MPSA took the identical Level B to D discount cut as the EA on November 1, 2025, and it is closed to new business. This guide shows exactly which workloads still belong on MPSA and which should move off before your next anniversary.
MPSA took the identical Level B to D discount cut as the EA on November 1, 2025, and it is closed to new business. This guide shows exactly which workloads still belong on MPSA and which should move off before your next anniversary.
On November 1, 2025, Microsoft removed programmatic Level B (6 percent), Level C (9 percent), and Level D (12 percent) discounts for Online Services across the EA, the Enterprise Subscription Enrollment, the Server and Cloud Enrollment, and the MPSA. The levels still exist in name. In practice every customer pays Level A, which is the list price published on Microsoft.com. There is no MPSA carve-out. If you were relying on MPSA to price Online Services below list, that advantage is gone, and it disappeared on the same date it disappeared for EA customers.
Layer on the closure. MPSA was closed to new business in July 2025, and Microsoft stopped adding new cloud workloads through MPSA back in 2024. You cannot add Microsoft 365, Azure, or Dynamics 365 subscriptions to an MPSA today. Existing agreements can still renew existing licenses and Software Assurance, but new SKU additions outside the current scope are blocked. In blunt terms, MPSA is now a stranded program for anything beyond perpetual license maintenance and the Online Services you already hold. Our own read is set out in the wider view of MPSA and the programs beyond EA and CSP.
MPSA lost the exact same Level B to D discounts as the EA, on the exact same date, and it can no longer take new cloud workloads. Treat it as a run-off vehicle, not a strategy.
The math is not theoretical. Before November 1, 2025, a large MPSA buyer sitting at Level D pricing enjoyed roughly 12 percent off list on Online Services. That 12 percent is now zero at your next renewal or the moment you add a service not already on your Customer Price Sheet. For organizations that had climbed to Levels C or D, the renewal invoice jumps even though nothing new was purchased. One documented EA case showed a CFO facing a 23 percent renewal increase with no added licenses, driven entirely by the return to Level A. MPSA buyers face the same mechanic.
Then comes the compounding blow. Microsoft announced Microsoft 365 and Office 365 price increases on December 4, 2025, effective July 1, 2026: Microsoft 365 E3 rises 8.3 percent (from $36 to $39), and E5 rises 5.3 percent (from $57 to $60). Those increases land on top of the discount removal, not instead of it. For a large enterprise, the combined effect is not 8 percent. It is closer to 20 percent. We walk through the arithmetic in why your Microsoft increase is 20 percent, not 8 percent.
| Cost driver | Effective date | Impact on MPSA Online Services |
|---|---|---|
| Level B to D discount removal | November 1, 2025 | Up to 12 percent added at renewal or new-service add |
| M365 E3 list increase | July 1, 2026 | +8.3 percent ($36 to $39 per user/month) |
| M365 E5 list increase | July 1, 2026 | +5.3 percent ($57 to $60 per user/month) |
| Office 365 E3 list increase | July 1, 2026 | +13 percent ($23 to $26 per user/month, annual) |
| Combined enterprise effect | Both | Closer to 20 percent, not 8 percent |
To put a number on it, a 25,000-user organization on Microsoft 365 E5 that previously sat at Level D faces an effective annual increase of roughly $3 million once both the discount removal and the July 2026 increase apply. The lesson for MPSA holders is the same as for EA holders: the program label no longer protects your unit price. What protects you now is negotiation, timing, and channel selection. See the sequence of levers in the guide to what losing Levels A to D actually costs.
MPSA is a transactional agreement for organizations with 250 or more users or devices. It lets you license on-premises software, cloud services, or both as needed, with no organization-wide commitment, under a single non-expiring agreement. Software Assurance is optional. That optionality is the residual value, and it is real.
Two facts make this matter in 2026. First, programmatic level discounts remain only for on-premises licenses. The removal hit Online Services, not perpetual license pricing, so MPSA can still purchase on-premises software with volume-based pricing that the cloud channels do not offer. Second, Software Assurance carries benefits that die if you move purely to CSP or a standard MCA-E: License Mobility, dual-use rights, and above all Azure Hybrid Benefit. SA is not available in CSP at all, and it is not a standard MCA-E feature. If your estate still runs SQL Server or Windows Server on-premises and you exploit Azure Hybrid Benefit, the SA path has direct dollar value. The trade-offs sit side by side in Online Services versus on-prem licensing after the 2026 change.
The one durable reason to keep an MPSA alive is Software Assurance on perpetual licenses. It cannot be attached retroactively, and it does not exist in CSP.
The retroactive point is decisive. Software Assurance can only be attached to a perpetual volume license at the moment of initial purchase. It cannot be added later. Once a license is bought without SA and the initial window closes, that SA entitlement is gone permanently. Product Terms confirm SA is not available as separate coverage under the Microsoft Cloud Agreement or Microsoft Customer Agreement. A cloud subscription may carry equivalent rights or qualify for Azure Hybrid Benefit, but it is not automatically SA. So if you foresee any future need to license Windows Server or SQL Server perpetually with SA, keeping a live MPSA or another SA-capable agreement is a hedge worth holding.
