Microsoft raises Microsoft 365 base prices while Copilot promo window runs to end of September
Reviewed by Helen Jones
On 1 July 2026 Microsoft raised list prices on commercial Microsoft 365 base suites. Business Basic moved from $6 to $7, Business Standard from $12.50 to $14, E3 from $36 to $39, and E5 from $57 to $60. The Copilot add-on list price itself was not raised in that round. Microsoft also made Microsoft 365 Business Standard and Premium with Copilot permanent bundled SKUs. A promotional Copilot Business add-on rate of $18 for the first year is documented in some channels from 1 July through 30 September 2026, with separate notes of 15 percent off certain three-year deals of 300 or more seats into the same date. Separately, free transition periods for some Copilot Studio and GitHub-harness agents end as usage moves onto Copilot Credits from 1 September 2026. Final customer price still depends on agreement type, currency, and channel terms.
Before this round, many teams treated Copilot cost as a flat add-on line item and judged value by whether the button appeared in Word, Excel, Outlook, or Teams. Base suite increases were easy to ignore when the Copilot sticker looked unchanged, and agent experiments often sat in a free or loosely metered phase. After 1 July, every Copilot seat rides a higher base licence even when the add-on list is flat, so all-in cost per person rises. The September promo and credit clocks force a clearer choice: lock in seats only where you already have reviewable workflows, or keep paying more for licences that still produce generic drafts and extra cleanup. Agent pilots that felt free can start burning credits without a playbook for when automation is worth the meter.
Analysis
Treat this as a renewal and proof checkpoint, not a reason to buy more seats for usage optics. Before 30 September, ask procurement or your CSP for the all-in monthly figure per seat (base suite plus Copilot, plus any Studio or agent credits after 1 September) and keep or expand only seats tied to one documented workflow with a review checklist.
Source note
Pulse published by Collab365 Spaces, reviewed by Helen Jones on . Cite as "Microsoft raises Microsoft 365 base prices while Copilot promo window runs to end of September", Collab365 Spaces. 3 sources referenced.