Microsoft 365 Education
Microsoft 365 for schools and education providers.
From the free Office 365 A1 tier to the full A5 security and analytics stack - what each academic plan includes, who qualifies, and how Synex helps schools, colleges and RTOs license and deploy it.
Plans & pricing
The three education tiers
Academic plans are licensed per faculty member and per student, through academic agreements rather than public retail pricing - Synex quotes current Australian pricing for your institution.
Office 365 A1 — Free
Donated to eligible institutions: web-based Office apps, Teams, Exchange email, OneDrive and classroom tools at no cost, licensed per user.
Microsoft 365 A3 — Paid
Adds desktop Office apps, Intune device management, Entra ID and core security - the practical baseline for staff and BYOD-heavy campuses.
Microsoft 365 A5 — Paid
Everything in A3 plus advanced security (Defender P2), compliance, Teams Phone and Power BI Pro - for institutions consolidating tools onto one stack.
What each education plan includes
Office 365 A1 — free for eligible institutions
- Web versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote
- Exchange email, Teams for classes and staff, OneDrive storage
- Classroom tools: Forms, Stream, Learning Accelerators, Immersive Reader
A1 is genuinely free - Microsoft donates it to qualifying educational institutions. The catch is operational, not financial: someone still has to verify eligibility, set the tenant up safely for minors, and manage identities at scale. That is where most schools call us.
Microsoft 365 A3
- Everything in A1, plus full desktop Office apps
- Microsoft Intune for managing school-owned and BYO devices
- Entra ID Plan 1 - conditional access and identity protection
- Windows Enterprise upgrade rights and core Defender/Purview tooling
Microsoft 365 A5
- Everything in A3
- Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 and advanced threat protection
- Advanced Purview compliance and eDiscovery
- Teams Phone - replace the school phone system
- Power BI Pro for attendance, wellbeing and performance analytics
How education pricing works
Unlike the Business plans, Microsoft doesn't publish Australian retail prices for A3 and A5 - they're sold through academic licensing (CSP academic or an Enrolment for Education Solutions agreement), priced per faculty and per student, with student licences at a fraction of the faculty rate. As a guide, Microsoft's published US list pricing puts A3 and A5 at a few dollars per user per month - materially cheaper than the equivalent commercial plans.
Synex confirms current Australian academic pricing for your institution size and mix as part of every education quote, and handles the eligibility verification with Microsoft.
Microsoft 365 Education FAQs
Who qualifies for education plans?
Accredited schools, colleges, universities and registered training organisations. Microsoft verifies eligibility when the tenant is created - we handle that process, including the documentation, as part of setup.
Is A1 really free forever?
Yes - A1 is a donation, not a trial. Institutions pay nothing for the licences themselves. Budget instead for the things around it: safe configuration for students, identity management, device management and support.
Can we mix tiers - A5 for staff, A1 for students?
Yes, and most schools should. A common pattern is A3 or A5 for staff and administration, with students on A1 or A3 depending on device programs. We model the options against your actual headcount before you commit.
Do these plans include Copilot?
Microsoft 365 Copilot is available to education customers as an add-on (staff, and students 18+ in higher education) rather than bundled. If AI in the classroom is on your roadmap, we can include Copilot licensing in your quote.