Office 365 for small business comes with business email on your own domain, Microsoft Teams, and the full Office suite — Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The name itself is a bit out of date: Microsoft renamed these plans back in 2020, though the products haven't fundamentally changed, which is why the old name has stuck around. This guide covers what's actually included today, under its current name, and what it means in practice for a business with a handful of people rather than an IT department.
Office 365 for Small Business
In April 2020, Microsoft renamed its small and medium business subscriptions from Office 365 to Microsoft 365 — Office 365 Business Essentials became Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Office 365 Business Premium became Microsoft 365 Business Standard, and the plan then called Microsoft 365 Business became Microsoft 365 Business Premium. According to Microsoft's own announcement of the change, it was purely a rebrand — new names meant to better reflect everything included in each plan, with no pricing or feature changes at the time. If you sign up today, every plan you'll see is labelled Microsoft 365 — "Office 365" survives mostly as the name people still search for, not a product you can actually buy.
Using Your Own Domain for Business Email
This is the part that matters most for a small business, and it's included on every current plan, even the entry-level one. Rather than running the business from a free Gmail or Outlook.com address, Microsoft 365 gives every person on the team a mailbox on the business's own domain — something like you@yourbusiness.com.au — through Exchange Online. It comes with a genuinely large mailbox (entry-level plans include 50GB of mail storage, with more on higher tiers), works properly on phones and in a browser as well as desktop Outlook, and looks like what it is: a real business, not someone's personal account doing double duty.
What's Included: Teams, Word, Excel and More
Beyond email, a Microsoft 365 business plan bundles the tools a small business actually uses day to day:
- Microsoft Teams — chat, video calls, and online meetings, included on most current plans (Microsoft now also sells versions of each plan without Teams, a recent change tied to competition regulations, so it's worth checking which version is on offer).
- Word, Excel and PowerPoint — included on every plan, though how you get them differs: the entry-level Business Basic plan gives web and mobile versions only, while Business Standard and above add the full desktop apps most people are used to.
- OneDrive for Business — 1TB of cloud storage per person, for files that need to be backed up and accessible from anywhere, not just saved to one laptop.
- Outlook — the calendar and contacts that go with the mailbox, shared properly across the team rather than living in separate personal accounts.
Which Plan Is Right for a Small Business
Microsoft offers three main small business plans, each building on the last (always worth checking Microsoft's current plans directly, since what's included can change):
- Business Basic — business email on your own domain, Teams, and web/mobile-only Office apps. A sensible starting point for a small team that's comfortable working from a browser or phone.
- Business Standard — everything in Basic, plus the full desktop versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The most common choice once people are doing serious document work rather than quick edits.
- Business Premium — everything in Standard, plus device security and management. Worth the jump once the business has company laptops or phones that need protecting, not just accounts.
All three plans scale up to 300 users, so there's room to grow without changing platforms. The right starting point usually comes down to one question: does the team need full desktop Office apps, or will a browser and a phone genuinely do the job?
Common Questions
Is Office 365 the same thing as Microsoft 365? For small business plans, yes. Microsoft renamed Office 365 Business Essentials, Business Premium and Microsoft 365 Business to Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard and Premium in April 2020 — it was a name change only, with no change to the underlying product at the time.
Can I use my own domain name for email with Office 365 for small business? Yes — every current Microsoft 365 business plan, including the entry-level one, includes a business email mailbox on your own domain (you@yourbusiness.com.au) through Exchange Online, rather than a free address like Gmail or Outlook.com.
Does Office 365 for small business include Microsoft Teams? Most plans do. Microsoft now also sells versions of each plan without Teams (a change made to comply with competition rules), so when comparing plans it's worth checking whether Teams is included or needs to be added separately.
Which Office 365 plan is right for a small business? Business Basic suits a small team that's happy working from a browser or phone; Business Standard adds the full desktop versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint; Business Premium adds device security and management on top of that — worth it once the business has company-owned laptops or phones to protect.
Is there a free version of Office 365 for small business? Not a genuinely free one for business use — Microsoft 365 business plans are paid, per-user subscriptions. The free versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint online are for personal use and don't include business email on your own domain.
Where to Next
Still running the business on a free Gmail or Outlook.com address? Gmail or a Professional Business Email: When It's Time to Switch walks through exactly when — and how — to make the move to your own domain.
