Microsoft 365 Business Premium vs Standard.
Microsoft 365 Business Standard and Business Premium both give you the full desktop Office apps with Exchange, Teams and SharePoint. The real difference is everything Premium adds on top: a complete SMB security and device-management stack — Entra ID P1, Intune, Defender for Business and conditional access — that Standard simply doesn’t include.
- Standard and Premium share the same productivity apps — desktop Office plus Exchange, Teams and SharePoint.
- Premium adds the security & device-management layer: Entra ID P1, Intune, Defender for Business, Defender for Office 365 P1, conditional access.
- Premium is the SMB sweet spot when security or compliance matter — and it underpins Cyber Essentials controls.
- Standard is fine for low-risk teams that need the apps but not advanced security or managed devices.
What both plans share
Start with what’s identical, because it’s a lot. Both Microsoft 365 Business Standard and Business Premium include the full desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, plus Exchange Online email, Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive. For day-to-day productivity, a user on Standard and a user on Premium have the same apps in front of them. If all you need is to work, the two are interchangeable. The case for Premium is about what happens behind the scenes.
What Premium adds
Business Premium layers an SMB-grade security and management stack on top of those apps:
- Entra ID P1 — advanced identity, including conditional access and self-service password reset.
- Intune — mobile and PC device management, policy enforcement and remote wipe of lost devices.
- Defender for Business — endpoint protection beyond signature antivirus, with behaviour-based detection.
- Defender for Office 365 P1 — protection against phishing, malicious links and weaponised attachments in email.
- Conditional access & data protection — control who can sign in, from where and on which devices, plus controls over how company data is handled.
Bought separately, these add up to considerably more than the gap between the two plans. Bundled into Microsoft 365 Business Premium, they make it the most cost-effective way for a small business to reach a genuinely strong security posture.
Standard buys you the apps. Premium buys you the apps plus the locks on the doors.
At a glance
| Capability | Business Standard | Business Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Desktop Office apps | Yes | Yes |
| Exchange, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive | Yes | Yes |
| Baseline security (EOP, basic MFA) | Yes | Yes |
| Entra ID P1 & conditional access | No | Yes |
| Intune device management | No | Yes |
| Defender for Business (endpoint) | No | Yes |
| Defender for Office 365 P1 (email) | No | Yes |
| Cyber Essentials fit | Needs extra tooling | Maps directly |
When Premium is the right call
Choose Premium when security or compliance genuinely matter — which, for most businesses, they do. If you hold client data, take payments, manage staff laptops and phones, or need to satisfy insurers and enterprise clients, the Premium stack is what gets you there. Crucially, its controls map directly onto Cyber Essentials: MFA and conditional access, device management through Intune, and malware protection via Defender for Business. If certification is on your roadmap, Premium is the path of least resistance — see our Cyber Essentials Plus guide for where the bar sits.
When Standard is enough
Standard is a reasonable choice for a low-risk team that needs the productivity apps but doesn’t manage devices, doesn’t face compliance pressure, and accepts that advanced threat protection and conditional access aren’t in scope. Some organisations also run a mix — Premium for staff with access to sensitive data and Standard for lighter-touch roles. That said, the moment device management, advanced malware protection or certification enters the conversation, the honest answer for most UK SMBs is Premium.
Questions we get asked.
What’s the difference between Business Premium and Standard?
Both include the full desktop Office apps plus Exchange, Teams and SharePoint. The difference is security and device management. Premium adds Entra ID P1, Intune, Defender for Business, Defender for Office 365 P1, conditional access and data-protection controls. Standard gives you the productivity apps; Premium wraps them in an SMB-grade security layer.
Is Business Premium worth the extra cost?
For most UK SMBs holding client data or needing to demonstrate good security, yes. Premium bundles tools that cost considerably more bought separately, and it directly underpins Cyber Essentials. Pricing is per user, per month and varies by plan and commitment, but the security stack typically pays for itself the first time it prevents or contains an incident.
Does Business Standard include any security?
Yes — baseline security comes with every plan: Exchange Online Protection, basic MFA and the platform’s standard safeguards. What Standard lacks is the advanced layer in Premium: Intune device management, Defender for Business, Defender for Office 365 P1 and conditional access, which is where serious malware protection and device control live.
Which plan do I need for Cyber Essentials?
No specific SKU is mandatory, but Business Premium makes certification far easier because it includes the expected controls: MFA and conditional access, device management via Intune, and malware protection through Defender for Business. With Standard you’d source several of those elsewhere, so Premium is usually the simpler route to Cyber Essentials.
License it
right, once.
Book 30 minutes. We’ll look at your data, devices and compliance needs, and tell you honestly whether Standard, Premium or a mix is the right fit — and set it up properly.