Office 365 E1, E3, E5 and F3, Exchange Online, Microsoft 365 Apps and the Business plans: what each one includes, who it suits, what changed in 2026, and how companies in Dubai and across the UAE choose.
Microsoft PartnerVerify on Microsoft Marketplace →Office 365 is the original name for Microsoft's cloud bundle of email, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, OneDrive and SharePoint. In 2020 Microsoft renamed its small-business Office 365 plans to Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Business Standard and Microsoft 365 Apps for business. The Enterprise and Frontline Office 365 plans kept their names: Office 365 E1, E3, E5 and F3 are still sold today.
The simple way to think about it: Office 365 plans give you the Office apps, email and collaboration. Microsoft 365 plans give you all of that plus Windows, device management with Intune and more security. When someone in Dubai asks for "an Office 365 licence", they usually mean one of the plans below.
These are the Office 365 plans with no 300-user cap, used by larger companies and by organisations that want Office and email without the Windows and Intune parts of Microsoft 365.
Web and mobile versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, a 50 GB Exchange mailbox, 1 TB of OneDrive, SharePoint and core compliance tools. No desktop Office apps.
Right when: Large teams who work in the browser, or as a low-cost email and collaboration licence across a big organisation.
Everything in E1, plus the desktop Office apps on up to 5 PCs or Macs, 5 tablets and 5 phones per user, a 100 GB mailbox with auto-expanding archive, and eDiscovery, retention and data loss prevention.
Right when: Companies over 300 users who need full Office and compliance but manage devices and Windows another way.
Everything in E3, plus Defender for Office 365 Plan 2, Teams Phone and audio conferencing, Power BI Pro, and Microsoft's advanced eDiscovery, audit and information protection tools.
Right when: Regulated organisations, or companies replacing their phone system with Teams.
For frontline staff: web and mobile Office apps, a 2 GB mailbox, 2 GB of OneDrive, Teams and SharePoint. See our Frontline licensing page for F1 and F3.
Right when: Retail, hospitality, site and warehouse staff who share devices or mainly read and reply.
One table for the whole range. Business plans are capped at 300 users in total; Enterprise, Frontline and standalone plans are not.
| Plan | Office apps | Email mailbox | OneDrive | Max users | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic | Web and mobile | 50 GB | 1 TB | 300 | Small offices working in the browser |
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard | Desktop, web, mobile | 50 GB | 1 TB | 300 | Most desk-based teams |
| Microsoft 365 Business Premium | Desktop, web, mobile | 100 GB + archive | 1 TB | 300 | SMEs that need security and device management |
| Microsoft 365 Apps for business | Desktop, web, mobile | No mailbox | 1 TB | 300 | Office apps where email is elsewhere |
| Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise | Desktop, web, mobile | No mailbox | 1 TB | No limit | Large organisations, shared computers |
| Office 365 E1 | Web and mobile | 50 GB | 1 TB | No limit | Large browser-based workforces |
| Office 365 E3 | Desktop, web, mobile | 100 GB + archive | 1 TB or more | No limit | Large companies needing full Office and compliance |
| Office 365 E5 | Desktop, web, mobile | 100 GB + archive | 1 TB or more | No limit | Advanced security, compliance and Teams Phone |
| Office 365 F3 | Web and mobile | 2 GB | 2 GB | No limit | Frontline and shift staff |
| Microsoft 365 E3 / E5 | Desktop, web, mobile | 100 GB + archive | 1 TB or more | No limit | Office 365 E3/E5 plus Windows Enterprise and Intune |
| Exchange Online Plan 1 | None | 50 GB | None | No limit | Email only |
| Exchange Online Plan 2 | None | 100 GB + archive | None | No limit | Email only, with archiving and data loss prevention |
| Exchange Online Kiosk | None | 2 GB | None | No limit | Basic email for frontline staff |
Microsoft sells its Enterprise suites, including Office 365 E1, E3 and E5, to new subscribers with Teams licensed separately; Business plans are still available with Teams included. Plan contents checked October 2026. Mailbox and storage figures are Microsoft's standard allowances.
