The Microsoft 365 price increase 2026 took effect on 1 July 2026: Business Basic rose by 16 %, Business Standard by 12 %, Microsoft 365 E3 by 8 %, E5 by 5 %, F1 by 33 % and F3 by 25 %. Business Premium and Office 365 E1 stayed unchanged. New subscriptions pay the new prices immediately. Existing subscriptions keep their price until the next renewal after 1 July 2026, so many companies only see the increase on a renewal invoice in late 2026 or 2027. Current German list prices are €6.07 for Business Basic, €12.13 for Business Standard and €19.06 for Business Premium per user per month.
This article is written for companies with a German or DACH Microsoft 365 tenant. All euro prices are Microsoft list prices for Germany, excluding VAT, with an annual subscription paid annually, checked on 2 November 2026. The percentages come from Microsoft’s own announcement, which states them in US dollars (Microsoft 365 pricing and packaging updates).
Which Microsoft 365 plans became more expensive in July 2026?
Almost every Business, Enterprise and Frontline suite became more expensive; only Business Premium and Office 365 E1 stayed flat. The table shows Microsoft’s announced change and the current German list price for each plan.
| Plan | Change on 1 July 2026 (Microsoft, USD list) | Current German list price (Nov 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic | +16 % | €6.07 |
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard | +12 % | €12.13 |
| Microsoft 365 Business Premium | unchanged | €19.06 |
| Microsoft 365 Apps for Business | +21 % | €11.00 |
| Microsoft 365 E3 | +8 % | €37.78 |
| Microsoft 365 E5 | +5 % | €58.13 |
| Microsoft 365 F1 (Frontline) | +33 % | €2.60 |
| Microsoft 365 F3 (Frontline) | +25 % | €8.66 |
| Office 365 E1 | unchanged | €8.66 |
Office 365 E3 (+13 %), Office 365 E5 (+8 %), Windows Enterprise and several security add-ons also rose. Standalone Teams and Copilot products were not part of this update. In the EU, every plan is also sold without Teams; these variants are cheaper in euros, for example €9.34 for Business Standard without Teams. Sources for the euro prices: Microsoft business plans, enterprise plans and frontline plans.
Why you should not apply the percentages to old euro invoices
Two other price changes overlap with the July increase in euro markets. On 1 February 2026, Microsoft lowered euro prices for commercial cloud services by about 7.4 % to align them with global pricing (Microsoft announcement). On 1 July 2026, a small cent-level “pricing precision” adjustment also applied to EEA currencies. Your real change in euros therefore depends on when your subscription last renewed. Compare your last invoice with the current list price instead of applying the US percentage.
When does the price increase reach your subscription?
The new prices apply to new subscriptions from 1 July 2026 and to existing subscriptions at their first renewal after that date. Microsoft states that existing customers remain on current pricing until renewal. With annual terms, the increase therefore arrives in waves until mid-2027. Check the renewal date of each subscription in the Microsoft 365 admin center under Billing → Your products, or ask your CSP partner.
The term length matters too. Subscriptions with a monthly term cost roughly 20 % more than an annual term: Business Standard, for example, costs €14.56 per month instead of €12.13. For a stable workforce, the annual term is clearly cheaper.
Expired subscriptions now cost extra
For most subscriptions, Microsoft has removed the free grace period after expiry. An expired subscription now moves into a paid, month-to-month Extended Service Term. In the CSP channel it is billed monthly at the monthly-term price plus 3 %, or plus 23 % where no monthly plan exists. For direct purchases, check the terms in the admin center. You can cancel at any time with a prorated refund, but you cannot change seat numbers during that phase. The rule has applied to CSP subscriptions since 4 May 2026 and to direct purchases since 9 February 2026 (Microsoft: extended service terms, what happens when a subscription expires).
What Microsoft added in return
Microsoft justifies the increase with new features in the existing plans. The additions differ by plan:
- Business, Enterprise and Frontline plans: Copilot Chat enhancements and Copilot Chat analytics.
- Business plans: 50 GB more mailbox storage; Business Basic and Standard also gain time-of-click URL protection.
- Microsoft 365 E3: Defender for Office 365 Plan 1, Intune Plan 2, Remote Help and Advanced Analytics.
- Microsoft 365 E5: Endpoint Privilege Management, Cloud PKI, Enterprise App Management and Security Copilot.
If you already pay for some of these features through add-ons or third-party tools, the increase can be partly offset by cancelling them. Separately, Microsoft introduced Microsoft 365 E7 on 1 May 2026 at €91.92 per user per month. It bundles E5, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Agent 365 and the Entra Suite and is aimed at organisations that already plan all four.
What the new prices mean for your budget
At current German list prices, the annual licence cost per plan looks like this. The figures cover the suite licence only, with an annual subscription paid annually and excluding VAT; add-ons such as Copilot come on top.
| Scenario | Price per user per month | Annual licence cost |
|---|---|---|
| 20 users, Business Basic | €6.07 | €1,456.80 |
| 50 users, Business Standard | €12.13 | €7,278.00 |
| 50 users, Business Premium | €19.06 | €11,436.00 |
| 100 users, Microsoft 365 E3 | €37.78 | €45,336.00 |
| 100 frontline users, F3 | €8.66 | €10,392.00 |
The relative increase is highest for frontline workers. Companies in manufacturing, logistics or retail with many F1 or F3 users should review these plans separately. Standalone products such as Apps for Business (+21 %) can also lift the total more than the headline suite percentages suggest.
