Microsoft significantly increases prices for Microsoft 365 from July 2026
Microsoft announces price increases for all M365 subscriptions. The new prices will apply from July 2026, with new AI features cited as the reason.
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Microsoft has announced a price increase for all commercial M365 subscriptions, which will take effect on July 1, 2026. Specifically, list prices will be raised by nearly 9 to 25 percent, depending on the product variant.
Microsoft 365 Business Basic is most affected, with an increase of 25 percent from $6 to $7.50 per user per month. Business Standard will increase by 12 percent from $12.50 to $14, and Business Premium by 11 percent from $22 to $24.50. For the enterprise variants, Office 365 E3 and Microsoft 365 E3 will increase by 9.8 percent from $23 to $25.25, and Microsoft 365 E5 by 8.8 percent from $57 to $62. The price adjustments apply globally with local market adjustments, and non-profit prices will also be adjusted accordingly.
Microsoft justifies the price increases with new features in the areas of AI, security, and management. From 2026, all M365 users will have access to Copilot Chat directly in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote. According to Microsoft, the AI assistant will be expanded with an Agent Mode, which will enable iterative work on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.
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Extended Security and Management Features
In the security area, Microsoft is integrating the advanced email protection features of Defender for Office Plan 1 into Office 365 E3 and Microsoft 365 E3. These are intended to provide better protection against phishing, malware, and malicious links in emails and Microsoft Teams. URL checks against known malware websites will also be available in Office 365 E1, Business Basic, and Business Standard.
For the E3 and E5 variants, Microsoft is announcing additional endpoint management features, including Intune Remote Help, Intune Advanced Analytics, and Intune Plan 2. E5 customers will also gain access to Security Copilot, Microsoft's AI-powered security assistant. This will be delivered with over 70 pre-built agents from Microsoft and partners and will be gradually rolled out to all E5 customers in the coming months.
Microsoft states that it is giving customers seven months' notice for planning with this early announcement. The price increase exclusively affects commercial licenses; the company has not commented on changes to consumer subscriptions. Details can be found in the announcement in the Microsoft blog.
(fo)
