Windows 365 vs Azure Virtual Desktop Calculator
Pick a persona and a base license, and see a Windows 365 Cloud PC priced per user at Microsoft list price beside Azure Virtual Desktop: the licensing entitlement your plan already carries plus your own Azure estimate. Monthly and annual, in dollars, with what each side includes. Azure compute is never looked up here — the figure is yours.
01 Users and persona
The persona sets the Cloud PC size; run the calculator once per group if they differ.
Standard — Office apps, Teams calls, several apps open. Size: 4 vCPU, 16 GB RAM, 128 GB.
02 Windows 365 edition and base license
Enterprise: each user needs Windows Enterprise or Pro, Intune and Entra ID P1 — met by Microsoft 365 E3, E5, F3 and Business Premium.
AVD entitlement: included. Windows 365 Enterprise prerequisite: met. verify with Microsoft
03 Azure Virtual Desktop usage
Hours, days and pooling size the session-host estate. They never produce a dollar figure — that is yours, below.
Session-host compute, disks, profile storage, networking and egress are metered by Microsoft and billed to you; this site does not look them up.
04 List prices in use
| Line | Qty | Unit / mo | Monthly | Billed by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows 365 Enterprise | ||||
| Windows 365 Enterprise — 4 vCPU, 16 GB RAM, 128 GB | 20 | $59.40 | $1,188.00 | Microsoft |
| Windows 365 total | 20 | $59.40 | $1,188.00 | |
| Azure Virtual Desktop | ||||
| AVD licensing entitlement — included in Microsoft 365 E3 | 20 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Microsoft |
| Azure compute, storage and networking — your estimate | 20 | needed | — | Azure · yours |
| AVD total | 20 | — | — | |
- AVD licensing entitlement — included in Microsoft 365 E3: No separate AVD user license; the access right is inside the plan.
- Azure compute, storage and networking — your estimate: Your own per-user figure; Azure meters are billed by Microsoft to you and are not looked up here.
How the licensing works
Windows 365 is a per-user Cloud PC license sized by vCPU, RAM and storage. The persona you pick maps to 2 vCPU / 8 GB, 4 vCPU / 16 GB or 8 vCPU / 32 GB, each with 128 GB storage.
Windows 365 Business needs no other Windows license and is limited to 300 users per tenant. Windows 365 Enterprise needs each user licensed for Windows Enterprise or Pro, Intune and Entra ID P1 — Microsoft 365 E3, E5, F3 and Business Premium qualify. verify with Microsoft
Azure Virtual Desktop has no per-user AVD license for users on Microsoft 365 E3, E5, F3, Business Premium, Windows Enterprise E3/E5 or Windows VDA — the access right is inside the plan. The Azure compute, storage and networking the session hosts consume is billed by Microsoft to you. verify with Microsoft
Users on a plan without Windows Enterprise rights add Windows 10/11 Enterprise E3 per user for AVD, and the same license (plus Intune and Entra ID P1) before Windows 365 Enterprise can be assigned. verify with Microsoft
The Azure figure is yours. Hours per day, days per month and the pooling ratio size the session-host estate your estimate should cover; they never generate a dollar amount.
What Windows 365 includes
- A persistent Cloud PC per user at the chosen vCPU / RAM / storage size, with the Windows license for the Cloud PC itself.
- The compute, storage and Microsoft-managed networking behind it — no Azure subscription to run unless you bring your own network.
- Management through Intune (Enterprise) or the Windows 365 admin experience (Business).
- Not included: Microsoft 365 Apps and the base plan, which you license separately.
What Azure Virtual Desktop includes
- The brokering and management service in Azure, at no separate service charge for users on an eligible plan.
- Windows Enterprise multi-session on pooled session hosts you size, run and pay for as Azure consumption.
- Persistent or pooled desktops, RemoteApp, FSLogix profiles — all on your own host pools.
- Not included: the session hosts’ compute, disks, profile storage, networking and egress — your Azure estimate.
Shift workers who need a Cloud PC only part of the day may fit Windows 365 Frontline, not modelled here.
Quick start
- Enter the users and pick the persona — it sets the Cloud PC size.
- Choose Business or Enterprise and the users’ base license; eligibility is worked out for you.
- For AVD, set hours per day, days per month and the pooling ratio, then type your Azure estimate per user per month.
- Read the two columns side by side; copy the summary or the scenario link.
Example scenarios
01Office staff on Business Premium
40 standard users, Windows 365 Business, Business Premium base, 8 hours × 21 days, 4 users per pooled host, your Azure figure.
Load this scenario →Developers on Microsoft 365 E3
15 power users, Windows 365 Enterprise, E3 base, 10 hours × 22 days, personal hosts (ratio 1).
Load this scenario →Light users without Windows Enterprise rights
200 light users on Business Standard — Enterprise needs Windows E3 first, and so does AVD; 6 users per host.
