- Microsoft raises M365 Family price by 29%, M365 Personal by 46%
- The extra money is to fund its AI tools whether you want them or not
- Six countries have seen increases so far, unconfirmed for the UK and US
Customers across six Asian and Australian countries are facing big price hikes to stay connected to their Microsoft 365 online services as the company struggles to identify the right pricing for its AI tools.
Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand are now seeing increases of up to 46% in their bills, according to a report by The register., which notes that customers from the Six Nations received emails last week notifying them of the significant changes.
The company says charging more will “ensure Microsoft customers are among the first to access powerful AI capabilities in our apps”.
Microsoft 365 prices are rising … because AI
Screenshots viewed by The register states Microsoft 365 Family subscriptions have risen from AU$139 to AU$179, with personal subscribers set to pay AU$159, up from AU$109. That means a staggering 29% increase for family members and an eye-popping 46% increase on personal subscribers’ bills.
The company’s website has since been updated to reflect the prices – AU$159 or AU$16/month for personal and AU$179 or AU$18/month for family. Prices in other countries have not yet been affected – the two tiers still cost £59.99 and £79.99 in the UK.
“These price changes reflect the extensive subscription benefits Microsoft has added over the past 12 years, including advanced security with Microsoft Defender, creative tools like Clipchamp, and countless enhancements to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook, in addition to new features such as Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft Designer,” a Microsoft spokesperson said.
It is unclear whether more countries will be exposed to rising bills – TechRadar Pro have asked Microsoft to confirm, but we did not receive an immediate response.
By comparison, the Google One AI Premium with 2TB of cloud storage for up to six family members costs AU$32.99/month – even more than the AU$18/month that Microsoft wants to charge for its family plan, which includes 6TB of storage for up to six family members .
iCloud+ with 2TB of storage costs AU$14.99 or UA$44.99 for 6TB. It can be shared between up to six, but Apple Intelligence features are more limited and come with the hardware instead of a cloud storage subscription.
