Microsoft Access vs Microsoft Lists

Microsoft Access

• Small businesses building their own database apps on Windows PCs
• Teams sharing a database over a local network
• Organizations that already license the Microsoft 365 desktop apps

Microsoft Lists

• Organizations already paying for Microsoft 365 that need shared trackers
• Teams that want a tracker beside the conversation in a Teams channel
• Tracking issues, assets, events and onboarding from ready-made templates

Microsoft Access

• Access is available for PC only; Microsoft lists no Mac, web or mobile version.
• It is not part of Office Home 2024 or Microsoft 365 Business Basic, which has web and mobile apps only.
• An Access database file is limited to 2 GB, minus the space needed for system objects.
• Storing data in SQL Server or Azure SQL requires a separate subscription to that service.

Microsoft Lists

• Lists is not sold on its own: it comes with Microsoft 365 business and enterprise plans, which are priced per user.
• The iOS and Android apps were retired in mid-November 2025. On a phone, Lists runs in a mobile browser or inside Teams.
• A list can hold up to 30 million items, but a view that shows more than 5,000 can run into the list view threshold.
• Help pages direct users to a work or school account. Lists for personal Microsoft accounts is offered only as a preview.

Microsoft Access

Database apps from templates or scratch

Business apps are built from templates or from scratch with Access's design tools, which Microsoft pitches at people who are not developers.

Tables, queries, forms and reports

A database is made of tables for the data plus queries, forms, reports, macros and modules that sit on top of them and form the app's interface and logic.

Visual Basic for Applications

VBA code automates business processes and is used to build more capable forms and reports.

SQL Server and Azure SQL storage

Data can be stored in SQL Server or Microsoft Azure SQL instead of the Access file. Each requires its own subscription to that service.

Connectors to other data sources

The Access connector library shares data between Access and line-of-business apps, so combined data can be queried and charted inside Access.

Multi-user sharing

A database can be shared from a network folder, split into a back-end data file with a front-end copy per user, or linked to SharePoint lists. Access supports up to 255 concurrent users.

Microsoft Lists

Templates and imports

Ready-made templates such as Issue tracker, Asset manager, Event itinerary and Onboarding checklist. A list can also start from an Excel workbook, a CSV file, an existing list or a blank page.

Grid, calendar and gallery views

The same items can be shown as a list, a calendar or a gallery, and saved views can sort, group and filter them. A single view can display at most 5,000 items.

Conditional formatting

View formatting highlights rows that meet a condition, such as a status set to Blocked, and alternating row styles are built in. An advanced mode accepts JSON.

Rules

A rule pairs a trigger, such as an item being modified or a column value changing, with an action such as emailing someone. Date-approaching rules are limited to two per list.

Lists in Microsoft Teams

A list can be added as a tab in a Teams channel, next to the conversation. Lists are created in the desktop or web version of Teams; on mobile, members can view and edit but not create them.

Power Apps and Power Automate

Forms can be extended with Power Apps and workflows built with Power Automate, using a list as the data source for a custom app.

Microsoft Access

• Microsoft 365 Personal$9.99

  per month, or $99.99 per year

  For 1 person on up to 5 devices: Access (PC only) alongside the Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook desktop apps and 1 TB of cloud storage.

• Microsoft 365 Apps for business$10.00

  per user / month, paid yearly ($12.00 billed monthly)

  Fully installed Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Access (PC only) for up to 300 employees, with 1 TB of cloud storage per user.

• Microsoft 365 Family$12.99

  per month, or $129.99 per year

  Everything in Personal for 1 to 6 people, each able to sign in on up to 5 devices, with 1 TB of storage per person.

• Microsoft 365 Business Standard$14.00

  per user / month, paid yearly ($16.80 billed monthly)

  Desktop, web and mobile apps including Access (PC only), plus business email, Microsoft Teams and 1 TB of cloud storage per user.

• Microsoft 365 Premium$19.99

  per month, or $199.99 per year

  Everything in Family, plus extensive Copilot usage and agentic AI features such as advanced research and analytics.

• Access$179.99

  one-time purchase for 1 PC

  Standalone Access for one PC running Windows 11 or Windows 10, bought once rather than by subscription.

Microsoft Lists

• Microsoft 365 Business Basic$7.00

  per user / month, paid yearly ($8.40 on a monthly subscription)

  Lists with SharePoint, Teams, web and mobile Office apps, business email and 1 TB of storage per user. The version without Teams is $5.40.

• Microsoft 365 Business Standard$14.00

  per user / month, paid yearly ($16.80 on a monthly subscription)

  Everything in Basic plus desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, Loop and Clipchamp. The version without Teams is $10.79.

• Microsoft 365 Business Premium$22.00

  per user / month, paid yearly ($26.40 on a monthly subscription)

  Everything in Standard plus device management, protection against phishing and malware, and sensitive-data controls. $18.79 without Teams.

• Business Standard with Copilot$23.50

  per user / month, paid yearly

  Business Standard with Microsoft 365 Copilot Business built into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams. $20.30 without Teams.

• Business Premium with Copilot$32.00

  per user / month, paid yearly

  Business Premium with Microsoft 365 Copilot Business included. The version without Teams is $28.80.

Microsoft Access

• Annual discount

  Save up to 17% by paying yearly

  Microsoft 365 Personal is $99.99 a year against $9.99 a month, Family $129.99 against $12.99 and Premium $199.99 against $19.99.

• Annual discount

  Apps for business: $10 yearly, $12 monthly

  Microsoft 365 Apps for business is $10.00 per user a month when paid yearly, or $12.00 per user a month on a monthly subscription.

• Education

  Students save 50% on Microsoft 365 Personal

  Verified college and university students get Microsoft 365 Personal, which includes Access, at half price. Student status has to be re-verified each year.

• Lifetime license

  Standalone Access as a one-time purchase

  $179.99 buys Access for 1 PC running Windows 11 or Windows 10, with no subscription.

Microsoft Lists

• Annual discount

  Lower per-user price when paid yearly

  Business Basic is $7.00 per user a month paid yearly against $8.40 on a monthly subscription, Standard $14.00 against $16.80 and Premium $22.00 against $26.40.

• Nonprofit

  Nonprofit grant and staff pricing

  Eligible nonprofits get Microsoft 365 Business Basic as a grant, free for up to 300 users, with Business Standard at $3.50 and Business Premium at $5.50 per user a month, paid yearly.