Microsoft has just announced Microsoft 365 Basic, a new Microsoft 365 tier that will launch on January 30. At $1.99 per month or $19.99 per year, Microsoft 365 Basic will provide 100GB of OneDrive storage as well as other benefits such as an ad-free experience in Outlook.

“Initially, Microsoft 365 Basic will include essential peace of mind benefits like 100 gigabytes (GB) of cloud storage, ad-free and secure email with Outlook, and access to support experts for help with Microsoft 365 and Windows 11. And we plan to make Microsoft 365 Basic even better with advanced security features like ransomware recovery and password-protected sharing links in OneDrive later in 2023,” explained Liat Ben-Zur, Corporate Vice President, Modern Life, Search, and Devices.

Microsoft 365 Basic will also replace Microsoft’s OneDrive 100GB plan on January 30, and existing subscribers to the latter will be automatically transitioned to the new Microsoft 365 Basic plan. Nothing is changing for the existing Microsoft 365 Personal and Family plans, as well as the free version of Microsoft 365 you get access to by creating a personal Microsoft account.

Overall, the new Microsoft 365 basic seems like a good deal for consumers who use the Microsoft system including OneDrive and Outlook.com but don’t need the desktop versions of Office. In that case, the $6.99/month Microsoft 365 Personal subscription provides access to the desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, plus 1TB of storage on OneDrive.

Microsoft is also launching its new Microsoft 365 web app today, which will replace the existing office.com portal. “With the Microsoft 365 app, you can quickly access apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more in one place across any device,” explained Ben-Zur. On Windows PCs and mobile devices, the new Microsoft 365 app will replace the existing Office apps at the end of the month.

Starting February 1, Microsoft will also roll out a new experience for managing your OneDrive cloud storage from your Microsoft account on the web and Windows settings. Users will be able to clearly see their storage usage across OneDrive files, Outlook emails, and more.