Exchange Online Plan 1: limits and the Plan 2 line
Exchange Online (Plan 1)
per user per month, excluding VAT
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Exchange Online Plan 1 is standalone business email: a 50 GB mailbox per user, with a 50 GB archive, Outlook on the web, Outlook for iOS and Android, and support for Outlook for Windows and Mac where the user is separately licensed for the desktop applications. It is the mail service without the rest of Microsoft 365. The boundary against Plan 2 is worth knowing before choosing: Plan 1 has no litigation hold, no In-Place Hold and no Microsoft Purview data loss prevention, and its archive does not auto-expand. Adding Exchange Online Archiving to a Plan 1 mailbox unlocks hold and the larger archive.
What it is
Exchange Online Plan 1 is Microsoft's standalone hosted email service. It provides mailboxes, calendars and contacts without the Office applications, SharePoint or Teams that come with a Microsoft 365 suite.
Who it is for
Organisations that want business email on Microsoft's platform and nothing else, and roles inside a larger tenant that need a mailbox but no productivity suite, such as shared function accounts or contractors.
Key capabilities
- 50 GB mailbox per user
- 50 GB archive mailbox
- Outlook on the web, Outlook for iOS and Android, Exchange ActiveSync, POP and IMAP
- Outlook for Windows and Mac, where the user holds a separate licence for the desktop applications
- Manual retention policies, labels and tags
- Microsoft Purview Message Encryption (Basic), journaling, transport rules, eDiscovery content search
What is not included
Plan 1 has no In-Place Hold and no Litigation Hold, and no Microsoft Purview data loss prevention. Its archive is 50 GB and does not auto-expand. Exchange Online Archiving for Exchange Server is not available on this plan.
The two ways to get hold and a larger archive
Either move to Exchange Online Plan 2, or keep Plan 1 and add an Exchange Online Archiving licence to the mailbox. Microsoft documents both routes as valid for placing a mailbox on litigation hold, and the archiving add-on also enables auto-expanding archiving up to 1.5 TB. Which is cheaper depends on how many mailboxes need it, so count them before deciding.
Requirements
Connecting Outlook for Windows or Mac to a Plan 1 mailbox requires that those applications first be licensed through an account that includes rights to the Microsoft 365 desktop applications.
Can I place an Exchange Online Plan 1 mailbox on litigation hold?
Not on Plan 1 alone. The mailbox needs either an Exchange Online Plan 2 licence or a Plan 1 licence with a separate Exchange Online Archiving licence assigned to it.
How big is the mailbox and the archive?
The mailbox is 50 GB and the archive is 50 GB. Auto-expanding archiving up to 1.5 TB requires Plan 2, or Plan 1 with an Exchange Online Archiving licence.
Does Plan 1 include the Outlook desktop application?
No. Plan 1 licenses the mailbox, not the applications. Outlook for Windows or Mac can connect to it, but the user must be licensed for the Microsoft 365 desktop applications through another subscription.
Does Plan 1 include data loss prevention?
No. Microsoft Purview data loss prevention is available on Exchange Online Plan 2, Microsoft 365 Business Premium and the Microsoft 365 enterprise plans, not on Plan 1.
What is the difference between Plan 1 and Plan 2?
Plan 2 doubles the mailbox to 100 GB, raises the archive to 1.5 TB with auto-expansion, and adds In-Place Hold, Litigation Hold and Microsoft Purview data loss prevention.
- Vendor
- Microsoft
- Category
- Productivity
- Type
- SaaS
- Billing
- Monthly
- Commitment
- 1-Year
- Available terms
- Monthly, 1-Year
- SKU
- MST-NCE-179-C100
- 1You request the licence, or add it to the cart.
- 2I confirm price, term and seats, and check your VAT number in VIES. Businesses in the EU only.
- 3You pay before we provision, under the CSP Marketplace Terms. The invoice comes from Michal Jatczak, a sole trader registered in Malta, trading as ITSailor. Reverse charge for an EU VAT number that validates in VIES.
- 4Your authorised signatory accepts the Microsoft Customer Agreement before activation.
- 5I place the order with Pax8 within one business day of payment.