If you're running Microsoft F1, your pricing is going up 43%. Here’s how to delay that for a year.
Microsoft’s upcoming pricing changes are set to have a significant impact on organisations using Microsoft 365 F1 licences. For many frontline workforce environments across retail, manufacturing, healthcare and logistics, this represents a sharp increase in cost with little time to react.
But there's a practical way to manage that impact.
In this blog, we break down what's changing, why it matters, and how you can delay the increase for 12 months while putting a longer-term plan in place.
What’s changing with Microsoft 365 F1?
Microsoft has announced pricing updates that will take effect from July 2026. For customers on Microsoft 365 F1, the increase is particularly material, with effective rises of around 43% depending on your agreement and billing structure.
This is driven by a combination of:
- Alignment of frontline licensing with broader Microsoft 365 pricing strategy
- Continued investment in security, compliance and AI capabilities
- Changes to how licences are packaged and billed
For organisations with large frontline populations, even small per-user increases can translate into substantial cost exposure across the estate.
Why this matters to your business
F1 licences are typically deployed at scale. That means:
- Costs scale quickly across thousands of users
- Budgets can be impacted mid-cycle if not planned for
- Frontline use cases often have tighter margins, making increases harder to absorb
And while the additional capabilities in the platform may offer value, many organisations are still in the early stages of adoption. So the immediate priority is controlling cost while you assess that value.
How to delay the increase for 12 months
The most effective way to delay the pricing uplift is to buy a single licence before the price increase on 1 July 2026. By doing this, you create a new subscription with a new renewal date at the current pricing. You can then allow your existing licences to run to their expiry. Just before they expire, add those licences to your new subscription.
This effectively locks in today’s pricing for an additional year on those licences, avoiding the cost increase for a year.
These 3 simple steps can help you save time and money:
The deadline is 30 June 2026. Here's your action plan:
- Calculate your saving using our free Microsoft 365 savings calculator – it takes under a minute.
- Decide whether to act based on your licence count, plan type, and renewal date.
- Contact us if you want help setting up the new subscription correctly and managing the transition without disruption.
As a Microsoft partner, we can help you move quickly and make sure everything is set up correctly before the deadline. Get in touch with our team today.
Final thought
A 43% increase is significant. But with the right approach, you can delay the impact, create breathing space, and use that time to make better long-term decisions about how your frontline workforce uses Microsoft 365.
