Exchange Online Service Description
Applies to: Office 365
Topic Last Modified: 2018-02-20
Are you looking for a feature comparison of Office 365 subscriptions that include Exchange Online? If so, the Exchange Online service description article is what you need. You’ll also learn about system requirements as well as storage and recipient requirements.
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| If you need assistance with a task, or if you are troubleshooting a problem, you might find the following articles helpful: |
Microsoft Exchange Online is a hosted messaging solution that delivers the capabilities of Microsoft Exchange Server as a cloud-based service. It gives users access to email, calendar, contacts, and tasks from PCs, the web, and mobile devices. It integrates fully with Active Directory, enabling administrators to use group policies, as well as other administration tools, to manage Exchange Online features across their environment.
Organizations that subscribe to Exchange Online retain control over the messaging services they offer to users, but they do not have the operational burden of on-premises server software. With the Exchange Online hosted plans described in this document, email is hosted on servers that support multiple customers simultaneously. These servers are housed in Microsoft data centers and are accessible to users on a wide range of devices from inside a corporate network or over the Internet.
To compare features across plans, see Compare Office 365 for Business plans. To compare plans for Office 365 Germany, see Office 365 Germany subscription plans.
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| You can export, save, and print pages in the Office 365 Service Descriptions. Learn how to export multiple pages. |
For information about new features in Exchange Online, see What's New in Exchange Online.
Office 365 is available in a variety of plans to best meet the needs of your organization. For information about different plans, including standalone plan options and information on moving from one plan to another, see Office 365 Plan Options.
Each user who accesses the Exchange Online service must be assigned to a subscription plan, and each user subscription has its own mailbox. Folders and messages in these mailboxes reside on a computer running Exchange Server at a Microsoft data center.
User subscriptions are not required for conference rooms and shared mailboxes. These special mailbox types do not have login credentials. Instead, licensed users with the appropriate permissions manage and access them via delegation.
For system requirements for Office 365, the monthly subscription-based service available for business, education, and government organizations, please see Office 365 system requirements.
For information about the storage and recipient limits available in the Exchange Online subscription plans, see Exchange Online Limits.
If your organization currently has subscriptions to Office 365 Small Business, Office 365 Small Business Premium, or Office 365 Midsize Business, visit your Message Center in the Office 365 admin center or talk to your Office 365 provider for more details on how the new Office 365 Business plans impact you. To learn more about the new Office 365 Business plan family, see New Office 365 plans for small and mid-sized businesses.
| Feature | Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Office 365 Business Essentials | Office 365 Business | Office 365 Business Premium | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F1 | |
| Hybrid deployment supported | Yes | Yes | Yes16 | Yes | Yes16 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes16 | |
| IMAP migration supported | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Cutover migration supported | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Staged migration supported | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Office 365 Business Essentials | Office 365 Business | Office 365 Business Premium | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F1 | ||
| Role-Based Permissions | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Role Groups | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Role Assignment Policies | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Office 365 Business Essentials | Office 365 Business | Office 365 Business Premium | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F1 | ||
| Archiving Exchange Online-based Mailboxes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Cloud-Based Archiving of On-Premises Mailboxes | Yes 1 | Yes1 | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Messaging Records Management (MRM) Retention Tags and Retention Policies | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Encryption of data at rest (BitLocker) | Yes15 | Yes15 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| IRM using Azure Information Protection | No | Yes | No2 | No2 | No2 | No2 | Yes | Yes | No2 | |
| IRM using Windows Server AD RMS | Yes3 | Yes3 | Yes3 | Yes3 | Yes3 | Yes3 | Yes3 | Yes3 | Yes3 | |
| Office 365 Message Encryption | Yes13 | Yes13 | No2 | No2 | No2 | No2 | Yes | Yes | No2 | |
| Customer Key for Office 36522 | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | |
| S/MIME | Yes15 | Yes15 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| In-Place Hold and Litigation Hold | Yes | Yes | No | -- | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | |
| In-Place eDiscovery | Yes20 | Yes20 | Yes20 | Yes20 | Yes20 | Yes20 | Yes20 | Yes20 | Yes | |
| Transport Rules | Yes 4 | Yes4 | Yes4 | Yes4 | Yes4 | Yes4 | Yes4 | Yes4 | Yes4 | |
| Data Loss Prevention | Yes5, 14 | Yes5, 14 | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Journaling | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Office 365 Business Essentials | Office 365 Business | Office 365 Business Premium | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F1 | ||
| Built-In Anti-Spam Protection | Yes 6 | Yes 6 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Customize Anti-Spam Policies | Yes, but only via PowerShell | Yes, but only via PowerShell | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes 7 | |
| Built-In Anti-Malware Protection | Yes 8 | Yes 8 | Yes8 | Yes8 | Yes8 | Yes8 | Yes8 | Yes8 | Yes8 | |
| Customize Anti-Malware Policies | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes 7 | |
| Quarantine - administrator management | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes 7 | |
| Quarantine – end-user self-management | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Advanced Threat Protection | No | Yes | No | -- | No | No | No | Yes | No | |
| Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Office 365 Business Essentials | Office 365 Business | Office 365 Business Premium | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F1 | ||
