How much does an AI assistant for Microsoft 365 cost compared to Copilot?
All list prices as of August 2026: Microsoft 365 Copilot EUR 26, Copilot Business EUR 15.60, amaiko EUR 29.91, Langdock EUR 25, Teams Premium EUR 8.70. With a three-year calculation, hidden costs and a funding note.
As of August 2026, an AI assistant for Microsoft 365 costs between EUR 8.70 and around EUR 30 net per user per month: Microsoft 365 Copilot is at EUR 26 on Microsoft’s list price (the SMB tier Copilot Business at EUR 15.60), amaiko at EUR 29.91 according to the vendor, Langdock at EUR 25, and Teams Premium as the built-in option for meetings at EUR 8.70, each excluding VAT and with annual billing. The monthly price is the least interesting number here: what decides the case are base license requirements, volume discounts and the calculation over three years, and that calculation is exactly what a Smart Software Selection puts on the table before any budget is released.
This article is written for managing directors and IT leads in companies with 20 to 1,000 employees who need solid numbers for the AI decision instead of vendor brochures.
What you’ll take away:
- all list prices at a glance, as of August 2026, with source and billing terms,
- why Microsoft 365 Copilot really costs EUR 26 and when the SMB tier Copilot Business at EUR 15.60 applies,
- how volume discounts reshuffle the ranking: from 100 users, amaiko drops to around EUR 25.42 according to the vendor,
- a three-year example calculation for 100 employees, including a mixed setup that saves EUR 49,824,
- which hidden costs belong in every calculation, from base license upgrades to the training duty under EU AI Act Art. 4,
- why license costs are never eligible for funding, while the consulting around selection and adoption is.
What does Microsoft 365 Copilot really cost in 2026?
A look at Microsoft’s price list (as of August 2026, all prices net) shows two tiers that are often confused. Microsoft 365 Copilot, the full add-on, costs EUR 26 per user per month with annual billing, EUR 27.30 with monthly payments on an annual subscription. It requires a qualifying base license, typically Business Standard or Business Premium in the mid-market, E3 or E5 in larger environments.
Alongside it, since 2026 there is Copilot Business, the reduced tier for smaller organizations on Microsoft 365 Business plans (which are capped at 300 users): EUR 15.60 per user per month with annual billing, EUR 21.84 with monthly billing. Microsoft also offers bundles, for example Business Standard including Copilot for EUR 20.36. The price drop from the earlier roughly EUR 28 has a simple reason: willingness to pay in the SMB segment was lower than hoped, and competitive pressure from alternatives is growing.
Important for the calculation: both tiers come on top of the base license. If you first have to move from Business Basic to Business Standard to qualify for Copilot, you pay that difference too, and exactly these jumps hide in many vendor quotes.
What do the alternatives cost in comparison?
The prices of the relevant alternatives, list price net per user per month, as of August 2026:
| Vendor | Price per user/month | Billing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Copilot | EUR 26.00 | annual (monthly payments: EUR 27.30) | plus qualifying base license |
| Copilot Business (SMB) | EUR 15.60 | annual (monthly payments: EUR 21.84) | Business plans only, up to 300 users |
| amaiko | EUR 29.91 | annual | unlimited tokens according to the vendor, German hosting, discounts: 10% from 50, 15% from 100, 20% from 250 users |
| Langdock | EUR 25.00 | monthly or annual (20% saving) | Business Max seat EUR 99, Workflows add-on from EUR 539/month |
| Dust | in the range of USD 30 | cheaper annually | credit allowance per seat, overage billed extra |
| Fireflies (meetings) | USD 10 (Pro) to USD 19 (Business) | annual (monthly: USD 18 / 29) | meeting documentation only, US vendor |
| Teams Premium | EUR 8.70 | annual | Microsoft built-in, intelligent meeting recaps |
Two patterns stand out. First, the full assistants (Copilot, amaiko, Langdock) all sit in a corridor of EUR 25 to 30, so the monthly price is barely a differentiator. Second, volume discounts reshuffle the ranking: from 100 users, amaiko costs around EUR 25.42 according to the vendor and lands below Copilot’s list price, while credit models like Dust’s can swing the other way under heavy use. Which category fits your organization in the first place is sorted in our overview of Microsoft 365 Copilot alternatives for small and mid-sized businesses.
What does the calculation look like over three years?
License decisions in the mid-market tend to last three years and longer, so the calculation belongs on 36 months and all users. For a company with 100 employees, pure license costs net:
- Microsoft 365 Copilot for everyone: EUR 26 × 100 users × 36 months = EUR 93,600, plus base licenses.
- amaiko for everyone: with the 15% volume discount from 100 users, around EUR 25.42 × 100 × 36 = EUR 91,525, with no license tier requirements.
- Langdock for everyone: EUR 25 × 100 × 36 = EUR 90,000, add-ons not included.
The three full rollouts end up only a few thousand euros apart. The really big lever is a different one: the question whether every employee needs the full license at all. A mixed calculation shows the potential. Suppose 20 document-heavy roles get full Copilot and 80 employees whose AI need is meetings get Teams Premium: 20 × EUR 26 + 80 × EUR 8.70 comes to EUR 1,216 per month, EUR 43,776 over 36 months. Compared to the blanket Copilot rollout at EUR 93,600, this split saves EUR 49,824, more than half. The same logic works with any vendor mix; it only requires that someone surveys the actual need per role before ordering, instead of licensing per head.
