Microsoft 365 Copilot license
What a Copilot license costs, which Microsoft 365 plans can add it, how it differs from the free Copilot Chat, and what's billed on top of the license.
How much does a Microsoft 365 Copilot license cost?
A Microsoft 365 Copilot license costs $30 per user per month, paid yearly. It's an add-on to a qualifying Microsoft 365 or Office 365 plan. Organizations with up to 300 users on Business plans can buy Copilot Business instead, at $21 per user per month. Business Standard and Business Premium are also sold with Copilot included, and Microsoft 365 E7 includes it.
Everyone with an eligible Microsoft 365 work account already gets Copilot Chat at no extra cost. The license adds Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, and chat grounded in your organization's email, files and meetings.
| Option | For | Paid yearly | Paid monthly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Copilot (add-on) | Any qualifying plan, no user limit | $30.00 | Not listed on microsoft.com |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot Business (add-on) | Business plans and Teams Essentials, up to 300 users | $21.00 ($18.00 first-year offer) | $25.20 |
| Business Standard with Copilot | Up to 300 users, plan and Copilot together | $23.50 | $28.20 |
| Business Standard with Copilot (no Teams) | Up to 300 users, without Teams | $20.30 | $24.36 |
| Business Premium with Copilot | Up to 300 users, plan and Copilot together | $32.00 | $38.40 |
| Business Premium with Copilot (no Teams) | Up to 300 users, without Teams | $28.80 | $34.56 |
| Microsoft 365 E7 | Enterprise plan with Copilot included | $99.00 | – |
| Copilot Chat | Every user with an eligible work account | Included | Included |
Prices are Microsoft's US list prices per user per month, checked on microsoft.com on 12 November 2026. The add-on prices are for Copilot alone; the plan it attaches to is paid separately. The $18 Copilot Business offer is for existing customers with an eligible Business plan, on annual subscriptions bought by 31 December 2026, for the first year only, and not on trials.
Microsoft lists Copilot prices in Microsoft Copilot plans and pricing.
Do you need a license to use Copilot at work?
- Copilot Chat (included): secure AI chat grounded in the web and in files a user uploads or opens, with enterprise data protection. It works in the Microsoft Copilot app and Outlook, and in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote in some markets. Agents run on a metered basis and need an Azure subscription.
- Copilot license (paid): everything in Copilot Chat, plus chat grounded in the user's own work data (email, files, meetings, chats), Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, the Researcher and Analyst agents, priority access to the latest models, and adoption analytics for admins.
Start everyone on Copilot Chat, see who uses it, and buy licenses for the people who need Copilot to work with their own email, meetings and files.
Which plans qualify for a Copilot license?
Copilot is an add-on, so each licensed user also needs one of these plans:
- Microsoft 365: E5, E3, F3, F1, Business Premium, Business Standard, Business Basic, Apps for enterprise and Apps for business. E7 already includes Copilot.
- Office 365: E5, E3, E1 and F3.
- Single services: Teams Enterprise, Teams EEA and Teams Essentials; Exchange Online Plan 1, Plan 2 and Kiosk; SharePoint Plan 1, Plan 2 and Kiosk; OneDrive Plan 1 and Plan 2; Planner and Project Plans 1, 3 and 5; Visio Plans 1 and 2; Clipchamp.
- Copilot Business: Business Premium, Business Standard, Business Basic, Apps for business or Teams Essentials, up to 300 licensed users per tenant.
Education plans (Microsoft 365 A1, A2, A3 and A5; Office 365 A1, A3 and A5) and US Government plans (Microsoft 365 G3, G5 and F1; Office 365 G1, G3, G5 and F3) can also add Copilot. Business and Education plans sold without Teams qualify too, but Copilot in Teams needs a Teams license. For what E1, E3 and E5 include, see the Microsoft 365 license comparison.
Microsoft lists the eligible plans in License options for Microsoft Copilot.
What is Copilot Business?
Copilot Business gives the same Copilot capabilities as the $30 Microsoft 365 Copilot license, priced for businesses with up to 300 users on Business plans. It needs an annual commitment. A tenant with more than 300 users buys Microsoft 365 Copilot instead.
At November 2026 list prices, the bundles cost less than a plan with the add-on: Business Premium with Copilot is $32, against $43 for Business Premium ($22) plus Copilot Business ($21). Business Standard with Copilot is $23.50, against $35. If you're moving every user to Copilot, ask whether your renewal can switch to the bundle.
