With its first price increase to Microsoft 365 in over a decade, the company is adding some Copilot Pro features to its office suite apps, including Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. Copilot AI can summarize text or rewrite it in a different tone, suggest Excel formulas based on your data, create presentations around a prompt, and more. Those features incur a $3 monthly increase, bringing the prices of Personal and Family plans up to $99.99 and $129.99 per year, respectively.
But if you’re an existing Microsoft 365 subscriber who doesn’t want anything to do with AI, you can keep your current pricing…for now. These cheaper plans are called Microsoft 365 Personal Classic ($69.99 per year) and Family Classic ($99.99 per year). With these subscriptions, you still get access to all of Microsoft’s top-notch desktop productivity apps, 1TB of OneDrive storage per user, the Microsoft Defender security suite (which includes VPN, identity theft protection, and dark web monitoring features), and an ad-free email account.
How to Switch to a Microsoft 365 Classic Plan
Microsoft doesn’t make the process of switching to a Classic version as straightforward as it could be, so we detail all the steps below, followed by answers to some questions you might have:
1. Start to Cancel Your Existing Subscription
This might sound ominous, especially if you store important documents on OneDrive. But stay with us; your documents aren’t going anywhere (unless you completely cancel the account). Start by going to your Microsoft account’s Subscriptions page. Find your Microsoft 365 subscription, choose Manage subscription, and click on Cancel subscription. (The Switch plan option lets you change only between annual and monthly payments.)
(Credit: Microsoft/PCMag)
2. Choose a Classic Plan
A scary warning appears at the top of the Cancel page, explaining how you’ll lose everything in your OneDrive storage if you cancel. Again, you don’t need to worry. Scroll down past the option to switch to monthly payments to find the Classic options—they appear next to your current subscription. Note that since I have an existing Family plan, I can also downgrade to a Personal plan. But I can’t downgrade to a Personal Classic plan; only existing Personal plan subscribers get that option. If you’re not a current subscriber, you won’t be able to get either Classic plan. Click the Switch Plan option in the Classic box to continue.
(Credit: Microsoft/PCMag)
3. Confirm Your Purchase
Choose a payment method and then hit Buy. Microsoft won’t charge you until your account is due for renewal.
(Credit: Microsoft/PCMag)
How to Turn Off Copilot Without Switching Plans
If you just don’t like AI, you can turn off Copilot even when you have a plan that includes it. Microsoft intends to add a clear Enable Copilot checkbox to the Office applications, but you can go to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Privacy Options > Privacy Settings and uncheck the Connected Experiences checkboxes in the meantime. It’s that arcane, and a simple Enable Copilot checkbox will make this much easier. Be aware that turning off all connected experiences means you lose things like text prediction. You can find a complete list of what this setting controls here.
(Credit: Microsoft/PCMag)
More Questions About Copilot and Microsoft 365 Classic
Can You Switch Back to a Subscription That Includes Copilot?
Yes, you can at any time. Just go back to the subscription page and choose one of the non-Classic options.
Do You Still Get Any Copilot Features for Free If You Switch to Classic?
Yes, but not inside the Office applications. To use them, go to copilot.microsoft.com or click on the fancy Copilot icon in the Windows toolbar.
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Does Everyone in a Family Plan Get Copilot Features in the Office Apps?
No. Only the main account holder in the plan gets the Copilot Pro features.
Does a Microsoft 365 Subscription Provide the Same Copilot Features as a Copilot Pro Subscription?
No. With a Microsoft 365 subscription (non-Classic), you get 60 AI credits versus “extensive” credits with Copilot Pro. Microsoft smartly avoids the fraught term unlimited here. What’s a credit? It’s basically any AI text or image generation you request (details here). With Pro, you also get priority access to the latest AI models (including ChatGPT-4o and more), the ability to craft custom GPTs, and early access to new capabilities like Copilot Vision.
Get Lifetime Access to Microsoft Office Apps Instead
If you’re sick of subscriptions, Microsoft offers a standalone version of its office suite for both personal ($149.99) and business ($249.99) users. The one-time pricing gets you a single license and continual security patches, but that’s it. You won’t get any OneDrive cloud storage beyond the free 5GB, collaborative document editing and sharing, or other features.
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About Michael Muchmore
Lead Software Analyst
