Free Microsoft 365 Trial — How to Get a Full Tenant for Testing (2026)

Microsoft offers several free trial options that give you a fully functional Microsoft 365 tenant for testing — including a 30-day Business Premium trial, a 90-day E5 developer trial with 25 user licenses, and a renewable Microsoft 365 Developer Program subscription. Each option provides a real tenant with Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint, and admin center access.

Types of Microsoft 365 Trials Available

Microsoft provides three main paths to get a free Microsoft 365 tenant. The right choice depends on what you need to test and how long you need the environment.

Trial Type	Duration	Users	Credit Card Required	Best For
Business Premium 30-Day	30 days	25	Yes	SMB evaluation, Intune + security testing
E5 Developer Trial	90 days (renewable)	25	No	Developers, IT pros testing E5 features
Microsoft 365 Developer Program	90 days (auto-renews if active)	25	No	Ongoing development and integration testing

Microsoft 365 Business Premium 30-Day Trial

This is the standard commercial trial. You get a full Business Premium tenant with Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, Intune, and Microsoft Defender for Business. It requires a credit card but will not charge you during the trial period. After 30 days, the subscription converts to a paid plan unless you cancel.

Microsoft 365 E5 Developer Trial

The E5 developer trial gives you the most feature-rich plan Microsoft offers — including Phone System, Audio Conferencing, advanced compliance, Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 2, and eDiscovery Premium. This 90-day trial is available through the Microsoft 365 Developer Program and does not require a credit card.

Microsoft 365 Developer Program

The Developer Program is the best option for ongoing testing. You get an E5 sandbox subscription with 25 user licenses and sample data packs. The subscription auto-renews every 90 days as long as you are actively using the tenant for development. Microsoft monitors activity and will let the subscription expire if unused.

How to Create a Microsoft 365 Business Premium Trial (Step by Step)

Follow these steps to set up a free Business Premium tenant. The entire process takes about 10 minutes.

Step 1: Go to the Trial Sign-Up Page

Navigate to microsoft.com/microsoft-365/business/microsoft-365-business-premium and click Try free for 1 month.

Step 2: Create Your Account

Enter your business email address. If you do not have an existing Microsoft account, you will be prompted to create one. Use a valid email address — Microsoft sends a verification code.

Step 3: Set Up Your Identity

Provide your name, company name, company size, and phone number. Microsoft uses this information to configure your tenant.

Step 4: Create Your Domain

Choose a .onmicrosoft.com domain name for your tenant. This is your default domain (e.g., contoso-trial.onmicrosoft.com). You can add a custom domain later.

Step 5: Create Your Admin Account

Set up your username and password. This becomes the Global Administrator account for the tenant. Use a strong password and store it securely.

Step 6: Add Payment Information

Enter a credit card or debit card. Microsoft will not charge during the trial period, but the card is required for identity verification. You can cancel before the trial expires to avoid charges.

Step 7: Access the Admin Center

Once the trial is created, you are redirected to the Microsoft 365 admin center at admin.microsoft.com. From here you can add users, assign licenses, configure security policies, and set up your services.

How to Create an E5 Developer Trial (Step by Step)

The E5 developer trial through the Microsoft 365 Developer Program is the most popular option for IT professionals. No credit card is needed.

Step 1: Join the Microsoft 365 Developer Program

Go to developer.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/dev-program and click Join now. Sign in with a personal Microsoft account or create a new one.

Step 2: Complete Your Profile

Fill in your profile details including your primary focus area (e.g., Microsoft Teams apps, SharePoint solutions, Microsoft Graph, etc.). Select Personal use or Company use as appropriate.

Step 3: Set Up Your E5 Subscription

On the Developer Program dashboard, click Set up E5 subscription. Choose between:

• Instant sandbox: Pre-configured tenant with 16 sample users, mailboxes, and sample data. Best for quick testing.
• Configurable sandbox: Empty tenant that you configure from scratch. Best for custom setups and migration testing.

