Same apps, two names, a lot of confusion
You bought Office 365 a few years ago, and now your invoice says Microsoft 365. Nothing on your screen looks different, yet the name changed. Did you get upgraded? Charged for something new? The Office 365 vs Microsoft 365 question confuses millions of people, and the honest answer is shorter than you expect: for most businesses they are now the same thing under a new name, with some added capabilities at the higher tiers. This guide explains what actually changed, why the Office 365 name mostly disappeared, what Microsoft 365 adds over the old Office 365, the current plans and pricing including the July 2026 increase, and how to pick the right tier without overpaying.
Key Takeaways
Office 365 was rebranded to Microsoft 365
Microsoft renamed most Office 365 plans to Microsoft 365 starting in 2020. For small and mid-size businesses, Office 365 as a brand is effectively retired.
The Office 365 name only survives in a few enterprise plans
Office 365 E1, E3, and E5 still exist, but they are productivity-only subscriptions without the broader security and management bundle.
Microsoft 365 adds security and management
Beyond the same Office apps, higher Microsoft 365 tiers add Defender, Intune device management, advanced identity, and compliance tools.
Your old subscription keeps working
An existing Office 365 subscription continues to function; Microsoft has been moving customers to the Microsoft 365 branding automatically.
Prices rise on 1 July 2026
Commercial pricing increases then: Business Basic and Standard both go up, while Business Premium holds steady.
Pick by features, not by the brand name
Whether a plan says Office 365 or Microsoft 365 matters less than which features it includes for the tier you choose.
What is the difference between Office 365 and Microsoft 365?
For most customers there is no practical difference today. Microsoft renamed its Office 365 plans to Microsoft 365 starting in 2020, so the same productivity apps now carry the Microsoft 365 name. The Office 365 brand survives only in a few enterprise plans (E1, E3, E5) that include the Office apps and services without the added security, device management, and compliance features of Microsoft 365.
If you want the answer in one line: Office 365 became Microsoft 365. The Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, Exchange, SharePoint, and OneDrive you used under Office 365 are all still there under Microsoft 365. The core productivity experience did not change when the name did.
What changed is the wrapper around those apps. Microsoft 365 was positioned as more than Office in the cloud, adding security, device management, and compliance on top of the productivity suite, with Windows licensing folded into the higher business and enterprise tiers. So Microsoft 365 is best understood as Office 365 plus a broader set of business capabilities, with the exact additions depending on the plan.
The reason both names still float around is that big enterprise agreements take years to change. That is why you still see Office 365 E1, E3, and E5 in price lists, and why you might still spot the Office 365 name on services like Exchange Online. For practical purposes, if you are buying or renewing a business plan today, you are buying Microsoft 365.
Why did Office 365 become Microsoft 365?
A quick history clears up the confusion. Microsoft launched Office 365 in 2011 to sell the Office apps as a cloud subscription instead of a one-time disc purchase. It grew fast, and over the years Microsoft bolted on far more than Office: Teams, Power BI, security tooling, compliance features, and device management.
By 2017 the Office 365 name felt too small for what the platform had become, so Microsoft introduced the Microsoft 365 brand, initially as an enterprise bundle of Office, security, and Windows. As that bundle caught on, Microsoft applied the new name more widely. In 2020 it rebranded the consumer and small-business Office 365 plans to Microsoft 365, and it later signalled the broader retirement of the standalone Office brand.
So the rebrand was not a trick to charge more. It reflected a real shift from a cloud Office subscription into a wider business platform. The apps stayed; the story around them expanded.
What does Microsoft 365 add over the old Office 365?
The meaningful additions sit in four areas, and they show up mainly in the higher tiers rather than the entry plan.
Security. Higher Microsoft 365 plans include Microsoft Defender protection for email and devices, adding things like anti-phishing, malicious-attachment scanning, and safe-link checking that the basic old Office 365 plans did not have.
Device management. Microsoft Intune lets IT manage and secure the laptops and phones that access company data, including enforcing policies and remotely wiping a lost device. For remote and bring-your-own-device workplaces, this is a major reason to move up a tier.
Identity and access. Advanced identity features, such as conditional access that controls who can sign in from where and under what conditions, harden accounts against compromise.
Compliance. Information protection and compliance tooling helps businesses with data-handling and regulatory requirements.
The practical takeaway is that the difference between old Office 365 and modern Microsoft 365 is mostly security and management, not the apps. If all you need is Word, Excel, Outlook, and email, the gap is small. If you need to protect and manage a workforce, the gap is the whole point.
What are the current Microsoft 365 plans and prices?
For businesses under 300 users there are three main plans: Business Basic, Business Standard, and Business Premium. Basic offers web and mobile Office plus email and Teams; Standard adds the desktop apps; Premium adds security and device management. Larger organisations use enterprise plans E3 and E5. Commercial prices rise on 1 July 2026.
For small and mid-size businesses, the three business plans cover most needs. Business Basic gives you the web and mobile versions of the Office apps plus Exchange email, Teams, and OneDrive, but not the installed desktop apps. Business Standard adds the full desktop applications, which most knowledge workers need for serious Excel and Word work. Business Premium adds the security and device-management layer, Defender and Intune, making it the only small-business tier with built-in enterprise-grade protection.
