Choosing the right Office 365 (now part of Microsoft 365) subscription can feel confusing — especially with multiple plans tailored for personal, business, and enterprise needs. Whether you’re buying for yourself, your home, a small business, or a larger organisation, this guide will help you understand the key options, costs, and features so you can make an informed decision.
What Is Office 365 (Now Microsoft 365)?
First, it’s important to know that Office 365 has mostly been rebranded as Microsoft 365 by Microsoft in recent years. Both refer to subscription services that give you access to Microsoft’s productivity apps (like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), cloud storage, and collaboration tools like Teams and OneDrive. Plans vary based on what’s included — from basic apps to advanced AI features and business services.
How Microsoft 365 Plans Are Categorised
Microsoft 365 plans generally fall into three main categories:
- Individual & Home Plans – For one person or a family.
- Business Plans – For small to medium organisations.
- Enterprise & Education Plans – For large organisations or schools with more advanced needs.
1. Individual & Home Plans — Best for Personal Use
These plans are ideal if your needs are personal productivity, creativity, and cloud storage.
Microsoft 365 Personal
- 📌 Best for: One individual
- 💰 Price: About ₹689/month or ₹6,899/year (India prices)
- 🖥️ Features:
- Full desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote
- Microsoft Teams chat & calling
- 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage
- Microsoft Defender (security)
- AI features through Microsoft Copilot (where supported)
- 📱 Devices: Use on multiple devices including PCs, Macs, tablets, and phones
- 🧩 Ideal if you want Office on all your devices with cloud storage and modern features for personal productivity.
Microsoft 365 Family
- 💡 Shared plan for up to 6 people at a slightly higher annual cost
- Each person gets their own 1 TB OneDrive space and access to Office apps
- Great value for families or shared usage
2. Business Plans — For Small to Medium Organisations
Business plans are designed not just for apps, but also for professional email, collaboration tools, and admin controls. These are typically paid per user per month and managed through an admin portal.
Microsoft 365 Business Basic
- 💰 Starts around ₹145/user/month (yearly)
- 🌐 Includes web & mobile versions of Office apps
- 📧 Professional business email with custom domain
- 💾 1 TB OneDrive cloud storage per user
- 📞 Teams video, chat, and collaboration
- ❌ Desktop Office apps not included
- 📍 Best if you want essential tools + business email on a tight budget.
Microsoft 365 Business Standard
- 💰 Around ₹770/user/month (yearly)
- 💻 Adds full desktop Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)
- 🧠 Includes webinar tools, advanced collaboration features like Loop
- 📍 Ideal for businesses that need both cloud services and full desktop software.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
- 💰 Around ₹1,830/user/month (yearly)
- 🛡️ Includes all Standard features plus advanced security, device management, and threat protection
- 📍 Best choice for organisations where security and management are priorities.
3. Enterprise & Educational Plans — For Larger Organisations
These plans are more powerful and scalable for large teams and organisations with complex needs. Examples include E1, E3, and E5 plans — which provide increasing levels of productivity apps, security, analytics, and compliance tools.
- E1 — Basic web versions with Teams and cloud services
- E3 — Adds desktop apps and more advanced security/features
- E5 — Best-in-class analytics, compliance, and security tools
Pricing varies greatly and is typically higher than business plans due to capabilities such as advanced threat protection and big data analytics.
Key Differences Between Personal, Business & Enterprise Plans
| Category | Best For | Includes Desktop Apps | Business Email | Admin Tools | Security Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal | Single user productivity | ✔ | ✖ | ✖ | Basic |
| Business | Small teams | ✔ (Standard & Premium) | ✔ | ✔ | Moderate to high |
| Enterprise | Large organisations | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Advanced |
- Personal & Family plans are mainly about productivity and cloud storage for individuals and families.
- Business plans add professional tools like custom email and centralised user management.
- Enterprise plans scale up with high-level security, compliance, and analytics.
Tips Before You Buy
✔ Assess your needs first: Need only basic apps? Then a Personal or Business Basic plan might suffice.
✔ Check if your organisation already provides Office: Many schools and workplaces offer Office 365 plans free or discounted through licensing.
✔ Consider yearly subscriptions: They often cost less than monthly plans.
✔ AI features: Some newer features (like Copilot) might require add-ons or specific plans.