Where to buy Microsoft 365: 2026 guide for EU businesses

Microsoft 365 is sold through several distinct channels, and the right one depends on company size, buying preferences, and whether long-term flexibility matters more than a lower unit price. This guide walks through the four channels available to EU businesses in 2026, the commercial rules each one enforces (including the New Commerce Experience, the EEA Teams separation, and the July 2026 price adjustments), and when a perpetual Microsoft Office license from a pre-owned reseller like Softtrader is the better call.

The four ways to buy Microsoft 365 in the EU

Every Microsoft 365 subscription in the EU is sold under the New Commerce Experience (NCE) framework. What differs is who sells it, what level of support comes with it, and how flexible the commercial terms are.

1. Directly from Microsoft

Buying directly from microsoft.com is the fastest path for small businesses that want to go from zero to active subscription in minutes. The purchase flow creates a Microsoft 365 tenant, assigns the Global Administrator role to the buyer's account, and provisions the first licenses immediately.

Strengths: transparent published pricing, direct billing relationship with Microsoft, and no third-party markup. Limits: no advisory on plan selection, no procurement consolidation with other software spend, and all tier-1 support goes through the Microsoft 365 admin portal rather than a dedicated contact. For organizations with more than a handful of users, a CSP often delivers meaningfully better service at comparable total cost.

2. Through a Cloud Solution Provider (CSP)

CSPs are Microsoft partners authorized to resell Microsoft 365 subscriptions, invoice customers directly, and provide first-line support. In the EU, CSPs are the dominant channel for SMBs and the lower midmarket.

A CSP typically combines the license resale with advisory services: plan selection, tenant configuration, Entra ID setup, Defender rollout, and ongoing administration. For organizations without a dedicated Microsoft 365 administrator in-house, this is often the decisive advantage. The commercial terms follow the same NCE rules as buying direct, but the CSP handles the paperwork and absorbs the administrative load.

Worth noting: CSPs can match Microsoft's list price or discount it slightly, but some charge a premium in exchange for support hours included in the subscription. Ask the CSP upfront how their pricing compares to the Microsoft list price for the specific SKUs you plan to buy.

3. Enterprise Agreement or MCA-E

For organizations above 500 users, Microsoft offers the Enterprise Agreement (EA) and, increasingly, the Microsoft Customer Agreement for Enterprise (MCA-E). Both are volume-licensing vehicles with negotiated pricing, three-year commitments, and a Microsoft account team assigned to the relationship.

The upside is negotiated volume discounts, true-up flexibility, and the ability to bundle Microsoft 365 with Azure consumption, Dynamics 365, and on-premises server licenses under a single commercial framework. The downside is the multi-year lock-in. Microsoft is phasing out Enterprise Agreements in favor of the MCA-E in many regions; existing EAs continue to run their course until renewal.

EA and MCA-E renewals are typically handled by a Licensing Solution Partner (LSP) rather than a CSP. The LSP negotiates pricing, manages the true-up cycle, and handles compliance reporting.

4. For students and educators

Accredited educational institutions can access Microsoft 365 through the education channel, which offers three tiers: A1 (free, web and mobile apps only), A3, and A5. Individual students can also qualify for free access if their school has an active Microsoft Education agreement in place and issues a school email address.

Eligibility is verified through the institution, not by the student directly. The simplest first step for any student or educator is to check with the school's IT department whether a Microsoft 365 Education subscription is already active. If it is, access is typically free and no purchase is needed.

What EU businesses need to know about NCE

The New Commerce Experience is the commercial framework under which all Microsoft 365 business subscriptions are sold. Four aspects matter specifically for EU buyers in 2026.

Annual commitment and the 7-day cancellation window

An annual-commitment subscription can be cancelled within 7 days of purchase or renewal for a prorated refund. After day 7, the subscription is locked for the remainder of the annual term. Seat reductions are blocked; adding seats mid-term is allowed. Organizations that want true month-to-month flexibility must choose the monthly-commitment SKU, which carries a 20% price premium over the annual equivalent.

July 2026 price increase

Microsoft announced USD list price increases effective July 1, 2026 (source: Microsoft 365 Blog). The headline changes: Business Basic from $6 to $7 (+16.7%), Business Standard from $12.50 to $14 (+12%), Office 365 E3 from $23 to $26 (+13%), Microsoft 365 E3 from $36 to $39 (+8.3%), and Microsoft 365 E5 from $57 to $60 (+5.3%). Business Premium remains at $22. EUR pricing follows a separate FX correction that lowered prices by roughly 7.4% on February 1, 2026; the net impact for European buyers is therefore smaller than the USD change suggests. Renewals between February and June 2026 capture the lower EUR rates under the pre-July structure.

