--- title: "Microsoft ends free Office 365 A1; the new free tier has no email or Teams" summary: "Microsoft's notice of 5 November: free Office 365 A1 and the Student Use Benefit retire on 1 January 2028, and the no-cost A0 that follows needs full paid faculty coverage." url: https://www.thetechbag.com/blog/microsoft-ends-free-office-365-a1-2028 format: Note desk: "Buying software in India" region: Global published: 2026-11-10 facts_checked: 2026-11-10 author: TechBag (The TechBag Journal) tags: ["Microsoft 365 Education","Office 365 A1","Student Use Benefit","Microsoft 365 Education A0","Microsoft 365 Education A2","education licensing","Academic Volume Licensing","pooled storage","Exchange Online for Alumni","CSP","schools","colleges"] cover: https://www.thetechbag.com/blog/covers/microsoft-ends-free-office-365-a1-2028.png --- # Microsoft ends free Office 365 A1; the new free tier has no email or Teams *Microsoft's notice of 5 November: free Office 365 A1 and the Student Use Benefit retire on 1 January 2028, and the no-cost A0 that follows needs full paid faculty coverage.* Note · Buying software in India · By TechBag · Published 2026-11-10 · Facts checked 2026-11-10 · Canonical: https://www.thetechbag.com/blog/microsoft-ends-free-office-365-a1-2028 Microsoft will retire Office 365 A1, the plan it donates to schools and colleges, on 1 January 2028, along with the Student Use Benefit and free alumni email. Its free successor, Microsoft 365 Education A0, is for students only, has no Exchange Online, SharePoint Online or Teams, and is open only to institutions with “full paid faculty coverage” on the paid A2 plan or higher.[1] Web sales of A1 ended on 5 November, the day of the announcement; partners can sell it until 1 May 2027.[2] 1 May 2027 A1 partner sales end; one academic price for online services begins Microsoft Learn 1 Jan 2028 A1, Student Use Benefit and free alumni mail retire Microsoft Learn 40 → 20 free student licences per paid faculty licence, Student Use Benefit to A0 Product Terms; FAQ 100 TB → 0 base storage for a tenant, before licences add to it Microsoft Learn ## What 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.[3][4] 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] **Figure: The new free tier adds desktop Office but has no mailbox, no SharePoint and no Teams** *What Microsoft 365 Education A0 includes and leaves out, as announced 5 November 2026; available from 1 January 2028* A0 leaves out - Exchange Online mailboxes - SharePoint Online - Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Classroom - Any edition for faculty: A0 is students only - Any addition to the storage pool A0 includes - Office apps, desktop and web - OneDrive for Business - Minecraft Education - Microsoft Entra ID Free and multifactor authentication Source: Microsoft Learn: Microsoft 365 Education portfolio evolution; FAQ · as of 10 November 2026 ## When 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.[1][2] 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.[1][2] 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] TechBag countWhat 100 TB takes to replace At those rates, 100 TB equals 2,000 A2 faculty licences or 25,000 A2 student licences (counting 1 TB as 1,000 GB).[2] What an Indian school or college IT team should check Microsoft’s India page lists Office 365 A3 at ₹270 per faculty user and ₹210 per student a month, and A5 at ₹670 and ₹500, “GST extra as applicable”.[3] A2’s rupee price is not published. For scale, 1,000 students on A3 at that list would cost ₹25,20,000 a year, about ₹29,73,600 with GST at 18%, on our arithmetic.[6] We found no India-specific terms on Microsoft’s pages. Before the next renewal, check: - **The renewal date.** On or after 1 May 2027 brings the single academic price; on or after 1 January 2028, everything else. - **Faculty coverage.** A0 needs full paid faculty coverage on A2 or higher first, so faculty now on free A1 need a paid licence. - **Student devices.** A0’s Windows condition: ask a partner in writing about students on Chromebooks, tablets or phones. - **Who needs a mailbox.** Anyone using institutional email or Teams needs A2 or higher, not A0. - **Pooled storage and alumni mail.** Compare today’s use with what paid licences will add, and count alumni addresses still in use. How we did this Figures as of 10 November 2026, 7:30pm IST Dates, plan contents and storage rates are from Microsoft’s portfolio page and FAQ; the 40-licence ratio from its Product Terms; the 20-licence A0 limit from the FAQ. The 100 TB equivalents and rupee totals are our arithmetic. Prices are Microsoft’s India list, per user per month; A3 is used for scale only, and is not Microsoft’s stated replacement for A1. Spotted an error? Write to us; corrections are published at the foot of the piece. Sources 1. [Microsoft Learn: Microsoft 365 Education portfolio evolution](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/educator-center/instructor-materials/microsoft-365-education-portfolio) — 5 November 2026; updated 6 November 2026 2. [Microsoft Learn: Microsoft 365 Education frequently asked questions](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/educator-center/instructor-materials/microsoft-365-education-frequently-asked-questions) — updated 7 November 2026 3. [Microsoft India: Office 365 Education plans and pricing](https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/education/products/office) — read 10 November 2026 4. [Microsoft: Office 365 A1 Plus](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/education/products/office-365-a1-plus) — read 10 November 2026 5. [Microsoft Product Terms: Student Use Benefits and Academic Programs](https://www.microsoft.com/licensing/terms/en-US/product/StudentUseBenefitsandAcademicPrograms/EES) — read 10 November 2026 6. [India Briefing: Digital services in India: OIDAR, GST applicability and compliance](https://www.india-briefing.com/news/tax-digital-services-oidar-in-india-gst-applicability-and-compliance-22465.html) — updated 29 September 2023 **Disclosure.** TechBag is a software reseller: it earns a margin when a reader buys through it, including from vendors named here. The analysis is TechBag’s own; no vendor paid for or saw this piece before publication. Facts are labelled reported, TechBag count or our view. **Read this next:** [Microsoft's cheapest seats rose the most: F1 +33%, E3 +8%, bundled VMware ends 31 October](https://www.thetechbag.com/blog/microsoft-365-price-rise-india-renewal-2026) — Microsoft's other price moves: its cheapest seats rose the most, F1 up 33% and E3 up 8%, priced for a 500-seat Indian company. Go deeper on TechBag - [Microsoft 365: Business and Enterprise plans compared](https://www.thetechbag.com/microsoft/microsoft-365) — the commercial plans behind the education suites - [The Microsoft hub](https://www.thetechbag.com/microsoft) — Microsoft 365, Azure and security products in one place - [Google Workspace](https://www.thetechbag.com/google/google-workspace) — TechBag's page on Google's productivity suite