Microsoft 365 Plan-Mix Optimizer
Split your headcount by role — desktop and browser knowledge workers, frontline, shared mailboxes, kiosk — tick the needs that apply, and see the lowest-cost compliant mix of Business, Enterprise and Frontline plans with add-ons, priced per month and per year at current Microsoft list prices, next to an all-in E5 alternative. Every assumption the answer leans on is listed, and anything uncertain is marked “check with us” instead of guessed.
01 Who needs a license
Headcount by role. Shared and resource mailboxes are counted but not licensed.
25 licensed users — within the 300-user limit, so Business plans are in play.
02 What knowledge workers need
Applied to the desktop and browser groups and to frontline.
03 Frontline workers
04 Seats for add-ons
Layered on the mix as their own lines. Users who land on a plan that already includes the feature are not charged twice.
| Line | Qty | Per user / mo | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knowledge workers — desktop Office apps | |||
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard | 25 | $14.00annual | $350.00 |
| Shared / resource mailboxes | |||
| Shared / resource mailboxes — no user licenseNo license needed while each stays under 50 GB without an archive or hold. | 3 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Total | $350.00 | ||
| Per year | $4,200.00 | ||
All-in Microsoft 365 E5, for comparison
Every knowledge worker on Microsoft 365 E5; frontline, kiosk and shared mailboxes as in the mix. Features E5 already carries are shown at $0.
| Line | Qty | Per user / mo | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knowledge workers — desktop Office apps | |||
| Microsoft 365 E5 | 25 | $60.00annual | $1,500.00 |
| Shared / resource mailboxes | |||
| Shared / resource mailboxes — no user licenseNo license needed while each stays under 50 GB without an archive or hold. | 3 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Total | $1,500.00 | ||
| Per year | $18,000.00 | ||
Check with us
- Microsoft 365 E5: Priced on the Teams-included SKU; a new enterprise subscription may need the no-Teams SKU plus Microsoft Teams Enterprise.
How the mix is chosen
01 Roles set the base need
Desktop knowledge workers need installed Office apps, a mailbox and Teams; browser workers the web apps, a mailbox and Teams; frontline workers an F-plan (with a mailbox and web apps if you say so); kiosk users a mailbox only. Shared and resource mailboxes get no user license and appear at $0.
02 Needs raise the bar
Device management, the endpoint tier, the identity tier, the Purview tier and Windows Enterprise are added to the knowledge-worker groups (and to frontline when you choose so). A tier is met by anything at or above it — Defender for Business counts for a Defender for Endpoint P1 need, Entra ID P2 for a P1 need.
03 Every combination, lowest total wins
For each group the engine tries every eligible base plan with every set of add-ons that closes the gap, and keeps the lowest monthly list-price total. Ties go to the combination with fewer lines. Business-family plans are excluded once the licensed headcount passes 300.
04 Seats layer on top
Teams Phone users, Audio Conferencing users and Copilot seats are added as their own lines. Users whose plan already includes the feature (Microsoft 365 E5 for phone and conferencing) are shown at $0; the rest are priced as add-ons. Copilot is always an add-on.
05 The E5 column
The same headcount with every knowledge worker on Microsoft 365 E5, frontline and kiosk unchanged, so the crossover is visible in dollars per month and per year for your numbers. No percentages, no projections.
06 Nothing is presumed
Each answer lists the feature-matrix rows it leaned on. Rows the subscription pages’ own entitlement text supports are used silently; rows still marked for review become “check with us” items. A need no listed product meets leaves the group unpriced rather than wrong.
Assumptions
The 300-user limit on Business plans
Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Business Standard, Business Premium and Apps for business are limited to 300 users per plan; Microsoft Defender for Business carries the same limit. The optimizer counts every licensed user — desktop, browser, frontline and kiosk, not shared mailboxes — and once that total exceeds 300 it removes the Business-family plans from the candidates. Source: Microsoft 365 and Office 365 platform service description — maximum number of users per plan; the limit is also stated on our Business Basic, Business Standard and Business Premium pages.
Shared and resource mailboxes
A shared or resource mailbox needs no user license while it stays under 50 GB and has no archive or hold; past that it takes an Exchange Online plan. The tool prices them at $0 and says so on the line. Source: Exchange Online limits — shared mailbox storage.
Prices and terms
One list price per plan, taken from the same live pricing as the subscription pages (Sep price list): annual commitment paid upfront where the catalog offers it, otherwise annual paid monthly, otherwise month-to-month — the term is tagged on every line. US Commercial segment only. Enterprise suites are priced on the Teams-included SKU; a new enterprise subscription may need the no-Teams SKU plus Microsoft Teams Enterprise, which we confirm on a quote.
