Save Big on Microsoft 365 Licenses

At AXS ict, we’re true Microsoft fans. Their products work seamlessly together and provide everything you need to collaborate efficiently. Of course, this level of quality comes with a price tag. The licensing costs for Microsoft 365 — the collective name for Microsoft’s modern business software — can quickly add up. Fortunately, with smart license management, you can save a significant amount. AXS ict is happy to help you do just that.

How Microsoft 365 Licenses Work

Microsoft 365 licenses are modular. Each license is essentially a bundle of three components:

Office apps such as Word, Excel, and Outlook
Productivity and collaboration tools like Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, Copilot, and Exchange Mail
Security and management features, for example Intune or Defender (depending on the package)

For small and medium-sized businesses (up to 300 users), Microsoft offers Business licenses in Basic, Standard, and Premium editions. There are also Frontline licenses for employees without a fixed workstation, plus various add-ons such as Power BI, Project, Copilot, or Teams phone modules.

Mix and Save

The great thing about Microsoft 365 is that you can mix licenses. An employee who only needs email and Teams doesn’t require the same bundle as someone working daily in Excel and Power BI. The type of contract also plays a role: annual licenses are cheaper, while monthly ones offer more flexibility — but cost about 20% more.

Many companies opt for monthly licenses to keep flexibility, even when they know that most employees need their licenses year-round. By choosing annual licenses for the fixed group and monthly ones for the flexible group, you can easily save hundreds of euros each year.

In short: Microsoft 365 offers lots of possibilities and flexibility, but that also makes it easy to overpay. By smartly combining license types, contract durations, and add-ons, you can significantly reduce your costs. Let’s look at two example scenarios.

Scenario 1

Everyone with a Microsoft 365 Business Premium License (monthly contract)

Let’s say you have 50 employees, and you give everyone a Business Premium license on a monthly plan. That flexibility costs about 20% extra — roughly €24 per month per user.

Cost calculation:
50 × €24 × 12 = €14,400 per year

Everyone gets full access and you stay completely flexible. But does every employee really need that?

Scenario 2

Smart mix of licenses (annual + flexible)

Now divide your team based on actual usage:

25 employees need everything → Premium (annual contract, ± €20/month)
20 employees only need email, Teams, and online Word/Excel → Basic (annual contract, ± €6/month)
5 flexible workers are active about 3 months a year → Basic (monthly contract, ± €7.20/month)

Calculation:
25 × €20 × 12 = €6,000
20 × €6 × 12 = €1,440
5 × €7.20 × 3 = €108

Total: €7,548 per year

Would you like to find the ideal license mix for your company?
Let’s sit down together — we’ll gladly open up Excel and calculate how much you can save. A short session could save you thousands of euros a year.