Microsoft 365 Licensing Review: Do You Actually Need E3 or E5?
A mapped, measured answer on which tier you should be on and what you are already paying for and not using.
Checked 4 October 2026. Built from the full service page.
In short: A review of what you are licensed for, what is assigned, what is actually used and what tier you should be on. Aimed particularly at organisations under 300 users, where Business Premium is frequently the right answer and E3 is frequently bought anyway. You get a written mapping, a straight recommendation and a costed comparison. We measure your tenant rather than quoting you an industry average.
Who this is for
The problem
Licensing waste does not announce itself. It is a slightly larger invoice each year, a security product bought separately that was already included, a tier upgrade taken on advice nobody re-examined, and licences still assigned to people who left. None of it is visible from the invoice, which shows what you bought rather than what anyone uses.
What we would do
Map users to what they actually do before comparing tiers at all. Licensing everyone the same way is what produces overspend and gaps at once. If you are under 300 users, start from the assumption that Business Premium is the answer and make the case for moving up, rather than starting at E3 and looking for reasons to justify it.
- Above 300 users Business Premium is not available, so the comparison genuinely starts at E3 and the question becomes which users need more than that.
- If you have a specific regulatory or contractual requirement that names a capability only in E5, buy it for the people it applies to rather than for everyone.
- If you are mid-term on an agreement, the right move may be to plan now and act at renewal, because breaking a term rarely saves what people expect.
When we are not the answer: If you want the cheapest price on licences you have already chosen, a volume reseller will beat us and you should let them. We are worth paying for when the question is which licences you should be buying, particularly when you suspect the answer is fewer or cheaper ones than you are being sold.
What is included
- User mapping: who does what, and which group each person genuinely belongs to
- Assigned against active, so licences held by leavers surface
- Tier comparison across Business Premium, Windows 365 Business, E3 and E5
- What your current licence already includes that is switched off
- A costed comparison of the realistic options, with the mix rather than one tier for all
- Renewal timing and what to do before the conversation rather than during it
- A written recommendation you keep, whether or not you engage us afterwards
What the last 12 months looked like
What it costs
Scoped and quoted against your estate rather than sold from a rate card. We price what you already run, including the parts that are working and do not need replacing, and the quote itemises what is included so it can be compared line by line with anyone else’s. Managed IT support starts at £40 per user, per month if that is the wider question.
Three questions people ask
We have fewer than 300 users. Do we need E3?
Usually not, and it is worth making anyone recommending it explain why.
How much of Microsoft 365 do most organisations actually use?
We are not going to give you a percentage, because the figures in circulation are not sourced well enough to repeat.
Should we move to E5?
For some of your people, possibly. For all of them, rarely.
Tell us what you need
A short call to talk through how your IT works today, what your team handles, and what you need from a provider. We will tell you plainly how we would approach it.
Prefer to talk now? Call us on +44 (0)1482 770583.