Contents
- Microsoft Copilot pricing: the short answer
- The list prices, in one place
- What you pay for Copilot on top of E3 or E5
- Copilot Business for smaller firms
- Copilot Chat: the part that costs nothing extra
- Where E7 fits
- What 50 seats looks like
- Costs people forget
- What this means in your industry
- Where this leaves your firm
- Quick answers
1. Microsoft Copilot pricing: the short answer
Microsoft 365 Copilot lists at $30 per user per month paid yearly, or $31.50 if you pay monthly with an annual commitment. It’s an add on, so every person needs a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan underneath it. For smaller organizations there’s Copilot Business at $21 list, with a first year promotional price of $18 for purchases made July 1 through December 31, 2026. Copilot Chat, the basic chat experience, costs nothing extra with eligible plans.
All the Microsoft Copilot pricing here comes from Microsoft’s own pages, which I read on October 12, 2026. They’re US list prices, per user per month, and they change. Check Microsoft before you sign anything. For which license includes which feature, our guide to Microsoft 365 license features is the companion to this post.
2. The list prices, in one place
Paid yearly with an annual commitment, per user per month, from Microsoft’s plans and pricing page:
| Plan | With Teams | Without Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 E3 | $39.00 | $30.45 |
| Microsoft 365 E5 | $60.00 | $51.45 |
| Microsoft 365 E7 | $99.00 | $90.45 |
Add ons Microsoft lists separately: Microsoft 365 Copilot at $30.00, Agent 365 at $15.00, and Microsoft Entra Suite at $12.00, with special pricing for E5 customers.
Microsoft 365 Business Standard and Business Premium also come with a Copilot option. I’m leaving their prices out here because I haven’t confirmed them, so check Microsoft’s page for those.
3. What you pay for Copilot on top of E3 or E5
Copilot is priced per person, and it sits on top of the plan. Using the list prices above:
| Combination | With Teams | Without Teams |
|---|---|---|
| E3 plus Copilot | $69.00 | $60.45 |
| E5 plus Copilot | $90.00 | $81.45 |
| E7 (Copilot included) | $99.00 | $90.45 |
That arithmetic assumes the $30 yearly Copilot price. Pay monthly and Microsoft’s page shows $31.50 for Copilot, still with an annual commitment.
One practical point. Microsoft says a Teams license is required to use Copilot in Teams, so if you’re buying a no Teams version of a plan, check what you lose.
4. Copilot Business for smaller firms
Microsoft sells a lower priced option called Copilot Business. On Microsoft’s Copilot pricing page it’s $21.00 per user per month at list, paid yearly, or $25.20 paid monthly.
There’s also a promotion. For purchases between July 1 and December 31, 2026, the first year price is $18.00. It applies to existing Microsoft 365 customers with an eligible Business plan, and to up to 300 users. After the first year, you’d expect the list price, so plan for $21.
Two honest caveats. The promotion has a deadline, and it’s narrow. And I haven’t compared what Copilot Business includes against the full Copilot license feature by feature, so don’t assume they’re the same product. Ask your provider to show you the differences for the work your people do.
5. Copilot Chat: the part that costs nothing extra
Microsoft says Copilot Chat is available at no extra cost with eligible plans. The paid Copilot license is the one that carries the deeper features, so ask your provider to show you exactly what the free chat does and doesn’t do before you decide who needs the upgrade.
Watch the meter on agents. Microsoft says custom agents built for Copilot Chat customers are metered, which means usage can create charges you won’t see on a per seat price list. Ask how that’s capped before anyone builds agents at scale.
6. Where E7 fits
Microsoft lists Microsoft 365 E7 at $99.00 per user per month with Teams. It includes E5, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Agent 365 and the Entra Suite, so it’s one price for the whole stack instead of four.
I’m not going to hand you a savings figure, because it depends on which pieces you’d otherwise buy and for whom. If you only need Copilot for a third of your staff, a bundle that gives everyone Agent 365 and the Entra Suite may be more than you need. Our comparison of E3 vs E5 vs E7 with Copilot walks through that decision.
7. What 50 seats looks like
Here’s the Copilot add on alone for 50 people, from the list prices above.
| Option | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Copilot at $30, paid yearly | $1,500 | $18,000 |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot at $31.50, paid monthly | $1,575 | $18,900 |
| Copilot Business at $21 list | $1,050 | $12,600 |
| Copilot Business at $18 promotional, first year | $900 | $10,800 |
None of those include the base plan. If you’re already on E3 or E5, those figures are the added cost. If you’d be moving plans to make Copilot work, that’s separate. These are my calculations from list prices, not a quote.
8. Costs people forget
Microsoft Copilot pricing covers the license, and the license is the smaller part of the cost for many firms. A few things sit outside it.
Clean-up before rollout. Copilot works with what a user can already open, so loose permissions become a risk. Our post on DSPM vs DLP covers the clean-up and enforcement side.
Security licensing. Microsoft’s Purview service description lists restricting Copilot from processing files and emails as included with E5 and not with E3 or the Business plans, while protections for prompts are available to all Copilot users. That can move a plan decision.
Training and support. Someone has to show people what to do with it. Budget time, not just seats.
Agents. Metered usage, as noted above.
9. What this means in your industry
Law firms. Per seat cost matters less than whether confidentiality controls are in place. Our guide to Copilot licensing for law firms goes into that, and if you’re weighing Copilot against Claude, see our Claude vs Copilot comparison for law firms.
Cocha advises clients on both Claude and Microsoft products.
Oil and gas. Most of your people may not need a full Copilot license. Office and engineering staff might, and field crews often won’t. Price seats by role.
PE backed companies. Per seat costs multiply across portfolio companies, and the promotional Copilot Business price only applies to existing customers with an eligible plan and up to 300 users. Check eligibility entity by entity.
Medical device. License cost is the easy part. Document control and quality records are where I’d want the permissions clean before turning anything on.
10. Where this leaves your firm
Start with who will use it, not what it costs. Pick a pilot group, price their seats using the Microsoft Copilot pricing above, and decide what you’d measure after ninety days. Then decide on the base plan.
For the license by license feature breakdown, see our guide to Microsoft 365 license features. If you’d like a structured look at your own environment before you buy seats, the AI Readiness Snapshot is a good first step. It’s a starting point, not a remediation.
11. Quick answers
How much does Microsoft Copilot cost per user per month? Microsoft 365 Copilot lists at $30.00 paid yearly, or $31.50 paid monthly with an annual commitment. It requires a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan.
How much is Copilot Business? $21.00 per user per month at list, paid yearly, or $25.20 paid monthly. A promotional $18.00 first year price applies to eligible purchases from July 1 to December 31, 2026.
Is Copilot Chat free? It’s included at no extra cost with eligible plans, though custom agents for Copilot Chat customers are metered.
What does Microsoft 365 E7 cost? $99.00 per user per month with Teams, or $90.45 without, paid yearly. It includes E5, Copilot, Agent 365 and the Entra Suite.
Do I need Teams to use Copilot in Teams? Yes, Microsoft says a Teams license is required.
Is E5 required for Copilot? No. Copilot needs a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan. Some security features that protect Copilot, like restricting it from labeled files and emails, are included with E5 and not with E3.
