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Microsoft 365 Business vs Office 365 comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 29, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.8
Microsoft 365 Business enhances productivity and efficiency by reducing costs, improving communication, and offering scalable, secure cloud solutions.
Sentiment score
6.2
Office 365 offers cost savings and enhanced productivity, though ROI varies, especially for small companies with alternative options.
It also provides good security and the ability for normal users to create simple applications without needing developers.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
4.5
Microsoft 365 Business support is generally reliable, with users praising knowledgeability and responsiveness despite some improvement needs in response times.
Sentiment score
4.1
Microsoft Office 365 support is generally positive, noting responsiveness and resolution, though initial delays and navigation issues exist.
It would be beneficial if Microsoft had more expert customer support staff.
We have had good support from Microsoft, with responsive and well-trained staff who are very polite.
I haven't needed any support from Microsoft with Microsoft 365 Business; in my three years, I haven't encountered any instances.
At times if you're trying to use their online support, they'll send you to an article that may or may not have anything to do with what you're looking for.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Microsoft 365 Business is scalable with easy deployment and adaptability, though growth may increase costs and present capacity issues.
Sentiment score
7.4
Office 365 is scalable and adaptable, efficiently supporting large user bases with easy scaling through additional licenses.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft 365 Business is praised for stability and reliability, with occasional minor issues in Teams and Excel.
Sentiment score
7.4
Office 365 is highly stable, with minor issues on Mac, rated 8-10 for reliability and performance satisfaction.
The stability of Microsoft 365 Business is rated nine out of ten.
The file-sharing feature in Microsoft 365, specifically using OneDrive, is unreliable.
It works properly, and I have never needed to contact support.
The integration capabilities of Office 365 with Word, Excel, and Outlook with OneDrive for cloud storage have been smooth and work well.
At this time, whatever they have meets the needs, and they are expanding the number of participants to Team meetings and other features.
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft 365 Business needs enhancements in security, pricing, integration, user interface, scalability, support, updates, and training resources.
Office 365 needs improved multilingual support, non-Windows performance, better third-party integration, enhanced security, AI features, and pricing adjustments.
Providing Power BI for a lower package, such as e3, would be beneficial.
Microsoft has very poor security, and Defender is ineffective.
The comprehensive nature of the solution justifies the cost.
I believe the choice of office apps often depends on the existing ecosystem of the business, and since Office 365 has comprehensive coverage, I am not missing any features that the competition provides.
I'm not aware of the support calls users are placing, but in 10 years I probably had five or six support tickets placed.
One of the big changes is when Microsoft updates anything, they will switch where some of the settings are and where to find them, which becomes a little frustrating because you're used to it in one spot and it's someplace else.
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft 365 Business offers flexible licensing and valuable features, starting at $6, though pricing complexity and expense are concerns.
Office 365 pricing varies by features and user count, offering flexibility but can be costly for smaller businesses.
Microsoft 365 is cost-intensive, and alternate options like OpenOffice, LibreOffice, or Google Workspace are not as expensive.
The solution might be considered pricey for some, however, the comprehensiveness of the suite justifies its cost.
It could be more affordable.
the cost of using the Microsoft ecosystem is higher than the combined cost of using Notion and Slack.
My experience with the pricing or licensing of Office 365 is that a lot of times we've gotten them when they've been on sale, so we've had really good pricing for the Microsoft products.
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft 365 Business enhances productivity with seamless tools, real-time collaboration, and efficient global file sharing through a subscription model.
Office 365 enhances remote work productivity with collaboration tools, seamless integration, real-time editing, and robust communication features.
Using Teams helps our team's productivity because rather than having to make a proper chart again, if I am reviewing someone else's work and I find a mistake, I'll just do it in Excel and it automatically gets updated in the PPT.
Microsoft 365 Business integrates well and improves communication, cooperation, and security.
The subscription model of Microsoft 365 Business is beneficial since it provides continuous updates, including functional updates and transformations of the product.
It has improved productivity and functionality by providing all necessary tools in one suite.
The most valuable feature is SharePoint, where we can easily put files and make them accessible to any person who has access.
Office 365 has positively impacted my organization by making the salespeople more accurate because they've been able to use the features in Excel instead of relying on the calculator or adding machine.
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft 365 Business
Ranking in Content Collaboration Platforms
11th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
246
Ranking in other categories
Mobile Device Management (MDM) (2nd)
Office 365
Ranking in Content Collaboration Platforms
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
150
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Content Collaboration Platforms category, the mindshare of Microsoft 365 Business is 2.1%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Office 365 is 9.6%, up from 5.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Content Collaboration Platforms Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Office 3659.6%
Microsoft 365 Business2.1%
Other88.3%
Content Collaboration Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

