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Microsoft 365 costs are too much

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Microsoft 365 costs are too much

#1

Post by HarshaaVardhan »

Fellow founders, anyone else fed up with M365 turning into a commodity cash drain? What once felt like a premium productivity suite now feels like another unavoidable bill—with pricing hikes and a labyrinth of licensing options that seem designed to make us overpay. The recent price bumps and constant misselling of features force us to jump through hoops, all while we’re busy scaling our startups.

I’ve started cutting the fat by regularly auditing our licenses, matching team roles to the right plan, and even considering one-off purchase alternatives where it makes sense. Has anyone else found clever workarounds or discovered any tool that offers real value? Would love to swap notes on keeping M365 costs under control.

Re: Microsoft 365 costs are too much

#2

Post by theothertimcook »

It’s a steaming pile of shit too.

FWIW you may be able to remove copilot from your subscription but it is still a shitshow.

Google workspaces isn’t much cheaper, if you’re brave you could try ZOHO’s groupware at a significant discount but I’m sure that comes with caveats.

I still can get my head around why Mozilla doesn’t dip its toe in here.

Re: Microsoft 365 costs are too much

#3

Post by HarshaaVardhan »

theothertimcook wrote: post #2

It’s a steaming pile of shit too. FWIW you may be able to remove copilot from your subscription but it is still a shitshow. Google workspaces isn’t much cheaper, if you’re brave you could try ZOHO’s groupware at a significant discount but I’m sure that comes with caveats. I still can get my head around why Mozilla doesn’t dip its toe in here.

Tell me about it. I just can't get over why it is this costly. None of the features except excel or word seems to be of any use to the user. Hoards and hoards of unnecessary security features have been piled up

Re: Microsoft 365 costs are too much

#4

Post by brudgers »

I’ve started cutting the fat by regularly auditing our licenses, matching team roles to the right plan, and even considering one-off purchase alternatives where it makes sense.

Is this the most urgent and important thing you can work on right now?

How much additional revenue would cover the costs you are cutting?

Good luck.

Re: Microsoft 365 costs are too much

#5

Post by scarface_74 »

Microsoft 365 for business is $15 per seat to $25 per seat per month. Is that really a place you need to worry about?

GSuite for business is about the same price. For people who don’t mind using web apps only for desktop computers, it’s fine.

Re: Microsoft 365 costs are too much

#6

Post by scarface_74 »

HarshaaVardhan wrote: post #3
theothertimcook wrote: post #2

It’s a steaming pile of shit too. FWIW you may be able to remove copilot from your subscription but it is still a shitshow. Google workspaces isn’t much cheaper, if you’re brave you could try ZOHO’s groupware at a significant discount but I’m sure that comes with caveats. I still can get my head around why Mozilla doesn’t dip its toe in here.

Tell me about it. I just can't get over why it is this costly. None of the features except excel or word seems to be of any use to the user. Hoards and hoards of unnecessary security features have been piled up

https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2006/12/09/simplicity/#:~:tex...

> It seems to make a lot of sense: 80% of the people use 20% of the features. So you convince yourself that you only need to implement 20% of the features, and you can still sell 80% as many copies.

“Unfortunately, it’s never the same 20%. Everybody uses a different set of features

Re: Microsoft 365 costs are too much

#7

Post by scarface_74 »

theothertimcook wrote: post #2

It’s a steaming pile of shit too. FWIW you may be able to remove copilot from your subscription but it is still a shitshow. Google workspaces isn’t much cheaper, if you’re brave you could try ZOHO’s groupware at a significant discount but I’m sure that comes with caveats. I still can get my head around why Mozilla doesn’t dip its toe in here.

Looking at the business pricing, Copilot is an optional add on.

Re: Microsoft 365 costs are too much

#8

Post by jiggawatts »

scarface_74 wrote: post #6
HarshaaVardhan wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tell me about it. I just can't get over why it is this costly. None of the features except excel or word seems to be of any use to the user. Hoards and hoards of unnecessary security features have been piled up

https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2006/12/09/simplicity/#:~:tex... > It seems to make a lot of sense: 80% of the people use 20% of the features. So you convince yourself that you only need to implement 20% of the features, and you can still sell 80% as many copies. “Unfortunately, it’s never the same 20%. Everybody uses a different set of features

> hoards of unnecessary security features

I've witnessed first hand how incredibly necessary those security features really are.

For example, installing mail server software on either Windows or Linux is trivial.

Actually operating a mail domain of any import securely in the face of determined attackers, dumbass insiders that will click anything, and constantly changing anti-SPAM technologies and standards is a full-time job all by itself.

This is why businesses rely on Microsoft 365 or G Suite.

Re: Microsoft 365 costs are too much

#9

Post by shostack »

brudgers wrote: post #4

I’ve started cutting the fat by regularly auditing our licenses, matching team roles to the right plan, and even considering one-off purchase alternatives where it makes sense. Is this the most urgent and important thing you can work on right now? How much additional revenue would cover the costs you are cutting? Good luck.

That feels like something the MS team handling the pricing modeling is counting on.

Re: Microsoft 365 costs are too much

#10

Post by dangus »

News to me that it’s expensive. 365 business basic includes custom domain email, teams, and the basic office apps for about $6 a month.

Each of your employees costs thousands per month and you’re worried about a You could use LibreOffice for productivity. Might make some of your employees think you’re a cheapskate though.

If you’re a Mac shop you could use Pages/Keynote/Numbers and then keep your meetings under 40 minutes and use Zoom for free. Might make some of your employees think you’re a cheapskate though.

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