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Microsoft Copilot Licensing in 2026: Chat, Business, Enterprise, E7, and Credits

Copilot's list prices for Chat, Business, the enterprise add-on, and E7, the Business promotion that ends after year one, and the metered agent and Cowork charges on top of each seat.

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In this piece
Microsoft Copilot−3 Mixed

Key findings

  1. The enterprise add-on, Microsoft 365 Copilot, costs US$31.50 paid monthly on an annual commitment, on top of a qualifying plan.
  2. Copilot Business costs US$25.20 paid monthly, and its promotion covers only the first year of annual orders placed July 1 to December 31, 2026.
  3. Microsoft 365 E7, open to all customers since May 1, 2026, costs US$99 and bundles E5, Copilot, Agent 365, and Entra Suite. At list, E5, Copilot, and Agent 365 alone total US$105.
  4. Cowork bills on usage, work-data agents for Copilot Chat users run pay-as-you-go through Azure, and Copilot Studio credit packs cost US$200 for 25,000 credits a month.
  5. Microsoft has renamed Microsoft 365 Copilot to Microsoft Copilot and Copilot Chat to Microsoft Copilot Chat. Price pages and license names still use the older names.

Give most users the included Copilot Chat; paid licenses for mail, meeting, and document work cost US$30 per user per month on enterprise plans or US$21 on Business plans. Budget Business at that list price, because US$18 is a first-year promotion. Agents and Cowork bill on usage above any seat.

List prices at matching scope

Prices in US dollars per user per month, checked October 12, 2026.

  • Copilot Chat: included with eligible Microsoft 365 plans.
  • Microsoft 365 Copilot (enterprise add-on): US$30 paid yearly; US$31.50 paid monthly on an annual commitment.
  • Microsoft 365 Copilot Business (up to 300 users): US$21 paid yearly; US$25.20 monthly; US$18 first-year promotion through December 31, 2026.
  • Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot: US$23.50 paid yearly. Business Premium with Copilot: US$32 paid yearly.
  • Microsoft 365 E7 (includes Copilot): US$99 paid yearly. E5: US$60. E3: US$39. Agent 365: US$15.

What the paid license adds

Microsoft documents three tiers of access. Copilot Chat (Basic) answers from the web and files people share, and in Outlook from the user's inbox, calendar, meetings, and chats. Microsoft 365 Copilot (Basic) gives standard access to Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote without the add-on. The paid add-on, Premium, grounds answers in Microsoft Graph and Work IQ, gives priority access, includes Researcher, Analyst, and agents on work data, and opens Cowork on usage-based billing.

Where the metered bill comes from

Cowork charges for model responses, tool and skill calls, image generation, and browser tasks. Copilot Chat agents bill through Azure under a billing policy, off by default. Copilot Studio charges 2 credits per generative answer, 5 per action, and 10 per message grounded in tenant data. Copilot-licensed users' employee-facing use is included. A Reddit thread started by a large-company sysadmin puts a mid-level Cowork task at US$4 to US$7.

When E7 pays

E7 costs less than buying E5, Copilot, and Agent 365 separately at list, and adds Entra Suite. For users who need E5 and Copilot but not Agent 365, E5 plus the add-on costs US$90 against E7's US$99.

Methodology

GILD read Microsoft's published pricing pages through a reader, because www.microsoft.com refuses automated fetches, and Microsoft Learn licensing and billing documentation, on October 12, 2026. Prices are US list prices in US dollars per user per month. For negotiated enterprise, regional, nonprofit, and education prices, and for promotions after December 31, 2026, get a quote from your Microsoft reseller.

Products in this piece

Sources

Official documentation
13
Public source
1
  1. Microsoft: Microsoft Copilot for business, plans and pricingOfficial documentationmicrosoft.com
  2. Microsoft: Microsoft Copilot for enterprise, plans and pricingOfficial documentationmicrosoft.com
  3. Microsoft: Microsoft 365 Enterprise plans and pricingOfficial documentationmicrosoft.com
  4. Microsoft: Microsoft 365 E7Official documentationmicrosoft.com
  5. Microsoft Learn: License options for Microsoft CopilotOfficial documentationlearn.microsoft.com
  6. Microsoft Learn: Prepare for Microsoft Copilot by comparing E3, E5, and E7 license featuresOfficial documentationlearn.microsoft.com
  7. Microsoft Learn: What is Microsoft Copilot?Official documentationlearn.microsoft.com
  8. Microsoft Learn: Enterprise data protection in Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft Copilot ChatOfficial documentationlearn.microsoft.com
  9. Microsoft Learn: Microsoft Copilot pay-as-you-go service overviewOfficial documentationlearn.microsoft.com
  10. Microsoft: Copilot Studio plans and pricingOfficial documentationmicrosoft.com
  11. Microsoft Learn: Copilot Studio billing rates and managementOfficial documentationlearn.microsoft.com
  12. Microsoft Learn: Copilot Cowork FAQOfficial documentationlearn.microsoft.com
  13. Microsoft Learn: Microsoft Copilot service descriptionOfficial documentationlearn.microsoft.com
  14. Reddit r/sysadmin: Cowork for Copilot leaves beta with metered charges (Jun 16, 2026)Public sourcereddit.com

Keep reading

  1. ResearchBundled or Add-On: What Workspace and Microsoft 365 Charge for AI in 2026Google folds Gemini into Workspace plan prices while Microsoft sells Copilot as an add-on over free Copilot Chat. What each model costs per seat, and what it leaves out.
  2. ResearchWhat Gemini in Looker Costs: Editions, User Licenses, and Data TokensWhat Looker's editions, user licenses, and Conversational Analytics data tokens cost, the token cost of one question at a pilot team's reported rate, and what changes when Google ends the promotion.
  3. ResearchMicrosoft Copilot on Trial: What Six Published Evaluations FoundThe UK Government Digital Service, three UK departments, the NHS, and the University of Washington evaluated Microsoft 365 Copilot. Their findings differ on savings and licensing everyone.
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