Teams separation for EEA customers

Following the European Commission's competition investigation into Microsoft Teams bundling, Microsoft introduced separate EEA SKUs without Teams for all Business and Enterprise suites. EU customers can now choose between the standard SKU (with Teams) and the EEA SKU (without Teams) at a modestly lower price. If your organization already standardizes on another communication platform, the EEA SKU removes a feature you are not using, at a real discount.

VAT and invoicing

Direct Microsoft purchases are invoiced from Microsoft Ireland and carry reverse-charge VAT handling for B2B customers in other EU member states. CSPs typically invoice in local currency under their own VAT registration, which can simplify bookkeeping for finance teams that prefer a domestic invoice.

Current Microsoft 365 Business pricing in the EU

The table below shows Microsoft's current list prices for the three main Business plans and the Apps for Business SKU as of April 2026. Prices are per user per month under annual commitment; monthly commitment adds 20%. EUR amounts are approximate because Microsoft recalculates them quarterly against the USD reference price.

Source: Microsoft 365 business plans and pricing. Enterprise plans (E3, E5, F-SKUs) are priced separately and typically require an MCA-E or CSP purchase.

For a detailed view of how these per-user-per-month costs add up against a one-time perpetual Office license over five years, see our total cost of ownership comparison: Microsoft 365 versus on-premise Office.

When Microsoft 365 is the right choice

Microsoft 365 fits organizations that prioritize three things: cloud-native collaboration, always-current app versions, and predictable per-user monthly spend. If your team depends on Teams, SharePoint Online, OneDrive, and the Microsoft 365 admin center as a single management surface, the subscription model aligns with how you already work.

Microsoft 365 also makes sense when headcount fluctuates meaningfully month to month. The per-user, per-month structure means you only pay for active seats, and cancellation at annual renewal is straightforward. For organizations with seasonal staffing or rapid growth, this flexibility is a genuine advantage.

When a perpetual Microsoft Office license fits better

Not every organization benefits from a subscription. For businesses that meet one or more of the following criteria, a perpetual Office license, often acquired pre-owned at a significant discount, delivers better value over five years:

• Stable headcount with predictable Office use (finance, administration, engineering).
• Local data residency requirements that favor on-premise Exchange or SharePoint over cloud equivalents.
• Industries with strict compliance obligations (NIS2, DORA, NEN 7510) where cloud data flows are constrained.
• Organizations that do not use Teams, Copilot, or other cloud-only features that justify the recurring cost.
• Finance teams that prefer capital expenditure over recurring operational expense.

A pre-owned volume license for Office 2024 or Office 2021 is legally equivalent to a new license under the European Court of Justice ruling in UsedSoft v. Oracle (Case C-128/11, 2012). The licenses are audit-proof, perpetual, and receive the same security updates from Microsoft as new licenses for the duration of the support lifecycle. For how this works in practice, see our guide on pre-owned software and licensing law.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I buy Microsoft 365 directly?

Microsoft 365 can be purchased directly from microsoft.com through separate pages for home, business, and enterprise plans. For businesses, the Business Basic, Business Standard, and Business Premium plans are all available for immediate self-service purchase with a credit card or invoice.

Can businesses buy Microsoft 365 through a reseller in the EU?

Yes. Cloud Solution Providers (CSPs) are authorized Microsoft partners who resell Microsoft 365 subscriptions, invoice customers directly, and provide first-line support. CSPs are the most common channel for EU SMBs that want advisory services in addition to the license itself.

Is Microsoft 365 the same as Office 365?

Microsoft 365 is the current brand for most subscription plans. Office 365 continues to exist as a product family, primarily in the Enterprise E1/E3/E5 line and in the Education channel (Office 365 A1/A3/A5). The Office 365 name has been retired for Small Business plans, which are now branded Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard, and Premium.

Can students get Microsoft 365 for free?

In many cases, yes. Students and educators at accredited institutions can access Microsoft 365 Education A1 at no cost if their school has an active Microsoft Education agreement. Eligibility is verified through the institution's email domain. Students whose schools do not participate can purchase a standard Microsoft 365 Personal subscription at a discounted student rate.

What is the difference between Microsoft 365 and a perpetual Office license?

Microsoft 365 is a subscription: you pay monthly or annually and lose access when the subscription lapses. A perpetual license, such as Office 2024 Professional Plus, is purchased once and can be used indefinitely. Perpetual licenses receive security updates until the support end date (October 2029 for Office 2024) but do not receive new feature updates the way Microsoft 365 does.