New Microsoft 365 Basic: Office and 100 GB in OneDrive for only 2 euros

Microsoft 365 Basic. That is the name of the new subscription the American company has announced to bring its products to a more comprehensive range of people.

Specifically, Microsoft 365 Basic offers access to Office, 100 GB of OneDrive storage, an ad-free version of Outlook –both on the web and on mobile– and some additional security features for the email above manager –such as checking for malicious links, encrypted data, etc.–.

What is the price of this new subscription? Two euros for the monthly plan and 20 euros for the annual program – in the US, it costs $1.99 per month and 19.99 per year. It will be available from next January 30 worldwide.

It is essential to make several appreciations about Microsoft 365 Basic.

• Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook are limited to web and mobile versions. That is to say: with Microsoft 365 Basic, it will not be possible to use native apps for Mac or PC. What does this influence? The cloud and mobile variants are not as complete as the desktop ones. Therefore, those who require more advanced features will have to opt for a higher plan.
• With the above in mind, Microsoft 365 Basic is a name change rather than a new product. Until now, Microsoft allowed you to enjoy 100 GB of OneDrive storage for 2 euros per month – the same as the 365 Basic will cost. And Office’s web and mobile versions have been free for years, even for those who don’t pay for cloud storage. Therefore, the only thing new in this new subscription is the removal of ads in Outlook, Microsoft technical support, and some advanced security features for mail.
• Those who currently pay for the aforementioned OneDrive storage plan will become Microsoft 365 Basic subscribers in the coming weeks without them doing anything, according to the company on its website.

Even though the new features are limited, Microsoft 365 Basic can be interesting for maintaining documents in the cloud, managing email more securely, and working on documents, spreadsheets, or presentations at a meager cost.

Microsoft 365 Basic simplifies the catalog and strengthens the brand to compete with Google.

The conversion of the OneDrive 100 GB plan into Microsoft 365 Basic is a new step in the rebranding that the American company announced last year – when it revealed that Office 365 would be renamed Microsoft 365 -. It’s a way to simplify its subscription catalog and further reinforce the new brand – rather than offering Microsoft 365 on the one hand and OneDrive storage plans on the other.

Direct competition to Microsoft 365 Basic is Google One’s most basic plan. The Mountain View company offers 100GB of cloud storage with that subscription, plus free access to Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.