Summary
TL/DR for procurement and CFOs
The previously retired Microsoft 365 and Office 365 packages “with Teams” are back at the original prices.
The “no Teams” package prices will decrease – great news if you use Zoom, Slack, etc. You read this right.
The price of Teams standalone is up to $8.55
Microsoft is legally prohibited from manipulating you into “with Teams” packages or offering excessive discounts on the Teams standalone.
Customers on long-term subscriptions will be able to switch back and forth between “no Teams” and “with Teams” at the anniversary, although we want to see how it actually works before proclaiming it to be great news.
How it all started
Following a 2020 antitrust complaint by Slack and a formal EU investigation launched in July 2023, Microsoft finalised an agreement with the European Commission to avoid fines up to €22.5 billion ($24.5 billion). The EU found that Microsoft had illegally bundled Teams with Office 365 and Microsoft 365, thereby giving Teams an unfair competitive advantage.
Despite the reason for the upcoming licensing changes being the EU investigation, Microsoft's official announcement states, “We will roll out these pricing changes to customers globally”.
How I made a huge mistake
When I first read the official announcement, I assumed that Microsoft would, as a result of the settlement, raise prices and blame the EU. Excited, I quickly jumped on my laptop, wrote an emotional article and dropped it on all our platforms like it was hot.
However, there was a crucial bit I didn’t see, because, for no apparent reason, Microsoft hid the actual new prices behind the Microsoft partner login.
When the smoke settled and new information started coming in, I had to shamefully delete the old article and start working on this one.
Why? The opposite happened. The prices of “no Teams” packages are going down, some significantly. The prices on the “with Teams” bundles remain unchanged.
What's been agreed with the EU
Data access
APIs (technical interfaces that allow software to connect and share data) available for customer data from Entra ID, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and OneDrive, equivalent to Teams access (more on this further in the article)
Teams data migration APIs and export tools for small businesses at no additional cost
New centralised developer resource site launching soon.
Licensing Starting November 1, 2025:
Microsoft reintroduces Microsoft 365 and Office 365 packages bundled with Teams that they removed in 2024.
EEA customers with multi-year contracts (note the geographic limitation) can transition from Teams-included to Teams-excluded suites at their annual order period for the next 5 years. Notably:
There’s no need to wait for the renewal. The switch can happen every 12 months from the original subscription start date, through 2030.
As per the announcement, this transition is only available for the “with Teams” to “without Teams” path.
However, in the supplemental materials, Microsoft also mentions that “Customers will also be able to transition subscriptions from suites without Teams.” Nevertheless, the supplemental Partner FAQ remains unclear on this point.
When switching, customers pay the current market price for Teams-excluded suites while maintaining their previous percentage discount for the remainder of their contract term. This discount inheritance applies regardless of any subsequent price changes Microsoft makes to the base suite pricing.
All Microsoft discounts on Teams-included suites apply equally to Teams-excluded suites at the same percentage rate.
Critical caveat for procurement: While Microsoft enables partners to offer these same guarantees on pricing and transitions, each partner may choose whether to provide them. Don't assume your Microsoft partner will automatically pass through these protections. Ask them. Verify their approach.
“EEA” and similar global bundles are functionally identical but geographically restricted. Your choice isn't based on where your employees work, but on your organisation's billing address. An EEA billing address corresponds to EEA licensing options; a non-EEA billing address requires standard licensing options.
Enforcement periods
Pricing and licensing commitments: 7 years (until 2032)
Data portability and interoperability commitments: 10 years (until 2035)
After these periods end, Microsoft would no longer be legally bound by these specific requirements.
