- A
Purchase Microsoft 365 E3 for most users and Copilot for a subset
Why wrong: All users need Copilot, so licenses must be assigned to all.
- B
Purchase Microsoft 365 E5 for all users
Why wrong: E5 includes advanced security and analytics, increasing cost unnecessarily.
- C
Purchase Microsoft 365 Business Premium for all users and add Copilot licenses
Why wrong: Business Premium is limited to 300 users, not sufficient for 10,000.
- D
Purchase Microsoft 365 E3 for all users and add Copilot licenses
E3 provides the required services at a lower cost than E5, and Copilot can be added as an add-on.
MS-900 Practice Question: Describe Microsoft 365 pricing, licensing, and support
This MS-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe microsoft 365 pricing, licensing, and support. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
An organization with 10,000 users is planning to deploy Microsoft 365. They need to minimize monthly costs while ensuring all users have access to Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Teams, and Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365. Which licensing approach should they adopt?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"minimum / minimize"Why it matters: Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Purchase Microsoft 365 E3 for all users and add Copilot licenses
Option D is correct because Microsoft 365 E3 provides the core enterprise-grade capabilities for Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Teams for all 10,000 users, while Copilot for Microsoft 365 can be added as an add-on license only for the users who need it, minimizing monthly costs. This approach avoids paying for premium features (like advanced security in E5) or unnecessary Copilot licenses across the entire user base, aligning with the requirement to minimize costs while ensuring all users have the required services.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Purchase Microsoft 365 E3 for most users and Copilot for a subset
Why it's wrong here
All users need Copilot, so licenses must be assigned to all.
- ✗
Purchase Microsoft 365 E5 for all users
Why it's wrong here
E5 includes advanced security and analytics, increasing cost unnecessarily.
- ✗
Purchase Microsoft 365 Business Premium for all users and add Copilot licenses
Why it's wrong here
Business Premium is limited to 300 users, not sufficient for 10,000.
- ✓
Purchase Microsoft 365 E3 for all users and add Copilot licenses
Why this is correct
E3 provides the required services at a lower cost than E5, and Copilot can be added as an add-on.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "minimum / minimize" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume Business Premium is a cheaper alternative for large organizations, but it has a 300-user limit and lacks enterprise features, making E3 the correct base license for organizations with 10,000 users.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Microsoft 365 E3 includes Exchange Online Plan 2 (100 GB mailbox, unlimited archive), SharePoint Online Plan 2 (unlimited storage), and Teams with enterprise features, while Copilot for Microsoft 365 is an add-on that requires an E3 or E5 base license. The per-user cost of Copilot ($30/user/month) makes it cost-prohibitive to license all 10,000 users if only a subset needs AI assistance, so a hybrid approach with E3 for all and Copilot for selected users is the most cost-effective strategy.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this MS-900 question test?
Describe Microsoft 365 pricing, licensing, and support — This question tests Describe Microsoft 365 pricing, licensing, and support — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Purchase Microsoft 365 E3 for all users and add Copilot licenses — Option D is correct because Microsoft 365 E3 provides the core enterprise-grade capabilities for Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Teams for all 10,000 users, while Copilot for Microsoft 365 can be added as an add-on license only for the users who need it, minimizing monthly costs. This approach avoids paying for premium features (like advanced security in E5) or unnecessary Copilot licenses across the entire user base, aligning with the requirement to minimize costs while ensuring all users have the required services.
What should I do if I get this MS-900 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "minimum / minimize". Asks for the least resource use — fewest addresses, smallest subnet, lowest overhead. Eliminate over-provisioned options even if they would technically work.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
This MS-900 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the MS-900 exam.
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