MS365

MSE_Molly_G

EddyM said:

Doshwaster said:

I subscribe to M365 but always get a new subscription every year rather than let it auto-renew as there are always offers on if you shop around.

I can understand the tech companies wanting to make their money back on all of their AI investment but a such a big increase for Copilot does seem excessive. If it had been a pound or two a month I might have gone along with it but at that level I won't bother.

This is what we always do too, except we buy several years at a time when it's on offer (usually best price is on Amazon for Black Friday and Prime Day), as you can add further years onto your existing subscription at any time rather than waiting until it's due for renewal (what you're buying is basically a code that you apply to the subscription in your Microsoft Account). Last time we topped it up was with a 15-month subscription (of Microsoft 365 Family) for £42.99 in July 2024, and it currently expires in September 2027. And it looks like we're still getting the AI stuff added as well, without paying any extra.

I thought this was going to be the "trick" mentioned in the headline, but it's not mentioned in the article at all. Maybe it's not a particularly good option right now (currently £69.99 for 15 months on Amazon), but surely it would still be worth mentioning and explaining how it works in the bit with other options at the end?

Actually looking at the table with the prices again, even that is still £10 cheaper than the "old price" per year, but it's actually got 3 extra months too, so people could buy several of it now to save money on what they would have already been paying for the next few years even if there hadn't been any changes *and* still get the new AI stuff too! (unless I'm missing something?)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Protection-Subscriptions-Antivirus-Activation/dp/B08V5M5N29

(That current best-value option also comes with McAfee for some reason but ignore that, you don't have to install it!)

Thanks for this tip! We've added it to the story: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2025/02/microsoft-365-price-hike/.

ghazghaz

Thank you MSE i have just switched back to Classic.

Surely upgrading customers to the new version without telling the customer and charging them £84.99 is at best very bad business practice and at worse illegal??

rufford155

ghazghaz said:

Thank you MSE i have just switched back to Classic.

Surely upgrading customers to the new version without telling the customer and charging them £84.99 is at best very bad business practice and at worse illegal??

Couldn't agree more !

Damn cheek if you ask me, but Microsoft has a very nasty, interfering tendency to keep changing stuff and adding stuff you don't want at virtually every update.

They are so arrogant they think they know better than yourself what you want.

I have just switched to Classic Family which was quite painless, but I still have been given the AI rubbish I don't want.

dgp1000

Thanks didn’t even realise this was an option. I’ve now got 10 months to work out whether it’s worth paying extra for CoPilot. Initial reaction is no.

BobbinAlong

You may be able to get Office free via work or school - if you work for a business on the right sort of MS contract. Universites, colleges and schools, Civil Service, MOD - I've been able to install and use Office on a home pc whilst working for them or a student. Though retirement could become expensive!

Rebel154

Hi all,

How far through the subscription cancellation process should one go to get offered the Classic Subs. I have a MS365 Family sub that expires July next year, and I'm not interested in the AI nonsense.

I get this far with the cancellation process, but I don't want to press the blue button at the bottom in case it cancels the sub immediately.

Thanks in advance.

rufford155

Rebel154 said:

Hi all,

How far through the subscription cancellation process should one go to get offered the Classic Subs. I have a MS365 Family sub that expires July next year, and I'm not interested in the AI nonsense.

I get this far with the cancellation process, but I don't want to press the blue button at the bottom in case it cancels the sub immediately.

Thanks in advance.

Sorry, I think you may have gone the wrong route 'cos I never got a page like that.

Suggest go pack to the link in last weeks weekly email and follow the instructions there exactly.

Microsoft account > Subscription > Manage > Cancel Sub >  Select Classic Family

Rebel154

rufford155 said:

Rebel154 said:

Hi all,

How far through the subscription cancellation process should one go to get offered the Classic Subs. I have a MS365 Family sub that expires July next year, and I'm not interested in the AI nonsense.

I get this far with the cancellation process, but I don't want to press the blue button at the bottom in case it cancels the sub immediately.

Sorry, I think you may have gone the wrong route 'cos I never got a page like that.

Suggest go pack to the link in last weeks weekly email and follow the instructions there exactly.

Microsoft account > Subscription > Manage > Cancel Sub >  Select Classic Family

That's exactly what I did do - three times!! Hence, me asking here.

But thanks for the suggestion

tsar76

is this any good?

https://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/get-software-deals-ltd-3?p=2&utm_content=get-software-deals-ltd-3&utm_term=deal_0&nlp=&CID=UK&uu=2de4df7e-2156-11ee-aa49-eed721d4339c&tx=0&utm_source=g1&utm_medium=email&utm_id=acc487e6-068e-4b59-8c2c-04b390514923&utm_campaign=cambridge&sid=acc487e6-068e-4b59-8c2c-04b390514923_0_20250219&t_division=cambridge&utm_sendid=acc487e6-068e-4b59-8c2c-04b390514923_0_20250219&date=20251902&sender=rm&s=body&c=button&d=deal-page

flaneurs_lobster

tsar76 said:

is this any good?

So that's £8.55 for a Lifetime MS Office Pro Plus, includes 100GB of Overdrive storage.

My MS 365 Basic subscription (costs £19.99/yr) gives me 100GB of Overdrive storage.

Forget all the Office apps, why would I not buy this "lifetime subscription" for less than half the price of my annual sub just for the cloud storage?