How much does Microsoft 365 cost for UK charities?

Approximately: Business Basic is free for first 10 users; Business Standard ~£5/user/month; Business Premium ~£4.40/user/month (75% off commercial). Microsoft Teams Phone ~£4/user/month. Copilot ~£21.83/user/month. Available to charities verified through Microsoft's Nonprofit programme.

Can I switch from commercial Microsoft 365 to Nonprofit pricing without losing data?

Yes. Same tenant, same data, same users. Once verified as a nonprofit, your reseller re-orders licences as nonprofit SKUs at renewal. Nothing changes for users.

Microsoft 365 for Charities UK (2026): Nonprofit Pricing Explained

Last updated: April 2026

UK registered charities get enormous discounts on Microsoft 365. We're talking 75% off in many cases, plus some plans completely free. If you're a registered charity (or social enterprise meeting Microsoft's criteria) and you're paying full commercial Microsoft 365 prices, you're throwing money away.

Here's how it actually works.

What you can get (Microsoft Nonprofit pricing)

Approximate UK pricing for registered charities (the "Charity" segment in CSP terminology):

Plan	Standard commercial price	Nonprofit price
Microsoft 365 Business Basic	£4.83/user/month	Free for first 10 users, then ~£2.40
Microsoft 365 Business Standard	£10.08/user/month	~£5.00/user/month
Microsoft 365 Business Premium	£17.75/user/month	~£4.40/user/month
Microsoft 365 Apps for business	£8.51/user/month	~£4.20/user/month
Microsoft 365 Copilot	£24.26/user/month	~£21.83/user/month
Microsoft Teams Phone Standard	£8.09/user/month	~£4.00/user/month

The single biggest deal is Business Premium at ~£4.40/user/month — 75% off. That's the security stack (Intune, Defender, Entra ID P1) for less money than commercial Business Basic. For a 20-person charity it's £88/month vs £355/month commercial.

These figures are indicative — actual nonprofit prices vary slightly by SKU and region. We confirm exact prices in your quote.

Who qualifies

Microsoft's nonprofit programme is open to:

Registered charities (with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, OSCR for Scotland, CCNI for Northern Ireland)
CICs (Community Interest Companies) that meet Microsoft's mission criteria
Some unregistered nonprofits if they can evidence charitable purpose

What disqualifies:

Government bodies (use other Microsoft programmes)
Schools (use Microsoft Education pricing — separate scheme, also discounted)
Hospitals (NHS-specific arrangements)
Political or religious organisations primarily for proselytism (some restrictions)

How to apply

The process:

Verify nonprofit status through Microsoft's verification partner (TechSoup, recently rebranded to Charity Digital in the UK). Free; takes 2-10 business days.
Tenant gets the "Nonprofit" segment flag added — this unlocks nonprofit pricing in Microsoft 365 Admin
You (or your reseller) order the nonprofit-priced SKUs — these are different SKUs from commercial; not just a discount on the same SKU

If you're already on Microsoft 365 commercial pricing, you don't need to migrate or re-set-up — your tenant gets the nonprofit flag added, and at renewal you switch to nonprofit SKUs at the lower prices. Same data, same logins, same setup.

Common mistakes

Mistake 1: paying commercial when you're eligible

Surprisingly common. A charity admin set up Microsoft 365 years ago at full price, never knew about nonprofit pricing, and is paying 4× more than they should be. We see this every month.

If you're a UK registered charity paying full Microsoft 365 prices — stop. Get verified. Switch to nonprofit at renewal.

Mistake 2: assuming free Basic is enough

Microsoft 365 Business Basic is free for the first 10 users. Tempting if budget is the priority. But Basic has web-only Office apps — no installed Word or Excel. For most charity teams who actually use Word and Excel, the time wasted on web-only is more expensive than the few quid Standard costs.

Our recommendation: Free Basic for trustees, ad-hoc volunteers, very part-time staff. Nonprofit Standard or Premium for everyone else.

