Microsoft 365 Personal and Family shipped with Copilot, but hefty price hike

[German]Private users of Microsoft's subscription products can look forward to a hefty price increase for the Microsoft 365 Personal and Family products. This "no-alternative" software is now being enhanced by Microsoft with Copilot, and that costs money. The subscriptions for private users will become significantly more expensive (thanks to the reader for pointing this out).


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Microsoft announces new prices

The headline of the Microsoft article Copilot is now included in Microsoft 365 Personal and Family sounds really nice. Anyone using the version of Microsoft 365 Personal and Family intended for private users and families will get Copilot on top. The AI solution is simply included with the relevant subscription.

Microsoft celebrates this in the announcement as "the next big step" by making Copilot part of Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscriptions and then tipping the whole thing over to 84 million private customers. These subscribers will now also have access to Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote and the newly named Microsoft 365 Copilot app, but will need to read the small print (see below).

But: What costs nothing is worth nothing, old wisdom. What's more, Microsoft has spent a lot of money on Copilot and the running costs are no mean feat either. Time to turn the price screw. The article above states that Microsoft 365 Personal and Family in the USA is being raised in price by USD 3 per month for the first time since its release.

Microsoft 365 subscription

According to the price list shown above Microsoft 365 Family will now cost 129.99 US-$/year when paid annually (previously it was "only" 99 US-$/year). The personal subscription (Microsoft 365 Single) will cost 99 US-$/year (previously it was "only" 69 US-$/year).


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Monthly AI credits

Particularly nasty: Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers only receive a monthly quota of AI credits to use Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote. The credits can also be used for AI image creation and editing in Designer and other AI-powered apps such as Paint, Photos and Notepad on a device running Windows.

Microsoft writes: The monthly quota should be sufficient for most subscribers. However, anyone who exceeds the quota can no longer use Copilot until the end of the month. If there is a greater need, the user can also subscribe to Copilot Pro so that the restrictions of the quota no longer apply – for money and good words, Microsoft offers (almost) everything.

Unused AI credit from one month cannot be offset against the following month. And for Microsoft 365 Family subscribers, Copilot is only available to the subscription holder and cannot be shared with other family members. Here too, if you want to use Copilot frequently, you need to upgrade to Copilot Pro. Then they don't need to worry about usage restrictions, says Microsoft. More information on AI credits can be found here.

Right to opt out of the copilot

In the article in question, Microsoft emphasizes that existing subscribers will only be affected by the price increase at the next contract renewal. As Microsoft is not so sure how the price increase will be received, existing customers are being offered an opt-out.

Existing subscribers for whom Microsoft has activated recurring billing can switch to plans without Copilot or AI credits such as the Basic plan (or for a limited time to the new Personal Classic or Family Classic plans). These plans will remain the same in terms of subscription prices. But for certain new features and functions, subscribers will need a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription.

My 2 cents

I can't help but take a certain amount of schadenfreude at this point, as some protagonists here in the blog have outlined to me how there is no alternative and, above all, how "cheap" a Microsoft 365 subscription is. Now the lack of alternatives is being enriched with a bit of Copilot magic and made around 30% more expensive – effectively a "bargain".

This allows the main user as a subscriber to get help preparing meals for the week, according to Microsoft. With Copilot in Word, the subscriber simply enters their dietary habits and portions, and Copilot creates a sophisticated recipe for the kitchen. Microsoft still has some suggestions for using Copilot without an alternative, which is supposed to justify the price premium.

Off the top of my head, however, I wonder whether people are really spending money on such gimmicks and whether it's not high time to consider moving away from Microsoft 365 in the private sector and using a free office solution such as LibreOffice.


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