Feature-matrix rows still marked for review
The matrix is built from each subscription page’s entitlement text. Rows that text does not settle are listed here with the value the engine uses; when a result depends on one, it is repeated under “Check with us”. Everything not listed is supported by the page linked on the line.
| Plan | Row | Value used | To confirm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange Online Kiosk | Office web and mobile apps | Not included REVIEW | Kiosk gives Outlook on the web only, not the Office web apps — treated as no web apps. |
| Exchange Online (Plan 1) | Office web and mobile apps | Not included REVIEW | Plan 1 gives Outlook on the web only, not the Office web apps — treated as no web apps. |
| Microsoft 365 F1 | Office web and mobile apps | Not included REVIEW | F1 web apps are view-only — treated as no web apps. |
| Microsoft 365 F1 | User mailbox (Exchange Online) | Not included REVIEW | F1 carries no Exchange mailbox — treated as no mailbox. |
| Microsoft 365 F1 | Device management (Intune) | Included REVIEW | Intune is treated as included in F1. |
| Microsoft 365 F1 | Endpoint protection tier | Built-in Defender Antivirus (no license) REVIEW | Treated as built-in Defender only; confirm whether Defender for Endpoint P1 rides with F1. |
| Microsoft 365 F1 | Identity tier (Entra ID) | Entra ID P1 — Conditional Access REVIEW | Entra ID P1 is treated as included in F1. |
| Microsoft 365 F1 | Information protection and retention (Purview) | Basic retention only REVIEW | Treated as basic retention only. |
| Microsoft 365 F1 | Windows Enterprise upgrade rights | Not included REVIEW | Treated as no Windows Enterprise rights. |
| Microsoft 365 F3 | Office web and mobile apps | Included REVIEW | Office web and mobile apps are treated as included in F3. |
| Microsoft 365 F3 | User mailbox (Exchange Online) | Included REVIEW | F3 carries a 2 GB mailbox — treated as a mailbox. |
| Microsoft 365 F3 | Device management (Intune) | Included REVIEW | Intune is treated as included in F3. |
| Microsoft 365 F3 | Endpoint protection tier | Defender for Endpoint P1 REVIEW | Defender for Endpoint P1 is treated as included in F3. |
| Microsoft 365 F3 | Identity tier (Entra ID) | Entra ID P1 — Conditional Access REVIEW | Entra ID P1 is treated as included in F3. |
| Microsoft 365 F3 | Information protection and retention (Purview) | Basic retention only REVIEW | Treated as basic retention only. |
| Microsoft 365 F3 | Windows Enterprise upgrade rights | Included REVIEW | Windows Enterprise E3 rights are treated as included in F3. |
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic | Audio Conferencing (dial-in) | Not included REVIEW | Treated as no Audio Conferencing; Microsoft also lists a zero-priced dial-out (USA/CAN) variant for many plans. |
| Office 365 E1 | Teams Phone (phone system) | Not included REVIEW | Treated as no Teams Phone; the page says voice add-ons are not confirmed. |
| Office 365 E1 | Audio Conferencing (dial-in) | Not included REVIEW | Treated as no Audio Conferencing; the page says voice add-ons are not confirmed. |
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard | Audio Conferencing (dial-in) | Not included REVIEW | Treated as no Audio Conferencing. |
| Office 365 E3 | Information protection and retention (Purview) | E3-level Purview — labels, DLP, retention, eDiscovery Standard REVIEW | Office 365 E3 is treated as carrying the E3-level Purview set (labels, DLP, retention, eDiscovery Standard). |
| Microsoft 365 Business Premium | Information protection and retention (Purview) | Basic retention only REVIEW | Business Premium carries Purview basics but not the full E3-level DLP / eDiscovery Standard set — treated as below the E3 tier. |
| Microsoft 365 E3 | Endpoint protection tier | Defender for Endpoint P1 REVIEW | Defender for Endpoint P1 is treated as included in Microsoft 365 E3 (the page only states that P2 is not). |
| Microsoft 365 E3 | Information protection and retention (Purview) | E3-level Purview — labels, DLP, retention, eDiscovery Standard REVIEW | Microsoft 365 E3 is treated as carrying the E3-level Purview set (labels, DLP, retention, eDiscovery Standard). |
| Office 365 E5 | Information protection and retention (Purview) | E3-level Purview — labels, DLP, retention, eDiscovery Standard REVIEW | Office 365 E5 carries much of the E5 compliance set (eDiscovery Premium, Audit Premium) but not the full Microsoft 365 E5 Compliance suite — treated as the E3 tier. |
