Microsoft ends free Office 365 A1; the new free tier has no email or Teams

01What the free tier was, and what replaces it

A1 is listed as “Donated by Microsoft” for faculty and students, and covers web versions of Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Teams.³⁴ The Student Use Benefit is the other free route: under Microsoft’s Product Terms, a faculty or staff licence for an A3 or A5 suite carries 40 student licences.⁵ A0 carries up to 20 per eligible paid faculty licence, and only for students “who actively use devices running Windows for educational purposes”.²

02When it reaches you, and what it costs

Nothing changes mid-contract. The changes land at an institution’s first renewal, extension or new agreement on or after 1 January 2028, and multi-year agreements run to their end.¹² Renewing early to avoid them is not allowed: such requests “aren’t encouraged or permitted”.² Microsoft’s two pages differ on one point: the portfolio page lets an Enrollment begun before 1 January 2028 keep and increase its A1 licences, while the FAQ says one begun before 1 May 2027 may continue, and that licences cannot be expanded after retirement. A partner should confirm which applies.¹²

Pricing moves first. From 1 May 2027, online services bought through Academic Volume Licensing take a single price across price levels, at the first renewal on or after that date, even one before 2028.¹ List prices for existing faculty suites stay put, Microsoft says, though an actual renewal price “might vary”.² The paid A2 plan goes on sale on 1 December; its faculty and student prices are not on the page.¹

Storage is the third change. The 100 TB base goes, and capacity comes only from paid licences: 4 GB per A2 student and 50 GB per A2 faculty member, 8 and 75 on A3, 12 and 150 on A5 and A7. A0 adds nothing. Extra capacity comes in 10 TB packs. Alumni who want to keep their mail move to a new paid offer.²