Aurora vs Microsoft 365 Copilot
Published · Reviewed
The Microsoft 365 Copilot alternative without the licence stack
Copilot is priced and designed for organisations that already run on Microsoft 365. If you're an individual, a freelancer or a small team that lives in a browser, you're paying $30 a seat on top of a licence for AI inside apps you may not use.
The short answer
Microsoft 365 Copilot costs $30 per user/month, plus a Microsoft 365 licence. Aurora Plus is $19.99/month and bundles multi-model AI chat (GPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and more), a notes-and-RAG Second Brain, image and video generation, exportable voice-over, and task planning into one subscription — with a free tier that unlocks all eight modules on standard models. For teams, Aurora Business is $25 per seat per month ($20 billed annually) with Pro-level access on every seat. Choose Microsoft 365 Copilot when you need what it does best; choose Aurora when the thing you actually want to cancel is the third AI subscription.
What Microsoft 365 Copilot does well
- Nothing else touches Copilot inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams.
- Grounding in your organisation's real SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams content.
- Enterprise compliance, tenant data boundaries and admin controls are genuinely first-tier.
- If your company already pays for Microsoft 365, the marginal setup cost is near zero.
Where Aurora is different
No tenant, no licence prerequisite
Aurora is a browser product with its own account. There is no Microsoft 365 licence to buy first and no admin to provision you. For a small team, Aurora Business adds per-seat billing with owner, admin and member roles — still with no tenant to run.
$19.99 versus $30 a seat, before the licence
Copilot's $30/user/month sits on top of a Microsoft 365 subscription. Aurora Plus is a single $19.99/month line item, and the free tier gives all eight modules on standard models.
Model choice instead of one bundled model
Copilot routes to the models Microsoft selects. Aurora exposes a picker across OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Perplexity, DeepSeek, xAI and more, plus side-by-side comparison.
Creation tools Copilot doesn't have
Image generation, video generation, exportable multilingual voice-over and code generation are in the same plan.
Aurora vs Microsoft 365 Copilot, line by line
| Feature | Aurora | Microsoft 365 Copilot |
|---|---|---|
| Price per user | $19.99/mo (Plus) | $30/mo + M365 licence |
| Team price per seat / month (monthly · annual billing) | $25 · $20 (Business, min 2 seats) | $25.20 · $21 (Copilot Business) + M365 licence |
| Prerequisite subscription | None | Microsoft 365 |
| Free tier | 100 msgs/mo, all 8 modules | Consumer Copilot only |
| Works inside Word / Excel / Outlook | No | Yes |
| Grounded in company SharePoint / Teams | No | Yes |
| Model vendors available | OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Perplexity, DeepSeek, xAI, more | Microsoft-selected |
| Side-by-side model comparison | Yes | No |
| Personal RAG over your own notes | Yes | Org content, not personal notes |
| Image generation | Plus and above | Separate Designer surface |
| Video generation | Plus and above | No |
| Exportable text-to-speech voice-over | Free, all plans | No |
| Task manager + AI planning | Yes | Planner / To Do |
| Multi-step Agent Mode | Pro, Business | Copilot Studio agents |
| Export your data | JSON: profile, chats, notes | Via M365 export |
Microsoft 365 Copilot pricing and features are list values checked in September 2026, for standard individual plans and, where a team row is shown, per-seat team plans (billed monthly · billed annually). Vendors change both — verify on their pricing page before deciding.
Stay with Microsoft 365 Copilot if…
- — Your organisation runs on Microsoft 365 and your documents live in SharePoint.
- — You need AI inside Excel formulas, Word track-changes and Teams meeting recaps.
- — Enterprise admin controls and tenant compliance boundaries are a procurement requirement.
Switch to Aurora if…
- — You're an individual or a small team without an enterprise Microsoft licence.
- — You want to choose the model rather than accept the bundled one.
- — Your work is writing, research, creation and planning in a browser, not in Office files.
Microsoft 365 Copilot alternative — frequently asked questions
Is there a Microsoft 365 Copilot alternative for individuals?
Yes. Copilot is sold at $30 per user per month on top of a Microsoft 365 licence, which makes it impractical for individuals. Aurora is a standalone browser workspace at $19.99/month with multi-model AI chat, notes with RAG, image and video generation and task planning, plus a free tier that unlocks all eight modules on standard models.
Can Aurora work inside Word and Excel like Copilot?
No. Aurora does not embed into Office applications and has no access to a Microsoft 365 tenant. If your work happens inside Word documents and Excel workbooks, Copilot is the right tool and Aurora is not a substitute.
What does Aurora do that Copilot doesn't?
Model choice across several vendors with side-by-side comparison, video generation, exportable multilingual voice-over, a personal RAG knowledge base with auto-flashcards, and modules for learning, wellness and subscription tracking — all on one $19.99/month plan with no licence prerequisite.
Does Aurora have a team plan like Copilot Business?
Yes. Aurora Business is $25 per seat per month, or $20 billed annually, with a 2-seat minimum and no Microsoft 365 licence required. Every seat gets frontier models and Agent Mode; the owner manages seats and roles and pays one PayPal bill. Copilot Business lists at $25.20 per user per month ($21 billed annually) on top of a Microsoft 365 licence, and grounds answers in your organisation's SharePoint and Teams content, which Aurora cannot do — each Aurora member's notes and chats stay private rather than shared.