Microsoft 365 F1 vs F3 vs Business Basic: Licensing Frontline and Kiosk Workers
Frontline licensing goes wrong in two directions. Office staff end up on F plans they are not eligible to hold, and floor or warehouse staff end up on Business Basic seats paying for a mailbox nobody opens. The plans are narrower than their names suggest, and the rule that tripped our own F1 plan card trips most buyers: F1 has Teams but no mailbox. This guide leads with the October 2026 prices and then works through what each plan does for a person who works a shift on a shared tablet.
Frontline pricing on one table
Prices are per user per month on an annual term, Commercial segment (Microsoft list price, October 2026 price list). The list carries annual figures: Microsoft 365 F3 is $120.00 per user per year, and $120.00 ÷ 12 = $10.00 per user per month. Every figure below is the same division.
| Microsoft 365 F1 | Microsoft 365 F3 | Office 365 F3 | Exchange Online Kiosk | Microsoft 365 Business Basic | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price, annual term | $3.00 ($2.50 no Teams) | $10.00 ($8.93 no Teams) | $4.00 ($3.50 no Teams) | $2.00 | $7.00 ($5.40 no Teams) |
| Who may hold it | Frontline-eligible users | Frontline-eligible users | Frontline-eligible users | Anyone | Anyone; 300-seat cap across the Business family |
| Mailbox | None | Exchange Online Kiosk, 2 GB | Exchange Online Kiosk, 2 GB | 2 GB | Exchange Online (Plan 1), 50 GB |
| Office apps | None; view files in Teams and SharePoint | Web and mobile | Web and mobile | None | Web and mobile |
| Teams, Shifts, Planner, SharePoint, OneDrive | Yes (Teams on the Teams SKU) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes (Teams on the Teams SKU) |
| Power Apps and Power Automate | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Intune Plan 1 and Entra ID P1 | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Windows Enterprise rights | No | Windows Enterprise E3 (local only) | No | No | No |
The contents rows come from Microsoft's service plan reference (Microsoft Learn, Product names and service plan identifiers for licensing, August 2026); the mailbox sizes are the ones Microsoft publishes for the Exchange Online Kiosk and Plan 1 mailboxes.
The F1 rule: Teams and Shifts, but no mailbox and no desktop apps
Microsoft's frontline documentation splits a workforce into information workers, who have a desktop or laptop and work mostly on documents, and frontline workers, who work on tablets or phones directly with customers or in manufacturing and distribution (Microsoft Learn, Understand frontline worker user types and licensing, October 2025). F1 and F3 are the licenses for the second group.
F1 is the narrower of the two. The Microsoft 365 F1 row of the service plan reference (August 2026) carries Microsoft Teams, Planner, SharePoint Online Kiosk, Stream, Viva Engage, Microsoft Intune, Entra ID P1, Azure Information Protection P1 and multifactor authentication. It carries no Office for the Web or Office Mobile Apps service plan, and it does not entitle the user to a mailbox: Microsoft's frontline setup guide states that users must have an F3 license to get access to email, and that some services, such as email and the Power Platform, are only included with F3 (Microsoft Learn, Set up Microsoft 365 for frontline workers, December 2024).
So an F1 user can chat, see their shifts, use Walkie Talkie, complete a Planner checklist and open a policy document in SharePoint, but has no mailbox, no Outlook calendar of their own, no Office editing and no flows. That is the rule our own F1 plan card got wrong for a while, and the one to check before putting a store manager on F1. Our Microsoft 365 F1 page lists the Teams SKU at $3.00, the no-Teams SKU at $2.50.
What F3 adds: a 2 GB Kiosk mailbox, web and mobile Office, Power Apps and Windows Enterprise E3
The Microsoft 365 F3 row of the service plan reference (August 2026) adds Exchange Online Kiosk, Office for the Web, Office Mobile Apps, Power Apps and Power Automate for Office 365 F3, Windows 10 Enterprise E3 (Local Only), Windows Autopatch and Universal Print, on top of the Teams, Intune Plan 1 and Entra ID P1 that F1 already has.
Three figures from Microsoft's documentation shape the fit. The mailbox is the Exchange Online Kiosk mailbox at 2 GB, reached through Outlook on the web and the mobile app, with no archive and no desktop Outlook license. OneDrive storage on the F plans is 2 GB per user, not the 1 TB of the Business and Enterprise plans. And the Office apps are the web and mobile versions only: someone who needs installed Excel on a PC is an information worker in Microsoft's model and belongs on Business Standard, E3 or above.