Which hidden costs belong in the calculation?
Four items are missing from almost every vendor quote. First, base license jumps: Copilot requires qualifying plans, and a necessary upgrade from Business Basic to Business Standard makes the rollout more expensive per head. Second, the adoption itself: the permissions audit, data cleanup and guidelines are the real effort drivers with Copilot, as our article on Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption in the mid-market shows in detail. Third, AI literacy: EU AI Act Art. 4 has required demonstrable AI competence since February 2025 for everyone working with the tools, so the training effort applies to every option. And fourth, parallel operation: wherever the official tool doesn’t cover daily work, shadow AI with private accounts emerges, a risk that shows up in no license calculation but is real.
The funding perspective also belongs to the costs, and precision matters here: license costs are fundamentally not eligible for funding. What is eligible is the consulting around selection and adoption; for Bavarian companies, for example, through the BAFA program, which runs until December 31, 2026. The PASSION4IT AI workshop (6 hours, EUR 3,900) falls into this category and, as a baseline assessment, delivers exactly the per-role needs survey that the mixed calculation above depends on.
How do you make the cost decision in a structured way?
The sequence that has proven itself in selection projects: first survey the need per role (who needs document AI, who needs meeting AI, who needs a company memory), then calculate the candidates over 36 months and real user counts, including base licenses, discounts and add-ons, and only then talk about features. That is exactly how the Smart Software Selection works: first the honest maturity check, then the prioritized roadmap, then guided implementation. Substance before activity, no slide shows, no tool selling.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an AI assistant for Microsoft 365 cost compared to Copilot?
Microsoft 365 Copilot costs EUR 26 net per user per month (SMB tier Copilot Business: EUR 15.60), each plus the base license. The alternatives sit in the same corridor: amaiko at EUR 29.91 with volume discounts from 50 users, Langdock at EUR 25, Dust in the range of USD 30 with a credit model. Clearly below that are the specialists: Teams Premium for meeting recaps costs EUR 8.70, Fireflies starts at USD 10. All figures are list prices, as of August 2026.
What does Microsoft 365 Copilot cost for 100 employees per year?
At the list price of EUR 26 net per user per month, it is EUR 31,200 per year, EUR 93,600 over a typical three-year term, each plus the qualifying base licenses. With the SMB tier Copilot Business (EUR 15.60, tied to Business plans) it would be EUR 18,720 per year. A mixed calculation based on actual need per role often halves these sums.
Is amaiko more expensive than Microsoft 365 Copilot?
At list price, barely: EUR 29.91 versus EUR 26 net per user per month. Three factors shift the comparison in practice. According to the vendor, amaiko requires no specific Microsoft license tier, while Copilot demands qualifying plans. From 50 users, amaiko’s volume discounts kick in; from 100 users the price of around EUR 25.42 lands below Copilot’s list price. And the vendor advertises unlimited tokens, while other vendors’ credit models generate extra costs under heavy use.
What is the cheapest entry into AI for Microsoft 365?
If the need is meetings: Teams Premium at EUR 8.70 net per user per month, because neither a new vendor nor a new data processing agreement is required. Meeting specialists like Fireflies offer freemium entries but are based in the US, so the data protection review comes before the savings. For anything beyond meetings, the realistic corridor starts at EUR 15.60 (Copilot Business) and reaches around EUR 30.
Are the license costs for AI assistants eligible for funding?
No, software licenses are not eligible for funding, and that applies to all vendors named here. What is eligible is the consulting around selection and adoption: for Bavarian companies, the BAFA program runs until December 31, 2026, and the PASSION4IT AI workshop (6 hours, EUR 3,900) falls into this category. If you want to use the funding, schedule the consulting before the license purchase, never after.
How do I calculate the total cost of an AI assistant correctly?
With four building blocks: license costs times real user count times 36 months, plus necessary base license upgrades, plus adoption effort (permissions, data foundation, guidelines), plus training under EU AI Act Art. 4. Credit-based models need a usage estimate on top, add-on models a look at the extra modules. Only against this total does the expected benefit belong, never against the monthly price.
Is Microsoft Copilot worth it for a small business, or are there better alternatives?
With Copilot Business at EUR 15.60 net, the entry hurdle has dropped considerably in 2026, and for document-heavy work in Word and Excel with clean M365 governance, Copilot is the obvious choice. Small businesses do better with alternatives when work happens in Teams and knowledge should stay in the company permanently (AI colleagues like amaiko), or when meetings are the only topic (Teams Premium, meeting assistants). Our overview of Copilot alternatives for small and mid-sized businesses sorts the categories in detail.
Further resources
- What are the best Microsoft 365 Copilot alternatives for small and mid-sized businesses? The four vendor categories behind the prices in this article.
- Who helps with Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption in the mid-market? The organizational groundwork that decides the real costs.
- Smart Software Selection: the PASSION4IT service for selection decisions with substance before activity.
Want the three-year calculation set up for your user numbers? Book your selection consultation now.