Scoping before pricing
What does a Microsoft 365 migration cost?
There is no per-seat list price for migration work, because the effort is set by where you are coming from, not by where you are going. Mailbox count, archive volume, whether SharePoint and file shares move too, and whether the cutover happens out of hours are what a partner is actually pricing. Microsoft licensing is a separate, ongoing cost that the migration partner does not control. Tell us about your environment and migration partners will quote you directly.
3 routes
Microsoft names three migration types from an on-premises Exchange Server: cutover, staged and hybrid
150 users
Microsoft says cutover migration supports up to 2,000 mailboxes but is more reasonable at 150 users or fewer
Mail only
IMAP migration moves mail folders only: Microsoft states contacts, calendar items and tasks cannot be migrated that way
Three steps
- Tell us where you are migrating from, how many mailboxes and what else is moving. Two minutes, no account.
- We pass your details to migration partners who work with environments like yours, and to no one else.
- They scope it and quote you directly. Compare the scope, not just the price.
M365 Migration Cost is a free introduction service operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd; we pass your details to relevant Microsoft 365 migration partners who quote you directly. We may receive a fee from providers; you pay nothing and are under no obligation. We are not a Microsoft partner and are not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft Corporation; Microsoft, Microsoft 365, Exchange, SharePoint and Teams are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation, referred to here only to describe the services discussed. Nothing here is procurement, legal or tax advice, and we do not publish Microsoft licence prices because Microsoft sets and changes them.
What drives the cost of a Microsoft 365 migration
Last updated
Migration is professional services work, so the quote is built from effort and risk rather than from a per-seat rate. These are the factors that decide the effort, why each one moves the price, and the question to put to a partner before you compare two proposals.
A cost-driver table rather than a price list. Migration effort is not reducible to a per-mailbox rate, so publishing one would misprice most environments; instead this table names the variables partners actually scope against. Migration route facts are taken from Microsoft's published guidance on ways to migrate multiple email accounts to Microsoft 365 (Microsoft Learn, page updated 2026). Licence prices are excluded deliberately: they are set by Microsoft, change independently, and are not part of a migration partner's fee. Get scoped quotes for your own environment through the form above.
| Factor | Why it moves the price | What to ask for |
|---|---|---|
| Number of mailboxes | Per-mailbox work is real but not linear: the first mailbox carries the tenant build, the hundredth carries almost none of it. Mailbox count also decides the migration route, and Microsoft's guidance ties route choice partly to this number. | A quote broken into fixed setup work and per-mailbox work, so you can see which part scales if headcount changes before the project starts. |
| Mailbox size and archive volume | Data volume drives elapsed transfer time, the number of migration batches, and the risk of throttling. Large PST estates and legacy archive systems often need a separate ingestion exercise with its own tooling. | Whether PST files and any third-party archive are in scope, and whether ingestion is priced per gigabyte, per mailbox or as a fixed exercise. |
| Source platform | An on-premises Exchange Server, Google Workspace, a generic IMAP host and another Microsoft 365 tenant are four different pieces of work with different tooling and different fidelity. Microsoft states that IMAP migration moves mail folders only and cannot migrate contacts, calendar items or tasks. | Which migration method the partner intends to use, and precisely what data fidelity it delivers: mail, calendar, contacts, tasks, rules, permissions and delegate access. |
| Tenant-to-tenant complexity | Moving between two Microsoft 365 tenants after a merger or divestment involves identity, domain moves, coexistence during the transition and often a period where mail must flow correctly between both. It is the most involved of the common scenarios. | How the domain cutover is sequenced, how long coexistence lasts, and who owns the identity work on each side. |
| Whether SharePoint and file shares move too | File migration is a separate discipline from mail. Volume, folder depth, permissions modelling and the decision about what to leave behind usually consume more consultancy time than the file copy itself. | Whether permissions are being replicated or redesigned, and whether data cleansing before the move is in scope or your responsibility. |
| Cutover approach and out-of-hours work | A single weekend cutover concentrates the work into premium-rate hours. A staged or hybrid approach spreads it across normal hours but runs longer and adds coexistence complexity, which is its own cost. | Which rate applies to cutover weekend work, how long hypercare after go-live lasts, and what happens if the cutover has to be rolled back. |
| Licensing, which the partner does not control | Microsoft 365 licences are an ongoing subscription bought from Microsoft or through a reseller. They are not part of the migration fee, they are priced per user per month in their own right, and they change independently of any quote you hold. | Licence costs quoted as a separate line, current at the date of the quote, with the plan named. Check the current plans and prices with Microsoft directly. |
| Change management and end-user support | Getting Outlook profiles, mobile devices and shared mailbox access working for every user on the Monday morning is the part users judge the project on, and it is the line most often cut from a cheap quote. | How many days of floor-walking or remote support after go-live are included, and what the escalation route is during that window. |
- Microsoft names three types of email migration from an on-premises Exchange Server: cutover, staged and hybrid (Microsoft Learn, 2026).
