site.microsoft.com: Microsoft 365 Business Basic at $7, and email-only Exchange at $4
Microsoft's business email plans as its own pages list them, the cheaper email-only option most people miss, and what a team pays compared with Google Workspace, Zoho and MarkRelay.
- Published by
- MarkRelay Research
- Updated
- Sources
- 5 primary sources, linked below
Summary
Microsoft 365 Business Basic is $7 per user a month paid yearly, or $8.40 on a monthly subscription, for up to 300 users, with custom business email and web and mobile versions of the Office apps. For email alone, Exchange Online Plan 1 costs $4 per user a month paid yearly, and Plan 2 $8. Business Standard adds desktop apps from $14. Every option is priced per user, the same model as Google Workspace. MarkRelay is priced per deployment instead: $99 a year plus $5 a month for Cloudflare, for any number of mailboxes, domains and teammates, with mail stored in your own Cloudflare account.
Key findings
- 1Business Basic: $7 per user a month paid yearly, $8.40 monthly; up to 300 users; web and mobile Office apps and custom business email.
- 2Exchange Online Plan 1: $4 per user a month paid yearly, for 1 to 300 users; Plan 2: $8.
- 3Business Standard adds desktop Office apps: $14 on Microsoft's Business Basic page, $23.5 for the version with Copilot; Business Premium with Copilot is $32.
- 4The free trial lasts one month, needs a credit card and converts to a paid subscription unless cancelled.
Questions this report answers
Asked by real people, quoted as they wrote them.
“Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 for business email?”
r/Entrepreneur, 39 comments
On price they match: Business Basic and Workspace Business Starter are both $7 per user a month paid yearly. If email is all you need, Microsoft's Exchange Online Plan 1 at $4 is cheaper than either.
“Multiple domains, at least 1 separate mailbox for each domain, but just one M365 Business?”
r/Office365, 11 comments
Microsoft prices Business Basic and Exchange Online per user. MarkRelay puts every domain and its mailboxes in one deployment for one license, $99 a year plus $5 a month, whatever the number of users or mailboxes.
“Alternatives to IMAP mail servers for small businesses (budget-friendly options)?”
r/msp, 83 comments
Hosted: Exchange Online Plan 1 at $4 per user, Zoho Mail Lite at $1. Self-hosted without a server: MarkRelay on Cloudflare, priced per deployment, with webmail and an API instead of IMAP.
“alternative to outlook email”
Google search suggestion
Outside Microsoft, the per-user options are Google Workspace, Zoho Mail and Fastmail. MarkRelay is a flat-priced webmail for your own domains that runs in your Cloudflare account.
Microsoft's business email options (USD)
| On microsoft.com | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Business Basic | Business Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per user a month, paid yearly | $4 | $7 | $14 ($23.5 with Copilot) |
| Monthly subscription | Not stated | $8.40 | Not stated |
| Users | 1–300 | Up to 300 | Up to 300 |
| Office apps | Not stated | Web and mobile | Desktop, web and mobile |
Per user a month, paid yearly
- Exchange Online Plan 1
- $4
- Business Basic
- $7
- Business Standard
- $14 ($23.5 with Copilot)
Monthly subscription
- Exchange Online Plan 1
- Not stated
- Business Basic
- $8.40
- Business Standard
- Not stated
Users
- Exchange Online Plan 1
- 1–300
- Business Basic
- Up to 300
- Business Standard
- Up to 300
Office apps
- Exchange Online Plan 1
- Not stated
- Business Basic
- Web and mobile
- Business Standard
- Desktop, web and mobile
Not stated means the provider's own page does not say. Source: Business Basic, Compare business plans, Compare Exchange Online plans.
What a team pays a year
| Users | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Business Basic | Workspace Starter | MarkRelay$99/yr + Cloudflare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $48 | $84 | $84 | $159 |
| 5 | $240 | $420 | $420 | $159 |
| 15 | $720 | $1,260 | $1,260 | $159 |
1
- Exchange Online Plan 1
- $48
- Business Basic
- $84
- Workspace Starter
- $84
- MarkRelay
- $159
5
- Exchange Online Plan 1
- $240
- Business Basic
- $420
- Workspace Starter
- $420
- MarkRelay
- $159
15
- Exchange Online Plan 1
- $720
- Business Basic
- $1,260
- Workspace Starter
- $1,260
- MarkRelay
- $159
Yearly prices for the plan named. MarkRelay is the $99 Annual license plus $5 a month for Cloudflare Workers Paid, the same for any team size, with 3,000 sent emails a month included; receiving is free. Source: Google Workspace pricing.
Per user, or per deployment
Microsoft 365 and Exchange Online are priced per user, so the bill grows with every person you add. Exchange Online Plan 1 is the cheapest way to stay with Microsoft for email; at $720 a year for 15 people it still grows with the team.
MarkRelay runs as a Worker in your own Cloudflare account and charges nothing per mailbox or member. Each teammate sees only the mailboxes granted to them, support@ can have its own sign-in for a shared desk, and apps and AI agents use the same mailboxes over an HTTP API or MCP with keys limited to chosen mailboxes. Mail and attachments are stored in your D1 and R2.
Where MarkRelay fits
A good fit when
- Teams past a few people, several domains, or shared and app mailboxes that would each need a license.
- Mail kept in your own Cloudflare account, with an API for apps and agents.
Look elsewhere when
- Outlook desktop over Exchange, Teams, and Office apps: stay on Microsoft 365.
- One or two people: Exchange Online Plan 1 costs less.
Common questions
What is the cheapest Microsoft business email?
Exchange Online Plan 1 at $4 per user a month paid yearly.
How much is Microsoft 365 Business Basic?
$7 per user a month paid yearly, or $8.40 on a monthly subscription.
Sources and method
- Business Basic (www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/microsoft-365-business-basic)
- Compare business plans (www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/compare-all-microsoft-365-business-products)
- Compare Exchange Online plans (www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/exchange/compare-microsoft-exchange-online-plans)
- Google Workspace pricing (workspace.google.com/pricing)
- Zoho Mail pricing (www.zoho.com/mail/zohomail-pricing.html)
Facts are taken from each vendor's own pricing pages, documentation or terms as of the updated date above; prices are in US dollars per month unless stated. Cost comparisons apply each vendor's published rates to the same volume. MarkRelay is not affiliated with Microsoft;"site.microsoft.com" in the title names the site these facts come from. MarkRelay sells a self-hosted email app, which this page mentions where it fits. Spotted something outdated? Tell us.
Revisions
- : First published; every fact checked on the vendor's own pages.
Related guides
More research
- Custom domain emailsite.zoho.com Mail pricing: free plan for 5 users, and Mail Lite at $1
- Custom domain emailsite.fastmail.com pricing: custom domain email from $5 a month
- Custom domain emailsite.workspace.google.com pricing: Business Starter at $7, and what it costs a team
- Custom domain emailCustom domain email hosting in 2026: Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoho, Fastmail and Proton pricing compared
- Email Routing and Sendingsite.cloudflare.com Email Routing: free custom domain email, and how to send
- Transactional emailsite.resend.com pricing: free plan, 3,000 emails and 100 a day