The Windows right is the one that surprises people. The service plan is named Windows 10/11 Enterprise E3 (Local Only): it upgrades the Windows Pro device the F3 user signs in to, without the virtualization rights of the full Windows Enterprise E3 subscription, so confirm the scope against Microsoft's Windows licensing terms before you plan a fleet around it. F3 does not carry Teams Phone; the price list carries Teams Phone Standard in a frontline variant at $5.00. Our Microsoft 365 F3 page lists the Teams SKU at $10.00 and the no-Teams SKU at $8.93.
Business Basic: no eligibility test, a Plan 1 mailbox and the 300-seat cap
Business Basic is not a frontline plan, which is why it keeps ending up on frontline staff. Its row carries Exchange Online (Plan 1), Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, Office for the Web and Office Mobile Apps, Forms, Planner, Bookings, and Power Apps and Power Automate for Office 365 (Microsoft Learn, August 2026). It does not carry Microsoft Intune or Entra ID P1, and it includes no desktop Office. The mailbox is the 50 GB Plan 1 mailbox, and Microsoft's 2026 packaging update lists "+50GB email" for the Business plans from the 1 July 2026 change (Microsoft, Microsoft 365 pricing and packaging updates, February 2026).
Two properties decide the fit. There is no frontline eligibility rule, so if you cannot show that a group meets Microsoft's definition, Business Basic at $7.00 needs no argument. And Microsoft's documentation caps the Business family at 300 seats in total across Business Basic, Standard and Premium. We covered the cap in Microsoft 365 Business: the 300-license limit.
The trade-off is device management. If shift staff use pooled devices and you need compliance policies and Conditional Access, Business Basic needs Intune Plan 1 at $8.00 and Entra ID P1 at $7.00 added, which makes $22.00 against $10.00 for F3. For an eligible frontline group F3 costs less and carries the better toolset; for a desk-based group Business Basic, or Business Premium with Intune included, is the only compliant choice.
Kiosk plus F1, or Office 365 F3: the patterns between F1 and F3
Two combinations sit between the $3.00 and $10.00 plans, and both are legitimate for eligible frontline users.
F1 plus Exchange Online Kiosk. An F1 user who needs email and nothing else from F3 adds a standalone Exchange Online Kiosk mailbox at $2.00, for $5.00 in total. It is the same 2 GB Kiosk mailbox F3 carries, so the user gets Outlook on the web and the mobile app, a calendar, and the shift notifications Shifts sends by email, while keeping Intune and Entra ID P1 from F1. It is the right pattern for staff who read a rota and an HR notice but will never open a spreadsheet, and the wrong one when the person must edit Office files, run a flow or sign in to a Windows device that must be Enterprise.
Office 365 F3. At $4.00 the Office 365 F3 plan is the F3 toolset without the management layer: the Kiosk mailbox, Teams, SharePoint, the web and mobile Office apps and Power Apps for Office 365 F3, but no Intune, no Entra ID P1 and no Windows Enterprise right. It fits a frontline group whose devices are managed another way; move to Microsoft 365 F3 the day you need compliance policies on them. The Exchange Online Plan 1 vs Plan 2 vs Kiosk article covers the mailbox side of these pairings.
Who may hold an F license, and how shared devices are licensed
F plans are not cheaper seats for anyone. Microsoft restricts them to users who meet its frontline-worker definition in the Product Terms, and our Plan Optimizer carries that restriction as a review note on both plans. A practical test that matches Microsoft's examples: the working day happens on a device pulled from a charging cradle, the person needs Teams chat, Shifts and tasks rather than a personal mailbox and installed Office, and the device goes back at the end of the shift.
Every plan here is per user. The license follows the person who signs in, not the tablet in the cradle, and the Kiosk row carries no device entitlement. For pooled devices Microsoft recommends shared device mode, an Entra ID feature for Android, iOS and iPadOS: a worker signs in once to one supporting app and is signed in to every other app that supports the mode, one sign-out at the end of the shift clears them all, and Conditional Access can target shared devices specifically (Microsoft Learn, Manage shared devices for frontline workers, October 2025). Set it up through Intune, which F1 and F3 include and Business Basic does not. Devices nobody signs in to, such as a common-area phone, use an Intune device license and a resource account instead.
Frequently asked questions
Does Microsoft 365 F1 include email?