- Cutover migration can move up to 2,000 mailboxes, but Microsoft advises that it is more reasonable to migrate 150 users or fewer that way (Microsoft Learn, 2026).
- IMAP migration moves only the items in a user's mail folders: Microsoft states that contacts, calendar items and tasks cannot be migrated with IMAP, and that it does not create the target mailboxes for you (Microsoft Learn, 2026).
- Microsoft 365 licensing is an ongoing subscription cost billed separately from any migration fee, and is not controlled by the migration partner.
Cite this page
“What drives the cost of a Microsoft 365 migration”, M365 Migration Cost, https://m365migrationcost.co.uk/ (updated 2026-08-14). A cost-driver table rather than a price list. Migration effort is not reducible to a per-mailbox rate, so publishing one would misprice most environments; instead this table names the variables partners actually scope against. Migration route facts are taken from Microsoft's published guidance on ways to migrate multiple email accounts to Microsoft 365 (Microsoft Learn, page updated 2026). Licence prices are excluded deliberately: they are set by Microsoft, change independently, and are not part of a migration partner's fee. Get scoped quotes for your own environment through the form above.
Questions, answered directly
How much does a Microsoft 365 migration cost?
It is quoted as professional services effort rather than a per-seat price, because the work is set by where you are migrating from. The main drivers are mailbox count, mailbox and archive volume, the source platform, whether SharePoint and file shares move too, tenant-to-tenant complexity, and whether cutover happens out of hours. Microsoft licensing is a separate ongoing cost that the migration partner does not control.
What migration routes does Microsoft support?
From an on-premises Exchange Server, Microsoft names three types: cutover, staged and hybrid. It also documents IMAP migration for systems such as Gmail, the Import Service for PST files, users importing their own mail, and working with a partner where none of the standard routes fits.
Does an IMAP migration move everything?
No. Microsoft states that IMAP migration moves only the items in a user's inbox and other mail folders, and that contacts, calendar items and tasks cannot be migrated that way. It also does not create the target mailboxes, so each one must exist beforehand. That gap is often the hidden cost in a cheap quote.
Why do two migration quotes differ so much?
Almost always because they are quoting different scopes. Email only against email plus file shares, archive ingestion included or excluded, a weekend cutover against a staged move, and how many days of post-go-live support are included. Compare the scope line by line before comparing the totals.
Do I need to pay extra for a weekend cutover?
Out-of-hours and weekend work is normally charged at a higher rate. It is still often the better value option, because concentrating the disruption into a weekend usually costs the business less in lost working time than a longer transition during working hours. Ask for both priced so you can see the difference.
Is this quote service really free?
Yes, free to you, with no obligation to accept any quote. We pass your details only to relevant Microsoft 365 migration partners, who quote you directly; we may receive a fee from those providers, which is how the service is funded.