of Microsoft 365 (Office 365) with threat protection, Identity management, device & app management and Information protection, ideal for small and medium-sized business (SMB) with up to 300 users per tenant.
Many of the advanced security features that are included with Microsoft 365 Business Premium subscription, are available as Add-ons with an Office 365 Enterprise E3 subscription, meaning you have to pay extra. Office 365 Enterprise E3 subscription comes with the same Productivity Apps of Microsoft 365 and has no ceiling as to how many user licenses you can purchase for a tenant, while Microsoft 365 Business Premium has a 300 max user limit.
Other notable differences are storage space: With Microsoft 365 Business Premium you get a 50GB Email & Calendar Mailbox and 1TB file storage in OneDrive for Business while Microsoft 365 E3 gives you 100GB Email & Calendar Mailbox and unlimited file storage space in OneDrive for Business.
You’ll also learn which of the two subscriptions (Microsoft 365 Business Premium vs E3 Office 365 Enterprise) provides a pathway to a Windows 10 license for each licensed user.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium Cost and Office 365 E3 Cost are also covered in this article.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium Vs E3 – Licensing
Microsoft 365 Business Premium licenses are limited from 1 to 300 users per Tenant. So, if you’re a business with up to 300 users you can purchase Microsoft 365 Business Premium subscription licenses for them.
Office 365 E3 Enterprise licenses are unlimited. So, if you have 300+ users, you can purchase as many subscriptions as your business needs.
If you work with a Microsoft partner who understands Microsoft 365 licensing, you can find out if you can have mix of Microsoft 365 Business Premium licenses and Office 365 E3 licenses in situations where you have users numbering just over the threshold of 300 users.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium Windows 10 License
Each user subscribed to Microsoft 365 Business Premium has upgrade rights to Windows 10 Pro for licensed versions of Windows 7 Pro or Windows 8.1 Pro. Some people look at this as a Microsoft 365 Business Premium Windows 10 free license. So yes, if you have a genuine copy of either Windows 7 Pro or Windows 8.1 Pro you are entitled to upgrade your PC to Windows 10 free.
As shown in the comparison table below, E3 Office 365 Subscription doesn’t have this upgrade right to Windows 10.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium Vs E3 Office 365 Subscription – Comparison Table
| Service area | Feature | Office 365 E3 | Microsoft 365 Business Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Licenses available | Maximum number of users | Unlimited | 300 |
| Office apps | Install Office on up to 5 PCs/Macs + 5 tablets + 5 smartphones per user (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Access), Office Online | ProPlus | Business |
| Email & calendar | Outlook, Exchange Online | 100 GB | 50 GB |
| Hub for teamwork | Chat-based workspace, online meetings, and more in Microsoft Teams | Yes | Yes |
| File storage | OneDrive for Business | Unlimited | 1 TB per user |
| Social, video, sites | Stream, Yammer, Planner, SharePoint Online1, PowerApps1, Power Automate1 | Yes | Yes |
| Business apps | Scheduling apps – Bookings2 | Yes | Yes |
| Business apps – MileIQ2 | No | Yes | |
| Threat protection | Microsoft Defender for Office 365 | No | Yes |
| Windows Exploit Guard enforcement | No | Yes | |
| Identity management | Self-service password reset for hybrid Azure Active Directory accounts | No | Yes |
| Azure Multi-Factor Authentication, conditional access policies | No | Yes | |
| Device & app management | Microsoft Intune, Windows AutoPilot, Windows Pro management | No | Yes |
| Shared computer activation | Yes | Yes | |
| Upgrade rights to Windows 10 Pro for Win 7/8.1 Pro | No | Yes | |
| Windows Virtual Desktop | No | Yes | |
| Information protection | Microsoft data loss prevention | Yes | Yes |
| Azure Information Protection Plan 1, BitLocker enforcement | No | Yes | |
| On-premises CAL rights | ECAL Suite (Exchange, SharePoint, Skype) | Yes | No |
| Compliance | Unlimited email archiving3 | Yes | Yes |
| FOR LATEST FEATURES AND PRICING AT MICROSOFT: click links -> | Microsoft 365 Enterprise E3 – Buy Now | Microsoft 365 Business Premium |
Notes
1 Indicates Microsoft 365 Business Standard has Plan 1 of the functionality and Office 365 E3 has Plan 2.
2 Available in US, UK, Canada.
3 Unlimited archiving when auto-expansion is turned on.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium Features not in Office 365 E3
Microsoft 365 Business Premium features that are not included in Office 365 E3 subscription include:
- Threat protection provided by Microsoft Defender for Office 365 and Windows Exploit Guard enforcement.
- Identity management
- Self-service password reset for hybrid Azure Active Directory accounts.