| Custom Routing of Outbound Mail | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Secure Messaging with a Trusted Partner | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Conditional Mail Routing | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Adding a Partner to an Inbound Safe List | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Hybrid Email Routing | Yes | Yes | Yes16 | -- | Yes16 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Office 365 Business Essentials | Office 365 Business | Office 365 Business Premium | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F1 | ||
| Capacity Alerts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Clutter | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| MailTips | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Delegate Access | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Inbox Rules | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Connected Accounts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes17 | Yes17 | Yes17 | Yes17 | |
| Inactive Mailboxes | No | No | No9 | -- | No9 | No9 | Yes | Yes | No 9 | |
| Offline Address Book | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Address Book Policies | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Hierarchical Address Book | Yes | Yes | Yes | -- | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Address Lists and Global Address List | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes18 | Yes18 | Yes18 | Yes18 | |
| Office 365 Groups | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Distribution Groups | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| External Contacts (global) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Universal Contact Card | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Contact Linking with Social Networks | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Resource Mailboxes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Conference Room Management | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Out-of-Office Replies | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Calendar Sharing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Office 365 Business Essentials | Office 365 Business | Office 365 Business Premium | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F1 | ||
| Office 365 admin center reports | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Excel Reporting Workbook | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Services Reports | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Message Trace | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Auditing Reports | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes 3 | |
| Unified Messaging Reports | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Office 365 Business Essentials | Office 365 Business | Office 365 Business Premium | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F1 | ||
| Federated Sharing (Including Calendar Publishing) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Site Mailboxes | Yes10 | Yes10 | Yes11 | Yes11 | Yes11 | Yes11 | Yes11 | Yes11 | Yes11 | |
| Public Folders | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Office 365 Business Essentials | Office 365 Business | Office 365 Business Premium | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F1 | ||
| Outlook for Windows21 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Outlook on the web21 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Outlook for Mac21 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Outlook for iOS and Android21 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Exchange ActiveSync | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Device Management for Office 365 | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| POP and IMAP | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes 12 | |
| SMTP | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| EWS Application support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Office 365 Business Essentials | Office 365 Business | Office 365 Business Premium | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F1 | ||
| Voice Mail | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Integration Between Voice Mail and Third-Party FAX | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Third-Party Voice Mail Interoperability | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Skype for Business Integration | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Office 365 Business Essentials | Office 365 Business | Office 365 Business Premium | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F1 | ||
| Mailbox Replication at Data Centers | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Deleted Mailbox Recovery | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Deleted Item Recovery | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Single Item Recovery | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Office 365 Business Essentials | Office 365 Business | Office 365 Business Premium | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F1 | ||
| Skype for Business Presence in OWA and Outlook | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| SharePoint Interoperability | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| EWS Connectivity Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| SMTP Relay Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Office 365 Business Essentials | Office 365 Business | Office 365 Business Premium | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F1 | ||
| Microsoft Office 365 portal access | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Microsoft Office 365 admin center access | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Exchange admin center access | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Remote Windows PowerShell access | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| ActiveSync Policies for Mobile Devices | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Usage Reporting | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Office 365 Business Essentials | Office 365 Business | Office 365 Business Premium | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F1 | ||
| Outlook Add-Ins and Outlook MAPI | Yes19 | Yes | Yes19 | Yes19 | Yes19 | Yes19 | Yes19 | Yes19 | No |
