Office 365 E3 Microsofts Cloud Based Suite

Microsoft 365 E3: Features, Pricing & Guide

Microsoft 365 E3 (formerly Office 365 E3) is the enterprise productivity and security suite at $36/user/month. It includes the full Office desktop suite, Exchange Online with unlimited archiving, SharePoint Online, Teams, and a compliance toolkit covering HIPAA, SOC 2, and GDPR. EPC Group deploys and optimizes M365 E3 for Fortune 500 and regulated-industry clients.

Key facts

• Microsoft 365 E3: $36/user/month.
• Includes: full Office desktop apps, Exchange Online (unlimited archive), SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive (1 TB).
• Security: Azure AD P1, Intune, Microsoft Defender Antivirus, BitLocker.
• Compliance: DLP, eDiscovery, audit logging, Legal Hold, sensitivity labels.
• Microsoft 365 E5: $57/user/month — adds Defender for Endpoint Plan 2, Defender for Cloud Apps, Insider Risk, and 6-year audit retention.
• EPC Group: 29 years Microsoft consulting. Deployed M365 for 70+ Fortune 500 clients.

What Microsoft 365 E3 includes

E3 covers the full enterprise productivity and security stack at baseline enterprise scale.

• Office desktop apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher, Access (PC only).
• Exchange Online: 100 GB mailbox + unlimited archive. Hosted Voicemail. Calendar sharing.
• SharePoint Online: team sites, communication sites, intranet, document management.
• Microsoft Teams: meetings, chat, channels, Teams Phone (add-on required for PSTN).
• OneDrive: 1 TB per user.
• Microsoft Intune: device management for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android.
• Azure AD P1: Conditional Access, MFA, self-service password reset, hybrid identity.
• Microsoft Defender: Antivirus, Firewall, SmartScreen for endpoint protection.

E3 compliance and security tools

E3 includes a baseline compliance toolkit sufficient for HIPAA, SOC 2, and GDPR starting points.

• Data Loss Prevention (DLP): 200+ built-in sensitive information types.
• eDiscovery and Legal Hold: preserve and export content for litigation.
• Audit logging: 90-day audit log retention.
• Sensitivity labels: classify and protect documents and emails.
• Microsoft Purview compliance portal access.
• BitLocker: full-disk encryption for Windows devices.

E3 vs E5: when to upgrade

E5 adds advanced security and compliance at $57/user/month. Consider E5 when:

• You need Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 (EDR, threat hunting).
• Insider Risk Management is required (behavioral analytics for data theft risk).
• Communication Compliance is required (financial services, legal).
• You need 6-year audit log retention (SEC, FINRA, MiFID II).
• Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps (CASB) is needed for shadow IT visibility.
• Customer Lockbox is required for government or regulated-industry contracts.

E5 adds roughly $35/user/month of security value over E3 if purchased as add-ons separately.

Government: M365 GCC and GCC High

Federal agencies and contractors require government cloud plans.

• M365 GCC: state and local government; FedRAMP Moderate.
• M365 GCC High: federal contractors holding CUI; required for CMMC Level 2 (110 NIST 800-171 controls) or Level 3 (134 controls).

Frequently asked questions

What is Microsoft 365 E3?

Microsoft 365 E3 is the enterprise productivity and security suite at $36/user/month. It includes the full Office desktop suite, Exchange Online with unlimited archiving, SharePoint, Teams, Intune, and Azure AD P1 — with compliance tools covering HIPAA, SOC 2, and GDPR.

What is the difference between E3 and E5?

E5 adds advanced security: Defender for Endpoint Plan 2, Insider Risk Management, Communication Compliance, Customer Lockbox, and 6-year audit log retention. E5 costs $57/user/month. E3 is $36. For most organizations, E3 is sufficient; regulated industries with advanced threat detection needs upgrade to E5.

Does Microsoft 365 E3 include Office desktop apps?

Yes. E3 includes the full Office desktop suite: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher, and Access (Windows only). Apps install on up to 5 Windows PCs, 5 Macs, and 5 mobile devices per user.

Can EPC Group help configure M365 E3 for HIPAA compliance?

Yes. HIPAA compliance requires specific configuration beyond default E3 settings: DLP policies for PHI, sensitivity labels, audit log retention, and Business Associate Agreement with Microsoft. EPC Group configures and validates all HIPAA controls within your E3 tenant.

Schedule a consultation

EPC Group deploys and configures Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 for enterprise and regulated-industry clients. Call (888) 381-9725 or request a 30-minute discovery call.