Microsoft sells to large organizations through three routes. The Enterprise Agreement (EA) is a three-year contract that fixes prices for its term and includes Software Assurance. The Microsoft Customer Agreement for Enterprise (MCA-E) is a direct agreement without the EA’s three-year price lock. Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) purchases run through a partner.
Since November 1, 2025, online services bought through an EA start at list price, the same Level A price published on Microsoft.com, whatever the size of the organization. Before that, larger customers received volume discounts automatically, up to roughly 12% at the top tier.
The price sheet is where a Microsoft deal starts, not where it ends. Any reduction below list is now negotiated rather than granted, which puts more of the final price into the negotiation itself.
Microsoft’s fiscal year ends June 30. Like most large software vendors, its sales organization works to quarterly and annual targets, and where a renewal falls against those dates shapes the conversation.
Price levels B, C and D are retired on EA and MPSA. Renewals and newly added online services start at the Microsoft.com list price. On-premises licenses keep their levels.
Microsoft stops offering EA renewals to many smaller customers and steers them to MCA-E or a CSP partner.
Microsoft begins moving some EA customers with Azure consumption commitments onto MCA-E ahead of renewal.
E7 bundles Microsoft 365 E5, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Agent 365 and Entra Suite at $99 per user per month.
E3 moves from $36 to $39, E5 from $57 to $60 and Office 365 E3 from $23 to $26. Microsoft attributes the increases to Copilot Chat and added security and management features.
From January 2027, Microsoft adjusts local currency pricing for its commercial cloud once a year instead of twice, with notice each November. Buyers paying in CAD, EUR or GBP take any exchange rate reset at their first renewal after January 1.
Announced in September 2026: Power Apps Premium moves from $20 to $22 per user per month, and the 2,000-seat plan from $12 to $14, for terms starting on or after January 1, 2027.
For a large enterprise that used to sit on a top volume level, several increases land on the same renewal. None of them requires the business to use anything new.
For large enterprises that previously held top volume levels, the combined effect can reach roughly 15% to 23%, before any new products are added.
The July 2026 increases were attributed to AI features such as Copilot Chat, and E7 builds Microsoft 365 Copilot into the seat price. Both put AI into the renewal whether or not the business has adopted it. Deployment data usually settles what it is worth.
A move from EA to MCA-E is a new contract. Terms negotiated into an EA price sheet do not carry across automatically, and MCA-E pricing is not locked for three years.
Suites with and without Teams, add-ons folded into E3 and E5, E7 at the top. When a proposal mixes editions, add-ons and an agreement change, it is hard to tell from the buy side what is fair. That gap is where the money sits.
E7 is $99 against $117 for its parts bought separately. The saving is real only if the business deploys all four. Building and running AI agents is billed as consumption, outside the seat price.
Vendors keep adding new add-ons like AI and bundling features we don’t need, usually at higher prices. We buy a tool for one purpose, not for a stack of extras that add cost without clear value.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOUR DEAL
A best and final offer reflects what the account team expects you to accept, not the lowest price Microsoft will approve. Since November 2025, every price below list is a discretionary decision, which puts that gap at the center of every renewal. Most Deal IQ engagements start after the vendor has already made its best and final offer.
A renewal that starts in the last 60 days runs on Microsoft’s timeline, not yours.
EA, MCA-E or CSP changes the price, the terms and who you negotiate with. Decide before the proposal arrives.
Buy AI on adoption evidence, not as a condition of the core renewal.
Lock prices for the term, and where possible protect them into the next one.
The fiscal year ends June 30. April to June is when Microsoft closes its year.
DEAL IQ ON MICROSOFT
Since November 2025, every price below list is a decision someone inside Microsoft has to approve. Our network of 350+ former vendor sales, pricing and deal desk leaders includes people who sold Microsoft agreements and know how those decisions get made. We pair that with our own Microsoft pricing data and a 32-factor assessment on every deal, then negotiate directly with Microsoft or behind the scenes with your team.
Savings come from the price. Same products, same seat counts, same scope.
DEAL IQ EXPERIENCE WITH MICROSOFT
ALSO ON MICROSOFT
Negotiation prices what you already buy. License optimization is a separate review of what you are licensed for against what the business actually uses: E3 and E5 assignment, overlapping add-ons, Copilot seats and the spend Unified Support is calculated on. It is led by our Microsoft licensing specialist, and it is your call whether to act on what it finds.
Explore software licensing optimizationStart 9 to 12 months before the renewal date and settle the agreement route (EA, MCA-E or CSP) before the proposal arrives. Check what you are licensed for against what the business actually uses, and treat Copilot as its own decision, based on adoption. Get price protection for the full term in writing, and plan around Microsoft’s fiscal year, which ends June 30. Since November 2025, every price below list is negotiated rather than granted, so the negotiation now decides most of the final price. If you want outside help, an independent negotiator who works only for the buyer can step in at any stage, including after Microsoft’s best and final offer.
Yes. The change removed automatic volume discounts for online services, so every renewal now starts at list price. It did not remove Microsoft’s ability to price below list. Reductions are now negotiated rather than granted, which makes the negotiation matter more, not less.
From July 1, 2026, Microsoft 365 E3 moved from $36 to $39 per user per month, Microsoft 365 E5 from $57 to $60 and Office 365 E3 from $23 to $26. Frontline plans rose further, with F3 moving from $8 to $10. Enterprise Agreements renewed before that date keep their prices for the term.
No. Microsoft 365 Copilot is still an add-on at $30 per user per month, and E7 is an option, not a requirement. What matters is what the business will actually use. AI capability priced into a renewal is negotiable when adoption is low.
Microsoft 365 Copilot is $30 per user per month on top of a qualifying suite, so about $69 per user per month on Microsoft 365 E3 at list. Microsoft 365 E7 includes it at $99. Copilot Studio agents and other AI consumption are billed separately.
Only if the business will use everything in it. E7 bundles E5, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Agent 365 and Entra Suite at $99, against $117 for the parts. If Copilot is going to a subset of users, E5 for everyone plus Copilot where it is used is often the cheaper structure.
MCA-E is a new contract, not a renewal. Pricing is not locked for three years the way it is on an EA, and terms on your current price sheet do not carry across automatically. It is a new negotiation, not a paperwork change.
Unified Support is priced as a percentage of Microsoft spend, not as a fixed fee. When volume discounts ended and suite prices rose, the base it is calculated on rose too, whether or not support usage changed.
June 30. Microsoft’s fourth quarter runs from April through June.
Best and final is a sales position, not a floor. It reflects what the account team expects you to accept. What Microsoft will ultimately approve is a different number.
No. We negotiate the price of what you use. Products, seat counts and scope stay the same.
Yes. Alongside negotiation, we run license optimization reviews that compare what you are licensed for with what the business uses, led by our Microsoft licensing specialist. It is a separate piece of work from the negotiation, which prices the scope you choose to keep.
Yes. More than 270 Microsoft negotiations covering $2.4B+ in Microsoft contract value, with a network that includes people who sold for Microsoft.
No savings, no fee. We agree the starting price with you before we negotiate, and our fee is a share of the improvement against it.
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