Microsoft 365 - 42% More Expensive in 2025 !
There has been a significant 42% price increase for UK consumers on Microsoft 365 Personal subscriptions, rising from £59.99 to £84.99 per year.
The Family plan has seen a 31% increase, going from £79.99 to £104.99 annually.
1. When Did These Apply ?
- These price hikes took effect from January 16, 2025 for Renewals and New Subscribers
2. Why ? And What Are The Benefits ?
- Microsoft attributes these price increases to the integration of new AI features like Copilot and Designer, which aim to enhance productivity across Microsoft's applications
- In my opinion, there are many better (free) AI tools than Copilot
- See article 'AI - Smarter Web Searching'
3. What About OneDrive & Outlook/Hotmail Email Storage ?
- If you have a Microsoft email address, then stopping your Microsoft 365 subscription has implications for OneDrive Storage (for your emails); and use of Outlook email client (if you use it!)
- Microsoft offers OneDrive storage as a separate, stand-alone option for consumers. This is called the 'OneDrive Standalone' plan, which provides 100 GB of cloud storage without including any additional Office services
- The OneDrive Standalone plan is still priced at £19.99 per year, or you can choose to pay £1.99 per month. This option is ideal for users who need more storage than the free 5 GB Basic plan but don't require the full suite of Microsoft 365 applications
4. What Are The Alternatives
- Most people aren't aware that there are various good enough, free options:
Microsoft 365 Free Version - this comes with 5GB of OneDrive cloud storage and access to the web browser versions of Word/Excel/PowerPoint etc. There is no option for the 'full' downloadable versions (that most people don't actually need!)
Open Office & Libre Office - these free Suites both come with full downloadable Apps that can 'Open' and 'Save' in MS Office file formats. Open Office also has a web browser versions
Google Web Apps - the free Google-Docs/Sheets/Slides includes with 15GB of Google-Drive cloud storage. They can Read/Write in MS Office formats in real-time. Being web browser-based, these Apps can be used on any device, anywhere, anytime
If you have an @GMail.com email address, you already have access to the Google Web Apps - which are all seamlessly integrated.
Another plus is that all of your data is more likely in one (Google) cloud - and not spread across Microsoft, Apple and elsewhere !
HTS are happy to answer any Questions or to help you easily move to away from Microsoft 365.