Microsoft 365 Pricing Changes: What's Happening in July 2026
If your business runs on Microsoft 365 (and most of the businesses we work with in Carlisle and Cumbria do), there are some pricing changes coming in July that are worth knowing about. Microsoft has announced its first commercial price change since 2022, and it affects most plan tiers.
The increases range from around 5% on premium plans to as much as 17% on Business Basic. Frontline worker plans are hit hardest, with increases of up to 33%. It's not a small change, and if you haven't reviewed your licences recently, you could end up paying significantly more than you need to.
How Much Are Prices Increasing?
Here's a rough guide to the percentage increases by plan:
- Business Basic: around 17% increase
- Business Standard: around 12% increase
- Business Premium: no change
- Enterprise E3: around 8% increase
- Enterprise E5: around 5% increase
The pattern is clear: the cheaper the plan, the bigger the percentage hit. If you've got a team of 20 on Business Basic, that 17% adds up fast over the year.
What You're Getting for the Extra Cost
To be fair to Microsoft, they're not just putting prices up for the sake of it. There are genuine new features being bundled in, and some of them are things you might have been paying separately for already.
- Copilot Chat: AI assistance in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote, included across all plans. This isn't the full Copilot licence (that's still a separate add-on), but it's a useful starting point for businesses curious about AI without committing to the premium tier.
- Defender for Office 365 Plan 1: being added to E3 plans. If you're currently paying for this separately, you can drop that cost. It covers phishing detection, malware scanning, and malicious link protection across email and collaboration tools.
- Safe Links: URL checking added to Business Basic, Business Standard and E1. Protects your team from clicking known malicious links in emails and Office documents.
- Intune enhancements: E3 and E5 plans get additional device management features including Remote Help and Advanced Analytics. If you're using MDM through us, this strengthens what we can do with your devices.
What This Means for Cumbria Businesses
Most of the businesses we support are on Business Basic or Business Standard, the two plans seeing the biggest percentage increases. For a team of 20, the annual cost goes up by a noticeable amount. Multiply that across every user and it's worth paying attention to.
But here's the thing: most businesses we come across can often be paying for licences they don't need. Departed staff with active accounts. Users on E3 who only need Business Standard. A typical licence audit saves 10 to 20% before the increase even applies, which can completely offset the price change.
What You Should Do Before July
- Audit your licences: log into your Microsoft 365 admin centre and check how many active users you're paying for. Remove any accounts that are no longer needed, including departed staff, old test accounts, shared mailboxes that don't need a full licence.
- Check your renewal date: if your renewal falls before 30 June 2026, you keep current pricing for the full term of that agreement. If it falls after, the new rates apply from your first renewal.
- Match plans to roles: not everyone needs the same plan. Frontline staff, part-time workers, and light users might be fine on a lower tier. Power users and compliance-heavy roles might need E3 or E5. Getting this right can save 15 to 25% across your organisation.
- Check for overlapping tools: with Defender and Intune enhancements now bundled in, you might be paying for separate security or device management tools you no longer need.
We Can Audit Your Licences for Free
If you're not sure whether you're on the right plans, or you suspect you're paying for licences that aren't being used, get in touch. We'll run through your Microsoft 365 setup, identify where you can save, and make sure you're not paying more than you need to when the new pricing kicks in.
It takes about 20 minutes and there's no obligation. We'll just give you a clear picture of where you stand.