Microsoft Copilot Pro is retired: What the free app and paid Microsoft 365 plans cost now

Plans, prices and features checked on the official pages on October 20, 2026.

Microsoft Copilot Pro is no longer available for purchase. According to Microsoft, existing subscribers could keep it until they cancelled or until support ended on August 1, 2026, and the company points heavy users to Microsoft 365 Premium at $19.99 per month.

Everyone else chooses between three things: the free Microsoft Copilot app (limited, with more when you sign in), the Copilot features bundled in Microsoft 365 Personal, Family and Premium, and the business product, Microsoft 365 Copilot. This guide explains which is which.

Copilot Pro has been retired, and Microsoft 365 Premium takes its place

Microsoft’s support page says plainly: “Copilot Pro is no longer available for purchase.” It adds that Microsoft 365 Premium “is one option” for people who want continued heavy Copilot use, and describes it as the most comprehensive AI and productivity plan for up to six people. The page does not say what exactly changes for old subscribers on August 1, 2026, beyond that support date.

Microsoft announced the replacement in October 2025 on its Copilot blog. A discounted upgrade page exists for current Personal, Family and Copilot Pro subscribers, but the terms change, so check it before buying.

The free Copilot app: What you get without paying

Microsoft says it offers “a limited free version of Copilot subject to available capacity and limits.” It does not publish numeric limits on its pricing page.

The Copilot app runs on Windows and Mac (macOS Sonoma 14 or later), in a browser, and on iOS and Android, according to Microsoft’s download page. Signing in with a work or school account, a personal Microsoft account, an Apple ID or a Google account unlocks more, including chat history, more image creation, longer conversations and extended voice sessions.

The app can answer questions, create images and Office files (Word, Excel and PowerPoint), let you pick among AI models and, in the latest version, hand multi-step tasks to Cowork. Microsoft’s help page lists navigation sections for Chat, Library, Agents, Search and Cowork. On Windows, Microsoft’s help page says you can remove the app under Settings > Apps > Installed apps (Windows 11) or Settings > Apps (Windows 10).

Microsoft’s own pages are not consistent about branding. Documentation now calls the former Microsoft 365 Copilot app simply “Microsoft Copilot”, and the work-and-school chat “Microsoft Copilot Chat”. Expect the same name on different screens.

Consumer plans and prices, from Personal to the $99.99 Pro tier

Prices checked on October 20, 2026, on Microsoft’s individuals pricing page. Microsoft’s FAQ says that when a feature limit or AI credit allowance runs out, the feature may be unavailable until the allowance resets; remaining credits show under Services & subscriptions in your Microsoft account.

One detail from the page: on Premium and Pro, Word, Excel and PowerPoint are listed as web and mobile only, while Personal lists the desktop apps with Copilot. Check the current plan page before choosing for desktop use.

Microsoft 365 Copilot for work: What Basic, Premium and Chat mean

For organizations Microsoft sells a different set of products. Its Learn documentation splits them into licenses:

• Copilot Chat (Basic): included with eligible Microsoft 365 licenses; chat grounded mainly in web data, with enterprise data protection. No Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint or OneNote.
• Microsoft 365 Copilot (Basic): no add-on license, but standard access to Copilot in those apps, subject to service capacity.
• Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium): the add-on license with priority access and automatic grounding in your work data (emails, files, meetings, calendars) through Microsoft Graph and Work IQ.

Copilot only reaches content a user is already allowed to see, according to Microsoft. Cowork and Copilot Code are billed by usage through Copilot Credits and need the Premium license.

Prices checked on October 20, 2026, on the Microsoft 365 Copilot pricing page. The $18 add-on price is a discount available only from July 1 to December 31, 2026, to existing customers on an eligible Business plan, with an annual commitment, for the first year. Free trials last one month and need a credit card. Microsoft’s Copilot page also lists $30.00 per user/month, paid yearly, for Enterprise.

What Copilot does in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams

Microsoft’s documentation describes these in-app features:

• Word: helps you write a first draft, reword passages and condense long documents into short summaries.
• Excel: examines your data for patterns, suggests insights, and builds formulas and charts on request.
• PowerPoint: builds a slide deck from a typed prompt or from material you already have, and can shorten or edit decks afterward.
• Outlook: drafts replies, condenses long threads and gives feedback on clarity and tone. Copilot Chat in Outlook can also answer questions across emails, calendar items and meetings.
• Teams: transcribes meetings, produces recaps (up to 30 days) and lists action items.
• OneNote and Forms: sketches plans and lists in notes; proposes questions for surveys.

What appears where depends on your license and your organization’s configuration, which Microsoft says varies. Image generation exists in Copilot Chat, and administrators can switch it off.

Copilot Studio and agents: The build-your-own option, priced by credits

Microsoft describes Copilot Studio as an end-to-end conversational AI platform for building, testing and publishing agents with natural language or a graphical interface. It is licensed separately and is not part of Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Per its FAQ, it is sold as tenant-wide packs of 25,000 Copilot Credits at $200 per pack per month, or pay-as-you-go with no upfront commitment, billed at month end. An Azure subscription is required. Microsoft’s Copilot Studio page does not describe a Copilot Studio-specific trial; it offers a free Azure account with a $200 credit.

How to get started with Copilot

1. Open the Copilot download page and install the app for Windows, Mac, iOS or Android, or use it in a browser.
2. Sign in with a personal Microsoft account, Apple ID or Google account to get chat history and higher limits. At work, sign in with your Entra work account so enterprise data protection applies.
3. Try a prompt in Chat, then use Create for images or Office files.
4. If you hit limits, check your credits under Services & subscriptions, then compare Personal, Premium and Pro above.
5. In Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook, look for the Copilot options in the app. They show only if your plan includes them.

For how the app evolved, see our coverage of the Copilot Fall Release.

Limits to know before paying, and how Copilot compares with rivals

Limits are the main catch. Microsoft states that usage limits apply to Copilot features and does not publish exact numbers for individual plans. Family shares storage but not Copilot: AI is for the owner only. Audio generation is English only, per the pricing page.

On alternatives, Microsoft’s own comparison is internal, but rivals sell similar tiers. Our guide to the Claude Pro plan covers one, and the free image generator comparison covers picture tools if images are your main need. Copilot’s advantage is the link to Office files and, in business plans, to Microsoft 365 data.

Common questions