Not every user needs a full suite. Mixing standalone licences with suites is common and can save a lot across a large headcount.
Business email on Microsoft's servers without the Office apps. Plan 1 gives a 50 GB mailbox, Plan 2 adds a 100 GB mailbox with auto-expanding archive and data loss prevention, and Kiosk gives frontline staff a 2 GB mailbox. More on our standalone licences page.
The desktop Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook apps with 1 TB of OneDrive, but no company mailbox. Apps for business is capped at 300 users; Apps for enterprise has no cap and supports shared computer activation for terminal servers and shared PCs.
New Enterprise subscriptions licence Teams separately, so Teams Enterprise and Teams Phone are bought as add-ons. Smaller companies can still get Teams inside Business Basic, Standard and Premium.
Copilot is an add-on licence on top of a qualifying Business or Enterprise plan. We can add it to the users who need it rather than the whole company.
Start with the Microsoft 365 Business plans. Business Standard suits most desk-based staff, and Business Premium adds the security and device management that clients and insurers increasingly ask about.
Use Office 365 E1 or E3 for Office and email, or Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 if you also want Windows Enterprise, Intune and wider security in one licence.
Office 365 F3 or Microsoft 365 F1 and F3 give staff email, Teams and shared documents at a much lower cost than a full desk licence.
Most UAE companies end up with a mix: a suite for office staff, frontline licences for site and shop staff, and Exchange Online for shared or service mailboxes. We plan the mix with you so nobody is over-licensed.
Microsoft runs cloud datacenter regions in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and the UAE is one of Microsoft 365's data residency locations. For a tenant set up with the UAE as its country, core data such as mailboxes, OneDrive and SharePoint files is stored in the UAE. We confirm your tenant's data location before you sign.
Microsoft raised list prices across most of the range, including Business Basic, Business Standard, Office 365 E3 and Microsoft 365 E3 and E5, and added security features to several plans. Business Premium kept its price. Existing customers usually see new prices at their next renewal.
Annual commitment gives the best per-user rate and lets you add users at any time. Monthly commitment costs more but lets you reduce seats month to month.
We quote per user in AED with 5% VAT shown separately, supply against your LPO and issue a VAT invoice. Renewals are tracked for you.
Yes. The small-business Office 365 plans were renamed Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Business Standard and Apps for business in 2020, but Office 365 E1, E3, E5 and F3 are still sold under the Office 365 name.
Office 365 E3 gives you the Office apps, email, Teams, SharePoint and compliance tools. Microsoft 365 E3 includes everything in Office 365 E3 plus Windows Enterprise, Intune device management and Entra ID P1.
Business Standard, Business Premium, Apps for business, Apps for enterprise, Office 365 E3 and E5, and Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 include the desktop apps. Business Basic, Office 365 E1 and F3 have web and mobile apps only.
50 GB on Business Basic, Business Standard, Office 365 E1 and Exchange Online Plan 1. 100 GB with archiving on Business Premium, Office 365 E3 and E5, Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 and Exchange Online Plan 2. Frontline F3 and Exchange Online Kiosk mailboxes are 2 GB.
Yes. Exchange Online Plan 1 or Plan 2 gives business email without the Office apps, and Exchange Online Kiosk covers frontline staff.
Business Basic, Standard and Premium are available with Teams included. Microsoft sells its Enterprise suites, including Office 365 E1, E3 and E5, to new subscribers with Teams licensed separately, so we add the right Teams licence to the quote.
For a tenant set up with the UAE as its country, core data such as mailboxes, OneDrive and SharePoint files is stored in Microsoft's UAE datacenter regions in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. We confirm the data location before setup.
Yes. We quote in AED with VAT shown separately, supply against your LPO and issue a VAT invoice, with tenant setup and migration included.
Tenant setup, mailbox and file migration, user onboarding and activation are included at no extra charge on Microsoft licences bought from Proto Link. You pay for the licences, not for the project around them.
Send us your headcount and what your team actually needs. We will come back with the right plan mix and a price — usually the same working day.