The three plans at a glance
Microsoft 365 Business comes in three tiers. They all include 1 TB of OneDrive storage per user, Teams, Exchange (business email) and SharePoint. The main difference lies in the desktop apps, security and compliance tools.
| Feature |
Basic
8,10 $ CAD/user/mo.* |
Standard
17,00 $ CAD/user/mo.* |
Premium
29,80 $ CAD/user/mo.* |
| Office web apps (online) |
✅ |
✅ |
✅ |
| Office desktop apps (Word, Excel, etc.) |
❌ |
✅ (5 devices) |
✅ (5 devices) |
| Microsoft Teams |
✅ |
✅ |
✅ |
| Exchange (email @yourdomain) |
✅ 50 GB |
✅ 50 GB |
✅ 100 GB |
| OneDrive (storage) |
1 TB |
1 TB |
1 TB |
| Teams webinars & events |
❌ |
✅ |
✅ |
| Defender for Business (advanced antivirus) |
❌ |
❌ |
✅ |
| Intune (device management) |
❌ |
❌ |
✅ |
| Azure AD Premium P1 (conditional access) |
❌ |
❌ |
✅ |
| Microsoft Purview (data protection) |
Basic |
Basic |
✅ Advanced |
* Prices in CAD, billed annually. Source: Microsoft Canada, April 2026. Prices may vary.
Which plan for which business profile?
Business Basic — who is it for?
- Teams that work mainly in the browser
- Staff who don't do complex layout or formatting
- Tight budget, minimal need for Office
- Remote work on personal devices (BYOD)
Ideal for: startups, lean administrative teams
Business Standard — who is it for?
- Users who need Word/Excel installed locally
- Teams that host client webinars
- SMEs that want the full Office suite
- Up to 5 installations per user
Ideal for: typical SMEs, accounting firms, professional practices
Business Premium — who is it for?
- Businesses subject to Law 25 or other compliance requirements
- High-risk sectors: healthcare, finance, legal
- Remote teams with devices managed at a distance
- SMEs hit by security incidents or wanting to guard against them
Ideal for: any SME that takes cybersecurity seriously
Business Premium and Law 25: a direct connection
Law 25 requires Quebec businesses to document how they process personal data, secure access to sensitive information and promptly notify confidentiality incidents. Microsoft 365 Business Premium makes this compliance easier thanks to:
- Microsoft Purview — automatic classification of sensitive data, sensitivity labels, data loss prevention (DLP)
- Azure AD Conditional Access — block access to data from non-compliant devices or unknown locations
- Intune — remote wipe of a lost or stolen device (critical for employee phones)
- Defender for Business — real-time detection and incident response, activity reporting for audits
- Unified audit log — complete traceability of access and changes to demonstrate compliance
Synéra expert advice
We recommend Business Premium for any SME with more than 5 employees, especially if you handle client data, medical records, financial data or personal information of any kind. The $11/user/month difference between Standard and Premium is negligible compared with the cost of a data breach (Law 25 fines of up to $25M, plus reputational damage).
Get a tailored recommendation
Switching between plans: what you need to know
Good news: switching from one plan to another does not destroy your data. Here are the key points:
01
Data preserved
Email, OneDrive, Teams, SharePoint — everything stays intact when you change plans.
02
Fast transition
An upgrade typically takes 15 to 60 minutes, often with no downtime at all.
03
Training included
Synéra trains your teams on the new features with every migration.
04
Prorated billing
Microsoft prorates the current month — no hidden fees and no change penalties.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Microsoft 365 Business Basic and Standard?
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Business Basic (8,10 $ CAD/user/mo.*) offers Teams, SharePoint, Exchange and the Office web apps. Business Standard (17,00 $ CAD/user/mo.*) adds the
full desktop apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint installed on 5 devices), along with advanced Teams webinar and recording features.
Does Microsoft 365 Business Premium help with Law 25 compliance?
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Yes. Business Premium includes Microsoft Purview (data classification and protection), Intune (mobile device management), Defender for Business (threat protection) and Azure AD Premium P1 — tools that are directly useful for documenting and protecting personal information as required by Law 25.
Can you switch from one Microsoft 365 plan to another without losing data?
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Yes. Migration between plans is non-destructive: email, OneDrive files, SharePoint and Teams are kept entirely intact. Synéra handles these transitions in a few hours, outside business hours, to minimise disruption.
How many users can you have with Microsoft 365 Business?
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The Business plans (Basic, Standard, Premium) support up to 300 users. Beyond that, you need to migrate to Enterprise licences (E3, E5). Synéra will advise you on the best time to plan this transition.
Need help choosing your plan?
In 30 minutes, a Synéra expert analyses your needs and recommends the optimal Microsoft 365 plan — free and with no obligation.