News Microsoft 365 sees 43% price hike thanks to Copilot — existing customers safe until renewal

[Admin]

Microsoft 365 personal plans get a $3 price hike with the addition of Copilot.

Microsoft 365 sees 43% price hike thanks to Copilot — existing customers safe until renewal : Read more

 

[CelicaGT]

I've already cancelled mine. I have no use for the AI features, and it's banned for use at work anyways. For home, macOS includes Pages, Keynote etc which provide a good enough solution for most of my needs.

 

[Alvar "Miles" Udell]

You can stack Microsoft 365 subscriptions bought on Amazon and elsewhere for up to 5 years (I believe is still the case, may be only 3) as long as they're bought at the same place, which would explain the "classic".

I'm decidedly not a fan, but since Microsoft 365 subscriptions can often be found for less than Microsofts price on places like Amazon and Amazon's Woot, among others, fairly regularly, and since this is the first price hike in 12 years, I'll probably just keep paying, though I have about 20 months left in mine (I bought multiple years at $45 a year on sale).

But also remember Google Just did the same thing, raised the price of Google Enterprise by $3 a user per month and included Gemini, but there was no article from TH on that...

 

[ezst036]

LibreOffice.

And

Microsoft 365 users still on Windows 10 will be out of luck when Windows 10 is retired in October

 

[txfeinbergs]

What I don't get is this "Note: AI benefits are only available to the subscription owner and cannot be shared with additional Microsoft 365 Family members. "

Explain how that makes any sense when I have a FAMILY plan i.e. it is made to be shared with the family. So the CoPilot just doesn't work on family members PCs?

 

[voyteck]

For existing customers, the price hike won't be kicking in until plan renewal, and there are options to downgrade the plan. Those who want to avoid using AI can downgrade the plan to the "Classic" or "Basic" Microsoft 365 plans.

Someone please explain to me where I can find those downgrade options. When I click on "Manage" (subscription) and then "Switch" (plans) all I can do is choose between montly and yearly, and I can't find any other relevant ones.

 

[JamesJones44]

Anyone who has read my posts knows I'm not MS fan. However, in fairness, Microsoft hasn't raised the price in 11 ish years (2013). The annual inflation rate over that time was about 2.6%. If inflation were 3% annually since 2013 it puts the price at $9.97 in todays dollars. So while the bump is a little head of 2.6% annually, it's pretty much inline with inflation. I can't really dig M$ for wanting to keep a constant price adjusted for inflation over 11 years.

 

[evdjj3j]

Someone please explain to me where I can find those downgrade options. When I click on "Manage" (subscription) and then "Switch" (plans) all I can do is choose between montly and yearly, and I can't find any other relevant ones.

I'm pretty sure Basic is what comes free with your MS account.

 

[ThatMouse]

Too bad it will be years before I get to use copilot. My government agency (one of the big ones) has recently approved OpenAI, but not CoPilot, because OpenAI figured out how to make it work, but not Microsoft???

 

[Yojiq]

I've already cancelled mine. I have no use for the AI features, and it's banned for use at work anyways. For home, macOS includes Pages, Keynote etc which provide a good enough solution for most of my needs.

I'm sure Apple will follow suit after MS.

 

[CelicaGT]

I'm sure Apple will follow suit after MS.

Oh, probably.

 

[DS426]

Too bad it will be years before I get to use copilot. My government agency (one of the big ones) has recently approved OpenAI, but not CoPilot, because OpenAI figured out how to make it work, but not Microsoft???

That's backwards as M365 Copilot has the same enterprise data security agreement as... M365, lol. It's probably just matter of things taking forever to move forward for the big bureaucracies, with ChatGPT getting an earlier start on validation and a contract with the big ones.

I'm sure MS will follow as they LOVE Uncle Sam's business.

 

[bikemanI7]

I'll probably keep paying originally stacked 5 years when i purchased laptop from Bestbuy in 2017 with Purchase of Laptop, Not Due for Renewal til December 2025 i believe. I can manage the new price just fine. First increase of price in years, i knew eventually the price would go up at some point

 

[newtechldtech]

I'm sure Apple will follow suit after MS.

not going to happen. because already the prices of their apps are integrated inside the already expensive machines, they just "look" free , but they are not.

 

[Eg0]

Be sure to check if you qualify for the Microsoft Workplace Discount Program through your employer. 30% off.

 

[durahl]

Any information on how to downgrade from Copilot back to Classic / Basic?
If I click on Switch Plan all it offers is a change between Annual and Monthly Payments?

 

[g5richard]

Someone please explain to me where I can find those downgrade options. When I click on "Manage" (subscription) and then "Switch" (plans) all I can do is choose between montly and yearly, and I can't find any other relevant ones.

go to the manage subscription option on your MS account, and then go to cancel your subscription, on the landing page there should be an option for Microsoft Office 365 Classic, with a button that allows you to switch to that tier, not only does this get rid of the AI but it keeps the price the same for next year.

 

[KyaraM]

People actually buy this subscription crap? Why? You can still buy non-sub versions of the full office suite, and they still release them every single year. The sub only really makes sense if you have a family and more than one person wants to use the suite simultaneously, or of course for companies. For everyone else, the standalone versions will be more than enough.