Microsoft Copilot Pricing UK (2026): Free, Microsoft 365 and Business Plans Explained

Microsoft Copilot pricing is confusing because the same name covers a free chatbot, Copilot inside the Microsoft 365 apps for home users, a business add-on and a separate coding tool. In short: the Copilot app is free; Copilot in Word, Excel and PowerPoint comes with Microsoft 365 Personal (£8.49 a month), Family (£10.49) or Premium (£18.99) in the UK; businesses pay from £13.80 per user a month for the Copilot Business add-on; and large organisations pay £23.10 per user a month for Microsoft 365 Copilot. This guide explains every plan, what you get and which one to choose.

UK prices below were checked on 12 October 2026 on Microsoft’s UK website. Consumer prices include VAT; business prices are shown excluding VAT, as Microsoft lists them. Microsoft changes its plans and promotions often, so confirm the price at checkout.

Microsoft Copilot Pricing UK at a Glance

Is Microsoft Copilot Free?

Yes. The Copilot app is free on the web at copilot.microsoft.com, on iPhone and Android, on Windows and Mac, and through the Copilot icon in Microsoft Edge. According to Microsoft, the free version includes chat, web answers with sources, writing help, image creation (Copilot Imagine), Copilot Vision and group conversations. Some features need a Microsoft account, and Microsoft does not publish exact usage limits for free users; paid plans simply get higher limits.

Businesses also get Copilot Chat at no extra cost with eligible Microsoft 365 plans. It is a web-grounded assistant that works in Outlook and the Microsoft 365 Copilot app, but it does not have the deeper access to your company’s files that the paid add-ons provide.

Copilot for Home Users: Microsoft 365 Personal, Family and Premium

Microsoft’s UK pages now present Copilot for home users as part of Microsoft 365 plans, with Microsoft 365 Premium as the top paid upgrade rather than a standalone Copilot subscription. The cheaper Microsoft 365 Basic plan does not include AI features.

Two details catch people out. First, on Family and Premium, the AI features belong to the subscription owner and cannot be shared with other members. Second, all three plans have usage limits, even Premium; Microsoft describes Premium’s allowance as “extensive” rather than unlimited. In return, Copilot works inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook, so you can draft documents, analyse spreadsheets and summarise emails without copying text into a chatbot.

Which home plan should you choose?

• Free Copilot app: enough for occasional questions, writing help and images.
• Personal: the cheapest way to get Copilot inside Word and Excel.
• Family: worth it if others in your household need Office apps and storage, but remember only the owner gets Copilot.
• Premium: for people who use Copilot every day and want the highest limits and newest features.

Copilot for Business: UK Prices

Microsoft 365 Copilot Business (small and medium businesses)

Copilot Business is an add-on for organisations with up to 300 users that already have a qualifying Microsoft 365 Business plan. Microsoft’s UK page lists it at £13.80 per user a month on an annual plan, a promotional price that runs from 1 July to 31 December 2026 for existing Business customers, down from £16.10. Paying month to month costs £19.32 per user. It adds AI chat grounded in your work data, reasoning, pre-built agents such as Researcher and Analyst, model choice and adoption analytics.

Microsoft also sells bundles that include Copilot:

• Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot: £18.10 per user a month, paid annually (£21.72 paid monthly).
• Microsoft 365 Business Premium with Copilot: £24.60 per user a month, paid annually (£29.52 paid monthly), adding advanced security and identity management.

Microsoft 365 Copilot (enterprise)

For larger organisations, Microsoft 365 Copilot costs £23.10 per user a month with annual billing, or £24.26 a month billed monthly, excluding VAT. It is an add-on that requires a qualifying Microsoft 365 licence. It includes Copilot in the Office apps, AI search across work data with more than 100 connectors, Copilot Notebooks, agents and Copilot Analytics. Some features, such as certain agents, are billed on a metered basis.

Microsoft 365 price rises in 2026

The underlying Microsoft 365 business plans also became more expensive on 1 July 2026. IT Builder reported increases in US dollar list prices, for example Business Basic rising from $6 to $7 and Business Standard from $12.50 to $14 per user a month, with local currency adjustments for UK customers. Because Copilot is an add-on, check the cost of both the base licence and Copilot when budgeting.

