Microsoft 365 F1, the license many people still search for as "Office 365 F1," is a $3 per user per month frontline plan with Teams, shared schedules and read-only Office, but no mailbox. F3 adds a 2 GB mailbox and editable web and mobile Office apps for $10, and Business Basic gives desk-based email users a 100 GB mailbox for $7. Match the license to whether the person needs email and a managed device, not to the lowest sticker price.
Get that match wrong and you either overpay for a warehouse crew or hand a shift lead a license that can't send an email.
The short version:
- F1, $3: Teams, shared schedules, read-only Office and device management. No email.
- F3, $10: a 2 GB mailbox plus Intune and Entra ID P1 to manage the device.
- Business Basic, $7: a 100 GB mailbox and 1 TB of OneDrive, but no Intune.
What happened to the Office 365 F1 license?
Microsoft retired the name in 2020. Its licensing announcement rebranded the old Office 365 F1 and Microsoft 365 F1 plans as Office 365 F3 and Microsoft 365 F3 on April 1, 2020, and launched a new, smaller Microsoft 365 F1 the same day. So an old quote, invoice or how-to guide that says "Office 365 F1" is describing what Microsoft now sells as F3, while today's F1 is the Teams-first plan with no mailbox.
What do F1, F3, and Business Basic cost?
At Microsoft's US list prices as of October 2026, paid yearly on an annual commitment. All three went up on July 1, 2026, according to Microsoft's 2026 pricing update: F1 from $2.25, F3 from $8 and Business Basic from $6.
- Microsoft 365 F1: $3.00 per user per month
- Microsoft 365 Business Basic: $7.00 per user per month with Teams, or $5.40 without
- Microsoft 365 F3: $10.00 per user per month
Notice the order. F3 now costs more than Business Basic. A lot of firms still assume "frontline" means "cheapest," and for F3 that stopped being true.
What's the difference between F1 and F3?
The mailbox. F1's Exchange Kiosk access covers the Teams calendar only, so F1 users can't send or receive email.
F3 adds a real 2 GB mailbox, editable web and mobile Office apps, and Windows 11 Enterprise E3. Both include Teams, 2 GB of OneDrive, Intune Plan 1 for device management and Entra ID P1.
That's the whole decision for most businesses. If the person needs an email address people can write to, F1 is out.
Side by side
From Microsoft's frontline plan page, its plan comparison (September 30, 2026 edition) and Exchange Online limits:
| Feature | Microsoft 365 F1 | Microsoft 365 F3 | Business Basic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price as of October 2026 | $3 | $10 | $7 |
| None (Teams calendar only) | 2 GB mailbox, no archive | 100 GB mailbox plus 50 GB archive | |
| Office apps | Read-only, web and mobile | Web and mobile Word, Excel, PowerPoint | Web and mobile Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook |
| OneDrive | 2 GB | 2 GB | 1 TB |
| Intune Plan 1 | Included | Included | Not included |
| Entra ID P1 | Included | Included | Not included |
| Windows 11 Enterprise E3 | No | Included | No |
None of the three include desktop Office apps. The identity row matters more than it looks. Entra ID P1 is how you use Conditional Access to block sign-ins from unmanaged devices or foreign countries. Business Basic doesn't include it, so a Basic user is harder to lock down than an F1 or F3 user.
Who counts as a frontline worker?
Microsoft's definition is on its pricing page: employees "whose primary function is to work directly with customers or the public, selling products and providing services and support," plus staff in manufacturing and distribution.
In a small business, that's usually:
- Warehouse and shop-floor staff
- Retail and restaurant floor staff
- Home care aides and field technicians
- Drivers and delivery crews
- Front-desk staff who share one PC across shifts
It's not your office manager, your bookkeeper, or your sales team. People who sit at a desk all day and work in documents need a Business plan. F licenses aren't a discount code for desk workers.
Which one should each role get?
F1 fits staff who need schedules, shift chat, and company announcements on a phone: a delivery driver checking the day's route, a line cook checking the schedule.
At $3, it's also the cheapest way to get someone into your Microsoft 365 identity, so you can shut off their access properly when they leave. It includes Intune and Entra ID P1 too, so a shared phone or tablet can be managed and covered by sign-in rules.