No. Microsoft's frontline setup guide states that users must have an F3 license to get access to email. Add a standalone Exchange Online Kiosk mailbox at $2.00 to an F1 user, or move the user to F3.
How big is the Microsoft 365 F3 mailbox?
F3 carries the Exchange Online Kiosk mailbox, which Microsoft's documentation puts at 2 GB, with Outlook on the web and the mobile app and no archive. OneDrive on the F plans is 2 GB per user.
Can we give an F1 or F3 license to a receptionist or a bookkeeper?
Only if that person meets Microsoft's frontline-worker definition in the Product Terms. A desk-based user with a PC is an information worker in Microsoft's model; Business Basic or an E plan is the defensible choice.
How much do F1 and F3 cost?
On the October 2026 price list, Microsoft 365 F1 is $3.00 and Microsoft 365 F3 is $10.00 per user per month on an annual term; Office 365 F3 is $4.00, Exchange Online Kiosk is $2.00 and Business Basic is $7.00.
Sources
- Commercial price list, October 2026: Microsoft 365 F1, F3 and Office 365 F3 (Teams and no-Teams SKUs), Exchange Online Kiosk, Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Intune Plan 1, Entra ID P1, Teams Phone Standard FLW
- Microsoft Learn, Product names and service plan identifiers for licensing (August 2026); Understand frontline worker user types and licensing (October 2025); Set up Microsoft 365 for frontline workers (December 2024); Manage shared devices for frontline workers (October 2025)
- Microsoft, Microsoft 365 pricing and packaging updates (February 2026)
- Microsoft Learn, Exchange Online limits service description and the frontline plan comparison (cited without a date; the pages could not be opened on the day of writing): the 2 GB Kiosk mailbox and 2 GB OneDrive on F plans; Microsoft's documentation on the 300-seat Business family cap (cited without a date)
- IT Partner subscription pages for Microsoft 365 F1, F3, Office 365 F3, Business Basic and Exchange Online Kiosk
| The worker | License | Per user per month (annual term) |
|---|---|---|
| Eligible frontline worker: Teams, Shifts and tasks on a shared device, no email | Microsoft 365 F1 | $3.00 |
| Eligible frontline worker who also needs email, nothing else | Microsoft 365 F1 plus Exchange Online Kiosk | $3.00 + $2.00 |
| Eligible frontline worker who needs email, web Office and Power Apps, devices managed elsewhere | Office 365 F3 | $4.00 |
| Eligible frontline worker on managed or pooled devices with Conditional Access | Microsoft 365 F3 | $10.00 |
| Desk-based or ineligible user who needs a mailbox, Teams and web Office, under 300 seats | Microsoft 365 Business Basic | $7.00 |
| The same user on managed devices | Business Basic plus Intune Plan 1 and Entra ID P1, or Business Premium | $7.00 + $8.00 + $7.00, or $22.00 |
Key takeaways
- On the October 2026 price list F1 is $3.00, F3 $10.00, Office 365 F3 $4.00, Exchange Online Kiosk $2.00 and Business Basic $7.00 per user per month on an annual term.
- F1 gives Teams, Shifts, Planner, SharePoint, Viva, Intune and Entra ID P1, but no mailbox, no Office web or mobile apps and no Power Platform; email needs F3 or a Kiosk add-on.
- F3 adds the 2 GB Kiosk mailbox, web and mobile Office, Power Apps and Power Automate, a 2 GB OneDrive and Windows Enterprise E3 (local only); it still has no desktop Office and no Teams Phone.
- F1 and F3 are restricted to users who meet Microsoft's frontline-worker definition; Business Basic has no eligibility test but is capped at 300 seats across the Business family and carries no Intune or Entra ID P1.
- Every plan is per user: shared device mode handles sign-in on pooled devices, and a device with its own account takes an Intune device license, not a user plan.
Sort people before plans, then buy the narrowest plan each group is eligible for. Subscriptions are at Microsoft's list price on our Microsoft 365 F1, Microsoft 365 F3, Exchange Online Kiosk and Microsoft 365 Business Basic pages, each with a quote button. When the mix is settled, the Microsoft 365 Frontline Worker Deployment service sets up Shifts and the frontline Teams experience at a fixed price, and Intune setup for Android or iPhone and iPad puts the shared devices under management. Not sure which of your shift staff belong on F1, F3 or Business Basic? Book 30 minutes with Mike.
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