Microsoft 365 Price Increase (July 2026): New Prices, How to Save

Microsoft 365 old and new prices (July 2026)

Microsoft announced the change in December 2025 and published the price list on its licensing news page. Prices are in US dollars per user per month on an annual commitment. Microsoft's Singapore plans page shows the same US dollar figures, excluding GST, as of October 2026.

Versions without Teams rose too: Business Basic (no Teams) to US$5.40 and Business Standard (no Teams) to US$10.79. Standalone Teams and Copilot licences were not part of this change.

When the new price applies to you

Microsoft's pricing FAQ is clear on timing:

• New customers pay the new price from 1 July 2026.
• Existing customers keep their current price until their next renewal after 1 July 2026.
• The increase applies to both annual and monthly billing plans.
• Customers on multi-year agreements keep their price until those agreements renew.

So if your annual subscription renews in, say, March 2027, your bill goes up then. Check your renewal date in the Microsoft 365 admin centre under Billing, then Your products. If you buy through a reseller, ask them for the date and the new per-seat price, as reseller pricing can differ slightly.

What you get for the higher price

Microsoft paired the increase with new features, rolling out from mid-2026. For business plans the licensing page lists:

• +50 GB email storage on Basic, Standard and Premium. Microsoft's Singapore page now shows a 100 GB primary mailbox on all three.
• URL time-of-click protection on Basic and Standard, which checks links in email when someone clicks them, not only when the email arrives. Premium already had this through Defender for Office 365 Plan 1.
• Copilot Chat enhancements and analytics, including inbox and calendar awareness.

The Premium price did not move, which narrows the gap. Standard is now US$8 a month cheaper than Premium instead of US$9.50. If you were already weighing up the security features in Premium, our guide on whether Business Premium is worth it does the sums.

Five ways to cut your Microsoft 365 bill

Many small offices pay for seats they do not need. Work through these before your renewal date, because that is when you can reduce your commitment on an annual plan.

1. 1

   Remove licences from people who have left

   Export the list of licensed users and compare it with your staff list. Before removing a licence, convert the leaver's mailbox to a shared mailbox so you keep the emails.

2. 2

   Use shared mailboxes for info@ and sales@

   Microsoft says a shared mailbox can hold up to 50 GB with no licence. Team inboxes such as info@, accounts@ and bookings@ rarely need their own paid seat.

3. 3

   Mix plans by role

   Microsoft lets you mix business plans up to 300 users in total. Staff who only use email and web apps can be on Basic; only people who need desktop Office apps need Standard or Premium.

4. 4

   Pay annually upfront if cash flow allows

   An annual subscription paid upfront avoids the 5% monthly billing charge. Only commit for a year to the number of seats you are sure you need.

5. 5

   Compare the alternative honestly

   Google Workspace may suit a team that lives in the browser. Our Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace comparison lists both price sets. Moving has a one-off cost, so only switch for reasons beyond a dollar a month.

A quick cost check for a 10-person office

An example at list prices, annual commitment, before GST. Your reseller price may differ slightly.

In this example, cleaning up leavers and moving web-only users to Basic more than cancels out the price rise.

Do it yourself or get help?

A licence review takes an afternoon if your admin centre is tidy. Export users from the admin centre, mark each person's role, then adjust before renewal. Our guide to setting up business email in Singapore covers shared mailboxes and aliases if you are reorganising inboxes at the same time.

If you would rather have it done, our Business Email Setup (S$249) sets up mailboxes, aliases and shared inboxes on your own Microsoft 365 account, and our Microsoft 365 / Google Security Lockdown (S$590) cleans up admin roles, enforces MFA and adds a leaver checklist so unused seats do not pile up again. Licence fees are always paid by you to Microsoft or your reseller.