The Exchange Online Kiosk license is a low cost alternative to give your users access to Office 365 based email.
The product ID of this license type is EXCHANGEDESKLESS and it indicates clearly the type of workers targeted for this version of Exchange Online: The deskless worker.
Any user with a light office profile is a candidate for the Exchange Online Kiosk license. This could be production floor workers, front line workers, mobile service teams, etc.
Different Versions of Exchange Online
As a standalone product you have three versions of Exchange Online licenses to choose from:
- Exchange Online Plan 1
- Exchange Online Plan 2
- Exchange Online Kiosk
Each of them can also be purchased as part of a larger plan. Exchange Online Kiosk is available in Office 365 Enterprise F1 and it’s considerably cheaper than the two Exchange Online alternatives.
Save Time and Money Managing Exchange Online
You can now manage Exchange Online Kiosk licenses and other Office 365 licenses directly from AD.
Easy365Manager is a snap-in to Active Directory Users & Computers that lets you manage all your Office 365 licenses and mailboxes directly from AD user properties.
Watch how easy it is, e.g., to assign Office 365 licenses directly from AD user properties:
With Easy365Manager you can even remove your on-premises Exchange Server.
This will not only offer direct savings but also protect you 100% against future zero-day exploits like Hafnium, which affected hundreds of thousands of businesses in 2021.
What’s the Cost of the Exchange Online Kiosk License?
The price tag of the Exchange Online Kiosk license is quite attractive compared to standard Exchange Online licensing. It offers a substantial 50% cost saving relative to the standard Exchange Online Plan 1 offering.
This might not mean a great deal for two or ten users but with companies having hundreds or thousands of workers matching the deskless worker profile it can become a huge money saver.
What Are the Limitations?
Before you start signing up your users for Exchange Online Kiosk licenses you should consider the limitations inherent in this license type.
There are several limitations and these are the most important ones:
- Only web or mobile access (no mailbox access via Outlook)
- No more than 2 GB storage per mailbox
- No archiving
- No shared mailboxes access
- No inbox rules
You do have the benefit of transforming your Exchange Online Kiosk license into the more capable Exchange Online Plan 1 or 2 at a later point. So it’s not a big risk trying out this license on some users if you want to give it a go.
Exchange Online Kiosk Feature List
Below you’ll find a full list of capabilities and limitations (source: Microsoft).
Exchange Online Standalone Plans, Feature Availability
| Feature | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Planning and Deployment | |||
| Hybrid deployment supported | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| IMAP migration supported | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cutover migration supported | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Staged migration supported | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Permissions | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk |
| Role-Based Permissions | Yes | Yes | No |
| Role Groups | Yes | Yes | No |
| Role Assignment Policies | Yes | Yes | No |
| Message Policy and Compliance | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk |
| Archiving Exchange Online-based Mailboxes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Cloud-Based Archiving of On-Premises Mailboxes | No | Yes | No |
| Messaging Records Management (MRM) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Manual Retention Policies, Labels and Tags | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Encryption of data at rest (BitLocker) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| IRM using Azure Information Protection | No | No | No |
| IRM using Windows Server AD RMS | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Office 365 Message Encryption | No | No | No |
| S/MIME | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| In-Place Hold and Litigation Hold | No | Yes | No |
| In-Place eDiscovery | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Transport Rules | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Data Loss Prevention | No | Yes | No |
| Journaling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Anti-Spam and Anti-Malware Protection | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk |
| Built-In Anti-Spam Protection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Customize Anti-Spam Policies | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Built-In Anti-Malware Protection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Customize Anti-Malware Policies | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Quarantine – administrator management | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Quarantine – end-user self-management | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mail Flow | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk |
| Custom Routing of Outbound Mail | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Secure Messaging with a Trusted Partner | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Conditional Mail Routing | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Adding a Partner to an Inbound Safe List | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid Email Routing | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Recipients | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk |
| Capacity Alerts | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Clutter | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MailTips | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Delegate Access | Yes | Yes | No |
| Inbox Rules | Yes | Yes | No |
| Connected Accounts | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Inactive Mailboxes | No | Yes | No |
| Offline Address Book | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Address Book Policies | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hierarchical Address Book | Yes | Yes | No |
| Address Lists and Global Address List | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Office 365 Groups | Yes | Yes | No |
| Distribution Groups | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| External Contacts (global) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Universal Contact Card | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Contact Linking with Social Networks | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Resource Mailboxes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Conference Room Management | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Out-of-Office Replies | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Calendar Sharing | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Reporting Features and Troubleshooting Tools | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk |
| Microsoft 365 admin center reports | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Excel Reporting Workbook | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Web Services Reports | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Message Trace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Auditing Reports | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Unified Messaging Reports | No | Yes | No |
| Sharing and Collaboration | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk |
| Federated Sharing | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Site Mailboxes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Public Folders | Yes | Yes | No |
| Clients and Mobile Devices | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk |
| Microsoft Outlook | Yes | Yes | No |
| Outlook Web App | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Exchange ActiveSync | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| POP and IMAP | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SMTP | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| EWS Application support | Yes | Yes | No |
| Outlook for Mac | Yes | Yes | No |
| Voice Message Services | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk |
| Voice Mail | No | Yes | No |
| Third-Party Voice Mail Interoperability | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Skype for Business Integration | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| High Availability and Business Continuity | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk |
| Mailbox Replication at Data Centers | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Deleted Mailbox Recovery | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Deleted Item Recovery | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Single Item Recovery | Yes | Yes | No |
| Interoperability, Connectivity and Compatibility | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk |
| Skype for Business Presence in OWA and Outlook | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SharePoint Interoperability | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| EWS Connectivity Support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SMTP Relay Support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Exchange Online Setup and Administration | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk |
| Microsoft Office 365 portal access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Microsoft 365 admin center access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Exchange admin center access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Remote Windows PowerShell access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ActiveSync Policies for Mobile Devices | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Usage Reporting | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Extending the Service – Customization, Add-ins and Resources | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk |
| Outlook Web App Web Parts | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Outlook Add-Ins and Outlook MAPI | Yes | Yes | No |
If you want to get a better understanding of the Office 365 licensing model and how to manage it using PowerShell have a look at this article.