Microsoft 365 Deconstructed

Microsoft 365 services can be licensed in numerous ways, which can make it complex to stay license compliant and ensure that all necessary services are licensed for all users who may benefit from them. This chart omits the myriad ways of purchasing using individual add-on licenses for the numerous services included in Microsoft 365, as well as options for licensing frontline workers.

The four italicized entries represent those discussed in the report and are those seen more often during Directions on Microsoft Licensing Boot Camps.

Note that with price increases that arrived in 2022, organizations that had previously licensed the combined Microsoft 365 E3 + E5 Security and E5 Compliance stand-alone add-ons (now Defender Suite and Purview Suite, respectively) to save money and have continued to do so are now paying more than the cost of Microsoft 365 E5. Organizations should instead license the full Microsoft 365 E5 suite (which did not change in price) because it’s now less expensive than the two subsuites combined.