| Office 365 E5 | Teams Phone (phone system) | Included REVIEW | Teams Phone Standard is treated as included in Office 365 E5. |
| Microsoft 365 E5 | Teams Phone (phone system) | Included REVIEW | Teams Phone Standard is treated as included in Microsoft 365 E5. |
| Microsoft 365 E5 | Audio Conferencing (dial-in) | Included REVIEW | Audio Conferencing is treated as included in Microsoft 365 E5. |
| Microsoft Purview Suite | Information protection and retention (Purview) | E5 compliance — Purview Premium features REVIEW | Microsoft Purview Suite is treated as the current name of the Microsoft 365 E5 Compliance add-on; the page lists no entitlements. |
| Windows 10/11 Enterprise E3 | Windows Enterprise upgrade rights | Included REVIEW | Treated as the per-user Windows Enterprise E3 upgrade; the page lists no feature entitlements. |
| Microsoft 365 F1 | Plan-level | REVIEW | F-plans may only be assigned to users who meet Microsoft's frontline-worker definition. |
| Microsoft 365 F3 | Plan-level | REVIEW | F-plans may only be assigned to users who meet Microsoft's frontline-worker definition. |
| Microsoft 365 Apps for business | Plan-level | REVIEW | Apps for business shares the Business-family 300-user limit. |
| Microsoft 365 E3 | Plan-level | REVIEW | Priced on the Teams-included SKU; a new enterprise subscription may need the no-Teams SKU plus Microsoft Teams Enterprise. |
| Office 365 E5 | Plan-level | REVIEW | Priced on the Teams-included SKU with Audio Conferencing; a new enterprise subscription may need the no-Teams SKU plus Microsoft Teams Enterprise. |
| Microsoft 365 E5 | Plan-level | REVIEW | Priced on the Teams-included SKU; a new enterprise subscription may need the no-Teams SKU plus Microsoft Teams Enterprise. |
| Microsoft Defender for Business | Plan-level | REVIEW | Defender for Business is limited to organizations with up to 300 users, like the Business plans. |
| Microsoft Teams Phone Standard | Plan-level | REVIEW | Teams Phone Standard is the phone system only — calling plans, numbers and minutes are separate. |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot | Plan-level | REVIEW | Microsoft 365 Copilot needs a qualifying base plan on each seat; the page does not list which plans qualify. |
FAQ
Why does the tool pick a mix instead of one plan for everyone?
Because roles differ. A frontline worker on a shared device does not need installed Office apps, a shared mailbox needs no user license at all, and a kiosk user needs a mailbox and nothing else. Licensing every seat like a desktop knowledge worker is the single most common source of overspend we see, so the optimizer prices each role group on its own and only stacks add-ons where a need is not already covered.
When does Microsoft 365 E5 come out ahead of a base plan plus add-ons?
Once a user needs several of the pieces E5 bundles — Entra ID P2, Defender for Endpoint P2, E5 compliance, Teams Phone, Audio Conferencing, Windows Enterprise — the add-ons add up to more than the suite. The all-in E5 column is there so you can see that crossover for your own headcount in dollars, not as a rule of thumb. See the plan comparisons for the feature deltas.
Can we mix Business Premium with E3 or E5 in one tenant?
Yes. Business and Enterprise plans coexist in one tenant; the Business plans are limited to 300 users each. This tool applies the 300-user limit to the whole licensed headcount, which is the conservative reading — if you are close to the line, an engineer can confirm whether a split still fits Microsoft’s rules.
Are these the prices we would pay?
They are Microsoft’s US Commercial list prices from the current price list, shown per user per month at the annual-commitment monthly equivalent (or the closest term the catalog offers). A quote confirms the exact SKUs and terms; nonprofit, education and government segments are priced separately. Every line links to its subscription page with the full term and payment matrix.
What happens when no listed plan meets a need?
The group is left without a plan and marked “check with us” rather than given the nearest wrong answer. The same happens when the feature matrix row the answer leans on is still marked for review: the assumption is listed under “Check with us” so nothing is silently presumed. Talk to an engineer and we confirm it against the current Product Terms.
Want the mix checked against your tenant?
Thirty minutes with an engineer turns the mix into a license list with the SKUs, terms and the review rows confirmed. Add the lines to your project first and bring the link.
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