Business Standard or Business Premium after the increase?
Because Business Standard rose and Business Premium did not, the gap between them shrank. In Germany it is now €6.93 per user per month, or €83.16 per user per year. Business Premium adds Microsoft Defender for Business, Intune device management and Microsoft Entra ID P1 with conditional access.
For many companies with 20 to 300 users, the upgrade is now easier to justify. This applies especially if you currently pay for a separate endpoint protection or device management tool that Premium can replace. If you only need e-mail, Office apps and Teams, Business Standard remains the cheaper choice. Our German cloud security consulting page explains what Premium’s security features cover.
Which plans and customers were not affected?
Business Premium and Office 365 E1 kept their prices. Standalone Teams and Copilot products were excluded from the July update. Copilot Business is even on promotion until 31 December 2026, at €15.60 instead of €18.20 per user per month for eligible customers in the first year.
Nonprofit customers were affected: Microsoft adjusted nonprofit pricing in line with commercial pricing, while keeping the discount. Business Standard for nonprofits rose from $3.00 to $3.50, and Business Basic for nonprofits remains free. Microsoft has not announced another increase of commercial plans for 2027. However, since July 2026 it adjusts local-currency prices once a year in January, so further euro adjustments are possible.
Five steps before your Microsoft 365 price increase 2026 renewal
- Check renewal dates and terms. Note when each subscription renews and whether it runs monthly or annually. Never let a subscription expire, because the Extended Service Term costs extra.
- Right-size your licences. Remove licences of former employees and move users who only need web apps to cheaper plans. In our projects, 20 to 25 % of licences are unused or oversized on average. Seat reductions are usually only possible at renewal, so plan them in advance.
- Compare Business Standard and Premium. Count the tools Premium could replace and calculate the net difference per user.
- Review the Teams and no-Teams variants. If you use another meeting platform, the EU variants without Teams can be considerably cheaper.
- Plan Copilot together with the renewal. Bundles such as Business Standard + Copilot Business (€20.36) cost less than buying both separately. Our Copilot Business vs Enterprise comparison explains which plan fits.
Common mistakes with the 2026 price increase
The most common mistake is letting a subscription lapse while deciding about the renewal. Since 2026, that triggers the paid Extended Service Term, and seat changes are blocked until a new term starts. Decide before the renewal date, not after it.
Second, many budgets apply the US percentages to old euro invoices. Because of the February currency adjustment, the real euro change differs. Third, companies keep a monthly term for convenience and pay about 20 % more than necessary. Finally, frontline plans are often overlooked, although they saw the largest relative increase.
How AURUM helps you manage Microsoft 365 costs
As a Microsoft Solutions Partner in Nuremberg, AURUM reviews your current licence situation and shows where you can save without losing features. We check contracts, user numbers and the actual use of licensed features. The result is a clear plan: which licences to optimise, when to renew and whether a plan change pays off. In a typical licence review for 50 to 150 users, we identify savings of €2,000 to €5,000 per year.
If you also use Azure, we check overlaps between the products. More details are on our Microsoft 365 consulting page (in German) and in our English services overview.
Frequently asked questions about the Microsoft 365 price increase 2026
New subscriptions have paid the new prices since 1 July 2026. Existing subscriptions keep their current price until their first renewal after 1 July 2026. With annual terms, that means the increase reaches most companies at some point between July 2026 and June 2027.
German list prices as of November 2026, excluding VAT, with an annual subscription paid annually: Business Basic €6.07, Business Standard €12.13, Business Premium €19.06, Microsoft 365 E3 €37.78 and E5 €58.13 per user per month. Subscriptions with a monthly term cost about 20 % more, and variants without Teams cost less.
No. Business Premium was not part of the July 2026 increase and costs €19.06 per user per month in Germany. Because Business Standard rose by 12 %, the gap between the two plans is now €6.93 per user per month.
More questions about Microsoft 365 pricing
Not for new purchases. For existing subscriptions, the new price applies at the next renewal after 1 July 2026. You can reduce the impact by removing unused licences, choosing annual instead of monthly billing, checking variants without Teams and replacing separate tools with features included in your plan.
No. On 1 July 2026, Microsoft also applied a small cent-level rounding adjustment to prices in EEA currencies. It is separate from the percentage increase and changes prices only marginally. The larger euro effect in 2026 came from the February currency adjustment, which lowered euro prices.
Bottom line: plan your renewal, not just the price
The Microsoft 365 price increase 2026 is now in effect, and most companies meet it at their next renewal. You cannot avoid it, but you can control its impact. Check renewal dates, remove unused licences, compare Business Standard with Premium and choose annual billing. Then the higher list price does not automatically mean a higher bill.