News
Microsoft 365 Commercial Subscription Prices Set to Hike Mid 2026
- By Chris Paoli
- December 29, 2025
Microsoft announced a pricing increase for many commercial Microsoft 365 subscriptions (and related Office/Enterprise suites), with the changes expected to take effect in July 2026, as the company bundles new AI, security and management functionality across its plans.
The increases arrive alongside a rollout of enhanced protections, including the email security tools from Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 to Office 365 E3 and Microsoft 365 E3, with protection against malware, phishing and malicious links across platforms. New URL safety checks for lower-tier plans, such as Office 365 E1, Business Basic and Business Standard, against known malicious websites when clicking links in email and Office apps.
Microsoft is also integrating endpoint management features from Intune into Microsoft 365 E3 and E5, including Remote Help, Advanced Analytics and Intune Plan 2. For Microsoft 365 E5 customers, Intune Endpoint Privilege Management, Enterprise Application Management and Microsoft Cloud PKI will be added to help IT teams safeguard AI use and strengthen security.
"The latest AI and security capabilities in Microsoft 365 demonstrate Microsoft's sustained commitment to helping organizations stay ahead of the latest innovations and evolving threats," said Dion Hinchcliffe, VP and Practice Lead at Futurum.
Microsoft 365 Business Basic will increase from $6 to $7 per user per month, while Business Standard will go from $12.50 to $14.50. Office 365 E1 will increase from $10 to $11, and Office 365 E3 will jump from $23 to $26. Microsoft 365 E3 will increase from $36 to $42, while Microsoft 365 E5 will rise from $57 to $65.
The changes will apply globally with local market adjustments, and nonprofit pricing will be adjusted in line with commercial pricing. Microsoft said it is sharing the updates now to give customers time to plan.
"At Microsoft, we empower every organization to innovate -- while helping people stay productive, protected, and prepared for what's next," the company said in a blog post.
The pricing update marks the second major change for Microsoft 365 suite subscriptions in recent years. In March 2022, the company raised prices for several products, citing Microsoft said it delivered more than 1,100 features across Microsoft 365, Security, Copilot and SharePoint over the past year. The company also said Security Copilot agents will roll out to all Microsoft 365 E5 customers in the coming months, with current Security Copilot users receiving a 30-day notice before the feature is activated.
The update follows Microsoft's continued push to embed Copilot capabilities into core Office applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote. During Microsoft Ignite 2025, the company said Copilot Chat will be able to interpret inboxes and calendars and will include access to Agent Mode.
With more than 430 million people using Microsoft 365 apps and over 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies adopting Microsoft 365 Copilot, the company said it remains committed to delivering secure and innovative tools for an AI-driven future.