July 2026: Microsoft raised prices, what does it mean for you?

The price increases took effect on 1 July 2026, and they hit broader than the plan-by-plan table suggests. The increase only lands at renewal, so many notice it there first.

Microsoft announced two major changes effective 1 July 2026:

Price increases: Most plans rise between 5% and 33%. This is the largest combined price adjustment since Microsoft 365 launched. This is a real increase, well beyond fine-tuning.

Removal of volume discounts: Enterprise Agreement Level A-D discounts are being eliminated. All customers pay list price regardless of user count. For large organizations it means the Level A-D discount disappears on top of the price increase itself. How much that amounts to depends on the individual agreement, and Microsoft does not publish the discount rates. Ask your LSP for your own figure. That's the change that hits hardest, and nobody is talking about it.

The full overview. Pay attention to the percentages, some are significant:

Let me put it in perspective with real numbers. This is how it hits your bill:

• •50 users on Business Standard: +$75/mo (+$900/year)
• •100 users on E3: +$300/mo (+$3,600/year)
• •200 users on E5: +$600/mo (+$7,200/year)
• •50 frontline on F3: +$100/mo (+$1,200/year)

For a typical organization with 100 office workers on E3 and 50 frontline on F3: +$400/mo = +$4,800/year. It is manageable, and it belongs in the budget.

For the largest customers the two changes stack: first the list price increase, then the loss of the volume discount. The combined effect depends on which discount level you were on, and only your LSP has that number.

My recommendations, ordered by how quickly they pay off:

Your action plan:

Now: Review your licenses and identify savings. Spend an afternoon on it, it's the best ROI you'll get all year.

May 2026: E7 Frontier Suite becomes generally available. Evaluate whether it makes sense for you.

July 1, 2026: New prices take effect. (Volume discounts were already removed on 1 November 2025.)

If you have an Enterprise Agreement with 500+ users, the price increase stacks on top of the loss of volume discounts from 1 November 2025. The combined effect is therefore larger than the 5-33% on list price, and how much larger depends on which Level you were on.

One caveat before you read on: neither Microsoft nor the partners publish discount rates. Everything below is negotiating mechanics, not priced offers. Only your LSP can give you the numbers in your own agreement.

What is typically open to negotiation before renewal:

• •A longer term. Three-year agreements are often priced differently from one-year ones, but the rate is not public.
• •Bundling. Buying Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365 and Azure in one agreement gives more to negotiate over than a single agreement does.
• •Launch terms on new SKUs. E7 and Copilot Business arrived with campaign terms, and timing matters here.
• •Co-termination. Several agreements with different end dates can be pulled into one renewal, which mainly saves administration.

What is no longer open to negotiation:

• •Volume discounts at Level B, C and D are gone for online services.
• •List price per SKU. Microsoft does not negotiate its published prices.

A concrete action plan before your next renewal:

Sources: Microsoft's official pricing and packaging FAQ (July 2026).