Summary
Microsoft released Visual Studio 2026 on 11 November 2025. The Product Terms have been updated to reflect the new version.
Key licensing changes:
Office entitlement updated from Office Professional Plus 2019 to Office LTSC Professional Plus for Visual Studio Enterprise subscribers
New consolidated “Terms of Use for Visual Studio Product Family” section simplifies licence terms
The licensing model itself remains unchanged. Visual Studio subscriptions continue to be licensed per user, with the same editions: Professional, Enterprise, and Test Professional.
Office Entitlement Update
Visual Studio Enterprise subscribers receive an Office entitlement as part of their subscription benefits. The December 2025 Product Terms update this entitlement.
Before (November 2025): | After (December 2025): |
|---|---|
“Each Licensed User of Visual Studio Enterprise Subscription may also install and use one copy of Office Professional Plus 2019 or Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise for production use.” | “Each Licensed User of Visual Studio Enterprise Subscription may also install and use one copy of Office LTSC Professional Plus or Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise for production use.” |
The change from Office Professional Plus 2019 to Office LTSC Professional Plus reflects the current Office perpetual release.
Consolidated Terms of Use
Microsoft has added a new section to the Product Terms: “Terms of Use for Visual Studio Product Family.”
“Except as expressly provided herein, Customer and Customer’s Licensed Users may use Visual Studio Professional, Visual Studio Enterprise, Visual Studio Build Tools, and other extensions and supplements in accordance with the license terms accompanying each software product. For detailed information, please refer to the applicable license terms provided with the software or https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/license-terms/.”
This consolidation moves some detailed terms (Build Devices, Utilities, Distributable Code, Code Inspection, and extension development rules) out of the Product Terms and into the licence terms page. If you need to reference specific terms for compliance or audit purposes, you now have two documents to consult rather than one.
What Hasn’t Changed
The core licensing model remains the same:
Per-user licensing: Visual Studio subscriptions are licensed per user. Each subscriber can use the software on any number of devices for development and testing. The licence is assigned to a named individual, not a device.
Non-production use only: Software included with Visual Studio subscriptions may only be used for development, testing, and demonstration. Production use requires separate licences.
Subscription tiers: Visual Studio Professional Subscription, Visual Studio Enterprise Subscription, Visual Studio Test Professional Subscription, and MSDN Platforms continue with the same feature sets and benefits.
Azure DevOps Server entitlement: Each Licensed User of Visual Studio Professional, Enterprise, Test Professional, or MSDN Platforms still receives one Server License for Azure DevOps Server and one Azure DevOps Server User CAL.
SQL Server Parallel Data Warehouse Developer: The entitlement for SQL Server 2016 Parallel Data Warehouse Developer remains for Professional, Enterprise, and Test Professional subscribers.
Azure benefits: Monthly Azure credits, Azure dev/test pricing eligibility, and the prohibition on combining Azure benefits from multiple subscriptions onto a single Azure account all continue unchanged.
Software Assurance: Visual Studio subscriptions purchased through Volume Licensing still include SA benefits, with the same eligibility and renewal terms.
Visual Studio 2026 Technical Highlights
Microsoft announced Visual Studio 2026 at .NET Conf 2025. The release includes:
Performance improvements: Microsoft claims UI hangs are reduced by more than half compared to Visual Studio 2022. Startup times are up to 30% faster when paired with .NET 10.
AI integration: GitHub Copilot is more deeply integrated, with features like Cloud Agent (in preview), context menu Copilot actions, and intent detection for search.
Extension compatibility: Over 4,000 extensions that work with Visual Studio 2022 are compatible with Visual Studio 2026.
Decoupled build tools: The IDE is now decoupled from its build tools, allowing monthly feature updates without disrupting existing toolchains.
Side-by-side installation: Visual Studio 2026 can be installed alongside Visual Studio 2022 without conflict.
Visual Studio Community
Visual Studio Community is free of charge, but that doesn’t mean it’s free for everyone.
Microsoft permits unlimited use for open-source projects and academic purposes. Individual developers can use it without restriction. Commercial use within an organisation is a different matter.
If your organisation has 250 or more PCs, or earns more than $1 million USD annually, you’re an “enterprise” under Microsoft’s definition. Enterprise organisations cannot use Visual Studio Community at all, not even for one developer. Everyone needs a commercial licence.
Visual Studio Community is not permitted for enterprise organisations and is limited to five users for non-enterprise use.
Non-enterprise organisations (fewer than 250 PCs and under $1 million revenue) may use up to five copies. Developer number six needs a paid subscription.
The Community licence terms haven’t changed with the Visual Studio 2026 release.
Visual Studio licensing is straightforward in principle but has specific pitfalls around who needs a subscription (including IT staff supporting development environments), hosting scenarios, and Azure DevOps Server usage.
🖐 For organisations reviewing Visual Studio subscription eligibility and entitlement scope, see: Microsoft Licensing Services for Enterprises.
Get in touch if you need help. We don’t sell Microsoft licences or cloud services, so our advice is independent.