On August 19, 2021, Microsoft announced that they will be increasing their commercial prices for Microsoft 365 and Office 365 licenses beginning on March 1, 2022. These changes come 10 years after their last significant price increase and are reportedly the result of Microsoft publishing 24 new applications and 1,400 new features over that time period. Specific licensing price changes (per user, per month) are outlined below:
Microsoft 365 Business Basic – from $5 to $6
Microsoft 365 Business Premium – from $20 to $22
Office 365 E1 – from $8 to $10
Office 365 E3 – from $20 to $23
Office 365 E5 – from $35 to $38
Microsoft 365 E3 – from $32 to $36
In addition to the price changes, Microsoft also announced that they will add unlimited dial-in capabilities for Microsoft Teams meetings, as opposed to the $4/month license fee they charged previously. No specific rollout date for this change was provided, only that it will occur “over the next few months.” Solution Builders will continue to provide updates as they become available.
For customers who take advantage of annual pricing but cancel subscriptions sooner than at the annual renewal date, Microsoft is also enforcing annual pricing by no longer allowing the removal of annual plans without incurring a penalty. How does this impact your business? If you previously terminated a user, then stopped their subscription prior to the renewal date, you did not pay a termination fee for that license. Going forward, a termination fee of 100% of the remaining months of the term will be enforced. Alternately, you may assign that license to another user or keep it in “inventory” for your next hire.
If you have any questions about the new pricing for Microsoft 365 or your organization’s Microsoft 365 licensing in general, please contact your Solution Builders Client Relationship Manager. Not a client yet? Let’s talk about your Office 365 licensing needs.
