The Access Licensing Reality in Enterprise M365
Microsoft Access is one of the most historically overused — and now most mismanaged — applications in enterprise Microsoft licensing. In the 1990s and 2000s, it was the default tool for departmental databases across finance, operations, and HR. Today, most enterprise organisations still have dozens of Access databases running in SharePoint shared folders or network drives, maintained by a handful of power users who built them years ago and cannot recall who still needs them.
The licensing situation is simpler than most organisations realise — but the operational situation (what to do with legacy Access databases) is more complex. This guide covers both.
The short version on licensing: Access is included in M365 Apps for Enterprise (the desktop apps subscription previously known as Office 365 ProPlus). It is not included in Microsoft 365 E1, O365 E1, M365 Business Basic, or M365 F1/F3 frontline plans. For users who only need to run existing Access databases — not design or develop them — the free Access Runtime provides a compliant zero-cost option.
Key insight: In most enterprise Access deployments, fewer than 20% of users who have Access installed are actually database developers. The remaining 80% only open and run pre-built databases. Access Runtime covers that 80% at zero cost. This is one of the most overlooked licence optimisation opportunities in M365.
Where Access Is and Is Not Included
| Plan / Licence | Access Included? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise | Yes | Full Access (design + runtime). The standalone desktop apps subscription. |
| Microsoft 365 Apps for Business | Yes (Windows only) | Access for Windows included; not available on Mac. |
| Microsoft 365 E3 | Yes | E3 includes M365 Apps for Enterprise; Access included. |
| Microsoft 365 E5 | Yes | E5 includes M365 Apps for Enterprise; Access included. |
| Office 365 E3 | Yes | O365 E3 includes desktop apps (Office ProPlus equivalent); Access included. |
| Microsoft 365 E1 / Office 365 E1 | No | E1 is web-and-mobile-only; no desktop apps, no Access. |
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic | No | Web-only plan; no desktop apps. |
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard | Yes (Windows only) | Includes desktop apps including Access on Windows. |
| Microsoft 365 Business Premium | Yes (Windows only) | Includes desktop apps including Access on Windows. |
| Microsoft 365 F1 (Frontline) | No | F1 is web and Teams only; no desktop apps. |
| Microsoft 365 F3 (Frontline) | No | F3 includes M365 Apps for mobile/web but not full desktop apps including Access. |
| Office Home & Business (perpetual) | No | Perpetual consumer/SMB licence; does not include Access. |
| Office Professional Plus (perpetual volume) | Yes | Enterprise perpetual suite includes Access; still valid if active. |
Access Runtime: The Zero-Cost Option for Most Users
Microsoft Access Runtime is a free redistributable that allows users to run, but not design or develop, Access applications (.accdb or .accde files). It is available as a free download from Microsoft and can be deployed via Intune, SCCM, or Group Policy.
Runtime installs a reduced-feature version of Access that supports: opening and running Access databases, entering and querying data through forms and reports, and running VBA macros embedded in the database. It does not support: creating new tables or queries in Design View, modifying forms or reports, or accessing the Access development environment.
For organisations with legacy Access databases where only a small team built the databases and a larger group of users simply opens and uses them, Runtime provides a compliant path for the consuming users without requiring full Access licences. The developers still need full Access (available through M365 Apps for Enterprise, E3/E5, or a legacy Office Professional Plus deployment).
Runtime Licensing Considerations
Access Runtime is free and does not require any Microsoft licence agreement beyond accepting the download terms. There is no per-user charge, no true-up obligation, and no M365 subscription requirement. You can deploy Runtime to 1,000 users without any incremental Microsoft licence cost.
The practical limitation: Runtime requires the Access database to be compiled or structured in a way that does not require Design View access at runtime. Most properly built Access applications work correctly in Runtime. Access databases that use extensive macro development shortcuts or rely on users switching to design view for ad hoc modifications will not work as intended.
Audit point: If users on E1 or F3 plans (which do not include Access) are running full Access (not Runtime) on their devices, that is a licence compliance gap. Microsoft's software inventory tools can detect the full Access installation even if the user believes they are only "viewing" databases. Deploy Runtime for non-developer users to close this gap.
Access on macOS
Microsoft Access is a Windows-only application. It is not available on macOS regardless of the M365 plan purchased. M365 Apps for Enterprise and M365 E3 on Mac do not include Access — only Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, and Teams are included in the Mac Office suite.
Organisations with Mac users who need to access existing Access databases face an architectural problem, not a licensing problem. Options include: running Access in a Windows virtual desktop (Windows 365 or Azure Virtual Desktop), maintaining a Windows physical or virtual machine for the specific Access user, or migrating the Access database to a cross-platform solution. This is a common driver for the Access-to-Power Apps migration discussion.
Access and the Five-Device Installation Rule
M365 Apps for Enterprise licences allow installation on up to five devices per user (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android). However, since Access is Windows-only, the Access installation on those five devices is limited to the Windows instances only. A user with M365 Apps for Enterprise deployed on two Windows devices and one Mac has Access available on the two Windows devices only. This is not a compliance issue — it is simply the application's platform limitation.
For organisations running Shared Computer Activation (required for RDS, Windows 365, or Azure Virtual Desktop deployments), Access is covered under the same SCA provisions as other Office applications. One M365 Apps for Enterprise user licence can access Access via SCA on shared virtual desktops.