For 50 users, that's $19,200 a year for Business Premium with Copilot, against $25,800 for Business Premium plus the Copilot Business add-on, at list price.
Is E7 cheaper than E5 with the Copilot add-on?
E5 with the Copilot add-on costs $90 per user per month ($60 plus $30). E7 costs $99 and includes Copilot, Agent 365 and the Microsoft Entra Suite. If you'd buy Agent 365 or the Entra Suite anyway, E7 is the cheaper route; if you only want Copilot, E5 plus the add-on costs $9 less per user.
E7 puts Copilot on every E7 user. With the add-on you license only the people who use it, which matters when adoption is uneven: at $30 a seat, 100 idle licenses cost $36,000 a year.
What doesn't a Copilot license cover?
Everyday Copilot use is covered by the license. Some advanced AI work is billed on top, by use, in Copilot Credits. Microsoft lists these services as usage-based:
- Copilot Cowork: long-running tasks Copilot carries out for a user. Needs a Copilot license.
- Advanced work in SharePoint and OneDrive: needs a Copilot license.
- Work IQ API: for custom apps and agents that use your Microsoft 365 data.
- Copilot Code: needs a Copilot license.
- Copilot Managed Runtime and Teams Phone Agent: for apps hosted on the runtime and for the Teams Phone agent.
Admins turn usage-based billing on, control access by user and group, set spending limits for users, environments and agents, and watch consumption under Copilot > Cost management in the Microsoft 365 admin center. Budget for credits separately from licenses if you plan to use these services.
Microsoft explains usage-based billing in Usage-based billing and cost management for Copilot Credits.
Check who uses the Copilot seats you pay for
Copilot licenses are bought in bulk and used unevenly. 365TUNE connects read-only to your tenant and follows each seat from purchased to assigned, active and adopted. It shows who uses Copilot, how often and in which apps, prices the seats sitting idle, and lists the Copilot Chat users who use it most and are ready for a license.
Before a rollout, it checks for overshared sites and files that Copilot would surface to people who shouldn't see them.
See who uses the Copilot seats you pay for
Connect read-only and see Copilot adoption by person and team, with idle seats priced, during the 14-day trial.
Questions about Copilot licenses
How much is the Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on?
$30 per user per month, paid yearly, on top of a qualifying plan. Organizations with up to 300 users on Business plans can buy Copilot Business at $21. Existing Business plan customers pay $18 for the first year on annual subscriptions bought by 31 December 2026, not on trials. These are US list prices.
What is the Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on?
A paid per-user license that adds Copilot to an existing Microsoft 365 or Office 365 plan. It puts Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, and grounds chat in the user's email, files, meetings and chats. Each licensed user also needs a qualifying plan.
Who can purchase a Microsoft 365 Copilot license?
Any organization with a qualifying plan for each licensed user: Microsoft 365 E3, E5, F1, F3 or a Business plan, Office 365 E1, E3, E5 or F3, Apps for enterprise or business, and several single services such as Exchange Online, SharePoint, Teams Enterprise and Teams Essentials. Education and US Government plans qualify too.
Do I need a license to use Copilot at work?
Not for Copilot Chat, which is included for every user with an eligible Microsoft 365 work account. You need a Copilot license for Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, and for chat grounded in your own email, files and meetings.
Is Copilot included in Microsoft 365 E5?
No. Microsoft 365 Copilot is an add-on for E5, at $30 per user per month; E7 includes it. E5 and E7 do include Security Copilot, a separate product for security teams, with 400 Security Compute Units a month for every 1,000 licenses, up to 10,000. Microsoft explains it in Security Copilot for Microsoft 365 E5 and E7.
Can I pay for Copilot monthly?
Yes, at a higher price. On microsoft.com in November 2026, Copilot Business is $25.20 paid monthly against $21 paid yearly, and Business Premium with Copilot $38.40 against $32. Microsoft doesn't list a monthly price for the $30 add-on.
Is Microsoft 365 Copilot now called Microsoft Copilot?
Microsoft's documentation now calls the paid license Microsoft Copilot, while its price list still shows Microsoft 365 Copilot (add-on). Both names refer to the same work license, which is separate from the consumer Microsoft Copilot app.