Free with a Catch

Microsoft Copilot

Microsoft Corporation · Productivity · 4.7★ (1,320,748 ratings)

Is Microsoft Copilot free? Free with a Catch.

Pricing: Free AI chat, file Q&A, and image generation stay usable without paying, though recent reviewers report hitting usage limits quickly; a Microsoft 365 subscription for deeper 'Work IQ' file integration and priority AI access runs from Basic at $1.99/month up to Premium/Copilot Pro around $20/month, or Personal/Family plans from $9.99–$12.99/month ($99.99/year for Personal). Optional paid features: Microsoft 365 Basic (monthly) ($1.99/month); Microsoft 365 Personal (monthly) ($9.99/month); Microsoft 365 Family (monthly) ($12.99/month); Microsoft 365 Premium / Copilot Pro (monthly) ($19.99–$20.00/month); Microsoft 365 Personal (annual) ($99.99/year).

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Microsoft Copilot provides a genuinely usable AI chat and work-assistance experience for free, but usage limits and paid Microsoft 365/Copilot features materially shape the app. Recent reviews also show frustration with feature removals, limits, and reliability regressions.

Pros
  • Users praise it for research, writing, brainstorming, and general productivity.
  • Free chat remains useful for many everyday questions and tasks.
  • File uploads and work-oriented AI features can save time when they function well.
Cons
  • Recent reviewers complain about hitting usage limits after relatively little use.
  • Several formerly available scan/document features were removed or made harder to access.
  • Recent reviews repeatedly mention sync bugs, lost chat history, errors, and unreliable answers.
What's free vs. paid

Free AI chat, file Q&A, and image generation stay usable without paying, though recent reviewers report hitting usage limits quickly; a Microsoft 365 subscription for deeper 'Work IQ' file integration and priority AI access runs from Basic at $1.99/month up to Premium/Copilot Pro around $20/month, or Personal/Family plans from $9.99–$12.99/month ($99.99/year for Personal).

Free
  • Free AI chat for everyday questions, writing, and brainstorming
  • Upload and ask about Word/Excel/PowerPoint/PDF files
  • Basic web search and image generation
Costs money
  • Microsoft 365 Basic (monthly)$1.99/month
  • Microsoft 365 Personal (monthly)$9.99/month
  • Microsoft 365 Family (monthly)$12.99/month
  • Microsoft 365 Premium / Copilot Pro (monthly)$19.99–$20.00/month
  • Microsoft 365 Personal (annual)$99.99/year
App Store description

The Microsoft Copilot app is the AI built for work. Copilot helps you keep your work moving, from early ideas to finished documents, presentations, and more. Whether you're creating content, managing projects, organizing your day, or finding information, Copilot helps you get more done from one place. Copilot connects to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and more, bringing the files and information you use into one place. Create polished documents, presentations, and spreadsheets, summarize articles and files, draft emails, brainstorm ideas, analyze information, and get answers grounded in the work you're doing. Need help tackling a bigger task? With Cowork, Copilot can take on multi-step work and help deliver finished files and completed to-dos, so you spend less time piecing work together and more time making progress. Choose between leading AI models, selecting the one that's best suited to the task at hand. Whether you're writing, researching, planning, or analyzing, Copilot gives you the flexibility to work your way. Copilot also remembers what matters, connects to the files and information you use most, and helps you pick up where you left off. Upload Word, Excel, PowerPoint, images or PDF files directly from your phone to ask questions, generate summaries, and find the information you need. For organizations with a Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription, Work IQ gives Copilot a deep understanding of your organization's work, people, and relationships, delivering more intelligent, relevant, personalized and trusted assistance. Copilot is built on the same enterprise-grade security foundation as Microsoft 365 — your permissions, encryption, and compliance commitments already in place. Data processing and protection commitments differ by subscription; see the full security documentation for details. Availability of Microsoft Copilot features may vary. Some capabilities require specific licenses or may be disabled by your organization's administrator. See this webpage for more information on feature availability by license: https://support.microsoft.com/topic/understanding-the-different-microsoft-copilot-experiences-cfff4791-694a-4d90-9c9c-1eb3fb28e842 Please refer to Microsoft’s EULA for Terms of Service for Microsoft 365. By installing the app, you agree to these terms and conditions: https://learn.microsoft.com/legal/microsoft-365/microsoft-365-copilot-mobile-license-terms

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