Three weeks until the Microsoft 365 price increase: run these 3 checks

On 1 July 2026 Microsoft implements a price increase on a substantial part of its commercial Microsoft 365 licences. We published a full analysis earlier — this article is the practical follow-up: three checks to run this month, with the possible outcome of saving hundreds of euros per year. Or the reassurance that you are simply fine. Both count as a win.

First the short recap. The increase affects Microsoft 365 Apps for Business (+21%), Enterprise Mobility + Security E3 (+13%) and Entra Plan 1 (+16%) among others, and applies to new purchases and renewals from 1 July. Just as important is what does *not* get more expensive: Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Office 365 E1 remain unchanged. That is no coincidence — Microsoft deliberately keeps its favourite SMB package out of range.

Check 1: are you paying for licences nobody uses?

The most boring check is consistently the most profitable. In virtually every licence audit we run, we find 10 to 20% "dormant" licences: former employees never cleaned up, duplicate accounts, a forgotten test account, last summer's intern.

How to do it yourself: open the Microsoft 365 admin centre, sort the user list by "last sign-in" and see who has not logged in for 60+ days. Every licence you cancel before 1 July avoids paying the increased rate for it from July onwards. At ten euros per month per redundant licence, that adds up faster than you think.

Check 2: is everyone on the right licence?

This is the check with the biggest structural impact, in both directions:

Over-licensed? The colleague who only uses mail and Teams does not need a full suite with desktop apps. For licences through us, fixed annual prices apply: Business Basic €5.20, Business Standard €10.83 and Business Premium €19.06 per user per month (excl. VAT). One misassigned user easily costs you €165 per year too much.

Under-licensed? This is where it gets interesting, precisely because of this price round. If your team is on Apps for Business or Standard and you also pay for separate security tooling, Business Premium — with Defender, Intune and Conditional Access included — becomes more attractive than ever: the packages around it go up, Premium does not. And if you work (partly) on an online workspace with the full Office apps, Business Premium is the licence you need anyway.

The rule of thumb: not one licence for everyone, but a mix per role. Production staff Basic, office staff Standard, management and remote workers Premium.

Check 3: time your renewal smartly

The increase applies from 1 July to new purchases and renewals. Is your annual term expiring soon, or are you on monthly renewal? Then an annual term locked in before 1 July can hold the current rate for another twelve months.

But mind the other side of that coin: an annual term is also fixed for a year, even if your team shrinks. Our line is the same as always: certainty about your headcount → annual term at the old rate; high turnover or growth uncertainty → the monthly flexibility is worth those few extra percent. This is exactly the kind of trade-off we get sharp together in a licence consultation in ten minutes.

And if you want management included

For completeness, because we look at it in every audit: licences are half the story, management is the other half. Microsoft does not back up your data — it says so literally in their terms. With us, Backup, Support & Maintenance costs €5.50 per user per month on top of the licence: daily backup of mail, OneDrive and SharePoint, MFA and security configured, and Dutch support for your team. Microsoft 365 with management included starts at €10.70 per user.

Prefer us to take a look?

In the run-up to 1 July we run these three checks free of charge for any SMB that wants it — including non-customers. Request the free licence check via the IT check or request a quote directly if you already know what you need. Honest answer guaranteed: if your current mix is right, we will simply say so.

*All licence prices mentioned are annual-subscription prices per user per month, excluding VAT, as published on our Microsoft 365 page. The Microsoft increases come from the official March 2026 announcement.*