On pricing, the commercial rates increase on 1 July 2026. In US terms, Business Basic moves from about 6 to 7 dollars per user per month, Business Standard from about 12.50 to 14 dollars, while Business Premium holds at around 22 dollars, which narrows the gap and strengthens the case for Premium. Enterprise Office 365 E3 also rises, to roughly 26 dollars. Prices vary by region and currency, so treat these as a guide and confirm your local figures, especially if you can lock in current rates with an annual commitment before the increase.
Larger organisations, or those with heavier compliance needs, move to the enterprise plans, where E3 and E5 offer progressively more security, compliance, and analytics. On the consumer side, the plans are Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, and a newer Premium tier, all of which now bundle AI features.
Whichever Microsoft 365 plan you land on, the platform is extensible, and that is where a lot of hidden time savings live. If your team is doing repetitive work inside Outlook, Excel, or Word that a custom tool could automate, a Microsoft 365 add-in can put that automation right where they already work. See what is possible on our page.Office Add-in development services
Where does Copilot and AI fit in 2026?
AI has become part of the Microsoft 365 story, and it adds its own layer to the naming. As of 2026, a basic AI assistant, Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, is included across Microsoft 365 plans. It gives you a chat-style assistant without an extra charge.
The fuller experience, Microsoft 365 Copilot, which embeds AI deeply into Outlook, Teams, Word, and Excel to draft, summarise, and analyse for you, remains a separate paid add-on, priced around 30 dollars per user per month and requiring a qualifying base licence such as Business Standard or higher. So Copilot is not automatically the same thing as the free Copilot Chat, and the distinction matters when budgeting.
For most businesses the decision is whether the deep, paid Copilot earns its cost for your specific workflows, which depends heavily on how much of your team's day is spent on the drafting and summarising tasks it accelerates. It is worth piloting before rolling out broadly.
Which Microsoft 365 plan should you choose?
Start with what your team does daily, then add protection as you grow. If staff mostly use email, Teams, and light document editing, and the web versions of the apps are enough, Business Basic can work, though the web-only Excel and Word lack some advanced features. The moment people need the full desktop apps, offline access, or heavy spreadsheets, Business Standard is the realistic starting point, and it is the most popular plan for that reason.
If you have remote workers, a bring-your-own-device setup, or any sensitive data, Business Premium is usually the right call. The step up from Standard to Premium buys you device management and advanced threat protection that would cost considerably more bought separately, and with Premium holding its price while Standard rises in July 2026, the value gap has narrowed.
Businesses over 300 users or with serious compliance requirements move into the enterprise E3 and E5 plans. The guiding principle throughout is to choose by the features you actually need, not by whether a plan carries the Office 365 or Microsoft 365 label, and to review your licensing yearly so you are neither overpaying for unused features nor missing protections you need.
Microsoft 365 business plans at a glance (2026, US, indicative)
| Plan | Desktop Office apps | Security & device management | Indicative price (from Jul 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Basic | Web and mobile only | No | ~$7 / user / month |
| Business Standard | Yes | No | ~$14 / user / month |
| Business Premium | Yes | Yes (Defender + Intune) | ~$22 / user / month |
| Office 365 E3 (enterprise) | Yes | Productivity-focused | ~$26 / user / month |
Frequently asked questions
Is Office 365 discontinued?
As a brand, effectively yes for small and mid-size businesses. Microsoft rebranded those plans to Microsoft 365 starting in 2020. The Office 365 name survives only in a few enterprise plans (E1, E3, E5). Existing Office 365 subscriptions still work and are being moved to Microsoft 365 branding.
Are Office 365 and Microsoft 365 the same thing?
For most customers, yes. They share the same Office apps and services. Microsoft 365 is the current name and, at higher tiers, adds security, device management, and compliance on top of the productivity suite. The core experience of Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams is the same.
Do I need to upgrade from Office 365 to Microsoft 365?
Not urgently. An existing Office 365 subscription continues to function, and Microsoft has been migrating customers to the Microsoft 365 branding automatically. It is worth reviewing whether a current Microsoft 365 plan gives you better security and value, especially before the July 2026 price changes.
What does Microsoft 365 add that Office 365 did not have?
Mainly security and management: Microsoft Defender threat protection, Intune device management, advanced identity features like conditional access, and compliance tooling, plus Windows licensing in higher tiers. The Office apps themselves are the same in both.
Is Copilot included in Microsoft 365?
A basic assistant, Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, is included across plans in 2026. The deeper Microsoft 365 Copilot, which works inside Outlook, Teams, Word, and Excel, is a separate paid add-on, around 30 dollars per user per month, requiring a qualifying base licence.
Which Microsoft 365 plan is best for a small business?
Business Standard suits most teams that need the full desktop apps. Business Premium is the better choice if you have remote workers, bring-your-own-device, or sensitive data, because it adds security and device management. Business Basic fits teams that only need web apps, email, and Teams.
It is all Microsoft 365 now
The Office 365 versus Microsoft 365 debate is mostly settled: Office 365 became Microsoft 365, the apps stayed the same, and the difference now lives in the security, management, and compliance layers that the higher tiers add. The Office 365 name lingers only in a handful of enterprise plans. For anyone choosing today, the real decision is which tier fits, Basic, Standard, or Premium, and that comes down to the features your team needs rather than the brand on the box. And whichever plan you run, remember the platform is extensible: a custom add-in can automate the repetitive work your people do inside Office every day. If you want to explore that, tell us where your team loses time and we will show you what is possible. Reach out through our contact page anytime.