What you need to know
- Microsoft just announced Microsoft 365 Basic, a new tier of the company's productivity suite.
- Microsoft 365 Basic costs $1.99 per month and comes with 100 GB of OneDrive storage, access to the web-based Office apps, Outlook, and access to customer support.
- The free version of Microsoft 365 as well as Microsoft 365 Personal and Microsoft 365 Family remain unchanged.
A new tier of Microsoft 365 was just announced. Microsoft 365 Basic grants subscribers access to 100 GB of OneDrive storage, the web-based Office apps, Outlook email, and access to customer support for Microsoft 365 and Windows 11. The plan costs $1.99 per month and effectively replaces the current 100 GB OneDrive plan.
The technical support provided to Microsoft 365 Basic subscribers includes phone or online chat help for Microsoft 365 and Windows 11.
Microsoft 365 Basic will be available on January 30, 2023. Throughout the year, more features will make their way to the plan.
"Later this year, we’ll have a bunch of stuff with OneDrive advanced security that will be available as well, that includes Personal Vault, password-protected and expiring links, ransomware detection and recovery, and bulk file restore," said Director of Product Marketing for Microsoft 365 Gareth Oystryk to The Verge.
The Microsoft 365 Basic plan does not replace the free version of Microsoft 365. Those that don't want to spend any money on Microsoft 365 can still get access to the web versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, OneDrive, and Clipchamp without a paid subscription. The free Microsoft 365 plan only comes with 5 GB, however, which can be limiting.
Microsoft 365 Personal, which costs $6.99 per month, also remains unchanged by the rollout of Microsoft 365 Basic. Similarly, Microsoft 365 Family will remain as it has been. In fact, Microsoft highlighted the fact that Microsoft 365 Personal and Microsoft 365 Family have not gone up in price since they launched 10 years ago.
Alongside the unveiling of Microsoft 365 Basic, Microsoft announced that the Office app on mobile platforms and Windows will be renamed to Microsoft 365 later this month. Microsoft has shifted toward Microsoft 365 branding over the last few years, though the Office name is still part of the company's plans.
"We’ve really invested a lot in Microsoft 365 and it’s really become our flagship productivity suite, so Office plays less of a role given that’s where our focus is. You’ll still see Office show up in certain contexts," said Oystryk to The Verge.
"It’s more of a shift in focus where we’re doubling down on Microsoft 365 as our productivity suite, and we want people, when they think of productivity, to think about Microsoft 365 and not Office."
