Microsoft CopilotOnly people who use Copilot inside the Office apps every day need a paid licence
Copilot Chat costs nothing extra for anyone on an eligible Microsoft 365 plan, and for many people it’s enough.
A paid licence adds Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams, AI chat grounded in your work data, and Microsoft’s ready-made agents such as Researcher and Analyst. Give licences to the people who will use those every day and start everyone else on Chat. You can add licences later.
Above 300 people, Copilot needs an enterprise plan and costs more
Microsoft’s Business plans are for up to 300 people, and that counts everyone on Microsoft 365, not only the people you give Copilot.
A 290-person company licensing 40 people pays £552 a month in year one and £644 in year two. At 320 people, the same 40 licences cost £924 a month as enterprise add-ons, plus the enterprise plan itself.
Budget for the year-two price, not the first-year offer
£13.80 is Microsoft’s first-year price for Copilot Business add-ons bought between 1 July and 31 December 2026. From year two it’s £16.10.
Pay monthly and there’s no offer: £19.32 a user every month.
Copilot Cowork, Code and Autopilot cost extra, billed by use
A Copilot licence covers chat and Copilot inside the Microsoft 365 apps. Microsoft bills its more advanced features by use, on top of the licence, in Copilot Credits: today that’s Copilot Cowork, Code, Autopilot and the Work IQ APIs.
That applies on every Copilot plan, Business or enterprise. Your plan gives you access to Cowork, but what people do in it is charged separately, so budget for it if your team will use it.
What teams ask about Copilot pricing
Is Microsoft Copilot free?
Copilot Chat is. Microsoft includes it at no extra cost for anyone with an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription. Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams needs a paid licence.
How much is Microsoft 365 Copilot in the UK?
On a Business plan, the Copilot Business add-on is £16.10 a user a month paid yearly, or £19.32 paid monthly. Bought by 31 December 2026, the first year is £13.80 a month. On an enterprise plan, the Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on is £23.10 a user a month, paid yearly. All before VAT.
What is the difference between the Copilot Business add-on and Business Standard with Copilot?
The add-on goes on top of a Business plan you already pay for. Business Standard with Copilot includes the Microsoft 365 plan itself, so compare it with your current plan plus the add-on, not with the add-on alone.
Is Copilot Cowork included in Copilot Business?
You get access to it, but it isn’t covered by the licence fee. Microsoft bills Copilot Cowork by use, in Copilot Credits, on top of the Copilot Business licence. The same goes for Code, Autopilot and the Work IQ APIs, and for the enterprise add-on.
Do Microsoft’s Copilot prices include VAT?
No. Microsoft’s UK and Irish price pages say their prices don’t include VAT, so in the UK add 20%. The US prices here are as Microsoft lists them, before any sales tax.
Is GitHub Copilot the same as Microsoft 365 Copilot?
No. GitHub Copilot is a coding assistant with its own prices. This calculator covers Microsoft 365 Copilot, the one inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams.
James trains teams to build agents in the tool they already use, Copilot included
James McAulay runs hands-on AI workshops for teams, in person or online, and everyone leaves with at least one working agent for a real task from their week.
If your team works in Copilot, James builds the sessions around it, and the skills carry across to other tools. He has trained 500+ people from 200+ companies.
See team workshopsIncredibly valuable having a guided space to gain confidence, and to take senior leadership in a large organisation on a journey of getting hands on with the tools, understanding their immense value first hand, and advice on how to disseminate this knowledge effectively through an organisation. Thanks James, it's been awesome!
