We publish no prices here. Microsoft revises list prices annually, and a number in an article gets quoted back in a budget meeting twelve months later as though it still holds. Look up current prices with Microsoft. What does not go stale is the structure, who needs what, and where it tends to go wrong.
The one division that matters
Divide your users into three groups before you look at a price list.
- Those who live in the system. Salespeople, case handlers, anyone with it open all day. They need a full licence, and there is no money to save there.
- Those who read and occasionally enter something. Managers following numbers, people approving things, colleagues adding a comment once a week. This is where most organisations overpay.
- Those who only need to see a result. They usually need no licence at all, they need a report or a page.
Almost every overpayment we see comes from group two getting the same licence as group one, because ordering the same thing for everyone was simpler.
The arithmetic in practice
With forty users and half of them in group two, the difference between the right and the wrong licence mix is usually larger per year than the project costs once. It is the simplest saving in the whole delivery, and it requires no development.
The three places the money goes
1. Everyone gets the most expensive one, to be safe
It feels prudent in week two and costs every month for ten years. Go through the user list role by role before you order, not afterwards.
2. Nobody tidies up when people leave
Licences do not automatically follow someone out of the organisation. A review twice a year almost always finds something.
3. Storage grows quietly
Dataverse storage has its own cost, and attachments are what fill it. Large files belong in SharePoint and referenced, not stored in the database. It is an architecture decision that becomes an operating cost.
The questions that decide the licence
- Will the user create and own records, or only read and comment?
- Do they need access to one app or several?
- Are premium connectors or custom tables required?
- Is this a steady user or somebody who logs in a couple of times a month?
The answers to those four almost always settle it, and they can be answered without a price list in front of you.
Licence is not project cost
The two are budgeted separately. The licence is a recurring monthly cost to Microsoft. The project is a one-off cost to get the solution in place, and it is the one that varies most, almost always because of integrations and data migration.
We wrote that up in what a Dynamics 365 implementation costs. If you want to work through the licence mix, we are happy to do it with you before you buy: get in touch.
Common questions
What does a Dynamics 365 licence cost?
Microsoft sets the list price and revises it annually, so look it up with them. We do not publish it here because a number in an article gets quoted as current long after it has stopped being so.
Does everyone need a full licence?
No, and that is the most common overpayment we see. Users who mostly read and occasionally enter something rarely need the same licence as those who live in the system all day.
Can we change licence type later?
Yes, but it requires somebody to actually do it. Set a review twice a year, when people leave or change role, the licence usually stays behind.
What does Dataverse storage cost?
It is priced separately per GB, and attachments are what fill it. Large files belong in SharePoint and referenced from there rather than stored in the database.