Microsoft 365 Education Plans & Pricing: A1 vs A3 vs A5

Microsoft 365 Education plans and pricing can be confusing at first glance. Three tiers, faculty and student licensing, add-ons, and a generous free option that many schools never fully use. The good news for Australian schools, colleges and training providers is that the structure is simpler than it looks, and the value is exceptional once you understand the student benefit model. This guide compares Office 365 A1, Microsoft 365 A3 and Microsoft 365 A5 side by side, with current Australian pricing, so you can pick the right plan for your institution.

Microsoft 365 Education plans at a glance

Microsoft offers three Education plans, each building on the one below it. Office 365 A1 is a simple, free option for students and educators at eligible institutions, with online-only apps, ideal for getting started. Microsoft 365 A3 includes everything in A1, plus desktop Office apps, device management, advanced security and analytics, and is the sweet spot for most schools. Microsoft 365 A5 is the most comprehensive plan, including everything in A3, plus streamlined licensing and Microsoft's full security, compliance and analytics stack.

Microsoft 365 Education pricing in Australia

Pricing is per faculty licence, in AUD. Annual commitment saves around 17 per cent compared with month-to-month billing. Office 365 A1 is free both month-to-month and on annual commitment. Microsoft 365 A3 (Faculty) is $11.35 per month month-to-month, or $113.52 per year on annual commitment, an effective monthly rate of $9.46. Microsoft 365 A5 (Faculty) is $21.25 per month month-to-month, or $212.52 per year on annual commitment, an effective monthly rate of $17.71.

40 free student licences with every faculty licence

Here is the part that transforms the economics: every paid faculty licence includes 40 free student benefit licences of the same tier. License your staff and your students are covered automatically.

Worked examples: a school with 25 faculty on A3 ($236.50 per month annualised) can license up to 1,000 students on A3 at no additional cost. A college with 60 faculty on A5 can extend A5-grade security and analytics to up to 2,400 students for free.

For most institutions, the real question is not “can we afford to license students?” but “which faculty tier gives our whole community the right capability?”

A1 vs A3 vs A5: feature comparison

Instructional tools

Teams, Forms and Stream are included in all three plans. Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote are online only in A1, but desktop and online in A3 and A5. Outlook follows the same pattern: online only in A1, desktop and online in A3 and A5. Minecraft Education is an add-on in A1 but included in A3 and A5. Clipchamp is an add-on in A1 but included in A3 and A5.

The desktop apps are the most common reason schools upgrade from A1. Online versions of Word and Excel cover light use, but senior students, admin staff and educators preparing rich content quickly hit their limits.

Security

Defender for Endpoint is an add-on in A1 but included in A3 and A5. Defender for Identity is an add-on in both A1 and A3, but included in A5. Microsoft Purview is an add-on in A1 but included in A3 and A5. Microsoft Sentinel remains an add-on across all three plans.

Schools hold sensitive student data and are increasingly targeted by cyber criminals. A3's inclusion of Defender for Endpoint and Purview gives most institutions a strong baseline aligned with ACSC Essential Eight uplift. A5 suits larger institutions that need identity threat detection and advanced compliance out of the box.

Management and administration

Intune (device management) is an add-on in A1 but included in A3 and A5. Entra ID is not included in A1 but is included in A3 and A5. Microsoft Copilot with commercial data protection is not included in A1 but is included in A3 and A5. School Data Sync is included in all three plans. Microsoft Viva is an add-on in A1 but included in A3 and A5. Power BI Pro is an add-on (desktop only) in A1 and A3, but included in A5.

Intune alone justifies A3 for any school managing fleets of laptops or shared devices. Add Copilot with commercial data protection and A3 quietly delivers two of the most requested capabilities in education IT today.

Learning Accelerators and accessibility: included in every plan

Microsoft includes its full set of Learning Accelerators in all three plans: Reflect, Reading Progress and Reading Coach, Search Progress and Search Coach, Speaker Coach and Education Insights, with Math Progress and Math Coach coming soon. The same applies to accessibility tools such as Immersive Reader, Translator, Narrator, Voice Typing and Live Captions. Even on the free A1 plan, every student gets personalised practice, instant feedback and inclusive learning options.

Which plan should your institution choose?

Choose A1 if you are a small institution starting out, your devices are mostly browser-based, and you have no immediate compliance or device management requirements. Choose A3 if you need desktop Office apps, manage devices with Intune, want Defender for Endpoint and Purview included, or want Copilot with commercial data protection for staff; this is the right fit for the majority of Australian schools. Choose A5 if you are a larger college or multi-campus institution with mature security requirements, need Defender for Identity and advanced compliance, or rely on Power BI Pro for whole-of-institution analytics and reporting.

A mixed deployment is also common and often the most cost-effective approach: A5 for IT and executive staff who need the full security and analytics stack, A3 for general teaching staff, with student benefit licences flowing from both.

How Synex helps schools get Microsoft 365 Education right

Licensing is only the starting point. Getting value from Microsoft 365 Education means a clean tenant setup, sensible security baselines, device enrolment through Intune, and ongoing support that keeps teachers teaching rather than troubleshooting.

Synex Technology supplies Microsoft 365 Education licences and wraps them in end-to-end delivery: tenant provisioning, migration from legacy platforms, Essential Eight-aligned security hardening, and managed IT services tailored to schools and training providers across Australia and the Pacific Islands. We also design broader business solutions around your environment, from learning management systems to document management and telephony.

Frequently asked questions

Is Microsoft 365 Education really free? Yes. Office 365 A1 is free for eligible educational institutions and includes online versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Teams, Forms and Outlook. Desktop apps, advanced security and analytics require a paid A3 or A5 plan.

How much does Microsoft 365 A3 cost for faculty? A3 faculty licences are $11.35 per month on month-to-month billing, or $113.52 per year on an annual commitment, which works out to $9.46 per month and saves around 17 per cent.

What are student benefit licences? Every paid faculty licence includes 40 free student benefit licences of the same tier. A school with 25 staff on A3 can license up to 1,000 students at no extra cost.

What is the difference between A3 and A5? A3 includes desktop apps, Intune, Entra ID, Copilot with commercial data protection, Defender for Endpoint and Purview. A5 adds Defender for Identity, full Power BI Pro, advanced compliance tooling and streamlined licensing for institutions with mature security and reporting needs.

Get a Microsoft 365 Education quote

Ready to compare plans against your staff and student numbers? Synex can model A1, A3 and A5 against your environment, include the student benefit licences in the calculation, and provide a clear, all-in quote. Contact Synex Technology today for a no-obligation Microsoft 365 Education licensing consultation.