Microsoft 365 Business Basic 12 months monthly plan

Empower Your Team with Enterprise-Grade Cloud Productivity

Microsoft 365 Business Basic is a subscription-based cloud suite that gives your business the professional backbone it needs—without the complexity or cost of traditional desktop software. This 12-month monthly plan delivers a hosted email platform with a 50 GB mailbox, 1 TB of secure file storage per user, and the full power of Microsoft Teams for communication, all managed through a centralised admin console. It’s the ideal solution for small and medium-sized enterprises (up to 300 users) that want to equip a mobile, remote, or hybrid workforce with the tools to collaborate securely from any device. Instead of a one-time purchase, this monthly subscription model offers predictable operational expenditure, allowing you to scale licences up or down as your team evolves. You get the web and mobile versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, ensuring your team can create and edit documents from a browser without installing anything. This is a genuine, verified digital licence from Lizensa, delivered instantly, and backed by full EU consumer rights.

Key features and benefits

• Professional business email with your own domain: Move beyond generic email addresses. With Exchange Online, you get a 50 GB mailbox and the ability to use a custom domain name (e.g., [email protected]), which builds instant trust with clients. Shared calendars, contacts, and scheduling tools keep your entire organisation synchronised.
• 1 TB of personal cloud storage per user: OneDrive for Business gives every team member a vast, secure space to store, sync, and share files. Real-time co-authoring means multiple people can work on a single document simultaneously, eliminating version conflicts and endless email attachments.
• Collaborative team sites with SharePoint Online: Create internal websites, document libraries, and knowledge bases that act as a central hub for your projects. SharePoint integrates natively with Teams and OneDrive, making it simple to manage permissions and ensure everyone has access to the latest information.
• Unified communication with Microsoft Teams: Chat, make voice and video calls, and host online meetings with up to 300 participants. Teams is the digital headquarters for your business, integrating your calendar, files, and third-party apps into one persistent workspace, accessible from a desktop client, browser, or mobile device.
• Web and mobile versions of essential Office apps: Create and edit professional documents, spreadsheets, and presentations directly in a web browser with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for the web. While these versions don't include the full desktop feature set, they provide all the essential formatting and collaboration tools most users need daily.
• Centralised administration and security: The Microsoft 365 admin centre gives your IT administrator a single pane of glass to manage users, devices, and security policies. Enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA), manage mobile devices, and apply data loss prevention (DLP) rules to safeguard sensitive company information.
• Automatic updates and maintenance: As a cloud service, Microsoft 365 Business Basic is always up to date. You never need to worry about purchasing upgrades or installing security patches; new features and protections are rolled out continuously by Microsoft, ensuring your business always runs on the latest technology.
• EU data residency and compliance: Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure is built to meet rigorous European regulatory standards, including GDPR. Your data is stored in geographically redundant data centres within the EU, giving you peace of mind that your information is handled with the highest levels of privacy and security.

What's included with your purchase

When you purchase the Microsoft 365 Business Basic 12-month monthly plan from Lizensa, you are acquiring a genuine, digitally delivered subscription licence. This is not a lifetime, one-time purchase licence; it is a recurring monthly subscription that remains active for a 12-month term. You will receive a detailed digital delivery email containing your activation link and clear, step-by-step instructions. This email is typically delivered within seconds of your payment being confirmed. The licence is linked to your Microsoft 365 tenant, and you will manage all users and billing through the official Microsoft 365 admin portal. Your purchase also includes a full, legally compliant VAT invoice, which is essential for business accounting and tax purposes. The subscription is designed for commercial use and supports up to 300 users on a single tenant. Activation requires an internet connection, and the service is fully compatible with Windows and macOS environments, as well as mobile platforms via dedicated apps.

Office versions compared — which one should you buy?

Choosing the right Microsoft 365 plan depends entirely on how your team works. Microsoft 365 Business Basic is the entry point for cloud-centric businesses that prioritise communication and file management over desktop applications. It’s crucial to understand what you gain—and what you trade off—compared to other plans.

• Microsoft 365 Business Basic vs. Microsoft 365 Apps for business: The fundamental difference is the application set. Business Basic includes the full suite of cloud services: Exchange email, Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive, plus the web and mobile versions of Office apps. Microsoft 365 Apps for business, conversely, provides the full, installable desktop versions of Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote for up to 5 devices per user, but it does not include hosted email, Teams, or SharePoint. Choose Business Basic if you need a professional email server and collaboration hub; choose Apps for business if you only need the powerful desktop software and already have email hosting.
• Microsoft 365 Business Basic vs. Microsoft 365 Business Standard: Business Standard is the most direct upgrade. It includes everything in Business Basic—the email, storage, and Teams—and adds the fully featured, installable desktop Office applications. If your team regularly works with complex Excel macros, advanced PowerPoint animations, or needs offline access to the full desktop apps, Business Standard is the necessary step up. For a mobile-first team that lives in a browser, Business Basic is the more cost-effective choice.
• Microsoft 365 Business Basic vs. Microsoft 365 Business Premium: Business Premium builds on Business Standard by adding a comprehensive suite of advanced security and device management tools, including Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Intune for mobile device management, and Azure Information Protection. This plan is designed for businesses with sensitive data or compliance requirements that go beyond the built-in security of Business Basic.
• Subscription vs. One-time purchase (Office 2021): A one-time purchase like Office Home & Business 2021 gives you a static version of the desktop apps for a single computer. You pay once, but you only get security updates and no new features. A Microsoft 365 subscription like Business Basic is a service that continuously evolves, includes cloud storage, and is licensed per user across multiple devices. For a business that needs to collaborate in real time and stay current, the subscription model is the modern standard.