Step 4: Configure the Sandbox

Enter your country/region, admin username, and password. Choose your .onmicrosoft.com domain name. Click Continue.

Step 5: Add a Phone Number for Verification

Enter a phone number to receive an SMS verification code. This is the only verification needed — no credit card required.

Step 6: Wait for Provisioning

The tenant provisioning takes a few minutes. Once complete, your Developer Program dashboard shows the subscription details including the expiration date (90 days out).

Step 7: Install Sample Data Packs (Optional)

From the Developer Program dashboard, you can install sample data packs to populate your tenant with realistic test data:

• Users: 16 fictitious users with licenses, mailboxes, and profile photos
• Mail and events: Outlook conversations and calendar events for each user
• SharePoint: Sample SharePoint Framework site with demo content

Step 8: Access Your Tenant

Sign in to admin.microsoft.com with your new admin credentials. You now have a fully functional E5 tenant with 25 user licenses.

What You Get in Each Trial

Business Premium Trial Features

• Office apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote (desktop and web)
• Email: Exchange Online with 50 GB mailbox per user
• Collaboration: Microsoft Teams, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business (1 TB)
• Security: Microsoft Defender for Business, Intune device management
• Compliance: Basic DLP, retention policies
• Limit: 25 user licenses, 30-day duration

E5 Developer Trial Features

• Everything in Business Premium, plus:
• Advanced security: Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 2, Cloud App Security
• Advanced compliance: eDiscovery Premium, Advanced Audit, Insider Risk Management
• Voice: Phone System, Audio Conferencing
• Analytics: Power BI Pro, Viva Insights
• Information protection: Azure Information Protection P2, auto-labeling
• Limit: 25 user licenses, 90 days (renewable if active)

Limitations of Trial Tenants

• Maximum 25 user licenses in any trial
• No Premier Support included — community support only
• Developer Program tenants must show active development activity or they expire
• Business Premium trial converts to paid subscription automatically if not cancelled
• Custom domain can be added but you must own and verify it
• Some advanced features like Customer Lockbox may not be available in all trial types

Trial vs Paid Subscription Comparison

Feature	Trial Tenant	Paid Subscription
User limit	25 users max	Unlimited (plan-dependent)
Duration	30-90 days	Monthly or annual commitment
Custom domain	Yes (you must verify ownership)	Yes
Admin center access	Full access	Full access
Microsoft Support	Community only	Phone, web, and Premier support options
Data retention after expiry	30 days grace, then deleted	Retained while subscription is active
SLA guarantee	No	99.9% uptime SLA
Production use	Not recommended	Fully supported
Cost	Free	$6-$57/user/month depending on plan

How to Convert Trial to Paid Subscription

When you are ready to move from trial to production, converting is straightforward. Your data, users, and configurations carry over.

Converting a Business Premium Trial

1. Sign in to admin.microsoft.com as a Global Administrator.
2. Go to Billing > Your products.
3. Select the trial subscription.
4. Click Buy a paid subscription.
5. Choose your plan (you can switch plans during conversion — e.g., from Business Premium trial to Business Standard paid).
6. Select the number of licenses you need.
7. Choose annual or monthly payment.
8. Confirm your payment method and complete the purchase.

All user data, mailboxes, SharePoint sites, and configurations remain intact during the conversion.

Converting a Developer Program Tenant

Developer Program tenants are designed for development and testing, not production. Microsoft does not offer a direct conversion path to a paid production tenant. If you need to move to production:

1. Purchase a new paid Microsoft 365 subscription.
2. Migrate users and data from your developer tenant to the production tenant.
3. Reconfigure your custom domain on the new tenant.

For guidance on choosing the right plan and optimizing your licensing costs, see our Microsoft 365 licensing guide.

Tips for Testing Your Trial Tenant

A trial tenant is only useful if you test the right things. Here is a structured testing checklist to follow once your tenant is provisioned.

