Microsoft 365 price increase 2026: what is changing?
Microsoft 365 commercial pricing is increasing globally from July 2026. Public reporting says the increase affects several Business, Frontline and Enterprise plans, including Microsoft 365 E3, Microsoft 365 E5 and Microsoft 365 F3. For enterprise companies, the main risk is renewing an inefficient license structure at a higher price.
Microsoft 365 E3
Axeti: €338.40/user/year. Indicative difference: ~€72.96 per user/year, or ~€72,960 per year at 1,000 E3 users.
Microsoft 365 E5
Axeti annual pricing: €535.22 per user/year. For 1,000 users, that equals €535,220 per year before taxes and local commercial adjustments.
Microsoft 365 F3
Axeti annual pricing: €66.91 per user/year. F3 can be important for frontline or lightweight users who do not need the same license as knowledge workers.
Why enterprise companies should not treat renewal as routine
Microsoft 365 is business-critical infrastructure. It supports email, Teams, identity, security, compliance, endpoint management and daily productivity across the organization. That is why renewal should be treated as a commercial and IT governance checkpoint, not simple administration.
- Inactive users still consume paid Microsoft 365 licenses
- E3 or E5 is assigned to users who do not need those features
- Frontline users are not separated from knowledge workers
- CSP pricing options are not compared before renewal
What IT, procurement and finance should align on
IT directors need to protect continuity, security and the existing tenant. Procurement needs to challenge commercial terms and compare pricing options. Finance needs to understand the annual budget impact after the 2026 price increase. The best renewal decisions happen when all three teams work from the same license data.
What to review before Microsoft 365 renewal
Before renewal, enterprise companies should run a structured Microsoft 365 licensing review. The output should be a clear recommendation: what to keep, what to adjust, what to remove and where the company can reduce unnecessary spend without increasing operational risk.
- Current Microsoft 365 license inventory and assigned users
- E3, E5 and F3 usage by user group and role
- Office 365 E3 or Exchange-only needs for lighter users
- Expected annual cost after the 2026 price increase
Can costs be reduced without tenant migration?
Yes. In many cases, Microsoft 365 licensing can be optimized without changing the existing tenant. With the right CSP setup, enterprise companies can keep their current users, data, services and security configuration while improving the commercial model before renewal.
