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Microsoft has announced key updates to its pricing and billing structure aimed at standardizing practices across its platforms and reflecting the value of its products. These changes, effective April 1, 2025, will impact various billing plans, subscription options, and product pricing, providing greater flexibility and consistency for customers and partners.
Standardizing Billing Structure Across Platforms
To align billing practices across Buy Online, Cloud Solution Provider (CSP), and Microsoft Customer Agreement-Enterprise (MCA-E) platforms, Microsoft is introducing a 5% price increase for monthly billing plans under annual subscriptions. This update applies to new and renewing plans starting April 1, 2025.
Key Highlights:
- Customers on annual subscriptions can switch from monthly billing to annual billing at their renewal date to avoid the 5% price differential.
- End-of-sale (EOS) offers, such as Microsoft 365 E3/E5 and Office 365 E1/E3/E5 suites with Teams, will now allow billing frequency changes at renewal.
- Trials will continue to renew into annual subscriptions with monthly billing by default, but partners will have more control to specify license quantities, term lengths, and billing frequencies for these renewals.
- Partners will also have the option to prevent trials from auto-renewing.
These changes are designed to maintain cash flow flexibility while ensuring consistency and transparency across platforms.
Pricing Updates for Microsoft Teams Phone and Power BI
For the first time since their respective launches, Microsoft Teams Phone Standard and Power BI products will see a price adjustment. This reflects the significant value added to these services over the years. Starting April 1, 2025, the following price updates will apply to new and renewing customers:
- Microsoft Teams Phone Standard: $10 per user per month
- Power BI Pro: $14 per user per month
- Power BI Premium Per User: $24 per user per month
It is important to note:
- Pricing changes will apply to standalone products.
- No pricing updates are planned for Power BI Pro and Teams Phone licenses included in Microsoft 365 and Office 365 E5 suites.
Prices may vary slightly due to factors such as exchange rate fluctuations and local pricing policies.
Key Considerations for Customers and Partners
Microsoft has outlined important actions and updates for customers and partners to ensure a seamless transition:
- Midterm billing frequency changes for triennial offers will be blocked starting April 1, 2025.
- Partners are encouraged to familiarize themselves with upcoming changes to the Partner Center price-in-cart user experience. Microsoft will offer a CSP Technical Training session to provide more details.
For more details on these updates, including FAQs and additional resources, visit the Microsoft Partner Center. Partners are also encouraged to stay informed through upcoming training and communication sessions