Mistake 3: not using Premium because of cost

At commercial pricing, Premium feels like a stretch for charities. At ~£4.40/user/month nonprofit pricing, it's a no-brainer. You get device management (Intune), endpoint protection (Defender for Business) and conditional access (Entra ID P1) for less than commercial Basic.

For charities handling beneficiary data, donor data, or anything safeguarding-related, nonprofit Premium is genuinely the obvious choice.

What you also need

Microsoft 365 backup

Charities need this even more than commercial businesses. Volunteer turnover means accidental deletions are common. Add a third-party backup (around £3.50/user/month — and check for nonprofit pricing from the backup vendor too; many have charity rates).

Defender for Office 365 Plan 1

Charities are heavily targeted by phishing — fake donor refund requests, fake supplier invoices. £1.72/user/month standard; check for nonprofit rate.

VoIP

If you have an office phone, replace it with cloud VoIP. Bundle with CTN — same nonprofit pricing logic applies on the Microsoft side, and we'll discuss charity rates on the VoIP side.

Free Azure credits

In addition to discounted Microsoft 365, registered charities get $3,500/year in free Microsoft Azure credits. If your charity uses Azure for anything (database, web hosting, AI experimentation), this is essentially free infrastructure.

Most small charities don't use Azure directly, but if you have a tech-led project, it's worth knowing about.

Switching from commercial to nonprofit

If you're a charity already paying commercial Microsoft 365 prices through a reseller or direct, the switch is:

Get verified as nonprofit through Microsoft's partner (TechSoup / Charity Digital)
Microsoft adds the nonprofit segment flag to your tenant
At your next renewal, your reseller (or us) re-orders your licences as nonprofit SKUs
Same tenant, same data, same users — just at 75% lower cost

For a 25-person charity on commercial Premium, the saving is roughly £4,000 a year. For 50 users, £8,000 a year. Real money.

What we'd quote

Small charity (5 paid staff + volunteers)

5 × Nonprofit Premium (£22)
Free Business Basic for 5 volunteers (£0)
5 × backup (£17.50)
Microsoft stack: ~£40/month (vs ~£105/month commercial)

Medium charity (20 paid staff)

20 × Nonprofit Premium (£88)
20 × Defender for Office 365 P1 (~£25)
20 × backup (£70)
Microsoft stack: ~£183/month (vs ~£440/month commercial)

Large charity (50 paid staff, multi-site)

50 × Nonprofit Premium (£220)
50 × Defender for Office 365 P1 (~£60)
50 × backup (£175)
Optionally 10 × Copilot for management (~£218)
Microsoft stack: ~£455-675/month

FAQs

How does my charity get verified as a nonprofit for Microsoft pricing?

Microsoft uses Charity Digital (formerly TechSoup) in the UK as their verification partner. Free, takes 2-10 business days. They check Charity Commission registration and confirm eligibility. Once approved, your Microsoft tenant gets a "Nonprofit" segment flag and unlocks nonprofit-priced SKUs.

Can community interest companies (CICs) get nonprofit Microsoft 365 pricing?

Sometimes — depends on Microsoft's interpretation of the CIC's mission. Asset-locked CICs with clear charitable purpose are usually approved. Profit-distributing CICs typically aren't. The verification process makes the call.

Is Microsoft Nonprofit Premium genuinely the same product as commercial?

Yes — identical features, support, and infrastructure. The only difference is the price and the SKU code. Same Defender, same Intune, same everything.

Can I mix nonprofit and commercial Microsoft 365 in the same tenant?

You shouldn't need to. Once your tenant has the nonprofit flag, you can buy nonprofit SKUs for all eligible users. There's no benefit to mixing.

Does Copilot have nonprofit pricing?

Yes — typically around £21.83/user/month vs £24.26 commercial. Smaller discount than core Microsoft 365 plans, but still worth claiming.

Do you support charities through CTN?

Yes. We're a Microsoft CSP reseller and process nonprofit pricing for registered UK charities. We'll handle the verification side if you haven't done it yet.