CharlesBrewer - PeerSpot reviewer
Price and reliability need improvement while general tasks are streamlined
The pricing for Microsoft 365 is too high, and quality-wise, it does not meet high standards. The operating system is outdated and inadequate. Microsoft has very poor security, and Defender is ineffective. In terms of collaboration and file sharing, OneDrive is very clunky and has frequent sync issues. It also crashes a lot and is unreliable.
Gary Cook - PeerSpot reviewer
Access to advanced features boosts productivity despite pricing concerns in developing regions
I need to do maintenance for Office 365 very seldom, once a year. In the maintenance process for Office 365, we have about 12 people involved. For the maintenance side of Office 365, only one person is involved. Looking at Office 365's pricing, I would give it a 4 on a scale from 1 to 10. My overall rating for Office 365 is an 8 out of 10, but for the product itself, I would give it a 10. I would definitely recommend Office 365 to other businesses, probably a 9 out of 10 for recommendation. This is only because of its price and the fact that they do not take into account developing countries such as South Africa, where they should give us more favorable prices or local prices. We do not have a partnership with Microsoft, which is a sore point for us. We have reached out to Microsoft South Africa, and they are very hard to contact and largely uncooperative. We are a B-Level 2 and a B-Level 1, which are local affirmative action ratings that companies get. Level 1 is the highest, and Level 8 is the lowest. We hold amongst the highest BEE ratings, but we have not found Microsoft South Africa to be forthcoming or very open. We should have a partnership with them, and we run Power BI as we are a Power BI shop now. I strongly would want to see a box within Office 365 for our team to have ChatGPT through OpenAI as well. We use Excel as a data source for many tasks and find that it integrates really well with Python. We write a lot of Python code and use Excel as a data sheet many times, and we operate through SQL and other zero elements as well. From an Office 365 viewpoint, we find that with Copilot and Python and Excel's provision for Python, it is very useful.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Performing Arts
15%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
7%
Computer Software Company
18%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Performing Arts
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business111
Midsize Enterprise44
Large Enterprise100
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business62
Midsize Enterprise29
Large Enterprise68
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft 365 Business?
The product's initial setup phase was straightforward.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft 365 Business?
I have no idea about the pricing of Microsoft 365 Business, since I'm not the party concerned.
What needs improvement with Microsoft 365 Business?
I don't have knowledge about the benefits of Advanced Threat Protection within Microsoft 365 Business, such as the Defender, because I think we don't have that. Currently, I can't think of anything...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Office 365?
I didn't inquire about the specific costs of transitioning from the previous tools. However, I was informed that the cost of using the Microsoft ecosystem is higher than the combined cost of using ...
What needs improvement with Office 365?
I don't have any ideas off the top of my head at the moment about what I would improve about Office 365. I can't think of anything that frustrates me about the tools. I mentioned that I use Copilot...
What is your primary use case for Office 365?
We use the Microsoft Office 365 suite for personal purposes. We use Teams for communications, and we use Azure DevOps for some of our workflow management. I use Office 365 for Outlook for emails. I...
 

Also Known As

Microsoft 365 E3, Microsoft 365 E5, Microsoft 365 F1, MS 365 Business
Microsoft Office 365, Office 365 Enterprise, Office 365 Enterprise E1, Office 365 Enterprise E3, Office 365 Enterprise E5, Office 365 ProPlus, Office 365 Business, Office 365 Business Essentials, Office 365 Business Premium, Office 365 F1
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Urban Agriculture Co., The Detroit Wallpaper Co., TransBlue Facility Management, Garner Food Company
Me & the Bees Lemonade
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft 365 Business vs. Office 365 and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
871,829 professionals have used our research since 2012.