17 December, 2025
Microsoft is increasing the prices of business 365 licences from 1 July 2026. The increase varies by licence and ranges from more than five to more than 30 per cent. The prices of Office 365 E1 and Business Premium licences will remain the same. In addition, Microsoft will make a currency adjustment on 1 February 2026 that will reduce prices for businesses paying in euros. We would be happy to look with you at the net impact of these price adjustments on your organisation and help you determine the right renewal moment and the optimal licence mix.
From 1 July 2026, Microsoft is increasing the prices of almost all business 365 licences. In addition, the company is implementing a currency correction on 1 February 2026, lowering prices for businesses paying in euros. In this article, you can read more about the background, the new prices, what the changes mean for your organisation and how we can help you to be as smart as possible with your licences.
Why is Microsoft increasing prices of business 365 licences in 2026?
Microsoft officially links the price increase mainly to the increased value of its products, thanks to significant investments in recent years:
- Hundreds of new features have been added to Microsoft 365, including integrations with AI features such as Copilot Chat and enhanced security and management options.
- Stronger security functionality and modern management tools are now a standard part of suites.
- Microsoft signals a growing demand for these advanced capabilities, which coincides with higher costs for innovation, cloud infrastructure and AI developments.
Microsoft itself says it does not want to implement a simple price increase, but values updates according to the value they deliver. However, some analysis suggests that the extra revenue will also help offset investments in AI and cloud capacity.
No price increase for Office 365 E1 licences and Business Premium licences
Microsoft is mainly implementing price increases on those licences where new AI, security and management capabilities are delivered. Office 365 E1 remains the same in price from July, as it is an entry-level licence with less added value.
The unchanged price of the Business Premium, which is attractive to SMEs, seems to be a strategic choice in order to encourage the use of this package. In addition, Business Premium is already relatively complete and combines many of the new security and management features. Price increases as with Business Basic and Standard for relatively simple functionality enhancements (such as extra storage and AI integrations) are unnecessary for Business Premium because it is already included.
First lower licence prices due to currency correction
Prior to the July price increase, Microsoft is implementing a currency correction on its European prices on 1 February 2026. Microsoft is doing this because of the increased value of the euro against the dollar. This correction will structurally reduce prices for business 365 licences by 7.4%.
These will be the new prices as of 1 February and 1 July 2026
First across-the-board price drop, then an increase for most licences what is the net impact? This overview gives you a good idea of all the changes:
Licence
Current price
New price as of 1 February 2026
New price as of 1 July 2026
July price increase % vs. current price
Microsoft 365 Business Basic
€ 5,60
€ 5,19
€ 6,02
+ 7,5%
Microsoft 365 Business Standard
€ 11,70
€ 10,83
€ 12,13
+ 3,7%
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
€ 20,60
€ 19,08
€ 19,08
- 7,4%
Office 365 E1
€ 9,40
€ 8,70
€ 8,70
- 7,4%
Office 365 E3
€ 25,10
€ 23,24
€ 26,27
+ 4,7%
Microsoft 365 E3
€ 37,70
€ 34,91
€ 37,80
+ 0,3%
Microsoft 365 E5
€ 59,70
€ 55,28
€ 58,21
- 2,5%
Microsoft 365 F1 (Frontline)
€ 2,10
€ 1,94
€ 2,59
+ 23,3%
Microsoft 365 F3 (Frontline)
€ 7,50
€ 6,95
€ 8,69
+ 15,9%
Note: The above rates are derived from the official price changes in dollars and converted to euros. They are an indication and apply to businesses paying in Euros only.
What does this mean for you?
The various price adjustments will obviously affect the cost your organisation spends on Microsoft 365 licences:
- Does your organisation currently purchase Microsoft 365 licences and renew one or more licences between 1 February and 1 July? Then you will benefit from a lower price.
- Are you working with Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Office 365 E3, Microsoft 365 E3, Microsoft 365 F1 or Microsoft 365 F3 licences? Then you will pay more for them from the next renewal date after 1 July.
- Are you working with Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Office 365 E1 or Microsoft 365 E5 licences? Then you will pay less for them from the next renewal date after 1 July.
- Are you a customer with us? Then you know that we always pass on price increases of Microsoft licences directly to you. Naturally, this also applies to price decreases.
Further good to know:
- Do you have many Frontline users within your organisation? If so, costs will rise substantially from 1 July.
- As licence packages have recently become increasingly extensive, chances are you are paying for features you don't use much, if at all.
- Business Premium does not increase in price (the currency correction actually reduces the price) and may therefore be a more attractive alternative for (part of) your organisation.
Check your Microsoft licences with us
We are happy to help you make the price increase and currency correction as favourable as possible for you. By looking at the right renewal moment for your licences. And by checking with you whether the current Microsoft 365 licences you are using still suit your organisation. Are you still using all the licences? Can you work with cheaper licences? And to what extent is Business Premium, which does not increase in price and even decreases in price due to the currency correction, an interesting option? Contact us if you want to spar about this; we will be happy to think along with you and advise you on the right licence mix where necessary.