Microsoft office 365 offers two Exchange Online plans: Plan 1 and Plan 2. The differences between the two are slight, but they can be important if you know what to look for. This article determines which of these plans is better suited for your business needs so that you can make an informed decision about which one to choose.
The “exchange online plan 1 limitations” is the difference between Exchange Online Plan 1 and 2. The differences are that Plan 1 offers a lower price, but has more limitations.
Microsoft provides many services, including Exchange Online, if your company is seeking for a cloud email solution. You may come across references to both Plan 1: Online Exchange and Plan 2 of the Online Exchange while doing your study. Which should I pick?
You’ll receive an in-depth look at both Exchange Online plans in this post, as well as a side-by-side comparison. By the conclusion, you’ll know what advantages both plans provide and what you’d receive as a bonus if you choose the more costly plan.
Summary of Comparisons
Plan 2 of the Online Exchange is a more advanced version of Plan 1: Online Exchange. Plan 2 of the Online Exchange includes all of the features of Plan 1: Online Exchange.
Pricing is an important factor to consider. Plan 1: Online Exchange costs $4.00 per month per user, whereas Plan 2 of the Online Exchange costs $8.00 per month per user.
What are the additional differences between the two Exchange Online plans, other from the apparent price difference? These distinctions may aid you in deciding which plan to purchase. The next sections will try to answer these questions for you.
- Is there enough room in the mailbox?
- Are users able to save past messages?
- Is it possible to recover deleted messages?
- Can the mailbox data be saved if an employee leaves?
- How is sensitive information safeguarded?
- Is it possible to integrate voicemail?
Characteristics
Many aspects are shared between the two designs, including:
How to Set Up an Office 365 SMTP Relay with Connectors is a related article.
Limits on Mailbox Storage (User, Shared, Archive)
When choosing a suitable plan, mailbox storage is a major consideration. Let’s take a look at each plan and how much mail you can save.
Plan 1: Online Exchange
Each user mailbox is limited to 50GB. The maximum size for shared mailboxes and public folder mailboxes is the same as for user mailboxes. The maximum mailbox size restriction of 50GB cannot be exceeded.
You have the option of creating a 50GB archive mailbox.
Plan 2 of the Online Exchange
User mailboxes are given a 100GB maximum mailbox space, which is double the maximum size of an Plan 1: Online Exchange mailbox.
A User Mailbox with Plan 2 of the Online Exchange License
Without a license, the maximum mailbox capacity for a shared mailbox is set to 50GB. The shared mailbox size without a license is seen in the screenshot below.
A Shared Mailbox Without An Plan 2 of the Online Exchange License
But, if a shared mailbox is assigned with an Plan 2 of the Online Exchange license, its size would increase to 100GB.
A Shared Mailbox With An Plan 2 of the Online Exchange License
Note that although shared mailboxes do not need a license, the people who will access the shared mailbox must have an Exchange Online license.
With Plan 2 of the Online Exchange, mailbox archiving is unlimited.
“Unlimited” does not imply “infinite.” The archive mailbox’s initial size is set at 100GB. Exchange allocates extra 100GB from your archive mailbox capacity if more archive mailbox space is required. The auto-expanding archive is the term for this activity.
Preservation of Mailboxes
Employees or even the company itself may be embroiled in a legal procedure at times. In certain circumstances, mailbox data may need to be saved so that a corporation may recover it if needed.
Organizations may keep some or all of the mail in mailboxes. These may be maintained by placing them on an In-place hold or a Litigation hold on an entire mailbox.
Another option for preserving the mailbox is to make it an inactive mailbox. However, putting the mailbox on litigation hold before removing the Exchange Online license is a requirement for establishing an inactive mailbox.
All of these Preservation of Mailboxes methods require that the mailbox is assigned with an Plan 2 of the Online Exchange license. If a company assigns a mailbox an Plan 1: Online Exchange license, a company can still preserve the mailbox but it must assign a separate (add-on) archiving license.
Placing a mailbox in litigation hold requires an Plan 2 of the Online Exchange license
Preventing Data Loss
It is critical to safeguard confidential information. Data leaks must be avoided by those who are responsible for keeping them secure, whether it is your business or your customer.
An Plan 2 of the Online Exchange subscription is the only license available with the Preventing Data Loss (DLP) feature. With it, you can use built-in DLP policies or even create custom ones based on your business requirements.
Some examples of data that DLP rules might safeguard are listed below.
- Number of Social Security
- Banking information, such as account numbers from several nations.
- Number on passport
- Number on driver’s license
- Tax identification number
For example, if an employee responded to a phishing email and was asked to send their Tax identification number by email. Having a DLP policy to protect this type of information from being shared would prevent possible data leakage.
The graphic below shows what occurs when a message fits a DLP policy that has been applied to the organization.
DLP-containing message
Preventing Data Loss is an excellent feature to have if your organization is concerned with protecting sensitive information.
Services for Messaging Unified
Does your firm need voicemail management or an auto attendant service? If so, Messaging Unified is required (UM). UM lets mailbox users to receive and control voicemails in their mailbox.
The auto-attendant is useful in addition to the ease of handling voicemails through the mailbox. The auto-attendant functions as a digital phone receptionist, answering calls and providing choices or menus that users may then touch on their phone.
If you’ve ever phoned a bank and been sent to the appropriate department by pressing numbers, that’s what the auto-attendant does.
Unified message services are only available with an Plan 2 of the Online Exchange license or any Microsoft 365 subscription that includes Plan 2 of the Online Exchange.
Final Evaluation
To assist you make a better selection, let’s summarize all of the features in plan 2 that aren’t included in plan 1.
| Feature | Plan 1: Online Exchange | Plan 2 of the Online Exchange |
| Price | $4/user | $8/user |
| Maximum mailbox storage per user | 50GB | 100GB |
| Maximum mailbox storage | 50GB | 100GB |
| Maximum mailbox archiving | 50GB | Unlimited |
| Preservation of Mailboxes | Additional licensing is required. | Yes |
| Preventing Data Loss | No | Yes |
| Messaging Unified | No | Yes |
Looking at the features alone, Plan 2 of the Online Exchange has better (and bigger) features than Plan 1: Online Exchange. However, while those additional features are great to have, they come at double the cost. And as always, money tends to be a huge factor when deciding to get into a deal.
Finally, I hope this post has helped you figure out what you’ll receive (or won’t get) with the Exchange Online Plan you choose.
The “exchange online plan 2 vs e3” is a question that many people ask. The “e3” is the most popular option, but the “e2” is also an option.
Related Tags
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- exchange online plan 2 mailbox size
