In my experience with Microsoft Purview Information Protection, the experience of pricing, setup costs, and licensing is confusing, especially knowing what I have to do for add-ons with buying SCUs, which can sometimes be confusing. It could use a lot more clarity, and there aren't many good VARs out there that truly understand it. Additionally, the local Microsoft representatives are swamped with those types of questions, and since it's changing all the time, I just can't keep up.
Regarding the experience of pricing, setup costs, and licensing for Microsoft Purview Information Protection, it's confusing. Knowing what I have to do for add-ons, I have to buy SCUs, and that's sometimes confusing. It could use a lot more clarity, and there's not a lot of good VARs out there that truly understand it. The local Microsoft representatives are swamped with those types of questions, and things are changing all the time. I just can't keep up.
Program Manager, Worldwide at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Top 10
Nov 20, 2025
My experience with the pricing, setup cost, and licensing of Microsoft Purview Information Protection is that while I have worked with this type of technology for a long time, the setup is not easy since you need to classify the information and define the taxonomy for the customer's environment, which is often not an easy task.
Associate Director at LTI - Larsen & Toubro Infotech
Real User
Top 10
Jun 24, 2025
Pricing is good because if somebody is looking for an overall cybersecurity solution, Microsoft has one license with many solutions bundled with that license. The E5 license covers most of the solutions for different technologies, so it is good and more affordable compared to any other solution. Microsoft Purview E5 license comes with different solutions including data discovery classification, CASB, DLP solution, and Defender for Cloud. Multiple solutions have been integrated into one license, whereas previously, customers were using different solutions for different use cases. Now, with one E5 license, they are able to manage all the use cases, achieving unified console and unified licensing, which has brought their costs down.
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Purview Information Protection. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.
Cybersecurity Engineer at a manufacturing company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Top 5
Feb 6, 2025
The pricing is not very high and is considered fine. Microsoft offers different licensing options. AIP Plan 2 is used for critical users. The AIP is included in the business standard license for cloud-based protection.
Initially, Purview's cost seemed quite high because it was for personal use. I was scanning a tiny tenant and thinking, "If I extrapolate this to an enterprise-scale tenant, it will be quite costly." However, I talked to people who had compared it to other products on the market, and they're spending five figures to get started. At least, Purview has a free trial, so you can try some of the features early on.
Business Development Manager, Transformational Services at Dell Technologies
Real User
Top 10
Nov 19, 2024
As a service provider, we do not handle licensing directly. Our focus is on helping customers maximize their software investment. If the customer already has an E5 agreement, we help them get the most out of it.
The tool's pricing is not a problem for customers because they often purchase it as part of a bundle. With an E5 license, for example, users get access to the entire functionality. This is one of the main reasons why many customers are choosing Microsoft. This pricing model is different from other tools in the market. For instance, with Varonis, you have to pay separately for different models like data privilege, data advantage, data transport, and data classification. Varonis, being a data governance tool, requires you to onboard all your servers for file share governance. They have limitations on the number of servers you can have, and if you exceed that limit, you have to pay extra. There are also limits on data transfer volumes, with additional charges for exceeding those limits. Considering all these factors, Microsoft's approach of offering everything in one suite with a per-user charge is appealing to many customers.
The pricing and licensing for the product are quite expensive. Some advanced features are included in the E5 licensing, and it might be beneficial to see some of those features integrated into E3 to make it more accessible.
The price is determined by the enterprise licensing, either the E3 or E5 licensing or the EMS plus security and other feature licensing. We can access it in various ways depending on the organization's needs. We have the option to buy individual aspects or include them as a premium part of our existing licensing for other tasks. Microsoft's licensing and pricing can be more complicated than necessary, a criticism commonly heard from anyone who has dealt with them over the years. However, they have made strides in simplifying it compared to the past. The pricing is competitive and offers good value for the service offerings. It holds up well against other competitors and vendors in the market. Considering the number of capabilities and features integrated into the platform, the price seems fair.
Security Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Consultant
Mar 17, 2023
The product is affordable, and our clients agree. Sensitivity labels come with the MIP license at an additional $2 a month per user, an excellent deal for auto-labeling capabilities.