- Azure Multi-Factor Authentication, conditional access policies.
- Device & app management
- Microsoft Intune, Windows AutoPilot, Windows Pro management.
- Windows Virtual Desktop.
- Information protection
- Azure Information Protection Plan 1, BitLocker enforcement
To have these same features listed above, (that come as standard with Microsoft 365 Business Premium) with E3 Office 365 Enterprise, you would need to buy these features as extra, available as add-ons.
Office 365 Business Premium Vs Microsoft 365 Business Premium
On April 21, 2020 Microsoft changed the following product names.
| Formerly Known as: | Now Known as: (As of 21st April 2020) | |
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic | ||
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard | ||
| Microsoft 365 Business Premium | ||
| Microsoft 365 Apps for business |
So, Office 365 Business Premium Vs Microsoft 365 Business Premium is essentially: Microsoft 365 Business Standard Vs Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Microsoft 365 Business Premium against E3 Office 365 cost
Microsoft 365 Business Premium Trial
Office 365 E3 Cost | Microsoft 365 Business Premium Cost |
£17.60 user/month (Annual commitment) Price does not include VAT. | £15.10 user/month (Annual commitment) Price does not include VAT. |
Microsoft 365 Business Standard Vs Microsoft 365 Business Premium Vs E3 Office 365 – Features Comparison Table.
| Service area | Feature | Microsoft 365 Business Standard | Microsoft 365 Business Premium | Office 365 E3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Licenses available | Maximum number of users | 300 | 300 | Unlimited |
| Office apps | Install Office on up to 5 PCs/Macs + 5 tablets + 5 smartphones per user (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Access), Office Online | Business | Business | ProPlus |
| Email & calendar | Outlook, Exchange Online | 50 GB | 50 GB | 100 GB |
| Hub for teamwork | Chat-based workspace, online meetings, and more in Microsoft Teams | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| File storage | OneDrive for Business | 1 TB per user | 1 TB per user | Unlimited |
| Social, video, sites | Stream, Yammer, Planner, SharePoint Online1, PowerApps1, Power Automate1 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Business apps | Scheduling apps – Bookings2 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Business apps – MileIQ2 | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Threat protection | Microsoft Defender for Office 365 | No | Yes | No |
| Windows Exploit Guard enforcement | No | Yes | No | |
| Identity management | Self-service password reset for hybrid Azure Active Directory accounts | No | Yes | No |
| Azure Multi-Factor Authentication, conditional access policies | No | Yes | No | |
| Device & app management | Microsoft Intune, Windows AutoPilot, Windows Pro Management | No | Yes | No |
| Shared computer activation | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Upgrade rights to Windows 10 Pro for Win 7/8.1 Pro licenses | No | Yes | No | |
| Windows Virtual Desktop | No | Yes | No | |
| Information protection | Microsoft data loss prevention | No | Yes | Yes |
| Azure Information Protection Plan 1, BitLocker enforcement | No | Yes | No | |
| On-premises CAL rights | ECAL Suite (Exchange, SharePoint, Skype) | No | No | Yes |
| Compliance | Unlimited email archiving3 | No | Yes | Yes |
| FOR LATEST FEATURES AND PRICING AT MICROSOFT: click links -> | Microsoft 365 Business Standard Plans | Microsoft 365 Business Premium | Microsoft 365 Enterprise E3 – Buy Now |