Is Copilot worth it for a business?

Copilot pays off when staff spend much of their day in Outlook, Teams, Word and Excel, because it can summarise meetings, draft replies and analyse files they already have access to. Before buying for everyone, run a pilot with a small group, measure time saved and review permissions: Copilot can surface any file a user can already open, so tidy up over-shared SharePoint sites first. Our AI agent security guide covers the wider safeguards.

GitHub Copilot Pricing

GitHub Copilot is a separate product for developers and is priced in US dollars. GitHub lists a Free plan with limited chat and agent use and 2,000 inline suggestions a month, Pro at $10 a month, Pro+ at $39 and Max at $100. Paid plans include a monthly allowance of GitHub AI credits, and code completions do not use credits. Business and Enterprise prices are available from GitHub’s sales team. If you are choosing a coding assistant, our Cursor vs Claude Code comparison covers two popular alternatives.

Copilot vs ChatGPT vs Gemini on Price

Copilot’s main advantage is price if you already need Microsoft Office: Personal bundles the apps, storage and Copilot for less than ChatGPT Plus or Google AI Pro. If your work lives in Google’s apps, Gemini is the closer equivalent; see our Gemini pricing guide and, if the app is playing up, our Gemini troubleshooting guide. For OpenAI’s plans, see our ChatGPT pricing guide.

Microsoft has also been reshaping the consumer Copilot app; our report on Microsoft’s rebuilt Copilot explains the latest changes.

Copilot for Specific Jobs

Copilot in Excel is one of the most useful features for finance teams, because it can explain formulas, build summaries and spot trends in data you already have. Our guide to the best AI tools for accountants compares it with specialist accounting software, and our step-by-step guide on how to use AI in Excel shows how to switch Copilot on and write effective prompts.

Privacy and Data Considerations

• Business plans: Copilot works within your organisation’s existing Microsoft 365 permissions, so it can only draw on files each user can already access. Check sharing settings before rollout.
• Home plans: review the privacy settings in the Copilot app, and avoid pasting sensitive personal or client data into any consumer AI tool.
• Age: Microsoft says Copilot users must generally be 18 or older, with under-18 access only where local rules allow.

How to Get Copilot

1. Free: open copilot.microsoft.com or install the Copilot app, then sign in with a Microsoft account for extra features.
2. Home plans: buy Microsoft 365 Personal, Family or Premium from Microsoft’s UK store, then sign in to Word, Excel or PowerPoint with the same account and look for the Copilot button.
3. Business: an admin adds Copilot Business or Microsoft 365 Copilot licences in the Microsoft 365 admin centre and assigns them to users.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is Copilot in the UK?

The Copilot app is free. Copilot in the Microsoft 365 apps comes with Personal (£8.49 a month), Family (£10.49) or Premium (£18.99). Businesses pay from £13.80 per user a month for Copilot Business (promotional annual price) or £23.10 for Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Is Copilot Pro still available?

Microsoft’s UK pages now present Microsoft 365 Premium as the paid Copilot plan for individuals, rather than a separate Copilot Pro subscription.

Do Family members get Copilot?

No. On Microsoft 365 Family and Premium, Copilot features are for the subscription owner only.

Is Copilot unlimited?

No. Microsoft says usage limits apply on all plans, though Premium has the highest consumer limits.

Is GitHub Copilot included with Microsoft 365?

No. GitHub Copilot is a separate developer product with its own free and paid plans.

Conclusion

For most UK users, the free Copilot app is the place to start. If you want Copilot inside Word and Excel, Microsoft 365 Personal at £8.49 a month is the cheapest route, while Premium suits daily power users. Small businesses should look at the Copilot Business add-on while its promotional price lasts, and larger organisations at Microsoft 365 Copilot. Whatever you choose, pilot it first and check that the time saved justifies the cost.

Sources: Microsoft UK – compare Microsoft 365 plans; Microsoft UK – Microsoft 365 Premium; Microsoft UK – Copilot for individuals; Microsoft UK – Copilot business pricing; Microsoft UK – Microsoft 365 Copilot enterprise; GitHub Copilot plans; IT Builder – Microsoft 365 price changes July 2026.