Microsoft to Unbundle Teams from its Office 365 Commercial Plans Globally

Microsoft Teams

Key Takeaways:

  • Microsoft is discontinuing the bundling of its Microsoft Teams app with the Office productivity suite globally.
  • The change will provide businesses with the option to purchase more affordable Microsoft 365 subscription plans without Teams.
  • This move comes in response to antitrust concerns, particularly a complaint filed by Slack, alleging market dominance abuse by Microsoft through the integration of Teams with its Office suite.

Microsoft has decided to stop bundling its Microsoft Teams app with the Office productivity suite globally. This unbundling offers businesses the opportunity to purchase more cost-effective Microsoft 365 subscription plans that do not include Teams.

Slack filed an antitrust complaint against Microsoft before the European Commission in July 2020. The company alleged that Microsoft is abusing its market dominance to crush competitors by tying Teams with its Office productivity suite. It allowed Microsoft to force install the app, block its removal, and hide its true cost to enterprise customers.

Last year, Microsoft agreed to sell its Microsoft 365/Office 365 commercial plans without Teams in the EU and Switzerland to address concerns from the European Commission. The company said that customers will also be able to buy a standalone version of Microsoft Teams at a price of €5 per month or €60 per year.

Microsoft agrees to unbundle Teams from Office globally to address regulator concerns

According to a new report from Reuters, Microsoft has decided to start unbundling Teams from its Office suite globally to appease EU regulators. The company will introduce a new version of Microsoft 365/Office 365 subscription service that excludes Teams on April 1, 2024.

“To ensure clarity for our customers, we are extending the steps we took last year to unbundle Teams from M365 and O365 in the European Economic Area and Switzerland to customers globally,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters. “Doing so also addresses feedback from the European Commission by providing multinational companies more flexibility when they want to standardise their purchasing across geographies.”

Microsoft will offer the new Microsoft 365/Office 365 commercial plans without Teams with prices ranging from $7.75 to $54.75 depending on the product. Meanwhile, Microsoft Teams will also remain available as a standalone subscription at $5.25. You can see details of the new lineup of commercial Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites below:

Existing suites with TeamsNew Suites without Teams (after Apr. 1)Pricing
Office 365 E1/E3/E5 and Microsoft 365 E3/E5 suitesOffice 365 E1 (no Teams)$7.75
with Teams no longer sold to new subscribers.Office 365 E3 (no Teams)$20.75
Available only to customers with existing licensesOffice 365 E5 (no Teams)$35.75
that include Microsoft Teams as of April 1, 2024Microsoft 365 E3 (no Teams)$33.75
outside the EEA and Switzerland.Microsoft 365 E5 (no Teams)$54.75
New Microsoft Teams StandalonePricing
Microsoft Teams Enterprise$5.25
Changes to Enterprise Suites

Existing suites with TeamsPricingNew suites without Teams (starting Apr. 1)Pricing
Microsoft 365 Business Basic$6.00Microsoft 365 Business Basic (no Teams)$4.75
Microsoft 365 Business Standard​$12.50Microsoft 365 Business Standard (no Teams)$10.25
Microsoft 365 Business Premium​$22.00Microsoft 365 Business Premium (no Teams)$19.75
Changes to Microsoft 365 Business suites

Businesses will be able to continue with their current Office 365/Microsoft 365 plan with Teams or switch to new offerings that exclude Teams. Microsoft says that existing customers “may continue to use, renew, upgrade, and otherwise adjust their subscriptions as before. They may also now switch to suites without Teams at anniversary/renewal or add new user subscriptions to suites without Teams or to the new Teams standalone at any time (including alongside suites with Teams).”