Learn more about client access licenses

Applies to: Exchange Online, Exchange Server 2013

Each user or device that accesses an Exchange Server 2013 server needs a client access license (CAL). There are two types of CALs that you can buy: Standard CALs and Enterprise CALs. Here's a short description of each CAL:

• Standard   Standard CALs enable the use of features like email, calendar, Outlook Web App, site mailboxes, and more. Administrators can make use of per-database journaling, Role Based Access Control (RBAC), multi-mailbox search, and so on.

• Enterprise   Enterprise CALs add on to the features that Standard CALs give you and your users. With Enterprise CALs, you can use per-user or distribution group journaling, Unified Messaging, In-Place Archive, more-advanced Exchange ActiveSync policies, and so on.

Every user or device that accesses an Exchange 2013 server needs a Standard CAL. To enable Enterprise CAL features, each user needs to be licensed with an Enterprise CAL in addition to a Standard CAL.

If you want to know more about CALs and how they're different than server licenses, check out Exchange Server Licensing.

Exchange Online requires a subscription for each user that accesses the service. When you purchase a subscription, you need to choose a plan. You can choose from Exchange Online standalone plans, or you can choose from several Office 365 plans that contain Exchange Online plus Office applications, SharePoint Online, and Lync Online. If you want to know more about these plans, check out Exchange Online plans.