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Microsoft Announces New Price Rises from July 2026: What It Means for Your Organisation

Written by Livingstone Content Team | Dec 9, 2025 4:05:21 PM

Hot on the heels of major Enterprise Agreement (EA) pricing changes, Microsoft has now announced further global list price increases across its core Microsoft 365 suites. Read on to learn more. 

Microsoft has announced global list price increases across its core Microsoft 365 suites. Alongside new AI, security and endpoint management capabilities, these changes will take effect from 1 July 2026 and will impact:

  • Customers at their next renewal

  • Any net-new Microsoft 365 purchases made after this date

For many organisations already facing steep increases following the removal of EA price levels, this represents another significant jump in Microsoft spend.

At Livingstone, we’re already working with customers to understand exactly what this means and more importantly, how to mitigate the impact.

 

How is Microsoft 365 pricing changing?

Microsoft is enhancing several Microsoft 365 suites with additional:

  • AI-driven capabilities
  • Advanced security features
  • Improved endpoint management tools

While these enhancements may bring genuine value for some organisations, they also come with unavoidable price increases, whether or not you plan to use those features.

 

Confirmed Microsoft 365 Price Increases from 1 July 2026

Microsoft has confirmed the following global list price rises across key commercial suites:

  • Microsoft 365 Business Basic – ~17%
  • Microsoft 365 Business Standard – ~12%
  • Office 365 E3 – ~13%
  • Microsoft 365 E3 – ~8%
  • Microsoft 365 E5 – ~5%
  • Microsoft 365 F1 – ~33%
  • Microsoft 365 F5 – ~25%

These increases come on top of recent EA pricing changes, which for some customers have already resulted in 6-12% increases at renewal. Combined, this could equate to a sharp and unexpected spike in Microsoft spend over the next 12–24 months.

 

Here’s a simple example to explain how this compounded effect could impact you:

O365 E3 Customer

  • Step 1 – EA pricing removal: +12% increase
  • Step 2 – July 2026 O365 E3 increase: +13% on top of the new higher price
  • £100 original licence
  • After EA removal: £112
  • After 13% uplift: £126.56

That’s an almost 27% total increase.

 

Why This Microsoft Price Increase Matters Now

Even though the new list prices don’t kick in until July 2026, your next renewal strategy needs to start now. Waiting until a renewal notice lands removes your leverage and limits your ability to challenge, optimise, or restructure your Microsoft estate before those higher prices apply, effectively putting you on the back foot.

This is exactly where independent, expert-led optimisation and negotiation becomes critical.

 

How Livingstone Can Help You Reduce the Impact of Microsoft Price Rises

Livingstone helps customers take back control of Microsoft spend before price rises hit. Our Microsoft Optimisation and Negotiation services are designed to:

  • Identify licensing inefficiencies and unused entitlements
  • Remove unnecessary or misaligned licences
  • Align your Microsoft estate to how your users actually work
  • Prepare you properly for renewal and negotiation discussions
  • Strengthen your position when engaging with Microsoft and resellers

Alongside this, our ongoing Microsoft Managed Service ensures your estate stays optimised year-round so you’re never caught out by surprise increases again.

 

Don’t Let Microsoft Price Rises Dictate Your Strategy

Microsoft pricing is moving in one direction and it isn’t down. But that doesn’t mean your licensing bill has to rise at the same rate.

With the careful planning and the right optimisation strategy, many organisations can offset a significant portion of these increases while also improving governance, visibility, and long-term cost control.

 

Need help?

If you’d like to understand what these changes mean for your specific Microsoft environment and upcoming renewals, we’d be happy to help.

We’ll show you:

  • Where your biggest optimisation opportunities sit
  • How exposed you are to the 2026 price changes
  • What you can realistically save before renewal

Just get in touch and we’ll arrange a no-pressure call with one of our Microsoft optimisation experts.

 

Learn more

Get our eBook: Insider Secrets on how to win the Microsoft contract game. 

Get our Altitude guide, a step by step approach to optimising your Microsoft agreement throughout its life.