Microsoft will raise its commercial cloud pricing in India by 15.7% from January 2027 and cut some China services by up to 8.5%. It’s the first round of a new yearly system, and it covers five currencies.
In a Source post, Microsoft says the changes will align local currency pricing with global levels. The table shows each currency’s change for cloud and on-premises pricing.
| Currency | Cloud change | On-premises change |
|---|---|---|
| Australian dollar (AUD) | -4% | None |
| Chinese yuan (CNY) | Up to -8.5% | None |
| Indian rupee (INR) | +15.7% | Up to +20% |
| Norwegian krone (NOK) | -5.9% | None |
| New Zealand dollar (NZD) | +10% | +10% |
The China cut has a carve-out. It covers Microsoft’s global cloud services and Microsoft Cloud operated by 21Vianet, but not Azure operated by 21Vianet. Individual product prices may also vary slightly because of rounding.
The post applies the changes to “commercial cloud pricing” but doesn’t name the products they cover, and it gives no new list prices or dollar value for the changes.
The bigger shift is timing. In July, Microsoft said it would move local currency prices to once a year, each January, instead of twice. It says that gives customers more predictability. The Register points out the catch: if a local currency is weak against the dollar on 1 January, those prices could stay high for a year.
The UAE dirham and Saudi riyal aren’t among the five currencies, and the post doesn’t mention the Gulf or the Middle East.
Currency switches can change more than the price tag. When the UAE PlayStation Store moved from dollar billing to dirhams in October, it paused purchases from 5 to 8 October. Microsoft handles consumer price changes separately, and it announced Xbox console price rises worldwide from 1 August.
Microsoft says it will publish guidance on the next year’s prices every November, so the next round should be visible well before it lands.
