Microsoft 365 Plus vs Family: People, OneDrive and Copilot Compared

This shop's Plus 1-year plan is ¥2, and Family 12 months is ¥65. This guide compares official Personal and Family limits on people, 1 TB versus 2 TB of shared storage, and Copilot for the subscription owner only. Checked November 2026.

The short version: Choose Plus if you only need the desktop apps and 1 TB of cloud storage for yourself. Choose Family if you want up to 5 family members to use the desktop apps on their own accounts. Feature details below come from Microsoft's official pricing and help pages, checked in November 2026. This shop currently sells Plus · 1 year at ¥2, and Family · 12 months at ¥65.

Which plan to choose

Plus · 1 year, ¥2: a personal account with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Forms, on up to 5 Windows PCs. Warranty covers 1 month, with 11 more months included as a bonus. Sign in at office.com to start.

Family · 12 months, ¥65: an admin account that can invite up to 5 family members. Warranty covers the full 12 months. Do not change the password or recovery email, and do not add security verification. The account renews by monthly sign-in, and changes can break renewal, which is not covered.

Pick Plus if you only write documents, spreadsheets, and slides for yourself. Pick Family if family members should install the desktop apps with their own Microsoft accounts.

Official Personal vs Family

Microsoft's official home plans are called Microsoft 365 Personal and Microsoft 365 Family. Regular list prices are 9.99 USD per month or 99.99 USD per year for Personal, and 12.99 USD per month or 129.99 USD per year for Family. The official site sometimes shows a first-month or first-year discount, so check the pricing page at the time you buy.

People: Personal is for 1 person. Family is for 1 to 6 people, and the subscription owner can invite up to 5 other members.

Devices: Personal allows sign-in on up to 5 devices at once, including PCs, tablets, and phones. On Family, each member can sign in on up to 5 devices at once.

Desktop apps: both plans include desktop Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote, with Microsoft Copilot.

Copilot and other AI features: both plans include them, with higher usage than the free tier. On Family, these features are only for the subscription owner and cannot be shared with other family members.

Other official benefits: Microsoft Defender security features, and Teams video calling for up to 30 hours per call with up to 300 people.

Features can vary by region. See the full comparison on the official Microsoft 365 plans page.

How OneDrive storage works

Official Personal includes 1 TB of cloud storage for the account holder only.

Starting October 8, 2026, new Family and Premium subscriptions include 2 TB of shared storage. Existing Family and Premium subscriptions move to 2 TB of shared storage at the first renewal on or after May 2, 2027. The primary subscriber and up to 5 additional members draw from the same pool.

Shared means the quota, not visibility. Each person's files stay private by default and are only visible after they are shared on purpose.

Extra storage purchases add to this shared pool. Microsoft says plans can be extended up to 10 TB.

Keep large files you use yourself in your own OneDrive, and share a folder only when someone else needs to see it. Details are in Changes to Microsoft 365 storage.

How to use Copilot and the desktop apps

The paid plans are worth it when you keep files in OneDrive and edit them with the desktop apps and Copilot, not when you only open a document in the browser now and then.

Save the workbook to OneDrive first and turn on AutoSave. Microsoft says Copilot in Excel requires AutoSave, which means the file must be in OneDrive; it does not work with unsaved files.

In a saved spreadsheet, ask Copilot: Summarize sales revenue by month, flag months with a decline versus the previous month, and suggest likely reasons.

In Word, you can use: Turn the meeting notes below into a to-do list, grouped by owner and due date.

On another computer or phone, open the same OneDrive file and continue editing. You do not need to email attachments back and forth.

Microsoft also states that AI features are not included in Microsoft 365 Basic, that minimum age limits may apply, and that those features cannot be shared with family members. See Microsoft 365 subscription benefits.

How to invite family members

Give each person their own Microsoft account. Do not send the admin password to members. Personal cannot be shared; only Family, Premium, and Pro can send invitations.

The subscription owner opens the subscription sharing page in the Microsoft account and invites up to 5 people by email or link.

Each person must accept within 48 hours with their own Microsoft account, and must join your family group before they can use the desktop apps and cloud storage.

If they already belong to another family group, they must leave it first and then accept. Otherwise they will see a message that they are already in a family group.

Do not share a product key to complete sharing. Microsoft requires an email or link invitation.

For this shop's Family plan, sign in at account.microsoft.com, invite members under Family, and have them accept with their own Microsoft accounts. Official steps are in Share your Microsoft 365 subscription.

Who should skip it

If you only use the free web apps to edit a document now and then, you do not need a paid plan.

If family members also need Copilot in Word or Excel: official policy gives those features only to the subscription owner, and Family does not extend them to members.

If you need company compliance, central administration, or a work tenant, that is a business plan, not Personal or Family.

If you want to change the password, recovery email, or security verification on this shop's Family admin account: this SKU renews by monthly sign-in, changes can break renewal, and that is not covered by the warranty.

If you only need a personal account but require a full 12-month warranty: Plus guarantees 1 month, with 11 more months as a bonus. Choose Family if you need full-term coverage, or accept the Plus warranty terms.

If you already belong to another Microsoft family group and cannot leave it, you cannot accept a new Family invitation.

Before you buy

This shop does not offer renewal. Place a new order when the term ends.

Official features and prices are those shown on Microsoft's site at the time you check: official Microsoft 365 plans page.