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In my experience with Microsoft Purview Information Protection, the experience of pricing, setup costs, and licensing is confusing, especially knowing what I have to do for add-ons with buying SCUs, which can sometimes be confusing. It could use a lot more clarity, and there aren't many good VARs out there that truly understand it. Additionally, the local Microsoft representatives are swamped with those types of questions, and since it's changing all the time, I just can't keep up.
Regarding the experience of pricing, setup costs, and licensing for Microsoft Purview Information Protection, it's confusing. Knowing what I have to do for add-ons, I have to buy SCUs, and that's sometimes confusing. It could use a lot more clarity, and there's not a lot of good VARs out there that truly understand it. The local Microsoft representatives are swamped with those types of questions, and things are changing all the time. I just can't keep up.
My experience with the pricing, setup cost, and licensing of Microsoft Purview Information Protection is that while I have worked with this type of technology for a long time, the setup is not easy since you need to classify the information and define the taxonomy for the customer's environment, which is often not an easy task.
In terms of pricing, licensing, and other costs, it is included with the licenses that we have, which is beneficial.
I do not have a lot of experience on the licensing side with Microsoft Purview Information Protection.
Pricing is good because if somebody is looking for an overall cybersecurity solution, Microsoft has one license with many solutions bundled with that license. The E5 license covers most of the solutions for different technologies, so it is good and more affordable compared to any other solution. Microsoft Purview E5 license comes with different solutions including data discovery classification, CASB, DLP solution, and Defender for Cloud. Multiple solutions have been integrated into one license, whereas previously, customers were using different solutions for different use cases. Now, with one E5 license, they are able to manage all the use cases, achieving unified console and unified licensing, which has brought their costs down.
The pricing is not very high and is considered fine. Microsoft offers different licensing options. AIP Plan 2 is used for critical users. The AIP is included in the business standard license for cloud-based protection.
Initially, Purview's cost seemed quite high because it was for personal use. I was scanning a tiny tenant and thinking, "If I extrapolate this to an enterprise-scale tenant, it will be quite costly." However, I talked to people who had compared it to other products on the market, and they're spending five figures to get started. At least, Purview has a free trial, so you can try some of the features early on.
The pricing and setup costs are transferred to my clients, who find it affordable and are satisfied with what they receive.
As a service provider, we do not handle licensing directly. Our focus is on helping customers maximize their software investment. If the customer already has an E5 agreement, we help them get the most out of it.
The tool's pricing is fairly low, less than 100,000 for a year.
The tool's pricing is not a problem for customers because they often purchase it as part of a bundle. With an E5 license, for example, users get access to the entire functionality. This is one of the main reasons why many customers are choosing Microsoft. This pricing model is different from other tools in the market. For instance, with Varonis, you have to pay separately for different models like data privilege, data advantage, data transport, and data classification. Varonis, being a data governance tool, requires you to onboard all your servers for file share governance. They have limitations on the number of servers you can have, and if you exceed that limit, you have to pay extra. There are also limits on data transfer volumes, with additional charges for exceeding those limits. Considering all these factors, Microsoft's approach of offering everything in one suite with a per-user charge is appealing to many customers.
The pricing and licensing for the product are quite expensive. Some advanced features are included in the E5 licensing, and it might be beneficial to see some of those features integrated into E3 to make it more accessible.
The price is determined by the enterprise licensing, either the E3 or E5 licensing or the EMS plus security and other feature licensing. We can access it in various ways depending on the organization's needs. We have the option to buy individual aspects or include them as a premium part of our existing licensing for other tasks. Microsoft's licensing and pricing can be more complicated than necessary, a criticism commonly heard from anyone who has dealt with them over the years. However, they have made strides in simplifying it compared to the past. The pricing is competitive and offers good value for the service offerings. It holds up well against other competitors and vendors in the market. Considering the number of capabilities and features integrated into the platform, the price seems fair.
The product is affordable, and our clients agree. Sensitivity labels come with the MIP license at an additional $2 a month per user, an excellent deal for auto-labeling capabilities.