microsoft 365 for business plans

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Try or buy a Microsoft 365 for business subscription

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Check out all of our small business content on Small business help & learning and our Microsoft 365 small business help on YouTube.

Microsoft 365 for business is a subscription service that lets you run your organization in the cloud while Microsoft takes care of the IT for you. We manage your devices, protect against real-world threats, and provide your organization with the latest in business software. You can sign up for a free trial subscription for Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Microsoft Defender for Business, or Microsoft 365 Apps for business and try it out for 30 days.

You must use a credit or debit card when you sign up for a free trial. At the end of your free trial period, your trial subscription is automatically converted to a paid subscription. Your card isn't billed until the trial period ends.

Need help with choosing a plan?

Choosing a plan depends on your specific business needs. The Microsoft 365 plan chooser helps you select a plan. The tool makes recommendations based on your answers to questions about things like the size of your business, your field of work, the devices that you use, and what kind of features, IT support, and security that you're looking for.

Before you begin

You don't need an existing Microsoft account to sign up for a free trial.

For all other procedures in this article, the following items are required:

• You must have a Microsoft account, and you must be at least a Billing Administrator for your organization. For more information, see About admin roles .

Find out what type of billing account you have .

• If you have a Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA) billing account type, you must also be a Billing account owner or contributor to do the tasks described in this article. For more information, see Understand billing accounts and Manage your Microsoft business billing profiles .

Payment options for Microsoft 365 operated by 21Vianet in China

International credit cards aren't accepted. You can pay for your subscription by:

• Online payment using Alipay or China UnionPay

Proof of payment is provided in the form of Fapiaos. You can submit your Fapiao request to our Fapiao system about three (3) days after you pay.

Try a free trial subscription

To create an account and sign up for a free trial subscription of Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Microsoft Defender for Business, or Microsoft 365 Apps for business, use the following steps.

• Go to the Microsoft 365 Products site.
• Select the plan that you want, such as Microsoft 365 Business Standard , scroll down the page, and select Try free for 1 month .
• On the next page, follow the steps to set up your account.

The sign-up process might take several minutes to complete. After it's complete, you're ready to start the setup wizard for your subscription. For more information about setting up your subscription, see Next steps .

When you start a free trial, we automatically create a billing account for you. You use your billing account to manage your account settings, invoices, payment methods, and purchases. For more information about billing accounts, see Understand billing accounts .

Extend your trial

Do you need more time to try out the features of Microsoft 365 for business before buying? If your trial subscription is within 15 days of expiring and hasn't been extended yet, you can extend your trial for another 30-day period. You can only do this one time.

If you have an MCA billing account type:

• If you're using the Simplified view , select Billing , then select your trial subscription.
• If you're using the Dashboard view , go to the Billing > Your products page and select the trial subscription that you want to extend.
• On the subscription details page, in the Trial subscription section, select Extend trial end date .
• In the Extend your trial's end date pane, review the extension information, and, if necessary, select a payment method.
• Select Extend trial .

If you have an MOSA billing account type:

• On the subscription details page, in the Subscription and payment settings section, select Extend end date .
• In the Extend end date pane, select a payment method to use, or add a new one.

Buy a subscription from your free trial

At the end of the free trial period, most trial subscriptions automatically convert to a paid subscription. The paid subscription defaults to the plan that you currently have. You can buy a different plan by following the steps in Buy a different subscription .

If you want to buy your subscription before your trial is over, use the following steps.

• If you're using the Dashboard view , go to the Billing > Your products page and select the trial subscription that you want to buy.
• On the subscription details page, select Start a paid subscription now .
• In the Start a paid subscription now pane, enter the number of licenses that you want, select a subscription length and billing frequency, then select Change plan .
• On the subscription details page, in the License section, select Buy paid subscription now .
• In the Buy subscription pane, choose a monthly or annual commitment for your subscription, then select Checkout .
• On the Checkout page, verify the information, including Items in this order , then select Place order .

Cancel your free trial subscription

If you decide to cancel your trial subscription before the free trial period ends, go to the Microsoft 365 admin center and turn off recurring billing . The trial automatically expires when your month ends, and your credit card isn't charged.

Try a different subscription

If you already have a Microsoft 365 for business subscription, you can use the Microsoft 365 admin center to try a different subscription.

When you add a subscription through the Microsoft 365 admin center , the new subscription is associated with the same organization (domain namespace) as your existing subscription. This association makes it easier to move users in your organization between subscriptions, or to assign them a license for the other products they need.

• If you're using the Simplified view , select Billing , then select Add more products .
• If you're using the Dashboard view , go to the Billing > Purchase services page. For some customers, the page is named Marketplace .
• Find the plan that you want to try, and select Details .
• In the Select a plan drop-down list, select the trial plan.

All trial subscriptions include 25 free licenses for the duration of the trial period.

• Select Start free trial .
• In the Checkout pane, choose the billing profile that you want to use, or add a new one.
• The Product name section lists the cost, subscription term, number of licenses, and renewal date for the trial subscription. To match the renewal date with another subscription paid by the billing profile, select Select a different renewal date .
• If necessary, change the number of licenses that you want to buy when the trial ends.
• When you're ready, select Place order .
• Choose to receive a text or a call, enter your phone number, then choose Text me or Call me .
• Enter the verification code, then select Start your free trial .
• On the Check out page, select Try now .
• On the order receipt page, select Continue .

Buy a different subscription

As your users change roles, they might need features that aren't available in their current Microsoft 365 for business subscription. When this happens, you can add a new subscription that includes those features and assign licenses to the people who need them.

When you buy another subscription through the Microsoft 365 admin center, the new subscription is associated with the same organization (domain namespace) as your existing subscription. This association makes it easier to move users in your organization between subscriptions , or to assign them a license for another subscription they need.

If you want to move all of your users to a different subscription, see Upgrade or change to a different Microsoft 365 for business plan .

You must move or reassign users from your free trial subscription to the new subscription before your 90-day grace period ends after your trial subscription expires. By doing this, you keep your data, accounts, and configuration. Otherwise, that information is deleted at the end of 90 days. Find out what type of billing account you have .

Check out this video and others on our YouTube channel .

If you found this video helpful, check out the complete training series for small businesses and those new to Microsoft 365 on YouTube.

• Select the plan that you want to buy, then select Details .
• On the product details page, in the Select a plan drop-down list, select the plan, and enter the number of licenses that you want to buy. Select a subscription length and billing frequency, then select Buy .
• The Product name section lists the cost, subscription term, number of licenses, and renewal date for the subscription. To match the renewal date with another subscription paid by the billing profile, select Select a different renewal date .
• Select Place order .
• On the product details page, enter the number of licenses that you need, select a billing frequency, then select Buy .
• On the Checkout page, verify the Sold to information. Select a payment method or add a new one. Verify the number of licenses that you need, then select Place order .

If you have a new account and are setting up your first subscription, you can use the guided setup articles to help you get started.

• Set up Microsoft 365 Business Basic
• Set up Microsoft 365 Business Standard
• Set up Microsoft 365 Business Premium
• Set up Microsoft Defender for Business
• Set up Microsoft 365 Apps for business

If you already have a subscription and are adding a new subscription, you can move users to it. To learn how, see Move users to a different subscription .

If you upgraded to Microsoft 365 Business Premium, use the steps in the Business Premium library to set up your new security capabilities.

Visit the Microsoft 365 Business Premium library

Related content

Microsoft 365 for business training videos (video) Add users and assign licenses at the same time (article) Assign licenses to users (article) Upgrade to a different plan (article) Buy or edit an add-on for Microsoft 365 for business (article) Add storage space for your subscription (article)

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