Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 for Charities: Licensing and Pricing in 2026
Updated 16 June 2026
UK registered charities can still get Microsoft 365 Business Basic free for up to 300 users, plus discounted nonprofit pricing on the paid plans: Business Standard from £2.30 per user per month and Business Premium from £4.20 per user per month (annual commitment, excluding VAT). The catch: Microsoft retired the free Business Premium and Office 365 E1 charity grants on 1 July 2025, so many charities that previously paid nothing now pay a discounted rate.
This guide covers what changed, what is still free, the current discounted pricing, who qualifies, and how to claim it.
What changed in July 2025
Microsoft has supported nonprofits for years by donating free licences. Two of the most popular grants ended on 1 July 2025:
- The Microsoft 365 Business Premium grant (free licences with the full desktop apps and advanced security) was discontinued.
- The Office 365 E1 grant (free web-based licences, widely used by larger charities) was discontinued.
Existing grant licences do not disappear overnight, but they expire at your next renewal date on or after 1 July 2025 and will not renew. If you take no action you keep access for a short grace period (around 30 days to back up data) before Microsoft follows its standard data deletion process, so the practical deadline is your own renewal date.
What Microsoft still provides:
- Up to 300 donated Microsoft 365 Business Basic licences, free.
- Up to 75% off many nonprofit offers, including Business Standard, Business Premium and Office 365 E1 at nonprofit pricing.
What UK charities can still get free
Microsoft 365 Business Basic remains a donated grant for up to 300 users. It includes:
- Web and mobile versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
- Microsoft Teams
- Exchange email on your own domain
- 1 TB of OneDrive storage per user, plus SharePoint
It does not include the installed desktop Office apps or the advanced security features. For volunteers, trustees and lighter users who work in a browser, Business Basic is often all that is needed, at no cost.
Discounted nonprofit pricing in 2026
For staff who need more, these are the current UK nonprofit (staff pricing) rates:
| Plan | Nonprofit price (per user / month) | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Business Basic | Free (grant, up to 300 users) | Web and mobile apps, Teams, email, 1 TB storage |
| Business Standard | from £2.30 | Desktop Office apps and Clipchamp |
| Business Premium | from £4.20 | Advanced security: Microsoft Defender, Intune device management and conditional access |
Prices are per user per month on an annual commitment, exclude VAT, and apply for up to 300 users. Security and compliance add-ons are available at up to 60% off, and Microsoft offers up to 75% off across many nonprofit offers. Enterprise plans (Office 365 E1 and E3, Microsoft 365 E3 and E5) are available at nonprofit discounts through a Microsoft partner where a charity needs them.
Figures are correct as of June 2026 and are set by Microsoft, so they can change (see the note on pricing below).
Who qualifies
Microsoft's nonprofit offers are open to organisations that hold recognised charitable status and operate on a not-for-profit basis. In practice that means being registered with the relevant regulator:
- Scotland: the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR)
- England and Wales: the Charity Commission
- Northern Ireland: the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (CCNI)
- or recognised by HMRC as charitable for tax purposes
Your organisation also needs a recognised charitable mission and a policy of non-discrimination. Public sector bodies, and organisations that are solely political or whose activities are restricted to advancing a religion, are generally not eligible. Microsoft validates eligibility through its nonprofit programme (its validation partner is Goodstack, formerly TechSoup), and approval usually takes a few business days.
Which plan should a charity choose
- Business Basic (free): volunteers, trustees and anyone who can work in the browser.
- Business Standard (from £2.30): staff who need the installed desktop versions of Office.
- Business Premium (from £4.20): the sensible baseline for any charity that handles personal, donor or beneficiary data. It adds Microsoft Defender, Intune device management and conditional access, the controls that underpin Cyber Essentials and sound data protection. At this price it is one of the best value security bundles a charity can buy.
Charities are an increasingly common target for cyber attackers, often holding sensitive personal data on limited budgets. Putting most staff on Business Premium, and using the free Business Basic grant for lighter users, gives strong protection at a very low cost.
How to claim and set it up
- Confirm your charity registration (for a Scottish charity, your OSCR number).
- Register for the Microsoft nonprofit programme and complete eligibility validation.
- Once approved, the Business Basic grant and the discounted offers appear in your Microsoft 365 admin centre.
- Assign the free Business Basic licences and purchase discounted Standard or Premium licences as needed.
- If you are moving off a retired Business Premium or Office 365 E1 grant, transition each user to the replacement licence in the admin centre before the old subscription cancels, so nobody loses email or files.
A note on pricing changes
Nonprofit prices are a discount off Microsoft's standard commercial list prices, and those list prices are rising from 1 July 2026, which means nonprofit rates can move too. We cover the wider increase in Microsoft 365 price increases coming July 2026.
How TheLogic helps charities
We help Scottish and UK charities validate their Microsoft nonprofit eligibility, claim the free Business Basic grants, and move off the retired grants onto the right discounted plan without losing data or access, then secure the tenant properly with the Business Premium tools. If you would like a hand, get in touch.