Load this scenario →Assumptions and sources
- Windows 365 Businesslist price
Priced from our subscription page, Commercial segment, per size: 2 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 128 GB — SKU “Windows 365 Business 2 vCPU, 8 GB, 128 GB”, annual commitment, paid upfront, monthly equivalent; 4 vCPU, 16 GB RAM, 128 GB — SKU “Windows 365 Business 4 vCPU, 16 GB, 128 GB”, annual commitment, paid upfront, monthly equivalent; 8 vCPU, 32 GB RAM, 128 GB — SKU “Windows 365 Business 8 vCPU, 32 GB, 128 GB”, annual commitment, paid upfront, monthly equivalent. Windows Hybrid Benefit rows, the lower-priced variant for users who already own Windows Pro, are not used. - Windows 365 Enterpriselist price
Priced from our subscription page, Commercial segment, per size: 2 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 128 GB — SKU “Windows 365 Enterprise 2 vCPU, 8 GB, 128 GB”, annual commitment, paid upfront, monthly equivalent; 4 vCPU, 16 GB RAM, 128 GB — SKU “Windows 365 Enterprise 4 vCPU, 16 GB, 128 GB”, annual commitment, paid upfront, monthly equivalent; 8 vCPU, 32 GB RAM, 128 GB — SKU “Windows 365 Enterprise 8 vCPU, 32 GB, 128 GB”, annual commitment, paid upfront, monthly equivalent. - Windows 10/11 Enterprise E3list price
Used only for users on a plan without Windows Enterprise rights. Priced from our subscription page, SKU “Windows 10/11 Enterprise E3”, annual commitment, paid upfront, monthly equivalent. - Eligibility by base licenseverify with Microsoft
Microsoft 365 Business Premium: AVD entitlement included; Windows 365 Enterprise prerequisite met. Microsoft's Azure Virtual Desktop pricing page lists Business Premium among eligible licenses, and Microsoft's Windows 365 Enterprise requirements name it; our own AVD Hybrid page quotes Microsoft's list without it. Microsoft 365 E3: AVD entitlement included; Windows 365 Enterprise prerequisite met. Our Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid page quotes Microsoft's catalog: Windows 11 hosts need Microsoft 365 A3/A5/E3/E5/F3/F5, Windows 11 Enterprise E3/E5, or Windows 11 VDA per user. Our E3 page lists Windows Enterprise E3 rights and Intune. Microsoft 365 E5: AVD entitlement included; Windows 365 Enterprise prerequisite met. Same Microsoft list as E3, quoted on our Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid page; our E5 page lists Windows Enterprise E5 rights, Intune and Entra ID P2. Microsoft 365 F3: AVD entitlement included; Windows 365 Enterprise prerequisite met. Microsoft's list quoted on our Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid page includes F3; our F3 page says its workload rights are not in the source pack and must be checked against Microsoft's service-plan documentation. Other or none (Business Basic/Standard, Office 365, Windows Pro only): AVD entitlement not included; Windows 365 Enterprise prerequisite not met. Plans without Windows Enterprise rights are not on Microsoft's eligible list; the calculator adds Windows 10/11 Enterprise E3 per user, which our catalog carries. Plan pages: Business Premium, E3, E5, F3; Microsoft’s eligible-license list as quoted on our Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid page. - Segment and terms. Commercial list prices in US dollars, annual commitment paid upfront where the catalog offers it, shown as a monthly equivalent. Taxes excluded. Windows 365 Business is limited to 300 users per tenant; the calculator flags scenarios above it.
- Azure. The AVD column’s Azure figure is your estimate, per user per month, passed through unchanged. Session-host compute, disks, FSLogix storage, networking and egress are metered by Microsoft and billed to you; hours, days and the pooling ratio only size the estate that estimate should cover. Intune and Entra ID P1 for non-eligible plans are named, not priced.
Azure Virtual Desktop services
- Azure Virtual Desktop Implementation — $5,000 per project
- Managed Azure Virtual Desktop Service — $25 per user
- RDS to Azure Virtual Desktop Migration — $35 per user + $3,950 tenant fee
Windows 365 and AVD licensing FAQ
Does Windows 365 Enterprise need a Microsoft 365 license?
It needs each user licensed for Windows Enterprise or Pro, Intune and Entra ID P1. Microsoft 365 E3, E5, F3 and Business Premium carry all three; a user on another plan adds Windows 10/11 Enterprise E3 and the two services. Windows 365 Business has no such prerequisite but is limited to 300 users per tenant.
Is there an Azure Virtual Desktop license to buy?
Not for users on Microsoft 365 E3, E5, F3, Business Premium, Windows Enterprise E3/E5 or Windows VDA — the AVD access right is inside those plans, so the AVD column shows the entitlement at $0. Users on other plans add Windows 10/11 Enterprise E3 per user. Everything else on the AVD side is Azure consumption.
Where does the Azure figure in the AVD column come from?
From you. Session-host compute, managed disks, FSLogix profile storage, networking and egress are metered by Microsoft and billed to you at Azure's rates, which this site does not look up. Enter your own estimate per user per month; the hours, days and pooling ratio tell you how many session hosts and running hours that estimate should cover.
Which Windows 365 size should I pick?
The persona maps to a size: light work such as browser, email and one or two line-of-business apps fits 2 vCPU with 8 GB; the usual Office-and-Teams desktop fits 4 vCPU with 16 GB; developers, analysts and large-dataset users fit 8 vCPU with 32 GB. Each comes with 128 GB storage here; larger storage and GPU sizes exist on the subscription pages.
Can Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop run side by side?
Yes. Both are per-user decisions: a persistent Cloud PC for people who need a desktop that is theirs, pooled AVD session hosts for shift or task workers who share one. Run the calculator once per group and add the totals; Windows 365 Frontline covers shift workers who need a Cloud PC only part of the time.
Want the sizing and the Azure estimate checked?
Thirty minutes with an engineer who runs both: which users need a Cloud PC, which fit a pooled host, and what the Azure side really costs at your usage. Fixed-price services, pay after approval.