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Microsoft reveals some Windows 365 pricing, isn't too far off from competitors

As one would expect, the pricing tiers are based on computer hardware: the more power you need, the more you'll pay.
By
July 15, 2021
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TL;DR
  • Microsoft has inadvertently revealed some pricing information for its cloud-based Windows 365 service.
  • Business owners will be able to access a tier of $31 per user per month. That comes with two CPUs, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage.
  • There will be other tiers available with higher and lower hardware offerings, but Microsoft isn’t revealing them yet.

Yesterday, Microsoft finally confirmed the official name of its cloud-based operating system service: Windows 365. This moniker is only slightly confusing because its Office 365 service is not fully cloud-based, but that’s OK.

The new Windows service will officially land on August 2 but will start as an exclusive for business users. In its announcement, though, Microsoft didn’t reveal any pricing or spec information. However, it made a mistake during a Microsoft Inspire session (via The Verge) and spilled some of the beans.

See also: Microsoft officially announces Windows 11, coming this Fall as a free upgrade

According to the Inspire session, one of the tiers for Windows 365 will cost $31 for each user each month. This service will be open for small businesses with fewer than 300 employees. That $31 will give each employee access to a cloud-based system with two CPUs, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage.

In a statement, Microsoft confirmed that this tier is accurate. However, it said that this is only one of the tiers and there will be both higher- and lower-cost options.

For what it’s worth, this pricing is in line with other competitor services. Citrix and Amazon, for example, both offer cloud access to PCs with tiers in the $30-$35 range.

Interestingly, Microsoft also confirmed that the way to get the most out of Windows 365 is to access it through — you guessed it — a Windows PC. This might seem counter-intuitive, but it would allow for an employee with a low-level PC to access a faster and more powerful PC virtually without needing to provide them that hardware. Of course, other operating systems will also be able to use Windows 365, although some features won’t work.