Microsoft Raises Prices on Office Software Package: What You Need to Know.

Microsoft Raises the Cost of Cloud Subscription for Office Package

The Microsoft Corporation has increased the subscription cost for Office products that operate in the cloud (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.). The price of the Microsoft 365 family plan has risen by 30% - to 130 dollars per year, while the personal version has become 43% more expensive - to 100 dollars. This was reported by Bloomberg.

Microsoft claims this is the first price increase for their products in the last 12 years. The company believes that Office users are willing to pay more for access to new tools based on artificial intelligence (AI).

Company President Brian Ronye stated in his blog that the company has also made numerous improvements to the core Office applications. Additionally, new services were introduced, such as antivirus protection and tools for editing images and videos.

It is noted that Microsoft has tested price increases in Australia, Singapore, and other Southeast Asian countries, but the results were inconclusive.

This is very annoying. And, to be honest, I am seriously considering completely cancelling my subscription.

It also turned out that when users attempted to cancel their subscriptions, Microsoft offered a hidden option - Microsoft 365 Classic, which preserved the old price and lacked the new AI features.

Users believe that this is done to offset the costs of developing artificial intelligence.

Companies like Microsoft have spent so much on developing AI that now they need to impose it on users.