Pricing requirements
To prevent Microsoft from undercutting competitors through predatory pricing, the European Commission requires specific price differences* between suites with and without Teams, and minimum pricing for Teams standalone products:
Suite price gaps (with Teams vs without Teams)
Suite | Required minimum difference |
|---|---|
Microsoft 365 E3/E5, Office 365 E3/E5 | €8.00 ($8.55) |
Microsoft 365 Business Standard/Premium, Office 365 E1 | €3.00 ($3.21) |
Microsoft 365 Business Basic | €1.50 ($1.60) |
Microsoft 365 F3 | €1.00 ($1.07) |
Teams standalone minimum pricing
Product | Cannot be priced below |
|---|---|
Microsoft Teams Enterprise/Teams EEA | €8.00 ($8.55) |
*We need to add Microsoft’s own note here, as-is: “Price deltas will be held constant in USD for the duration of the enforcement period (7 years). Exact price deltas in other currencies (including Euro) may fluctuate over time due to changes in foreign exchange rates. Final USD delta amounts may be adjusted based on the exchange rate from EUR as of November 1, 2025”
November 2025 pricing changes in numbers
Microsoft announce a price decrease for “unbundled” no-Teams suites.
Prices of existing bundled suites (with Teams) remain unchanged.
Previously retired Enterprise bundles are reintroduced at their legacy prices.
Teams standalone is more expensive.
Demonstrating the actual impact in numbers requires a number of separate tables per scenario.
Enterprise “no Teams” plans
Enterprise “no Teams” plans will become cheaper.
Plan | Current price (no Teams) | November reduction | New price (no Teams) | Movement % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Office 365 E1 (no Teams) | $ 7.75 | $ 0.96 | $ 6.79 | -14% |
Office 365 E3 (no Teams) | $ 20.75 | $ 6.30 | $ 14.45 | -44% |
Office 365 E5 (no Teams) | $ 35.75 | $ 6.30 | $ 29.45 | -21% |
Microsoft 365 E3 (no Teams) | $ 33.75 | $ 6.30 | $ 27.45 | -23% |
Microsoft 365 E5 (no Teams) | $ 54.75 | $ 6.30 | $ 48.45 | -13% |
Enterprise “no Teams” plans with Teams standalone
If and when you’re able to switch to a new bundle, the costs would decrease.
Plan | Current price (no Teams) | With Teams standalone (current price) | New bundle price (with Teams) | Movement % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Office 365 E1 (no Teams) | $ 7.75 | $ 13.00 | $ 10.00 | -30% |
Office 365 E3 (no Teams) | $ 20.75 | $ 26.00 | $ 23.00 | -13% |
Office 365 E5 (no Teams) | $ 35.75 | $ 41.00 | $ 38.00 | -8% |
Microsoft 365 E3 (no Teams) | $ 33.75 | $ 39.00 | $ 36.00 | -8% |
Microsoft 365 E5 (no Teams) | $ 54.75 | $ 60.00 | $ 57.00 | -5% |
Enterprise “with Teams” bundles
If you have been renewing your legacy “with Teams” bundles, you’ll see no price movement.
Plan | Old price with Teams | New bundle price | Movement |
|---|---|---|---|
Office 365 E1 (with Teams) | $ 10.00 | $ 10.00 | 0% |
Office 365 E3 (with Teams) | $ 23.00 | $ 23.00 | 0% |
Office 365 E5 (with Teams) | $ 38.00 | $ 38.00 | 0% |
Microsoft 365 E3 (with Teams) | $ 36.00 | $ 36.00 | 0% |
Microsoft 365 E5 (with Teams) | $ 57.00 | $ 57.00 | 0% |
Frontline “no Teams” plans
Microsoft 365 F3 will get cheaper.
Plan | Current price (no Teams) | Reduction | New price (no Teams) | Movement % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Microsoft 365 F1(no Teams) | $ 1.75 | $ - | $ 1.75 | 0% |
Office 365 F3 (no Teams) | $ 3.50 | $ - | $ 3.50 | 0% |
Microsoft 365 F3 (no Teams) | $ 7.60 | $ 0.67 | $ 6.93 | -9% |
Frontline plans with Teams
Frontline plans with Teams remain unchanged.
