SLA Breach and Service Credit Calculator
Did the outage push a service below its SLA, and what credit could you claim? Add each service with its monthly fee and tier table, enter the downtime, and see uptime, the tier hit and the credit per service. The Microsoft 365 outage that began on 12 November 2026 is why many teams are asking; read what Microsoft has confirmed in our Microsoft 365 outage briefing. The result is an estimate, not advice: credits need a claim from you, and the provider decides.
1. The month
SLAs are measured per calendar month.
43,200 minutes in the month.
Labels only; no conversion.
2. Services
Add one line per service you pay for separately. A credit only applies to the fee of the service that missed its level, so give each its own monthly fee.
- Service 1
Measured in user-minutes over the calendar month. Add each service as its own line with its own fee: a credit applies only to the fees for the service that missed its level.
Microsoft measures these services in user-minutes: total user-minutes are every licensed user times every minute of the month, and downtime counts affected users times minutes down. Uptime = (total user-minutes − downtime user-minutes) ÷ total user-minutes × 100. So 100 of 1,000 users down for 10 hours counts like everyone down for 1 hour.
Fill in a service above to see its uptime and credit. Nothing you type is sent to us.
What this does not cover
- Business losses. Under Microsoft's SLA, service credits are your sole and exclusive remedy for performance or availability issues, and they are not awarded for lost revenue, operational costs or any indirect losses to you or your users.
- Fees for other services. A credit applies only to the fees for the service that missed its service level, and never more than that service's monthly fees.
- Slowness without an outage. The SLA excludes performance degradation or latency without actual unavailability, except where a service has a performance-based service level.
- Causes outside the SLA. The Limitations section excludes, among others, factors outside Microsoft's reasonable control, your own network or third-party software, preview or trial services, and licences reserved but not paid for.
- An automatic payout. Microsoft's outage notices are not a confirmation that a service level was missed or that a credit is owed. You must claim, and Microsoft decides.
To put a number on the business cost of an outage, use the Microsoft 365 Outage Cost Calculator. That cost is yours to carry: the SLA credit does not cover it.
Claim deadline and rules
For an Incident in November 2026, Microsoft must receive a claim for Microsoft 365 services (anything other than Azure) by December 31, 2026: the end of the month after the month of the Incident.
- Submit the claim to Microsoft customer support with a detailed description of the Incident, the time and duration of downtime, affected resource names, the number and locations of affected users, and the errors seen. Claims missing that information are rejected.
- For Microsoft Online Services other than Azure, Microsoft must receive the claim by the end of the month after the month of the Incident (Microsoft's example: an Incident on February 15 needs the claim by March 31). Azure claims have a different window (60 days).
- Microsoft says it typically decides within 45 days of receiving the claim, and you must be in compliance with your agreement.
- Only one credit per service per month. If one Incident misses more than one service level for the same service, you choose one to claim. Services bought separately (not as a suite) can each be claimed.
- Purchases through Open, Open Value and Open Value Subscription (and Office 365 Small Business Premium product keys) are credited in service days, not fees.
Microsoft tiers and downtime definitions used
- Exchange Online, Microsoft Teams, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for work or school: below 99.9% = 25%, below 99% = 50%, below 95% = 100%. Downtime: Each service has its own Downtime definition. Exchange Online: users unable to send or receive email with Outlook Web Access. Teams: users unable to conduct instant messaging conversations or initiate online meetings. SharePoint Online: users unable to read or write any portion of a site collection they have permission for. OneDrive: users unable to view or edit files in their OneDrive storage.
- Microsoft 365 Copilot: below 99.5% = 25%, below 99% = 50%, below 95% = 100%. Downtime: A licensed user submits a valid prompt in Copilot Chat in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app and receives an unsuccessful response due to a server-side error from the LLM.
- Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (portal access): below 99.9% = 10%, below 99% = 25%. Downtime: Minutes in which the customer is unable to access any portion of the Microsoft Defender for Endpoint portal site collections they have permissions for, with a valid, active licence.
Source: Service Level Agreement for Microsoft Online Services (WW), November 1, 2026, read 2026-11-13. Microsoft updates the SLA; check the current edition before you file. We have not verified any SLA for consumer or personal Microsoft 365 plans, so there is no preset for them.
Per-service uptime, tiers, credits, formulas, the claim deadline and the exclusions, ready to attach to a claim or a finance note.
TL;DRWhat this calculator does
5 points
- Add each service you pay for, with its monthly fee and an SLA tier table: Microsoft 365 (Exchange, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive), Microsoft 365 Copilot, Defender for Endpoint, or your own custom tiers.
- Enter downtime as total minutes, as affected users times minutes (Microsoft measures in user-minutes), or as incident windows with start and end times. Overlapping windows are counted once.
- You get uptime %, whether the SLA was breached, the tier hit, the credit % and amount per service (never more than that service's fee), the total, the formula used and the Microsoft claim deadline.
- Microsoft tiers come from the Service Level Agreement for Microsoft Online Services, November 1, 2026 edition. Results are estimates, not advice: you must claim, and the provider decides.
- Free to use, signed out too. Everything runs in your browser. Markdown and CSV exports are available with a paid plan.
Frequently asked questions
Does Microsoft have to pay for my losses from an outage?
Not under its SLA. The Service Level Agreement for Microsoft Online Services (November 1, 2026 edition) says service credits are your sole and exclusive remedy for performance or availability issues, that credits are not awarded for lost revenue, operational costs or any indirect losses, and that you may not offset your fees on your own. A credit applies only to the fees for the service that missed its level and never exceeds that service's monthly fees. This is not legal advice: if a loss is large, have a lawyer read your own agreement.
How do I calculate an SLA service credit?
Work out uptime for the month: (available time minus downtime) divided by available time, times 100. Find the lowest tier the uptime falls strictly below and take its credit percentage. Multiply by that service's monthly fee and cap the result at the fee. Uptime exactly on a threshold, such as 99.9%, is not below it.
How much downtime does 99.9% uptime allow?
In a 30-day month (43,200 minutes), 99.9% allows 43.2 minutes, 99% allows 432 minutes (7.2 hours) and 95% allows 2,160 minutes (36 hours). A 31-day month allows a little more and February a little less, which is why the calculator asks for the month.
What are user-minutes in the Microsoft 365 SLA?
For Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint Online and OneDrive for work or school, Microsoft measures uptime in user-minutes: every licensed user times every minute of the month (less scheduled downtime). Downtime is affected users times the minutes they were down. So an outage that hits 10% of users for 10 hours counts the same as one that hits everyone for 1 hour.
What is the deadline to claim a Microsoft 365 SLA credit?
For Microsoft Online Services other than Azure, Microsoft must receive the claim, with all the required information, by the end of the month after the month of the Incident. For an Incident in November 2026 that is December 31, 2026. Azure has a different window (60 days). Microsoft says it typically decides within 45 days.
Is my data sent anywhere?
No. The calculation runs in your browser. Your inputs are saved in this browser's local storage so you can come back to them, and clearing site data removes them.
More security tools
The tools people use most on PlayCISO.
Catch injected instructions hiding in content your AI agent should only read.
Score your readiness against the first international standard for AI security threats.
Critical CVEs across 21 major vendors, month by month — and what the 2026 surge means.
Build an ordered ruleset, replay labelled packets and catch shadowed and any-to-any rules.
Self-assess all six Functions, from Govern to Recover, and see your weakest one.
Search 172 threat actors across Microsoft, CrowdStrike, Mandiant and community names.