Intune for Education: Pricing, What It Includes vs Intune Plan 1, and Setup for a School

Microsoft describes Intune for Education as a cloud-based mobile device management service for schools and a curated view of the full Intune service: the same tenant, the same enrollment and the same device records, with a smaller set of policies and apps chosen for simple K-12 scenarios on Windows and iPadOS. An administrator can open the full Intune admin center on the same tenant at any time; nothing is lost by starting in the simplified console.

Microsoft list price, October 2026 price list, annual commitment. Microsoft's Intune licensing page lists Intune Plan 1 for Education as included in Microsoft 365 Education A3 and A5, so a school on either suite buys no separate Intune license. The commercial Intune Plan 1 at $8.00 per user per month is a price a verified school should never pay; Intune Plan 1 vs Plan 2 vs Intune Suite covers the commercial ladder for comparison.

Both consoles manage the same tenant. The difference is how much of the service each one exposes.

Rule of thumb: run the classroom carts of Windows and iPad devices from Intune for Education, and open the full admin center for the needs it does not expose, such as staff MacBooks, a compliance policy that feeds a Conditional Access rule for teachers, or app protection on staff phones. Settings made in either console show in both.

Microsoft list price, October 2026 price list. Microsoft 365 Education licensing explains the faculty and student SKUs and the student use benefit, and the eight-step Microsoft 365 Education tenant setup guide puts device management in its place in the wider rollout. Academic verification of the school comes before any education row can be ordered.

1. Confirm the tenant and roster. The tenant must be verified as academic; then connect the student information system to School Data Sync. Microsoft's documentation states that School Data Sync creates groups for each school and student and teacher groups from the roster; without it, users are added by hand, and the All Teachers and All Students options in Express Configuration do not appear.
2. Run Express Configuration. A guided setup that applies commonly used school settings, preconfigured with Microsoft-recommended values, to a group. Start with the All Users group as Microsoft recommends; a subgroup inherits everything its parent has, so set the baseline once and add exceptions lower down.
3. Assign apps. Microsoft 365 Apps, the browser, the assessment app and the curriculum apps, to the groups from step 1.
4. Choose the Windows enrollment path. Windows Autopilot for devices a vendor registers: Intune for Education supports user-driven profiles, where the student walks through the out-of-box screens and signs in with the school account, and group tags assigned at registration drive a dynamic group; Microsoft's guidance is to start with the All Devices group when Autopilot is new to the tenant. Set up School PCs for devices already in the building: it builds a provisioning package copied to USB drives, and a device enrolls when the drive is inserted and the device powered on; the package must be reapplied to enroll a device again unless Autopilot Reset is used.
5. Set up shared cart devices. Common settings and apps under the All Devices group, then device-specific settings in the cart's own group; Intune for Education supports multiple users on one device.
6. Create the Take a Test profile. In Intune for Education it is a Take a Test profile assigned to a group; in the full console it is the secure assessment device configuration, with the account type, the assessment URL and the screen monitoring options.
7. Enroll iPads through Apple's school device program and the iPadOS enrollment Intune for Education supports, with the shared iPad Classroom settings for carts.
8. Pilot one cart, then roll out by school. A single cart through enrollment, Express Configuration, apps and a practice assessment finds the group and inheritance mistakes before 500 devices repeat them.

Microsoft Intune Initial Setup for Windows Device Management ($6,500 per project) builds steps 1 to 6 for Windows, Microsoft Intune Initial Setup for Windows Autopilot ($1,300 per project) covers the Autopilot registration and profiles alone, and Microsoft Intune Initial Setup for iPhone and iPad Management ($4,500 per project) does step 7, each quoted in writing before work begins.

Windows 11 and Windows 11 SE. The fullest path: Autopilot or Set up School PCs for enrollment, Express Configuration for settings, Take a Test for assessments, Windows 11 Education rights through A3 and A5. Windows 10 reached end of support on 14 October 2025; Microsoft's Intune for Education page says those devices can still enroll but does not commit to full functionality, so a Windows 10 cart is a replacement budget line, not a management plan. A device that shipped with Windows 11 Home cannot be Entra joined; the Home to Pro upgrade explains the edition problem on the business price list, and a school with Home devices should ask about the education edition upgrade before enrolling them.

iPad. Intune for Education supports iOS and iPadOS, and the full Intune service carries the shared iPad settings for the Classroom app. Enrollment runs through Apple's device program and an Apple push certificate on the tenant, which is the first thing to put on the renewal calendar.