Power Apps as an Access Replacement: The Licensing Comparison
For organisations wanting to modernise Access databases rather than maintain legacy .accdb files on network shares, Power Apps is Microsoft's strategic replacement. The comparison from a licensing perspective:
| Dimension | Access (Full) | Access Runtime | Power Apps (Per User) | Power Apps (Per App) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost per user/month | Included in E3+ | Free | ~£17.50/user/month | ~£3.50/app/user/month |
| Design capability | Full Access IDE | None | Power Apps Studio (browser) | Power Apps Studio |
| Browser access | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile access | No | No | Yes (iOS/Android) | Yes (iOS/Android) |
| Data storage | Local .accdb file or shared drive | Local .accdb file | Dataverse or SharePoint/Excel | Dataverse or SharePoint/Excel |
| M365 inclusion | E3, M365 Apps | Free download | Not included in any M365 plan | Not included in any M365 plan |
| Multi-user concurrent editing | Limited (file locking) | Limited (file locking) | Yes (Dataverse) | Yes (Dataverse) |
The key commercial insight: if users are already on M365 E3 (which includes full Access), migrating to Power Apps incurs an additional £3.50–17.50/user/month licence cost. The decision to migrate should be driven by functional requirements (mobile access, browser access, concurrent editing, integration) rather than assumed licensing savings — because there are none for E3 users. For E1 users who do not have Access, Power Apps may be cost-justified if the application requirements exceed what Runtime can deliver.
Access in the EA: What to Watch For at Renewal
Access rarely appears as a line-item discussion in EA renewals — it is bundled into M365 Apps for Enterprise or the E3/E5 suite. However, there are two scenarios where Access creates a renewal consideration.
E1 to E3 Upgrade Driven by Access
When organisations have E1 users who need Access (because someone built departmental databases and those users need to run them), the typical Microsoft account team response is an upgrade to E3 to include desktop apps. Before accepting this upgrade, evaluate the Access Runtime option: if those E1 users only need to run existing databases (not build new ones), Runtime eliminates the licensing gap without an E3 upgrade. An E1-to-E3 upgrade costs approximately £18–22/user/month more. For 200 users on E1 who need Access runtime, that is £43,200–£52,800/year in unnecessary upgrade spend.
Perpetual Office Professional Plus Users
Organisations with legacy Office Professional Plus (OPP) perpetual licences under Software Assurance have Access included. When those users are migrated to M365, if they end up on E1 or a subscription that does not include Access, the perpetual Access entitlement from OPP is lost. If those users had workflows requiring Access, this is a functional regression that the migration team may not have accounted for. The legacy licence management process should identify perpetual OPP Access entitlements before M365 migration.
Access Governance: What to Do With Legacy Databases
Most enterprise organisations cannot accurately answer the question "how many Access databases do we have and who uses them?" The typical situation is: dozens to hundreds of Access files scattered across SharePoint document libraries and network shares, many of which have not been opened in years, a handful of which are business-critical and actively used.
The access database audit is a one-time governance task: use PowerShell or a file scanning tool to inventory all .accdb and .mdb files across known storage locations, identify last-accessed dates and file sizes, and classify each file into three categories: actively used and business-critical (assess whether to maintain in Access or migrate to Power Apps), occasionally used (consider whether Runtime deployment covers the use case), and unused or abandoned (archive and eventually delete).
This audit typically takes a few hours and produces the definitive evidence needed to make the Runtime vs. full Access vs. Power Apps migration decision on an objective basis rather than assumption.
Common Access Licensing Mistakes
1. Deploying full Access to all E3 users because "it's included." Access being included in E3 does not mean every E3 user needs it installed. Deploying Access tenant-wide creates a larger attack surface (Access macros are a malware vector) and adds complexity to Intune policy management. Scope Access deployment to users with a defined business need.
2. Not using Runtime for consuming users. The most common and costly Access mistake is running full Access on devices where users only open and run databases. Deploy Runtime to those users and reduce the full Access licence scope to actual developers and power users.
3. Upgrading E1 users to E3 to enable Access when Runtime would suffice. See the calculation above. Before agreeing to an E1-to-E3 upgrade driven by Access requirements, evaluate Runtime and the functional requirements carefully.
4. Assuming Mac users can use Access. They cannot. Access is Windows-only. If Mac users need to access Access databases, the solution is virtual desktop, not a Mac-compatible Access licence (which does not exist).
5. Not auditing legacy Access databases before a cloud migration. Migrating from on-premises Office to M365 cloud subscriptions without inventorying Access databases creates unexpected functional gaps post-migration, particularly when users move from OPP plans to E1 plans that do not include Access.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Microsoft Access still supported in 2026?
Yes. Access is included in M365 Apps for Enterprise under Microsoft's current support lifecycle and receives security updates. Microsoft has not announced an end-of-life date for Access. However, it is not receiving significant new feature investment — the strategic direction for database application development is Power Apps and Dataverse. Access continues to be supported for existing deployments but is not the recommended platform for new database application development.
Can I use Access Runtime commercially without a Microsoft licence?
Yes. Access Runtime is freely available for commercial deployment. It does not require an M365 subscription or a volume licence agreement. You can deploy it to any number of users under the Runtime redistribution rights without incremental licence cost.
What is the difference between Access .accdb and .mdb files?
.accdb is the current Access file format (introduced in Access 2007). .mdb is the legacy Access 97–2003 format. Both can be opened in current versions of Access, but .mdb files have significant limitations (no multi-valued fields, attachment data types, or Encryption with AES). If your organisation has .mdb files, they should be converted to .accdb before any migration or modernisation work. Access Runtime supports both formats.
Does Power Apps replace Access from a licensing perspective?
Power Apps provides browser-based, mobile-enabled application development and is Microsoft's strategic platform for line-of-business application development. However, it is not included in any M365 plan — it requires a separate Power Apps Per User (~£17.50/user/month) or Per App (~£3.50/app/user/month) licence. For users already on E3 or E5 (which include Access), migrating to Power Apps increases total licensing cost. The decision to migrate should be driven by functional requirements, not assumed cost savings.