Microsoft’s 2026 commercial pricing update affects several Microsoft 365 and Office 365 plans. The critical correction is that Office 365 E3 moves from $23 to $26 per user per month, while Microsoft 365 E3 moves from $36 to $39. Mixing those plan names produces a materially wrong renewal estimate.
Current as of 2026-08-15
Microsoft’s pricing announcement and official FAQ are the governing public sources. Microsoft scheduled rollout completion for August 1, 2026; customers should verify tenant-specific effective dates and notices before changing licenses.
Decision summary
- Office 365 E3: $23 to $26, not $36 to $39.
- Microsoft 365 E3: $36 to $39.
- Business Basic: $6 to $7; Business Standard: $12.50 to $14; Business Premium remains $22.
- Plan-specific new capabilities differ; do not combine Office 365 E3, Microsoft 365 E3, and E5 bundles.
Correct public price points
- Microsoft 365 Business Basic: $6 to $7 per user per month.
- Microsoft 365 Business Standard: $12.50 to $14.
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium: remains $22.
- Office 365 E3: $23 to $26.
- Microsoft 365 E3: $36 to $39.
- Microsoft 365 E5: $57 to $60.
Keep feature changes attached to the right plan
Office 365 E3 gains Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 plus identified Copilot Chat capabilities and analytics. Microsoft 365 E3 also adds Intune Remote Help, Intune Plan 2, and Advanced Analytics. Microsoft 365 E5 adds capabilities including Security Copilot, Endpoint Privilege Management, Cloud PKI, and Enterprise App Management. Confirm final entitlements in Microsoft’s FAQ and tenant documentation.
Recalculate with the correct identity
A 40-user Office 365 E3 renewal changes by $3 per user per month, or $120 monthly before tax, term, discounts, and add-ons. A 40-user Microsoft 365 E3 renewal also changes by $3 per user per month, but it begins from a different plan and includes a different security and management stack.
Renewal checklist
- Export assigned and inactive licenses.
- Map actual feature use to each SKU.
- Review add-ons and overlapping security products.
- Confirm billing term, channel, currency, and tenant effective date.
- Model downgrade and upgrade effects before cancellation.
- Test operational impact before removing a license.
- Document owner approval and the next review date.
Avoid rushed cancellation
Pricing announcements do not prove a tenant can remove a plan without losing required security, compliance, voice, management, or workflow features. Verify the service plan and dependency first.
For related guidance from ITECS, see ITECS Microsoft 365 consulting.
Sources and update trigger
Review trigger: Recheck Microsoft’s licensing pages and the tenant Message Center immediately before renewal or license removal.
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