Notes
1 Indicates Microsoft 365 Business Standard has Plan 1 of the functionality and Office 365 E3 has Plan 2.
2 Available in US, UK, Canada.
3 Unlimited archiving when auto-expansion is turned on.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium vs Standard vs E3 vs E5
| Service area | Feature | Microsoft 365 Business Standard | Microsoft 365 Business Premium | Microsoft 365 E3 | Microsoft 365 E5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Licenses available | Maximum number of users | 300 | 300 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Office apps | Install Office on up to 5 PCs/Macs + 5 tablets + 5 smartphones per user (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Access), Office Online | Business | Business | ProPlus | ProPlus |
| Email & calendar | Outlook, Exchange Online | 50 GB | 50 GB | unlimited | unlimited |
| Hub for teamwork | Chat-based workspace, online meetings, and more in Microsoft Teams | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| File storage | OneDrive for Business | 1 TB per user | 1 TB per user | unlimited | unlimited |
| Social, video, sites | Yammer, SharePoint Online, Planner | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Stream | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Business apps | Scheduling apps – Bookings1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Business apps – MileIQ1 | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| Threat protection | Microsoft Advanced Threat Analytics, Device Guard, Credential Guard, AppLocker, Enterprise Data Protection | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Microsoft Defender for Office 365 | No | Yes | No | Yes | |
| Microsoft Defender for Endpoint | No | No | No | Yes | |
| Office 365 Threat Intelligence | No | No | No | Yes | |
| Identity management | Self-service password reset for hybrid Azure Active Directory accounts, Azure MFA, Conditional Access | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Azure AD: Cloud App Discovery, Azure AD Connect Health, SSO for more than 10 apps | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Azure Active Directory Plan 2 | No | No | No | Yes | |
| Device & app management | Microsoft Intune, Windows AutoPilot | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Shared computer activation, Windows Virtual Desktop | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, VDA | No | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Information protection | Microsoft data loss prevention, Azure Information Protection Plan 1 | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Azure Information Protection Plan 2, Microsoft Cloud App Security, Office 365 Cloud App Security | No | No | No | Yes | |
| On-premises CAL rights | ECAL Suite (Exchange, SharePoint, Skype, Windows, Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, Windows Rights Management) | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Compliance | Unlimited email archiving2 | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced eDiscovery, Customer Lockbox, Advanced Data Governance | No | No | No | Yes | |
| Analytics | Power BI Pro, MyAnalytics | No | No | No | Yes |
| Insights by MyAnalytics | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Assistance | Briefing email | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Voice | PSTN conferencing, Cloud PBX | No | No | No | Yes |
– Data Source: Microsoft
Notes
1 Available in US, UK, Canada.
2 Unlimited archiving when auto-expansion is turned on.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium Trial
Office client commercial plans
| Applications | Microsoft 365 Apps for business | Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise |
|---|---|---|
| Word | Yes | Yes |
| Excel | Yes | Yes |
| PowerPoint | Yes | Yes |
| OneNote | Yes | Yes |
| Outlook | Yes | Yes |
| Publisher | Yes | Yes |
| Access | Yes | Yes |
| Microsoft Teams | Yes | Yes |
| Premium value | Microsoft 365 Apps for business | Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise |
| Volume activation | No | No |
| Group policy1 | No | Yes |
| Shared computer activation | Yes7 | Yes |
| App telemetry | No | Yes |
| Update controls2 | No | Yes |
| Apply personal retention policies3 | Yes | Yes5 |
| Access site mailboxes3 | Yes | Yes5 |
| Access in-place archive folder3,4 | Yes | Yes5 |
| Spreadsheet compare & inquire | No | Yes5 |
| Business intelligence | No | Yes5 |
| Create IRM3 | Yes7 | Yes |
| Data loss prevention3 | Yes7 | Yes5 |
| Cloud value | Microsoft 365 Apps for business | Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise |
| Groups | Yes | Yes |
| Office Deployment Tool | Yes | Yes |
| Roaming documents & settings | Yes | Yes |
| 1 TB OneDrive for Business | Yes | Yes |
| Licensing | Microsoft 365 Apps for business | Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise |
| Licensing model | Per user | Per user |
| License type | Subscription | Subscription |
| PC/Mac installs6 | 5 | 5 |
| iOS/Android smartphone installs6 | 5 | 5 |
| Tablet installs6 | 5 | 5 |
| Office RT commercial rights | Yes | Yes |
| Office Online/web apps | Yes | Yes |
| Commercial use rights | Yes | Yes |
Notes
Microsoft 365 Business Premium includes the Microsoft 365 Apps for business client, which has some differences from Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise.
1 Allows the organization to push certain configuration settings (security settings, app settings, Active Directory roaming, and so on) for Office to machines logging on to the corporate network.
2 With Office Standard 2016 and Office Professional Plus 2016, IT has full control of updates using the MSI model. With Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise and Microsoft 365 Apps for business, installation and updates are managed via Click-to-Run.
3 The suites provide different levels of integration with business productivity servers.
4 Archive email from Outlook—no .pst files needed—and set retention policies that automatically archive or delete email. IT admins can centrally manage the In-Place Archive.
5 Requires additional online service(s).
6 Permits local installation via click-to-run of the licensed Microsoft 365 apps included with the service. Does not include rights to install Office 2016 on-premises versions. Office supports PCs and Windows tablets running Windows 7 or higher, and Macs running MAC OS X 10.6 or higher. Office for iPad can be installed on iPads running version 7 or higher.
7 This premium feature is included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium, but not in other Microsoft 365 Apps for business offerings.
Related posts:
- Microsoft 365 Business Basic vs Standard: Choosing the Right Microsoft 365 Plan
- M365 Business Premium: Are You Getting Your Money’s Worth?
- Office 365 Enterprise E3: Your Ultimate Guide to Microsoft’s E3 License
- Microsoft 365 Business UK (Basic, Standard, Premium and Microsoft 365 Apps)
- Is Microsoft Teams Free for Business Use?
- Microsoft 365 E3 vs Office 365 E3
- Microsoft 365 Business
