Microsoft reveals new, cheaper Office 365 subscriptions for SMBs

Microsoft is introducing new, cheaper Office 365 subscriptions to businesses in a bid to encourage small businesses into using its office suite. The cost of an Office 365 Personal subscription remains at $6.99 but small to medium-sized businesses -- those with fewer than 300 employees -- are now able to snap up a subscription for just $5 per user per month (which doesn’t match the $1 offer from GoDaddy).

Before you get too excited about this, there is something of a catch. Firstly, there is a commitment to subscribe for a year, and the cheapest package, Office 365 Business Essentials, does not allow for Office's apps -- Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and so on -- to be installed. Opt for the cheap subscription and you're stuck with Office Online.

The subscription still includes 1TB of storage, and 50GB inboxes, but smartphone and tablet versions of the suite are also eschewed at this price. If the idea of signing up for an entire year seems like too much, a monthly, rolling subscription costs $6 per user per month. For businesses willing to pay a little more -- but, again, commit to a year-long subscription -- there is Office 365 Business. For $8.25 you get what most users would expect -- a fully installable version of Office 365 that each user can install on up to five PCs or Macs.

This subscription also provides access to the tablet and smartphone versions of Office, but it does drop a couple of features. Gone are the 50GB inboxes, online meetings, and social networking feature. There is a free trial available, and to drop the annual commitment, the price jumps to $10 per month. Rounding off the new selection of subscriptions is Office 365 Business Premium which costs $12.50 per user per month with an annual commitment, or $15 for businesses who prefer to take things on a month-to-month basis. This most expensive package combines all of the elements of the Business Essentials and Business.

The switch in focus on online-only tools at the cheaper end of the market is an interesting move, perhaps aimed directly at taking on Google Docs. All three new packages recognize the fact that employees work on multiple devices, and Microsoft has taken steps to provide a cross-device Office at an accessible price. Check out the details at the Office 365 for Business page.