Plan | Current price (with Teams) | Reduction | New price (with Teams) | Movement % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Microsoft 365 F1 | $ 2.25 | $ - | $ 2.25 | 0% |
Office 365 F3 | $ 4.00 | $ - | $ 4.00 | 0% |
Microsoft 365 F3 | $ 8.00 | $ - | $ 8.00 | 0% |
Business “no Teams” plans
Business “no Teams” plans will get cheaper.
Plan | Current price (no Teams) | Reduction | New price (no Teams) | Movement % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Microsoft 365 Business Basic (no Teams) | $ 4.75 | $ 0.36 | $ 4.39 | -7% |
Microsoft 365 Business Standard (no Teams) | $ 10.25 | $ 0.96 | $ 9.29 | -9% |
Microsoft 365 Business Premium (no Teams) | $ 19.75 | $ 0.96 | $ 18.79 | -5% |
Business plans with Teams
Business plans with Teams remain unchanged.
Plan | Current price (with Teams) | Reduction | New price (with Teams) | Movement % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Microsoft 365 Business Basic | $ 6.00 | $ - | $ 6.00 | 0% |
Microsoft 365 Business Standard | $ 12.50 | $ - | $ 12.50 | 0% |
Microsoft 365 Business Premium | $ 22.00 | $ - | $ 22.00 | 0% |
What it means for your licenses and budgets
These changes apply across all commercial purchasing channels (Cloud Solution Provider, Enterprise Agreement, Direct from Microsoft, etc.) but exclude Consumer, Academic, US Government, and Nonprofit.
If you are renewing your Enterprise agreement, don’t consider this change alone. This change is occurring in parallel with the removal of Enterprise Agreement volume discounts, which also takes effect on November 1, 2025.
EA renewals after Nov 2025 face dual pressure—lost volume discounts and unclear Teams bundle pricing.
If your agreement is to be renewed after November 1, 2025, you may have to reassess and readjust your Teams bundling decisions, especially if you are currently negotiating an early renewal. However, watch out: the current volume discounts (Level B-D) only officially apply to the current bundles and their prices. Microsoft hasn't clarified whether these enterprise discounts will apply to the reintroduced "with Teams" bundles or the new "no Teams" pricing. This uncertainty adds complexity to your planning and negotiations.
As we're seeing organisations getting increasingly cleverer in choosing the right packages for the right personas, making the right bundling choices becomes even more critical.
Experienced negotiators from both sides of the fence will certainly use Teams un- and re-bundling as leverage in Microsoft Enterprise Agreement renewals, especially considering alternatives like Zoom and Slack.
🖐 Gain negotiation leverage in upcoming renewals. Discover how: Microsoft Enterprise Agreement Negotiation.
Data export: What it actually means
Before this ruling, Teams chat history, shared files, and meeting records were stuck in Microsoft's system. You could view them, but getting the data out in a usable format for another platform was nearly impossible.
Now Microsoft must provide the same data access that Teams itself uses:
Chat logs can be exported with timestamps, participant names, and file attachments
Meeting recordings and transcripts become portable
Shared document access logs can be retrieved
User activity data is extractable
Switching collaboration platforms no longer means losing years of communication history. Migration costs become predictable when you can extract and transfer actual data rather than starting from scratch.
Two pricing changes, one renewal window
Teams rebundling arrives alongside Microsoft's removal of Enterprise Agreement volume discounts. Both changes take effect on November 1, 2025. New pricing will be visible in Microsoft's systems from October 1, 2025.
November 2025 brings a double shift: Teams rebundling and the end of EA volume discounts.
One of our clients with 8,000 users is renewing their EA early to beat Microsoft's November discount changes. Before these announcements, they planned to buy Teams separately for some personas, and the bill of materials (detailed licensing proposal) was almost ready to go to Microsoft. Teams’ “rebundling” changed the equation. Now, a new calculation needs to take place, more complex than before, to align with the new reality.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, we’re here to help. Remember, we are not Microsoft partners; we only represent your interests.
🖐 Navigate Microsoft licensing changes with confidence. Learn more: Microsoft Licensing Services for Enterprises.