Is Microsoft 365 Business Premium Worth It for a Small Business?
Yes, for most businesses with 10-300 employees, Microsoft 365 Business Premium ($22 USD/user/month) provides significantly better security than Business Standard ($12.50) or Basic ($6) and includes features that would cost much more separately: Defender for Business, Intune device management, and advanced compliance tools.
Written by Alex Dayan, Founder of King of IT | Toronto Managed IT Services
1Microsoft 365 Business Plans Compared
Business Basic ($6 USD/user/month)
Web and mobile Office apps only
1TB OneDrive storage
Teams, SharePoint, Exchange
No desktop apps
Business Standard ($12.50 USD/user/month)
Everything in Basic, plus:
Desktop Office apps (Word, Excel, etc.)
Webinar hosting
Good for businesses that just need productivity tools
Business Premium ($22 USD/user/month)
Everything in Standard, plus:
Microsoft Defender for Business (endpoint security)
Intune (device management)
Azure AD Premium P1
Conditional Access
Data Loss Prevention
Advanced threat protection for email
The $9.50 difference between Standard and Premium buys security tools that would cost $30-50+/user if purchased separately.
2Security Features That Matter
Defender for Business
Enterprise-grade endpoint protection that detects and responds to threats. Replaces your antivirus and adds threat hunting, automated investigation, and attack surface reduction.
Intune Device Management
Manage and secure all company devices—even personal phones accessing company email. Enforce security policies, deploy apps, and wipe lost devices remotely.
Conditional Access
Block logins from risky locations or devices. Require MFA for sensitive apps. Automatically respond to detected threats by blocking access.
Advanced Email Security
Safe Links scans URLs in real-time. Safe Attachments detonates files in a sandbox. Anti-phishing AI detects impersonation attempts.
3Who Should Upgrade to Premium?
Premium is worth it if you:
Have sensitive client data (law firms, healthcare, financial services)
Need to comply with industry regulations
Have employees working remotely or using personal devices
Want to replace your separate antivirus with something better
Are a target for phishing (everyone with email, basically)
You might not need Premium if:
You're a very small team (under 5) with low security risk
You have a separate, robust security stack already
Budget is extremely tight and you'll implement security another way
King of IT recommendation: For Toronto businesses, we typically recommend Business Premium. The security features alone justify the cost, and they're much easier to manage than cobbling together separate security tools.