Chromebook. Intune for Education's documentation lists Windows and iPadOS and does not list Chrome OS. The full Intune admin center lists Chrome OS among its supported platforms with a narrower set of actions and no app protection policies, so Chromebook policy stays in the Google Admin console and Intune provides inventory. The roster from School Data Sync is the one thing all three fleets can share.

The school holds Office 365 A1 and owns 200 Windows 11 laptops in carts and 120 iPads.

Microsoft list price, October 2026 price list. The A3 route costs less than the standalone route once the student use benefit applies, and it brings Windows 11 Education rights for the 200 laptops and Microsoft Entra ID P1 for Conditional Access on staff accounts, which the standalone Intune license does not. Whether the school qualifies for the student use benefit is Microsoft's decision under its academic program rules, so quote both lines. On the services side, the Windows setup is $6,500, the Autopilot profiles $1,300 and the iPad setup $4,500, fixed price.

1. Skipping School Data Sync. Hand-built groups drift from the roster within weeks; every class change becomes a ticket.
2. Running Express Configuration on the wrong group. Settings inherit downward, so a lockdown applied to All Users reaches the principal's laptop. Baseline on All Users or All Devices, restrictions on the student groups.
3. Mixing consoles mid-rollout without a note. A change made in the full admin center shows in Intune for Education, but whoever only opens the simplified console will not know why a cart behaves differently. Keep one change log.
4. Reusing a Set up School PCs package as if it were Autopilot. The package enrolls a device once; re-enrollment means reapplying it or using Autopilot Reset.
5. Buying Windows 11 Home. A Home laptop cannot be Entra joined. Specify Pro Education or Education in the purchase order and the problem never arrives.

How much does Microsoft Intune for Education cost?

$0.75 per user per month, $9.00 per year, at both faculty and student pricing as a standalone license, with a Microsoft Intune Students use benefit row at $0.00 for eligible schools (Microsoft list price, October 2026 price list). Schools on Microsoft 365 A3 or A5 already have it.

Is Intune for Education included in Microsoft 365 A3?

Yes. Microsoft's Intune licensing page lists Intune Plan 1 for Education as included in Microsoft 365 Education A3 and A5. Office 365 A1 does not include it.

What is the difference between Intune for Education and Intune?

Intune for Education is a curated view of the same Intune service with a subset of policies and apps chosen for K-12 scenarios on Windows and iPadOS, plus Express Configuration and roster-based groups. The full Intune admin center exposes every setting and platform, including macOS, Android and Chrome OS, on the same tenant.

Is there an Intune for Education discount for students?

Student pricing for Intune for Education is the same $0.75 as faculty, but the price list carries a Microsoft Intune Students use benefit at $0.00 and a Microsoft 365 A3 students use benefit at $0.00, both sponsored by Microsoft and subject to its eligibility rules.

Does Intune for Education manage Chromebooks?

Its documentation lists Windows and iPadOS as the supported platforms and does not list Chrome OS. The full Intune admin center lists Chrome OS with a narrower set of actions, so Chromebook policy stays in the Google Admin console.

Can I use Intune for Education with Office 365 A1?

Yes, by buying the standalone Microsoft Intune for Education license for each faculty and student user at $0.75 per user per month, or the $0.00 Students use benefit row where the school qualifies. A1 itself carries no Intune.

• What is Intune for Education? — Microsoft Learn, checked 2026-10-11
• Express Configuration — Microsoft Learn, checked 2026-10-11
• Set up Intune for Education devices with Windows Autopilot — Microsoft Learn, checked 2026-10-11
• How should I enroll my devices? — Microsoft Learn, checked 2026-10-11
• Plan Education device enrollment — Microsoft Learn, checked 2026-10-11
• Add or configure education settings in Microsoft Intune — Microsoft Learn, checked 2026-10-11
• Microsoft Intune licensing — Microsoft Learn, checked 2026-10-11
• Operating systems and browsers supported by Microsoft Intune — Microsoft Learn, checked 2026-10-11
• Microsoft Intune add-ons for education — Microsoft Learn, checked 2026-10-11
• Microsoft NCE price list (US), October 2026, Education rows: Microsoft Intune for Education (faculty and student), Microsoft Intune Students use benefit, Microsoft Intune Plan 1 (education student pricing), Microsoft Intune Plan 2, Microsoft Intune Suite, Microsoft 365 A3, Microsoft 365 A5, Office 365 A1 (Microsoft list price, October 2026 price list)