In 2026 Microsoft 365 Business costs €5.20 (Basic), €10.83 (Standard) or €19.06 (Premium) per user per month, excluding VAT with annual billing. On 1 July 2026 Microsoft raises the prices of many licences by roughly 5 to 33 per cent — Business Premium is the only Business licence that stays unchanged. The most interesting question is therefore not which subscription is best, but which mix: anyone who gives every employee the same package is almost certainly overpaying. In this article you will find the current prices, the differences per package, a decision guide by employee type and what you can arrange before 1 July.
What does Microsoft 365 cost per user in 2026?
The three Business subscriptions cost €5.20, €10.83 and €19.06 per user per month in 2026, excluding VAT, on an annual subscription with annual billing (Microsoft, June 2026). If you have that same annual subscription billed monthly, Microsoft charges around 5 per cent extra.
| Subscription | Price per user per month | In brief |
|---|---|---|
| Business Basic | €5.20 (Microsoft, June 2026) | Business email, Teams, OneDrive and the web versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint — no desktop apps |
| Business Standard | €10.83 (Microsoft, June 2026) | Everything in Basic, plus the full desktop apps on PC and Mac |
| Business Premium | €19.06 (Microsoft, June 2026) | Everything in Standard, plus security and management: Intune, conditional access and Defender for Business |
Two ground rules to read alongside this table. First: the Business line is intended for organisations up to 300 users; above that you move into the Enterprise licences (E3, E5), with different prices. Second: an annual subscription is the norm — anyone who wants full monthly flexibility pays a surcharge per licence. For most SME organisations the combination "annual subscription for the fixed core, monthly licences for flex" is the logical middle ground; more on that below.
Basic, Standard or Premium: what is the real difference?
The difference sits on two axes: desktop apps and security. Standard adds the installed Office apps to Basic; Premium adds on top of that the security and management package with which you centrally manage laptops, phones and access. Email, calendar, Teams and 1 TB of OneDrive storage per user are in all three.
| Component | Basic | Standard | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business email and calendar (Exchange) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams, OneDrive and SharePoint | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Word, Excel and PowerPoint in the browser | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop apps on PC and Mac | No | Yes | Yes |
| Device management (Intune) | No | No | Yes |
| Conditional access (Entra ID P1) | No | No | Yes |
| Defender for Business | No | No | Yes |
That third column becomes more important than it looks. With the arrival of the Cybersecurity Act (NIS2), more and more organisations are setting security requirements for their suppliers — and device management, conditional access and endpoint security are exactly the functions with which you can meet them. Premium for everyone is rarely needed for that; Premium for the right people is.
The smart route: a licence mix by employee type
You assign licences per user and can combine them freely — nothing forces you to give everyone the same package. A well-considered mix quickly saves tens of per cent compared with "everyone on Premium" or "everyone on Standard". The rule of thumb per employee type:
| Employee type | Logical licence | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Office worker, all day in Office and email | Business Standard | Desktop apps are the difference here between smooth and irritating work |
| Employee with a laptop out on the road or access to sensitive data | Business Premium | Device management, conditional access and Defender protect where the risk sits |
| Warehouse, front desk or production: occasional email and roster | Business Basic | The web versions are enough; a desktop licence would go unused here |
| Part-timers and flexible workers | Business Basic, possibly as a monthly licence | Scale up and down flexibly without being tied in for a year |
A worked example with the prices above, for a company of twenty employees: ten office workers on Standard (€108.30), four field staff on Premium (€76.24) and six warehouse staff on Basic (€31.20) cost €215.74 per month combined. Putting everyone on Premium costs €381.20 per month — so the mix saves €165.46 per month, nearly €2,000 per year, without anyone missing functionality. If you want to work this out for your own team, use the free licence cost calculator.
Price rise on 1 July 2026: what changes?
