Past 300 users on Business Premium? Your options and prices after July 2026

What the cap actually is

According to Microsoft, the Business plans are for organizations with up to 300 users, and an organization can provision up to 300 seats in total across the Business family. With 250 Business Premium seats you can add only 50 more Business seats of any kind. Microsoft reserves the right to enforce the limit.

Option 1: mix Business Premium with Enterprise

You don’t have to move everyone. Microsoft lets you combine Business Premium with Office 365 and Enterprise Mobility + Security plans in the same tenant. For example, 300 users stay on Business Premium and the rest get Microsoft 365 E3.

One thing to plan for: Defender for Business, the endpoint protection in Business Premium, is also for up to 300 users. Once you grow past that, Microsoft recommends moving at your next renewal to a subscription that includes Defender for Endpoint for all users.

Option 2: move to Microsoft 365 E3, and what changed in July 2026

On 1 July 2026 Microsoft raised prices and changed packaging. Microsoft 365 E3 gained capabilities you used to buy separately, so the gap to Business Premium is smaller:

	Business Premium	Microsoft 365 E3	Office 365 E3 + EMS E3
List price per user per month	$22	$39 (was $36)	$26 + $12 = $38
Identity (Entra ID P1)	Included	Included	Included (in EMS E3)
Device management	Intune Plan 1	Intune Plan 1 + Plan 2, Remote Help, Advanced Analytics	Intune (in EMS E3)
Email protection (Defender for Office 365 P1)	Included	Included from July 2026	Included in Office 365 E3 from July 2026
Endpoint protection	Defender for Business, with EDR	Defender for Endpoint P1, no EDR	Not included
User cap	300	None	None

In practice, Microsoft 365 E3 costs about the same as Office 365 E3 plus EMS E3 and adds Defender for Endpoint P1. In most cases it’s the simpler choice.

The gap that’s left: EDR

Defender for Business in Business Premium includes endpoint detection and response (EDR) and automated investigation. Defender for Endpoint P1 in E3 has next-generation protection and attack surface reduction, but no EDR. To keep the same level of protection, give your E3 users Defender for Endpoint P2 or Microsoft Defender Suite, or move them to Microsoft 365 E5 ($60).

Example: a 400-user organization

Scenario	Calculation	Per month
300 on Business Premium + 100 on Microsoft 365 E3	300 × $22 + 100 × $39	$10,500
All 400 on Microsoft 365 E3	400 × $39	$15,600

These are USD list prices with an annual commitment, before tax. In both scenarios, also price EDR for the E3 users. Your actual price depends on your provider and terms.

Terminal servers and Remote Desktop

Business Premium is the only Business plan that supports shared computer activation, so you can run Office apps on a terminal server or Remote Desktop with it. You don’t need to move to E3 for that alone. Each user needs their own license and signs in with their own account.

How to decide

Count your users a year from now, not just today. If you’ll clearly pass 300 soon, plan the move for your next renewal.
Keep Business Premium for the users it fits and add E3 only for users above 300.
Plan endpoint protection for the whole organization, including EDR for E3 users.
Get current prices from your provider, after the July 2026 changes.

At OnCloud we help you plan the move past 300 users: which licensing mix fits you, what’s already included, and how to keep the same level of protection. Want to check where you stand?