4 Cheaper Ways to Pay for Microsoft 365 (Checked Nov 2026)
Microsoft 365 Personal is $99.99 a year. A shared Family plan, the $0 Office 365 A1 education plan, yearly billing and Office 2024 all cost less.
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Microsoft 365 Personal costs $99.99 a year or $9.99 a month. Most people can pay less: a shared Family plan works out to about $21.67 a person, students and teachers can get the web apps at $0, and yearly billing alone saves up to 17%. We checked Microsoft's US, UK, Germany and India store pages on 5 Nov 2026.
What each plan costs
| Plan | Yearly | Monthly | People | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal | $99.99 | $9.99 | 1 | 1 TB |
| Family | $129.99 | $12.99 | 1 to 6 | 2 TB shared |
| Premium | $199.99 | $19.99 | 1 to 6 | 2 TB shared |
| Office Home 2024 | $179.99 once | 1 PC or Mac | 5 GB | |
| Office 365 A1 (school) | $0 | $0 | 1 | Web apps only |
In India, Personal is ₹6,899 a year and Family ₹8,199. In the UK they are £84.99 and £104.99, and in Germany €99 and €129.
How to claim
1. Split a Family plan
Family is $129.99 a year for up to 6 people, so 6 people pay about $21.67 each instead of $99.99 for their own Personal plan.
- Buy Microsoft 365 Family on Microsoft's compare page.
- Open account.microsoft.com, go to Subscriptions, then Sharing.
- Invite up to 5 people by email. They have 48 hours to accept.
The catch: Copilot only works for the owner, and the 2 TB is shared, not 2 TB each. Personal can't be shared at all. Details: Family for up to 6 people.
2. Office 365 A1 for students and teachers
Students and teachers with an eligible school email get Office 365 A1 at $0, with the web versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote.
- Open Microsoft's Office 365 Education page and click Get started for students.
- Enter your school email and confirm the link Microsoft sends.
- Sign in at office.com with your school account.
The catch: it's web apps only, and editing stops when you leave school. Details: Office 365 A1.
3. Pay yearly
Yearly billing saves $19.89 on Personal, $25.89 on Family and $39.89 on Premium against 12 monthly payments. You can try any plan for a month first. It renews at the regular price unless you cancel.
4. Buy Office 2024 once
If you only want desktop Word, Excel and PowerPoint without Copilot, Office Home 2024 is $179.99 once for one PC or Mac. After about two years it costs less than Personal, but you don't get the 1 TB of storage or new AI features.
Which one fits
Households and friend groups should split Family. Students should check whether their school is on Office 365 Education first, then pay for Personal only if they need the desktop apps. People who just edit the odd document can use the web apps with a normal Microsoft account. Full plan list and alternatives: Microsoft 365 pricing.