Microsoft 365 E3 vs. E5: Information Protection

• Microsoft 365 E3 customers can buy an Information Protection and Governance add-on license to help protect and retain important data and comply with regulations.
• Customers who need the add-on might end up buying a larger Microsoft 365 E5 suite.

The Information Protection and Governance add-on license offers Microsoft 365 E3 customers more features to prevent leakage of sensitive data and enforce retention policy. The features will be important to any customer whose Microsoft 365 systems must comply with formal security, privacy, and data retention standards.

This report should help customers decide whether to get by with Microsoft 365 E3 alone, add Information Protection and Governance to it, or buy one of the larger suites. (See the illustration “Information Protection and Governance Packaging“.) Although the report focuses on Microsoft 365 E3, similar considerations apply to Microsoft 365 F1 and F3.

Many of these technologies were rebranded Microsoft Purview in Apr. 2022. (See “Compliance and Governance Offerings Rebranded as Microsoft Purview.”) License names and packaging did not change.