Microsoft 365 E5 is aimed at organizations that want to protect identities, devices and data with tools from a single vendor and be able to prove it. The package includes everything in Microsoft 365 E3, meaning Office apps, Exchange Online, SharePoint, Microsoft Intune and Entra ID P1. Unlike Microsoft 365 Business Premium, E5 has no cap of 300 users.
What E5 adds
- Identity: Microsoft Entra ID P2 with risk-based Conditional Access, ID Protection and Privileged Identity Management, see Entra ID P1 and P2.
- Security: the full scope of Microsoft Defender XDR, including Defender for Endpoint Plan 2.
- Compliance: advanced features in Microsoft Purview, such as Insider Risk Management, eDiscovery Premium and audit with retention of up to ten years.
- Security Copilot: Microsoft Security Copilot is included for eligible customers.
- Other services: Power BI Pro, Teams Phone and audio conferencing.
Many of these features cover tasks that would otherwise need separate products, such as detection and response in the style of extended detection and response (XDR) or the management of privileged roles in the sense of privileged access management. They only add value, however, if someone configures them and handles the alerts.
Price and Teams
Since 1 July 2026, the list price in euros is €58.13 per user and month with an annual term paid annually. The variant without Teams costs €50.71. Since 1 November 2025, Microsoft again sells the enterprise suites worldwide with Microsoft Teams, plus variants without Teams. Anyone who wants to license Teams separately combines the variant without Teams with Teams Enterprise for €7.41.
E5 is bought through Microsoft CSP, through the Enterprise Agreement or through the Microsoft Customer Agreement for Enterprise.
E5 and Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft Copilot, the add-on license for AI features in the Office apps, is not included in E5 and is bought separately. Only Microsoft 365 E7 includes Copilot. However, the advanced Purview features in E5 help to sort out permissions and sensitive data before a Copilot rollout.
Who is E5 worth it for?
- Organizations with requirements from NIS2 or industry rules that need to retain logs for a long time and trace incidents.
- Companies that want to replace several security products with Defender XDR.
- Higher-risk roles, such as administrators or management, even if the rest of the organization uses E3 or Business Premium.
A mix often makes sense: E5 for specific groups, and a smaller package with targeted add-on licenses for the other users.
Planning E5 with TOMORIS
The guide Business Premium, E3 or E5 compares the packages. Setting up and operating the security features is described in Microsoft Security.