Most Maryland businesses renewing their Microsoft 365 subscription right now are being quoted Business Standard without much explanation of what they are paying for or why. With prices changing on July 1, 2026, the window between now and that date is the right moment to check whether your current plan still fits your team.
Here is what each plan covers, what the July changes mean for a 10-to-75-person business, and what to ask before you sign.
What Most Maryland SMBs Get Sold by Default
Walk into a reseller conversation and you will usually come out with Business Standard quoted back at you. It is the middle-tier plan, the one Microsoft features prominently on its pricing page, and an easy recommendation for a vendor who does not know your setup.
Business Standard is not a bad plan. It includes desktop Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), Teams, SharePoint, and 1 TB of OneDrive storage per user. For a team doing straightforward productivity work, it covers the basics.
The problem is that many small businesses end up on Standard when Basic would have done the job, or when they actually needed Premium’s security layer, but nobody raised it. The default recommendation tends to track toward whatever the reseller is comfortable explaining, not what the business needs.
M365 Plans Compared
For a business between 10 and 75 people, the decision comes down to three plans. Microsoft’s official plan comparison page has the full feature breakdown, but here is the practical version.
Business Basic ($6/user/month, rising to $7 in July)
Web and mobile Office apps only, with no desktop installs. It includes Exchange email, Teams, SharePoint, and 1 TB of OneDrive. The right fit for teams where most people work in a browser or need Office apps only on mobile. Works well for front-desk staff, field teams, or anyone who does not produce heavy documents.
Business Standard ($12.50/user/month, rising to $14 in July)
Everything in Basic, plus full desktop Office app installs. The practical choice for knowledge workers who spend most of their day in Excel or Word and need apps running locally. Also includes webinar hosting through Teams, which some professional services firms find useful.
Business Premium ($22/user/month, no change)
Everything in Standard, plus Microsoft Defender for Business, Intune device management, Azure AD Premium P1, and information protection policies. The right fit for businesses that need to control what happens to company data across devices. For a Baltimore business handling client data on personal devices, Business Premium is usually the right starting point.
After July, the per-user gap between Standard ($14) and Premium ($22) shrinks from $9.50 to $8. For businesses sitting on the fence about Premium’s security features, that smaller gap changes the calculation.
What Changes in July
Microsoft announced the July 1, 2026 pricing update in December 2025, citing new AI, security, and management features being bundled into most plans. The key numbers for small businesses:
- Business Basic: $6 to $7 per user per month (+16.7%)
- Business Standard: $12.50 to $14 per user per month (+12%)
- Business Premium: $22 per user per month (no change)
New subscriptions pay the new rates from July 1. Existing customers stay on current pricing until their next renewal after that date. A Baltimore-area business renewing in August or September will see the higher rate on that contract.
New security features are being added to Business Premium and Business Standard, but Microsoft’s packaging update guidance notes the rollout will not be complete until August 1, 2026. The price increase takes effect before the features arrive.
If your renewal falls before July 1, renewing early locks in current pricing for another full term. For most Maryland SMBs with renewals due in the second half of 2026, that’s a straightforward saving. If you’re managing Microsoft 365 licensing in Maryland yourself, the window to act runs out at the end of June. If a reseller or MSP handles your account, get the conversation booked now.
Four Questions to Ask Before You Renew
Rather than starting from the plan you are already on, these four questions will narrow down what you need.
- Do your people use desktop Office apps? If most staff work in a browser or on mobile, Business Basic covers them. You are paying a $7 to $8 per user premium each month for desktop apps that are not being opened.
- Does your cyber insurance policy require endpoint protection? If your insurer is asking about device management, conditional access, or data loss prevention (all features in Business Premium), renewing on Standard could leave a gap between what you have told your insurer and what you have deployed. We are seeing this come up more often in conversations with clients. Our blog on why cyber insurance claims are being denied covers the specific requirements insurers are now checking for.
- How many licenses are you using? Most businesses are not paying for exactly the seats they use. Before renewing, pull an active user report from the Microsoft 365 admin center. Unused licenses are pure overhead, and a renewal is the natural moment to cut them.
- Are you mixing plan types across your team? Not everyone on your team needs the same plan. An accountant building Excel models has different requirements from a warehouse manager checking a schedule on a phone. A mixed-license setup, with some users on Basic and others on Standard or Premium, can reduce cost without reducing capability for anyone.
If you would rather not work through this alone, TTP helps Maryland businesses sort out their Microsoft 365 licensing before renewal deadlines create pressure. Talk to our team and we will walk you through what you are paying for and whether your current plan still fits.