The discount removal changed the migration calculus in one important way. Because the discount is lost when you add a service not already on your Customer Price Sheet, any Online Services expansion on MPSA now prices at full Level A list, with no MPSA advantage whatsoever. There is no financial reason to grow Online Services inside MPSA. Growing workloads should go where the flexibility lives.
The rigid MPSA billing model deserves emphasis. Online Services licenses are pro-rated to the Purchasing Account Anniversary and paid upfront in full, and they renew at that anniversary by paying twelve months in advance. That is the worst structure for a workload that fluctuates. If your headcount is volatile or you are piloting new services, MPSA locks you into a full-year upfront commitment with no in-year relief. Move those workloads to a channel that bills to actual consumption.
Not everything needs to move. If you hold stable, mature Online Services on an existing MPSA Customer Price Sheet and you are not expanding them, there is limited urgency to migrate mid-cycle. You will pay Level A list at your next anniversary regardless of channel, so the discount removal alone does not justify a rushed migration and its administrative cost. What justifies a move is either the loss of flexibility MPSA imposes or a negotiation opportunity in a different agreement.
Keep these on MPSA for now, then plan a deliberate exit rather than a scramble:
Current advisory guidance for a fresh 2026 buying decision no longer lists MPSA as a destination. The choice runs CSP for under $1M annual spend, MCA-E or EA renewal for $1M to $25M, and MCA-E with a Cloud Transformation Program for $25M and above. MCA is Microsoft's intended replacement for MOSA, MPSA, and, from 2025, the EA itself. That does not mean you rip up a functioning MPSA tomorrow, but it does mean MPSA is not on the shortlist for new commitments. If you are comparing MPSA against the EA for what remains, work through Microsoft MPSA versus the EA in 2026.
| Annual Microsoft spend | Recommended 2026 channel | MPSA role |
|---|---|---|
| Under $1M | CSP | Run off existing, do not expand |
| $1M to $25M | MCA-E or EA renewal | Migrate growth, keep SA maintenance only |
| $25M+ | MCA-E with Cloud Transformation Program | Retire once SA continuity is secured elsewhere |
One timing caveat sits above all of this. The July 1, 2026 list increases mean there is an early-2026 window to lock older pricing on multi-year commitments before the higher list takes effect. That window applies to whichever channel you land in, and it can be worth several points on a large renewal. We cover the mechanics in the early-2026 price-lock window, and you should benchmark whatever you sign against the new list-price baseline so you know exactly what you are conceding.
Move deliberately. The discount removal is permanent, but the flexibility you lose by mishandling a migration is avoidable. In our experience negotiating these transitions, the buyers who fare worst are the ones who either let MPSA drift into an auto-renewal at Level A list or panic-migrate everything and forfeit Software Assurance continuity. Neither is necessary.
Net position: MPSA is worth holding only as a run-off vehicle for existing Online Services you are not growing and, more importantly, for Software Assurance on perpetual licenses that you cannot recreate in CSP or standard MCA-E. Everything with a growth trajectory, everything with variable consumption, and every new cloud workload belongs in CSP or MCA-E. Do not let the program label lull you into believing MPSA still shelters your unit price. Since November 1, 2025, it does not.
Yes. On November 1, 2025, Microsoft removed programmatic Level B, C, and D discounts for Online Services across the EA, ESE, SCE, and MPSA on the same date. All customers now pay Level A, which equals list price. There is no MPSA carve-out.
No. Microsoft stopped offering new cloud workloads through MPSA in 2024, and MPSA closed to new business in July 2025. New Microsoft 365, Azure, and Dynamics 365 subscriptions must go through CSP, MCA-E, or EA. Existing MPSA agreements can only renew what is already on scope.
Yes, but a narrow one. On-premises perpetual licenses still get volume-based pricing, and Software Assurance (with Azure Hybrid Benefit, License Mobility, and dual-use rights) is available on MPSA but not in CSP or standard MCA-E. Since SA cannot be attached retroactively, keeping an SA-capable agreement is a genuine hedge.
Yes, twice over. The Level B to D discount removal added up to 12 percent at renewal, and the July 1, 2026 M365 list increases add another 5 to 13 percent depending on the SKU. For large enterprises the combined effect is closer to 20 percent than 8 percent.
No. Stable Online Services you are not expanding, and perpetual licenses with active Software Assurance, can stay on MPSA for now. Migrate growing workloads, variable-seat services, and any new cloud purchases, and time the move around the July 2026 price increase to lock older pricing where possible.
The Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA) is the intended successor to MOSA, MPSA, and eventually the EA. Current 2026 guidance points buyers to CSP under $1M spend, MCA-E or EA renewal for $1M to $25M, and MCA-E with a Cloud Transformation Program above $25M. MPSA is no longer on the shortlist for new deals.
Microsoft 2026 price increases across M365, Azure, Copilot, and Dynamics. Forecast the impact, mitigate it, and reset your renewal posture. Buyer side.
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