On 1 July 2026 Microsoft raises the prices of business 365 licences worldwide by roughly 5 to 33 per cent, depending on the licence (Connectworks, 2026). For SMEs the most important changes are: Business Basic rises 16.7 per cent, Business Standard 12 per cent and Business Premium stays unchanged. Microsoft justifies the rise with investments in AI, security and new functionality (Justspark, 2026).
| Licence | Rise on 1 July 2026 |
|---|---|
| Business Basic | +16.7% (Connectworks, 2026) |
| Business Standard | +12% (Connectworks, 2026) |
| Business Premium | No change (Connectworks, 2026) |
| Microsoft 365 E3 / E5 | +8.3% / +5.3% (Connectworks, 2026) |
| Microsoft 365 F1 / F3 (frontline) | +33.3% / +25% (Connectworks, 2026) |
Two nuances to those percentages. Microsoft announced them in dollars, so the final euro prices may deviate slightly, partly because Microsoft actually lowered its euro prices on 1 February 2026 by around 7.4 per cent due to exchange-rate corrections (Justspark, 2026). And the rise does not necessarily hit you on 1 July itself: the new price applies from your next renewal after that date. If your annual contract expires before 1 July, you can renew for another year at the current rate (Justspark, 2026).
How to keep your licence costs under control
The biggest saving is almost never in negotiating, but in tidying up and timing: cancelling unused licences, setting the mix per employee type well and planning your annual renewal cleverly. Four tactics that deliver the most in practice:
- 1. Renew your annual contract before 1 July 2026. This locks in the current rate for another year; Justspark advises locking in favourable rates in the first half of 2026 (Justspark, 2026).
- 2. Run a licence audit. Almost every environment we take under management contains licences of former employees, duplicate assignments or packages heavier than the role requires. Tidying up takes an afternoon and pays off every month.
- 3. Mix annual and monthly licences. Annual licences for the fixed core, monthly licences for flexible layers — that way you only pay for flexibility where you genuinely need it.
- 4. Choose by role, not by company. The licence mix from the previous section is the structural saving; an annual recheck keeps it current as roles change.
This is exactly the kind of work that is a standard part of our Microsoft 365 management: licences, security and user management in one fixed monthly fee, so there is no annual surprise on the invoice. If you are considering handing over management more broadly, also read outsourced IT management.
In brief
- In 2026 Microsoft 365 Business costs €5.20 (Basic), €10.83 (Standard) or €19.06 (Premium) per user per month, excluding VAT with annual billing.
- The difference sits on two axes: Standard adds desktop apps, Premium adds security and device management (Intune, conditional access, Defender).
- A licence mix by employee type is almost always cheaper than giving everyone the same package — in the worked example nearly €2,000 per year across twenty employees.
- On 1 July 2026 many licences rise 5 to 33 per cent; Business Basic +16.7%, Standard +12%, Premium stays the same. Renewing before 1 July locks in the current rate for another year.
- The biggest saving comes from a licence audit and smart timing, not from negotiating.
Further reading
- Microsoft 365 management by RiverFlows
- Free licence cost calculator
- Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365: which suits your organisation?
- NIS2 for SMEs: what to arrange before 1 July 2026?
- What does IT management cost?
Frequently asked questions
What does Microsoft 365 cost per user per month?
In 2026 Microsoft 365 Business Basic costs €5.20, Business Standard €10.83 and Business Premium €19.06 per user per month, excluding VAT with annual billing (Microsoft, June 2026). On 1 July 2026 Microsoft raises the prices of Business Basic and Standard; Business Premium stays unchanged.
What is the difference between Business Standard and Business Premium?
Business Premium contains everything in Standard, plus the security and management package: device management via Intune, conditional access via Entra ID P1 and Defender for Business. Premium makes sense for staff with a laptop out on the road, access to sensitive data or when clients set security requirements; for pure office work Standard is usually enough.
How much are the Microsoft 365 prices going up on 1 July 2026?
Depending on the licence, roughly 5 to 33 per cent: Business Basic rises 16.7 per cent, Business Standard 12 per cent and Business Premium stays the same. The frontline licences rise the most (F1 by 33.3 per cent, F3 by 25 per cent). Microsoft announced the percentages in dollars; the final euro prices depend partly on the exchange rate.
Can I combine different licences within one organisation?
Yes, you assign licences per user and can mix them freely. That is usually also the cheapest route: office staff on Standard, staff with sensitive data or a laptop out on the road on Premium, and warehouse or front-desk staff on Basic. Anyone who gives everyone the same package almost always pays too much.
Is Microsoft 365 Copilot included in these subscriptions?
No. Microsoft 365 Copilot is a paid add-on on top of a Business or Enterprise subscription. Microsoft does cite the investments in AI and security as justification for the price rise on 1 July 2026, but the full Copilot functionality remains a separate licence.
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