F3 fits staff who need a company email address and a managed device, but don't write much: a home care aide filling out web forms on a company tablet, a shop-floor lead who gets purchase orders by email.
The Intune and Entra ID P1 rights are the real value. You can wipe a lost tablet and block sign-ins from anything you don't manage.
Business Basic fits anyone who uses email as a primary work tool but doesn't need desktop Office. A 2 GB mailbox fills up fast for someone who gets attachments all day. Basic's 100 GB won't.
Anyone who needs desktop Word and Excel belongs on Business Standard or Premium. We compare those in Business Premium vs Standard.
A quick way to sort your staff
- List every person and shared device with a Microsoft 365 license, plus anyone who should have one and doesn't.
- Mark who needs to send and receive email from their own address. Everyone else is an F1 candidate.
- Of the email users, mark who works mainly at a desk in documents and attachments. They need Business Basic or higher; the rest fit F3.
- Mark anyone who needs desktop Office. They move up to Business Standard or Premium.
- Check that every phone or tablet holding company data is covered by Intune, either through F1 or F3 or through a Business Premium license.
Can you mix F and Business licenses in one tenant?
Yes. Microsoft's frontline licensing guide says you can assign different licenses to different types of users. The common setup for a business with field staff is Business Premium for the office and F3 or F1 for the floor.
The mix is where the savings are. Putting a 40-person warehouse crew on F1 instead of Business Basic saves $4 per user per month, or $1,920 a year, and if all they use is Teams, they lose nothing.
Do a license review once a year. We've written about why in our Microsoft 365 price increase breakdown: departed employees still holding licenses and frontline staff on the wrong plan are where the money usually leaks.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Office 365 F1 license still sold?
Not under that name. Microsoft renamed Office 365 F1 to Office 365 F3 on April 1, 2020, and the plan sold today as F1 is Microsoft 365 F1, which has no mailbox. If an old guide or quote says "Office 365 F1," compare it with today's F3, not F1.
Can F1 users send email?
No. Microsoft lists F1's Exchange Kiosk access as covering the Teams calendar only.
F1 users can use Teams chat, see shared schedules, and read Office files on the web or a phone, but they have no mailbox for sending or receiving email. If a user needs email, choose F3 or Business Basic.
Does Microsoft 365 F1 include Intune?
Yes. Microsoft's plan comparison lists Intune Plan 1 and Entra ID P1 in both Microsoft 365 F1 and F3, so you can manage a frontline worker's phone or tablet and apply Conditional Access on either plan. Business Basic includes neither.
Is F3 the same as Business Basic?
No. F3 has a 2 GB mailbox and 2 GB of OneDrive, but it includes Intune, Entra ID P1, and Windows 11 Enterprise E3.
Business Basic has a 100 GB mailbox and 1 TB of OneDrive, but no Intune or Entra ID P1. F3 is about managing the device. Basic is about storage.
Do F-series licenses include desktop Office apps?
No. F1 gets read-only web and mobile versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
F3 gets editable web and mobile versions. Neither installs desktop Office on a PC. Staff who need desktop apps need Business Standard, Business Premium, or an enterprise E plan.
Can I put office staff on F3 to save money?
Don't. Microsoft defines frontline workers as people whose primary job is serving customers or working in manufacturing and distribution, not desk-based knowledge workers. Beyond the licensing question, a 2 GB mailbox and no desktop apps will frustrate anyone who works in email and documents all day.
Can F3 users get an email archive?
Not included. Microsoft's Exchange Online limits list no archive mailbox for F3 or Exchange Online Kiosk, though you can buy Exchange Online Archiving as an add-on. If a user needs to keep years of email, Business Basic's 50 GB archive is usually simpler.
Get the license mix right
Most firms with field staff are overpaying somewhere, and a few are underlicensed in ways that create security gaps. Book a complimentary Microsoft 365 review and we'll map each role to the right plan. Our Microsoft 365 management team can make the switch without disrupting anyone's inbox.
Related reading
Also on this topic: Teams Rooms Basic vs Pro: License Cost and What You Get · Windows 365 vs Azure Virtual Desktop: How to Choose
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