MS-900 Practice Question: Describe Microsoft 365 pricing, licensing, and support
Your organization needs to provide access to Microsoft 365 for 50 temporary contractors who will work for 6 months. They require email and Teams. Which licensing approach is most cost-effective?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to choose F3 thinking it is the cheapest option for temporary workers, but they overlook that Business Basic is actually lower cost and sufficient for basic email and Teams, while F3 is designed for shift workers with specific frontline scenarios and includes extra features that increase price.
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 Business Basic licenses
Microsoft 365 Business Basic is the most cost-effective option for temporary contractors needing only email (Exchange Online) and Teams, as it provides these core services at the lowest per-user price. It is designed for small and medium businesses (up to 300 users) and includes web and mobile versions of Office apps, which are sufficient for basic communication needs. F3, E3, and E5 licenses include additional features (e.g., desktop Office apps, advanced security, compliance) that are unnecessary for short-term contractors, making them more expensive.
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 F3 licenses
Why it's wrong here
Microsoft 365 F3 is designed for frontline workers with a 2 GB Exchange Online mailbox and no installed Office desktop apps; instead it provides web and mobile Office apps. For temporary contractors who need a 50 GB mailbox and full Microsoft 365 web apps, F3's mailbox quota and app limitations make it unsuitable, so it is incorrect.
- ✗
Purchase Microsoft 365 E5 licenses
Why it's wrong here
Microsoft 365 E5 bundles advanced security (e.g., Defender for Office 365 P2, Purview), Power BI Pro, and enterprise telephony, with a monthly per-user cost far exceeding Business Basic. Temporary contractors only need basic email and Teams, so allocating E5 licenses wastes budget and administrative overhead; thus it's incorrect.
- ✗
Purchase Microsoft 365 E3 licenses
Why it's wrong here
Microsoft 365 E3 includes the full Office desktop suite and enterprise compliance features, but at a substantially higher monthly cost than Business Basic, and it also requires a yearly commitment when purchased monthly. Since contractors only need lightweight collaboration via web apps and Teams, E3's desktop apps and advanced capabilities exceed the requirement, making it an incorrect choice.
- ✓
Purchase Microsoft 365 Business Basic licenses
Why this is correct
Microsoft 365 Business Basic provides a 50 GB Exchange Online mailbox, Microsoft Teams, and browser-based versions of Office apps (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint) at a low per-user monthly price. For temporary contractors who need core productivity and email without desktop apps, Business Basic is a cost-effective and appropriate license, hence the correct answer.
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Microsoft Access and Power Apps Comparison
Key term
User
A user is any person, system, or device that interacts with an IT service, resource, or identity system, typically authenticated through credentials and authorized to perform specific actions.
Key term
Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 is a subscription-based cloud service from Microsoft that combines productivity tools like Office apps with security, device management, and online storage.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.