Microsoft 365 alternative

IONOS Microsoft 365 Alternative: What You Pay After the £1 Intro Ends

The best IONOS Microsoft 365 alternative for a UK business is a reseller with no teaser price that jumps at renewal. IONOS sells Microsoft 365 at a £1 introductory rate that renews at £13.50 per user per month ex VAT. Dead Simple 365 sells the identical Business Standard licence at £8.83 ex VAT, with no intro price and no teaser price that jumps at renewal, provisioned into your own Microsoft tenant.

Operated by Dead Simple Computing Ltd, a UK Microsoft 365 reseller. We resell the same Microsoft 365 Business licences through Microsoft's official partner channel, into a tenant you own.

Check Business Standard at £8.83

The IONOS intro trap: £1 now, £13.50 at renewal

IONOS markets Microsoft 365 at a £1 introductory price for the first term. That headline is the bait. The number that actually governs your budget is the renewal price, which is £13.50 per user per month ex VAT.

The £1 is real, but it lasts one term. Most buyers see the small first invoice, set up auto-renew and forget about it. The renewal lands months later at more than thirteen times the intro rate, and by then your mail, files and Teams are already running on those licences, so the path of least resistance is to pay it.

This is the renewal-shock pattern UK incumbents rely on. The intro price wins the signup. The renewal price funds the business. The real cost of IONOS Microsoft 365 is £13.50 per user per month, not £1.

Price comparison: IONOS £13.50 versus Dead Simple 365 £8.83

The licences are the same Microsoft 365 products. The difference is the price you pay once the intro is gone, and whether that price moves again at the next renewal.

Dead Simple 365 annual upfront, ex VAT per user per month (today):

Business Basic: £4.23
Business Standard: £8.83
Business Premium: £15.55

IONOS Microsoft 365 renewal: £13.50 per user per month ex VAT.

Against Business Standard at £8.83, IONOS renewal costs £4.67 more per user every month. For a 25 seat business that is £1,401 more per year for the same software.

Microsoft is raising its own list prices on 1 July 2026, the first suite increase since 2022. After that date Microsoft direct is £5.40 Basic, £10.80 Standard and £16.90 Premium ex VAT. Dead Simple 365 stays below that line: £4.97 Basic, £9.94 Standard and £15.55 Premium ex VAT. Business Premium at £15.55 beats Microsoft's £16.90 and undercuts the IONOS renewal by nothing because IONOS does not sell Business Premium through online checkout at all.

Our renewal pricing promise: no teaser price that jumps at renewal

There is no teaser price that jumps at renewal with Dead Simple 365. There is no introductory rate that expires and no automatic uplift the following year.

We can do this because we run as a Microsoft indirect reseller through Giacom and share the channel margin with you instead of spending it on £1 intro marketing. One price, stated ex VAT, that holds for the term.

If Microsoft changes its list price we tell you before renewal and pass through the real change, such as the 1 July 2026 rise, and even then we stay below Microsoft's published number. You are never priced up to fund someone else's signup discount.

Your licences land in your own Microsoft tenant

A tenant is your own Microsoft 365 organisation account, where your users, mail and data live. With Dead Simple 365 the licences attach to your tenant, which you own and control.

This matters when you want to leave. Because the tenant is yours, you can change reseller, move to another partner or go to Microsoft direct, and keep everything: mail, files, Teams, users and settings. Nothing is held hostage.

If you are currently in a provider-managed setup elsewhere, the switch is a guided move rather than a rebuild, and a paid migration is available if you would rather we handle it.

Switching from IONOS: what transfers and what does not

Switching to Dead Simple 365 from IONOS is a licence change, not an email rebuild.

What transfers: your mailboxes, files, Teams, users and existing data stay where they are in Microsoft 365. You are changing who supplies and bills the licences, not moving your data.
Email downtime: none in the normal case. Licences attach to your tenant without interrupting mail flow.
Domain and DNS: if IONOS also holds your domain, you can keep it there or move it later. It is separate from the licence switch.
Paid migration: if your setup is messy, or you are moving out of a provider-managed tenant, we offer a paid migration so a person handles the move for you.

