- Microsoft unveils a new Basic plan for its Microsoft 365 service.
- The Basic plan will offer 100GB of OneDrive, Outlook without ads, and other benefits.
- The new subscription plan will be available on January 30.
Microsoft announces a lower-price Basic subscription option for its Microsoft 365 service, which will be available on January 30, 2023. The new Microsoft 365 option will cost $1.99 per month or $19.99 per year, offering 100GB of OneDrive storage, Outlook without ads, and other benefits.
Other benefits include access to support for Windows 11 and Microsoft 365. In addition, Microsoft says that it will also make better security features, such as ransomware recovery and password-protected sharing links in OneDrive, but these features will come later in the year.
Furthermore, with this new Microsoft 365 Basic option, the company plans to replace the existing 100GB of OneDrive plan, and current customers will transition to the new Basic plan on January 30 (via Thurrott).
The only caveat with the new plan is that you won’t have access to the suite of Office apps, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, to install on your computer. However, you will still be able to access the web version of the apps with limited functionality as before without a subscription.
If you also need the Office apps, you will need the Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscriptions priced at $6.99 or $9.99 per month, which also include 1TB of OneDrive storage.
Microsoft is also introducing a new Microsoft 365 web app that will replace the Office.com page, which includes a new design that matches the Microsoft 365 desktop app to access your documents and services across devices.
Finally, next month, on February 1, the software giant plans to roll out a new interface to manage the storage in OneDrive from your Microsoft account online and the Settings app on Windows 11. As part of these changes, users will be able to check the storage usage more clearly across OneDrive, Outlook, and other services.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows expert and the Editor-in-Chief who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He is also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 12 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows, software, and related technologies, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.