System requirements / compatibility

Microsoft 365 Business Basic is a cloud-first service, which means its system requirements are modest and focused on a reliable internet connection and a modern web browser. The service is designed to work seamlessly across Windows and macOS.

• Operating System: Compatible with Windows 10, Windows 11, and the three most recent versions of macOS. Full functionality on mobile devices requires iOS 15 or later, or Android 9.0 or later.
• Hardware: A minimum of 4 GB of RAM is required, though 8 GB is recommended for a smoother multitasking experience, especially when using Teams for video conferencing. You will need at least 4 GB of available hard-disk space for the OneDrive sync client and local caching.
• Architecture: The supporting sync clients and Teams app are available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions where supported by your operating system.
• Connectivity: An internet connection is mandatory for activation, daily use, and to access all cloud-based features. The web apps and real-time collaboration functions are entirely dependent on connectivity.
• Language Support: This licence supports the user interface in English, German, French, Dutch, and Polish, allowing your team members to work in their preferred language.
• Important Note: System requirements can change with service updates. We strongly recommend verifying the most current specifications against the official Microsoft documentation before a large-scale rollout.

Installation and activation

Getting your team started with Microsoft 365 Business Basic is a streamlined, digital-first process. After you complete your purchase through our Stripe-secured checkout, you will receive an email at the address you provided. This email, which typically arrives in under 60 seconds, contains your unique activation link and a clear, step-by-step guide. There is no physical product to ship and no software to download from an unverified source.

Activation is handled entirely through the Microsoft 365 admin centre. You will redeem the provided link against your business tenant. If you are setting up a new organisation, the process will guide you through creating your tenant and verifying your domain. Once activated, your subscription will begin, and you can immediately start creating user accounts, assigning licences, and deploying the mobile and desktop companion apps. The subscription renews automatically on a monthly basis for the 12-month term. Should you encounter any difficulty during activation, Lizensa’s multilingual technical support team is available to assist you free of charge. Because the licence is tied to your online tenant, you can reassign licences between users as your team changes, and you never have to worry about losing a product key.

Why choose Lizensa for your software licences

Securing a genuine software licence shouldn't be a gamble. At Lizensa, we’ve built our entire business around trust, speed, and unwavering compliance with European consumer law. When you purchase your Microsoft 365 Business Basic subscription from us, you’re not just buying a key; you’re investing in a guarantee. Our licences are sourced directly from authorised European distribution channels, which means every key we sell is 100% genuine and verified, eliminating the risk of blocked or fraudulent software that plagues grey-market sellers. The moment your payment is processed, our automated system delivers your activation instructions directly to your inbox, often in under a minute, so you can provision your team without delay. We provide a full, legally compliant VAT invoice with every order, enabling seamless accounting and reverse-charge handling for B2B customers across the EU. Your transaction is protected by Stripe’s world-class security, and you can pay using the methods most convenient for you, including SEPA, iDEAL, BLIK, Google Pay, and major credit cards. Should you have a question, our free multilingual support team is here to help, not with a chatbot, but with real expertise. And because we operate within the EU, your purchase is fully covered by a 14-day right of withdrawal, giving you the confidence to buy with complete peace of mind.

FAQ — frequently asked questions

Is Microsoft 365 Business Basic a one-time purchase or a subscription?

It is a recurring monthly subscription. This specific plan commits you to a 12-month term, billed monthly. It is not a lifetime or perpetual licence; your access to the services continues as long as your subscription remains active.

How quickly will I receive my licence after purchasing?

Our delivery process is fully automated. In the vast majority of cases, you will receive your activation email with all necessary instructions in under 60 seconds. If there is an unexpected delay, our support team is ready to assist immediately.

Is this a genuine and legal Microsoft licence?

Absolutely. Every licence sold by Lizensa is sourced from authorised, official European distribution partners. It is a 100% genuine, legally compliant Microsoft subscription, not a grey-market or OEM key being resold improperly.

What happens if I have trouble with the activation process?

We provide free, multilingual technical support to all our customers. If you encounter any error during the tenant setup or licence activation, you can contact our team, and we will guide you through the resolution process step by step.

Can I use this licence on both Windows and macOS?

Yes. Microsoft 365 Business Basic is a cloud-based service. You access the web apps and manage the service through a browser on Windows and macOS. The companion apps for Teams, OneDrive, and the mobile Office apps are also fully supported on both platforms.

Does this plan include the desktop versions of Word, Excel, and Outlook?

No. This plan includes the web and mobile versions of the Office apps, which run in a browser. It does not include the full, installable desktop applications. If you need the desktop apps, you should consider Microsoft 365 Business Standard.

Can I cancel my subscription at any time?

This is a 12-month monthly plan. You are committing to a 12-month service term, billed monthly. You should review Microsoft’s cancellation and refund policies for committed subscriptions, as cancelling before the term ends may incur a fee. Your purchase is also covered by our 14-day refund policy from the date of purchase.

Do you provide a VAT invoice for my purchase?

Yes, a full, legally compliant VAT invoice is generated automatically with your order. This is essential for business accounting, and reverse-charge mechanisms are supported for eligible B2B transactions within the EU.

What payment methods does Lizensa accept?

We offer a secure checkout powered by Stripe, accepting all major credit and debit cards, SEPA bank transfers, iDEAL, BLIK, and Google Pay. Your payment details are always encrypted and secure.

Is this licence valid for use in my EU country?

Yes. Our licences are valid for activation and use across all 27 member states of the European Union. The service meets EU data protection standards, including GDPR.

What is the maximum number of users I can have on this plan?

Microsoft 365 Business Basic supports organisations with up to 300 users. It is designed specifically for small to medium-sized businesses that need a professional, managed IT environment without enterprise-level complexity.