Cost Model
Licensing cost model
Compare per-seat licensing costs across US, European and open-source options for your own seat count. Based on published list pricing as of Q1 2026.
What this model assumes
- Per-seat list pricing, before any negotiated discount; most organisations of scale pay less than list.
- Licence cost only. Migration effort, training and any parallel running are not included, and they are not small.
- Open-source options are mostly costed as supported or managed subscriptions rather than as free: Collabora, Nextcloud and Odoo all carry a per-seat or licence cost here. Two rows are €0: a Linux desktop removes the licence line altogether, and Proton Meet is priced on its free tier, which caps calls at 50 participants for 60 minutes.
- Figures are indicative and change with vendor pricing. Treat the output as an order of magnitude, not a quotation.
Last reviewed . Corrections welcome. Get in touch and the change will be noted.
Category
US Incumbent
European Alternative
Saving
Desktop OS
Windows 11 Pro
vs
Linux (Ubuntu/Zorin)
Office & Productivity
Microsoft 365 Business Std
vs
Collabora Online + LibreOffice
Cloud Storage & Files
OneDrive / SharePoint (1TB)
vs
Nextcloud (managed EU hosting)
Email & Calendar
Exchange Online (Plan 1)
vs
Proton Mail Business
Video Conferencing
Zoom Business
vs
Proton Meet (free tier)
ERP / Business Management
Dynamics 365 Business Central
vs
Odoo Enterprise
Total Annual Cost
Prices based on published list pricing (EUR) as of Q1 2026. Actual costs may vary depending on contract terms, volume discounts, and deployment model. Self-hosted options may require additional infrastructure and support costs.