arades Solution · Web application · Independent Engineering
arades provides the world with a web application where anyone can freely build their Microsoft license package — and immediately see what Microsoft charges as the list price and what we set as the arades price, with the identified discount. Free of charge. In the browser. DE and EN. Lead magnet, not a sales funnel behind a paywall.
What the calculator can do
Behind the interface lies a database in which every Microsoft Cloud license is modeled by audience group, product group, and plan depth. That's what makes the plans comparable to each other — and that's what's missing almost everywhere Microsoft licenses are calculated today.
Microsoft publishes different prices and in some cases different plans for Non-Profit, Education, and Commercial. The calculator separates them cleanly — you pick your audience, the rest appears accordingly. Foundations see their non-profit terms, universities their A SKUs, businesses their commercial world.
Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Power BI, Microsoft Security, Intune, and Copilot — seven product groups containing all common Microsoft Cloud licenses. You filter on what you need and hide the rest.
For each plan, the database models which features are included, which services are activated, which dependencies exist (e.g., "Copilot for M365 requires M365 E3 or higher"), and which add-ons can be combined. That makes the comparison work not only on price but on content.
Because the modeling is consistent, the calculator can compare plans against each other — E3 vs. E5, Sales Professional vs. Enterprise, Power BI Pro vs. Premium. You see feature by feature what's added — and what isn't. That's the step Microsoft's own pricing page doesn't take.
How the workflow works
You select your audience group (Non-Profit, Education, Commercial), filter on the relevant product groups, and then choose which plans you need for how many users. The calculator checks dependencies in the background and suggests add-ons where it makes sense.
As soon as your package is in place, you see two columns: the Microsoft list price and the arades price. The difference is the identified discount — the margin we as CSP reseller pass on to you. No negotiation needed, no paywall.
If you want to work with the result offline, request the Excel export. It's available against entering contact details and accepting the privacy notice — the calculator itself remains usable in the browser without it, the export is the lead-magnet stage.
The Excel export contains the license package with cost calculation, list price, and arades price — and per product, a separate sheet with all features and services of that plan. That makes the comparison reproducible offline, defensible in any procurement process.
Three typical users
We didn't build the calculator for one target group, but for three. The data foundation is the same — the requirements differ.
Mid-sized companies that want to understand Microsoft licenses without an advisor. They open the browser — no login, no commitment, no paywall. They click through their stack in five minutes and have the size in black and white.
→ Browser use free, no login
Procurement departments that need to compare Microsoft offers reliably — for audit preparation, true-up planning, or renewal negotiation. The Excel export delivers the comparison sheets accepted in any procurement process.
→ Excel export, per-module breakdown
Those who use the calculator as a prep tool and then do the optimization with us — audience switch, E3/E5 analysis, frontline-worker roles, NCE strategy. The calculator becomes the starting point of a structured license advisory.
→ Cross-link: M365 license advisory · D365 license advisory
What makes the LCC unique
Updates within a few days of any Microsoft release — whether NCE adjustment, Copilot bundle, or new SKU. We maintain the database manually because Microsoft list prices are repeatedly adjusted at short notice.
Non-Profit, Education, and Commercial are modeled separately in the database — with their own prices, plans, and terms. Other tools mix them up or ignore them.
Which plan requires which, which add-on can be combined with what — all machine-readable in the database. From this come the recommendations and warnings the calculator shows while you build your package.
One sheet per plan with all features and services. That makes the comparison reproducible offline — even weeks later, even in another tool, even in an audit conversation.
Fully bilingual — interface, SKU names, plan descriptions. That makes the calculator usable by German mid-sized companies and international procurement teams alike.
Browser use without login, without wait, without paywall. We make it a lead magnet — the Excel export is gated on contact details, everything before is open. Anyone who doesn't need us uses the tool free and gladly.
Planned — checkout process
We're currently building the checkout so that licenses can be forwarded directly from the License Cost Calculator as a CSP order to arades. Today, the split between calculation and procurement is still a break in the process — configurations are manually transferred into the order form, quantities change in transit, typos creep in.
We want to smooth that out: you build your license package, see list price and arades price, and close out directly in the tool. The order runs as a CSP order with arades as Microsoft Reseller — with all NCE terms cleanly documented, with an annual or triennial term of your choice, with electronic confirmation.
Anyone wanting early access or to take part as a beta user can reach out via the 30-min discovery — we'll add you to the beta list and let you know at go-live.
Related
Microsoft 365 licenses, pricing, and costs — structured advice. Audience switch, NCE strategy, frontline roles.
Read more →Dynamics 365 modules, attach licenses, Power Platform references — from the module to the total.
Read more →Pay-per-hour, Application Care, or Strategic Care — for ongoing support after the license setup.
Read more →FAQ
Browser use at licenses.arades.de is and remains free of charge — for everyone. It's designed as a lead magnet: arades makes the tool available to the world because clean license calculation should be possible for anyone.
Currently German and English. More languages are possible once the maintenance discipline can be sustained in more languages — until then we keep the two languages up to date.
Up to date — we update the database typically within a few days of each Microsoft release. Audience-group logic (Non-Profit, Education, Commercial) is maintained separately because Microsoft sets prices differently per audience.
The list price is the standard price published by Microsoft. The arades price is our CSP price as a Microsoft Reseller — making the identifiable discount per product group visible. The calculator shows you both side by side so you immediately see the benefit of procurement through arades.
Per license package: the entire quantity and cost sheet with list price and arades price. Per product, additionally a separate sheet with all modeled features, services, dependencies, and add-ons of the respective license. That gives you plan comparability offline on disk — also defensible in an audit conversation.
You build your license package in the browser, click Excel export, briefly enter your contact details, and accept the privacy notice. We send the export by email. The contact details are used exclusively for delivery and optional license advice — no newsletter, no resale.
Yes, in preparation. In future, calculated licenses can be forwarded directly from the calculator as a CSP order to arades. Anyone wanting early access can reach out via the 30-min discovery.
Give it a try
Open licenses.arades.de, click through your Microsoft stack in five minutes, compare list price and arades price, and request the Excel export. Or book 30 minutes of license advisory and walk through the optimization with us.