Create Test Users

• Create at least 5-10 test users with different roles (Global Admin, Exchange Admin, Helpdesk Admin, standard user).
• Assign different license configurations to different users to test feature access.
• Create at least one user with no admin role to test the end-user experience.
• Set up a security group and a Microsoft 365 group for testing group-based features.

Test Mail Flow

• Send emails between test users within the tenant.
• Send emails to external recipients and verify delivery.
• Test mail flow rules (transport rules) by creating a rule and verifying it triggers.
• Test email forwarding, shared mailboxes, and distribution groups.
• If testing for a migration scenario, add your custom domain and configure DNS (MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC).

Test Microsoft Teams

• Create a Teams team and add members.
• Test chat, video calls, screen sharing, and file sharing.
• Test Teams meeting scheduling and calendar integration with Outlook.
• Test external guest access by inviting an external email address to a team.
• If on E5, test Phone System features by configuring a virtual calling plan.

Test SharePoint and OneDrive

• Create a SharePoint team site and communication site.
• Upload documents and test sharing with internal and external users.
• Test version history, co-authoring, and document approval workflows.
• Verify OneDrive sync client works with test user accounts.

Test Security and Compliance

• Configure Conditional Access policies (require MFA for admin accounts).
• Set up a DLP policy to detect sensitive information in emails.
• Test Microsoft Defender for Office 365 by configuring Safe Links and Safe Attachments.
• On E5 trials, test eDiscovery by creating a case and running a content search.
• Test Intune by enrolling a test device and deploying a compliance policy.

Test Admin Capabilities

• Explore the Microsoft 365 admin center — users, groups, billing, support.
• Test PowerShell connectivity: Connect-MgGraph, Connect-ExchangeOnline.
• Review the Security & Compliance center dashboards.
• Test service health monitoring and message center notifications.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Microsoft 365 trial require a credit card?

It depends on the trial type. The Business Premium 30-day trial requires a credit card for verification. The E5 Developer Program trial requires only a phone number for SMS verification — no credit card needed.

What happens when the trial expires?

When a trial expires, you enter a 30-day grace period. During this period, your data is preserved but users cannot sign in or access services. After the grace period, Microsoft retains data for an additional 90 days (for Business trials) before permanent deletion. Developer Program tenants are simply deprovisioned when they expire.

Can I extend a Microsoft 365 trial?

Business Premium trials can be extended once for an additional 30 days through the admin center under Billing > Your products. Developer Program subscriptions auto-renew every 90 days if Microsoft detects active development activity on the tenant.

Can I use the trial tenant for production?

The Business Premium trial can be converted to a paid production tenant. Developer Program tenants are explicitly intended for development and testing only — do not use them for production workloads.

Can I add a custom domain to the trial?

Yes. In the admin center, go to Settings > Domains > Add domain. You must verify ownership by adding a TXT or MX record to your DNS. This works in both trial types.

How many trial tenants can I create?

There is no hard limit, but Microsoft ties tenant creation to phone number and email verification. You generally need a unique phone number for each Developer Program enrollment. For Business Premium trials, you need a unique credit card.

Can I test hybrid Exchange configurations?

Yes. You can configure hybrid mode between an on-premises Exchange server and your trial tenant's Exchange Online. This requires the Hybrid Configuration Wizard and appropriate DNS and firewall configuration.

Is the trial tenant in a specific Azure region?

Yes. During tenant creation, you select a country/region. Microsoft provisions the tenant in the corresponding Azure datacenter region. This affects data residency and compliance. You cannot change the region after creation.

Can I test Microsoft Graph API with a trial tenant?

Absolutely. Trial tenants support the full Microsoft Graph API. This is one of the primary use cases for Developer Program tenants. Use Graph Explorer to test API calls directly.

Related Resources

• Microsoft 365 Plans and Pricing — MedhaCloud
• Microsoft 365 Licensing Guide — Choose the Right Plan