Most 10 to 50 seat businesses complete the licence side through self-service checkout without a sales call.

How to switch, and the NCE rules stated plainly

You can buy and provision online. Two terms are offered: annual upfront, the headline price that fixes the rate for 12 months, and monthly flexible, about 20% above annual, where you can resize or cancel at each monthly renewal.

Before you buy, here are Microsoft's New Commerce Experience (NCE) rules, which apply to every Microsoft reseller including us:

There is a 7 calendar day cancellation window from the start of a subscription, with a prorated refund. After that the term is committed.
You cannot decrease seats mid term. Seat reductions happen inside the 7 day window or at renewal.
Upgrades and seat additions work any time during the term.
The price is fixed for the term.

We state these upfront rather than burying them, because the whole point of switching away from IONOS is to stop being surprised by the terms.

Start with a free licence audit if you want to check what you actually use before you commit, or go straight to checkout for Business Standard or Business Premium.

Side by side

The honest comparison.

Comparison of IONOS Microsoft 365 Alternative: What You Pay After the £1 Intro Ends against Dead Simple 365
What you are comparing	Them	Dead Simple 365
Headline price (per user/month ex VAT)	£1 introductory, first term only	£8.83 Business Standard, no intro
Renewal price (per user/month ex VAT)	£13.50	£8.83, no teaser price that jumps at renewal
Renewal behaviour	Jumps from £1 intro to £13.50 at renewal	No teaser price that jumps at renewal; only moves if Microsoft's list moves, and we stay below it
Tenant ownership	Licences bought through IONOS	Your own Microsoft tenant, leave any time and keep everything
Business Premium online	Not sold through online checkout	Sold via online checkout at £15.55 ex VAT
Support	General hosting provider support	UK B2B support, plain-English terms
NCE cancellation window	Applies, terms vary	7 day window with prorated refund, stated upfront

Per user per month, ex VAT. Competitor pricing verified June 2026.

Common questions.

How much does IONOS Microsoft 365 cost after the intro ends?

IONOS sells Microsoft 365 at a £1 introductory price for the first term, then renews at £13.50 per user per month ex VAT. The £1 is the signup rate, not the ongoing cost. The £13.50 renewal is the price that actually governs your budget once the intro term expires.

Is Dead Simple 365 less than IONOS for the same Microsoft 365 licences?

Yes. The licences are the identical Microsoft 365 products. Dead Simple 365 sells Business Standard at £8.83 per user per month ex VAT against the IONOS renewal of £13.50, a difference of £4.67 per user per month. For 25 seats that is £1,401 less per year, with no teaser price that jumps at renewal.

Will switching from IONOS break our email?

No, not in the normal case. Switching is a licence change, not an email rebuild. Your mailboxes, files, Teams and users stay in Microsoft 365 where they are. The licences attach to your own tenant without interrupting mail flow. If your setup is complex, a paid migration is available so a person handles it.

Do I keep control of my Microsoft tenant?

Yes. Your licences land in your own Microsoft tenant, which you own and control. Because the tenant is yours, you can change reseller or go to Microsoft direct at any time and keep all your mail, files, users and settings. Nothing is locked to Dead Simple 365.

Can I cancel after I buy?

Microsoft's NCE rules apply to every reseller including us. There is a 7 calendar day cancellation window from the start of a subscription, with a prorated refund. After that the term is committed, and seat decreases happen at renewal. Upgrades and seat additions are allowed any time during the term.

Will the Microsoft price rise on 1 July 2026 affect this?

Microsoft raises its list prices on 1 July 2026. From that date Microsoft direct is £10.80 for Standard and £16.90 for Premium ex VAT. Dead Simple 365 stays below that at £9.94 Standard and £15.55 Premium ex VAT, and our price still does not change between renewals the way an intro-to-renewal jump does.

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Operated by Dead Simple Computing Ltd, a UK Microsoft 365 reseller. Per user per month, ex VAT. Business customers only.