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| 1 Requires an Exchange Online Archiving (EOA) subscription for each on-premises mailbox user that has a cloud-based archive. 2 Azure Information Protection is not included, but can be purchased as a separate add-on and will enable the supported Information Rights Management (IRM) features. Some Azure Information Protection features require a subscription to Office 365 ProPlus, which is not included with Office 365 Business Essentials, Office 365 Business Premium, Office 365 Enterprise E1, Office 365 Education, or Office 365 Enterprise F1. 3 Windows Server AD RMS is an on-premises server that must be purchased and managed separately in order to enable the supported IRM features. 4 Transport rules are made up of flexible criteria, which allow you to define conditions and exceptions, and actions to take based on the criteria. The available criteria and actions differ between Exchange Online, and Microsoft Exchange Server 2013. For a list of available criteria and actions, see the corresponding criteria and actions topics for each product. 5 For Exchange 2013, DLP requires an Exchange Enterprise Client Access License (CAL). For more information about CALs and server licensing, see Exchange Server Licensing. 6 Exchange Server 2013 has most of the same built-in anti-spam capabilities as Exchange Server 2010. For information about the benefits of Exchange hosted spam filtering over the on-premises offerings, see Benefits of Anti-Spam Features in Exchange Online Protection Over Exchange Server 2013. 7 Only accessible via direct access to the Exchange admin center (EAC) management interface. 8 Exchange Server 2013 uses only the Microsoft anti-malware engine. Exchange Online uses multiple anti-malware engines to scan inbound, outbound, and internal messages for malware. 9 An EOA subscription can be purchased separately for each mailbox that requires the inactive mailbox feature. 10 SharePoint must be deployed in the on-premises Exchange organization. 11 SharePoint Online must be included in the Office 365 subscription plan. 12 POP is supported, but IMAP is not. 13 Supported for Exchange Server 2013 on-premises customers who purchase Azure Information Protection. O365 Message Encryption requires on-premises customers to route email through Exchange Online, either by using Exchange Online Protection for email filtering, or by establishing hybrid mail flow. 14 Exchange Server 2013 customers need to download and install SP1 in order to access Document Fingerprinting and Policy Tips in OWA and OWA for Devices. 15 BitLocker Drive Encryption is supported for Exchange Server 2013, but an administrator needs to enable the feature. 16 Office 365 Business Essentials, Office 365 Business Premium, and Office 365 Enterprise F1 do not provide access rights for utilization with on-premises servers. To be compliant, customer must purchase or have previously purchased the appropriate CALs or upgrade to an Enterprise SKU that provides these access rights. 17 Connected accounts are supported for POP & IMAP accounts, but disabled for Outlook.com (Hotmail). 18 Using a cmdlet to work with the Address List and Global Address List is not supported. 19 Some third-party web parts and add-ins may not be available. 20 For eDiscovery, you need a separate query for on-premises vs. cloud. 21 Table indicates whether or not the client works with the associated plans. It does not mean the clients are necessarily included in the purchase of these plans. 22 For more information, see Controlling your data in Office 365 using Customer Key. |
| Feature | Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk |
| Hybrid deployment supported | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes23 |
| IMAP migration supported | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cutover migration supported | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Staged migration supported | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk | |
| Role-Based Permissions | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Role Groups | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Role Assignment Policies | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk | |
| Archiving Exchange Online-based Mailboxes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Cloud-Based Archiving of On-Premises Mailboxes | Yes 5 | Yes 5 | No | Yes | No |
| Messaging Records Management (MRM) Retention Tags and Retention Policies | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Encryption of data at rest (BitLocker) | Yes16 | Yes16 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| IRM using Azure Information Protection | No | Yes | No11 | No11 | No11 |
| IRM using Windows Server AD RMS | Yes12 | Yes12 | Yes12 | Yes12 | Yes12 |
| Office 365 Message Encryption | Yes13 | Yes13 | No11 | No11 | No11 |
| S/MIME | Yes15 | Yes15 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| In-Place Hold and Litigation Hold | Yes | Yes | No17 | Yes | No |
| In-Place eDiscovery | Yes22 | Yes22 | Yes22 | Yes22 | Yes22 |
| Transport Rules | Yes 1 | Yes 1 | Yes 1 | Yes 1 | Yes 1 |
| Data Loss Prevention | Yes10, 14 | Yes10, 14 | No | Yes | No |
| Journaling | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk | |
| Built-In Anti-Spam Protection | Yes 2 | Yes 2 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Customize Anti-Spam Policies | Yes but only via PowerShell | Yes but only via PowerShell | Yes | Yes | Yes 8 |
| Built-In Anti-Malware Protection | Yes 7 | Yes 7 | Yes7 | Yes7 | Yes7 |
| Customize Anti-Malware Policies | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes 8 |
| Quarantine - administrator management | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes 8 |
| Quarantine – end-user self-management | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk | |
| Custom Routing of Outbound Mail | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Secure Messaging with a Trusted Partner | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Conditional Mail Routing | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Adding a Partner to an Inbound Safe List | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid Email Routing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk | |
| Capacity Alerts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Clutter | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MailTips | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Delegate Access | Yes | Yes | Yes\ | Yes | No |
| Inbox Rules | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Connected Accounts | Yes | Yes | Yes19 | Yes19 | Yes19 |
| Inactive Mailboxes | No | No | No 6 | Yes | No 6 |
| Offline Address Book | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Address Book Policies | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hierarchical Address Book | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Address Lists and Global Address List | Yes | Yes | Yes20 | Yes20 | Yes20 |
| Office 365 Groups | No | No | Yes24 | Yes24 | No |
| Distribution Groups | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| External Contacts (global) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Universal Contact Card | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Contact Linking with Social Networks | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Resource Mailboxes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Conference Room Management | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Out-of-Office Replies | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Calendar Sharing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes 18 |
| Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk | |
| Office 365 admin center reports | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Excel Reporting Workbook | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Web Services Reports | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Message Trace | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes 8 |
| Auditing Reports | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes 8 |
| Unified Messaging Reports | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk | |
| Federated Sharing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Site Mailboxes | Yes 3 | Yes 3 | Yes 4 | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| Public Folders | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk | |
| Microsoft Outlook | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Outlook Web App | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Exchange ActiveSync | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| POP and IMAP | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes 9 |
| SMTP | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| EWS Application support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Outlook for Mac | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk | |
| Voice Mail | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Third-Party Voice Mail Interoperability | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Skype for Business Integration | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk | |
| Mailbox Replication at Data Centers | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Deleted Mailbox Recovery | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Deleted Item Recovery | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Single Item Recovery | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk | |
| Skype for Business Presence in OWA and Outlook | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SharePoint Interoperability | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| EWS Connectivity Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SMTP Relay Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk | |
| Microsoft Office 365 portal access | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Microsoft Office 365 admin center access | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Exchange admin center access | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes 8 |
| Remote Windows PowerShell access | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ActiveSync Policies for Mobile Devices | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Usage Reporting | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Server 2016 | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk | |
| Outlook Web App Web Parts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Outlook Add-Ins and Outlook MAPI | Yes | Yes | Yes21 | Yes21 | No |
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| 1 Transport rules are made up of flexible criteria, which allow you to define conditions and exceptions, and actions to take based on the criteria. The available criteria and actions differ between Exchange Online, and Microsoft Exchange Server 2013. For a list of available criteria and actions, see the corresponding criteria and actions topics for each product. 2 For information about the benefits of Exchange hosted spam filtering over the on-premises offerings, see Benefits of Anti-Spam Features in Exchange Online Protection Over Exchange Server 2013. 3 SharePoint must be deployed in the on-premises Exchange organization. 4 SharePoint Online must be included in the Office 365 subscription plan. 5 Requires an Exchange Online Archiving (EOA) subscription for each on-premises mailbox user that has a cloud-based archive. 6 An EOA subscription can be purchased separately for each mailbox that requires the inactive mailbox feature. 7 Exchange Server 2013 uses only the Microsoft anti-malware engine. Exchange Online uses multiple anti-malware engines to scan inbound, outbound, and internal messages for malware. 8 Only accessible via direct access to the Exchange admin center (EAC) management interface. 9 IMAP is not supported. 10 For Exchange 2013 or later, DLP requires an Exchange Enterprise Client Access License (CAL). For more information about CALs and server licensing, see Exchange Server Licensing. 11 Azure Information Protection is not included, but can be purchased as a separate add-on and will enable the supported Information Rights Management (IRM) features. Some Azure Information Protection features require a subscription to Office 365 ProPlus, which is not included with Office 365 Business Essentials, Office 365 Business Premium, Office 365 Enterprise E1, Office 365 Education, or Office 365 Enterprise F1. Office 365 Message Encryption depends on Azure Information Protection. 12 Windows Server AD RMS is an on-premises server that must be purchased and managed separately in order to enable the supported IRM features. 13 Supported for customers running Exchange Server 2013 or later who purchase Azure Information Protection. O365 Message Encryption requires on-premises customers to route email through Exchange Online, either by using Exchange Online Protection for email filtering, or by establishing hybrid mail flow. 14 Customers running Exchange Server 2013 or later need to download and install the latest cumulative update (CU), or the immediately previous CU, to access Document Fingerprinting and Policy Tips in OWA and OWA for Devices. 15 Available to customers running Exchange Server 2013 or later. 16 BitLocker Drive Encryption is supported for Exchange Server 2013, but an administrator needs to enable the feature. 17 Exchange Online Plan 1 has a size limit on the mailbox and archive. Exchange Online Archiving for Exchange Online add-on adds unlimited cloud-based archive and In-Place Hold. 18 Exchange Online Kiosk calendars can only be accessed or shared through OWA. 19 Connected accounts are supported for POP & IMAP accounts, but disabled for Outlook.com (Hotmail). 20 Using a cmdlet to work with the Address List and Global Address List is not supported. 21 Some third-party web parts and add-ins may not be available. 22 For eDiscovery, you need a separate query for on-premise vs. cloud. 23 Exchange Online Kiosk does not provide access rights for utilization with on-premises servers. To be compliant, customer must purchase or have previously purchased the appropriate CALs or upgrade to an Enterprise SKU that provides these access rights. 24 Office 365 Groups is available with reduced functionality. |
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