Microsoft 365 E3 or E5: is E5 worth it?

Key facts

• E3 includes Entra ID P1, Intune and Defender for Endpoint Plan 1.
• E5 adds Entra ID P2, Defender for Endpoint Plan 2, Defender for Office 365 Plan 2, Defender for Identity and Defender for Cloud Apps.
• E5 adds advanced Purview tools such as Insider Risk Management and eDiscovery Premium.
• E5 includes Teams Phone Standard and Audio Conferencing.
• E5 Security and E5 Compliance add-ons let E3 customers buy one half of E5.

The short comparison

E3 is the base enterprise suite: Microsoft 365 Apps, Exchange Online, SharePoint, OneDrive, Entra ID P1, Intune, Windows Enterprise and core Purview features. E5 includes everything in E3 and adds most of Microsoft's advanced security, compliance, analytics and voice capabilities.

Plan contents change over time, and Microsoft sells some Enterprise suites with Teams licensed separately. Confirm current service descriptions before purchase.

When E3 is enough

If you choose E3, plan the email security gap. E3 does not include Defender for Office 365, so most E3 customers add Plan 1 or Plan 2.

• You do not have a security team or managed detection partner to work Defender alerts every day.
• Your compliance needs are covered by retention policies, sensitivity labels, DLP and standard eDiscovery.
• You already have a third-party endpoint detection or email security product you plan to keep.
• You do not need Teams Phone, or only a few users need it.
• You want to add Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 or other targeted add-ons instead.

When E5 is worth it

The value of E5 comes from use. Count the separate tools it could replace and the staff time it could save, then compare that with the license difference.

• You have security staff or a managed provider who will use Defender XDR, advanced hunting and automated investigation.
• You want to consolidate separate endpoint, email, identity or cloud app security tools.
• Legal, HR or compliance teams need Insider Risk Management, Communication Compliance or eDiscovery Premium.
• You want Privileged Identity Management and risk-based Conditional Access.
• Many users need Teams Phone and audio conferencing.

The middle options

You do not have to choose between all E3 and all E5. Microsoft offers E5 Security and E5 Compliance add-ons for E3 users, so you can buy the security half without the compliance half, or the reverse. You can also license E5 for a subset of users, such as executives, finance and admins, and keep E3 for the rest.

When you mix, match policy scope to licenses. Microsoft licensing terms generally expect each user who benefits from a feature to be licensed for it, so check current terms with your licensing partner.

Getting value if you buy E5

E5 tenants often run with many features unused. Plan an adoption roadmap rather than switching everything on at once.

A common order is: onboard all devices to Defender for Endpoint, apply preset email policies and Attack simulation training, deploy Defender for Identity sensors on domain controllers, connect Defender for Cloud Apps, move admins to Privileged Identity Management, then add Purview tools with the legal and compliance owners.

How Accred Consulting approaches it

Accred Consulting maps your current tools, security staffing and compliance needs against E3 and E5 before you change licenses, so the decision rests on what you will actually use. Accred then implements the plan: our US-based specialists onboard Defender, configure Entra ID P2 features, deploy Defender for Identity and set up Purview tools in stages. The proposal sets a fixed price, scope and timeline, and handover includes documentation and knowledge transfer.

Track record: 475+ client projects, 2,000+ migration workstreams and 210,000+ users migrated by a US-based team. Company facts · Case studies

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