Microsoft 365 Copilot and Custodos compared
Copilot puts AI where your team already works: in Word, Excel and Teams. Custodos brings leading models from several providers into one interface, with data stored in Switzerland and AI processing in the EU or Switzerland. The difference lies in model choice, region and prerequisites.
- Copilot requires a qualifying Microsoft 365 licence and works inside Microsoft 365. Custodos runs in the browser, independently of your office environment.
- With Custodos you pick the model per task (GPT, Claude, Gemini or Mistral) and the AI region: EU or Switzerland. Data is stored in Switzerland.
- Microsoft processes requests from EU users inside the EU Data Boundary. Anthropic models are excluded from it according to Microsoft, and Copilot offers no separate Swiss region.
- Neither platform trains models on your data.
Custodos and Microsoft 365 Copilot side by side
Every figure for Copilot comes from Microsoft's own documentation and pricing page. Both are linked below.
Model choice
- Custodos
- GPT, Claude, Gemini and Mistral, freely selectable per task
- Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Orchestrated by Microsoft. Admins can permit OpenAI and Anthropic models; which model answers in a given case is Microsoft's decision.
Storage and AI region
- Custodos
- Stored in Switzerland; AI processing in the EU or Switzerland, as you choose
- Microsoft 365 Copilot
- EU Data Boundary for users in the EU. Calls go to the nearest data centre in the region and may be routed to other regions during periods of high utilisation.
Switzerland as its own region
- Custodos
- Yes, as an explicit choice
- Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Not offered. Anthropic models are additionally excluded from the EU Data Boundary according to Microsoft.
Training on your data
- Custodos
- No
- Microsoft 365 Copilot
- No. Prompts, responses and data retrieved via Microsoft Graph do not train foundation models according to Microsoft.
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Entry price
- Custodos
- €12 (Mini), €24 (Business) or €72 (Max) per seat per month billed annually, €15/€30/€90 billed monthly
- Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Microsoft lists the current price on its pricing page. Copilot Business is an add-on with an annual commitment for up to 300 users and requires an eligible Microsoft 365 Business licence, whose price comes on top.
Prerequisites
- Custodos
- None: a browser is enough
- Microsoft 365 Copilot
- A qualifying Microsoft 365 plan is mandatory; Copilot is not a standalone product.
Free trial
- Custodos
- 7 days
- Microsoft 365 Copilot
- No open trial. Purchased through a Microsoft contract with a 7-day cancellation window.
Where it runs
- Custodos
- Its own interface in the browser, independent of Office
- Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams.
Professional secrecy in DACH
- Custodos
- Designed for § 203 of the German Criminal Code, § 121 of the Austrian Criminal Code and Art. 321 of the Swiss Criminal Code
- Microsoft 365 Copilot
- No product-level statement on these provisions; the compliance evidence is framed generally.
Provider
- Custodos
- Stellar GmbH, Cham (Switzerland)
- Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Microsoft, Redmond (USA).
Prices as of November 2026, other details as of August 2026. Figures for the other provider come from that provider's own sources, linked below. Prices and features change; check both before you decide.
Where the difference shows in daily work
Four points that regularly decide a selection process.
Choosing the model, not being assigned one
GPT for one draft, Claude for the next analysis: with Custodos your team decides per request. With Copilot, Microsoft decides which model answers.
The AI region is your decision
Your data is stored in Switzerland. The AI models process it in the EU or Switzerland – your administrators choose the region. Copilot knows the EU Data Boundary, but no separate Swiss choice.
Independent of your office environment
Custodos requires no Microsoft licence. Teams on Google Workspace, on mixed environments or on no office suite at all lose nothing.
One price instead of a licence chain
From €12 per seat per month billed annually (€15 monthly), published and without preconditions. With Copilot the add-on price always comes on top of the existing Microsoft 365 licence.
- When the processing location is a requirementLaw firms, fiduciaries and institutions that have to fix Switzerland or the EU as the processing location need a choice, not an assurance covering an entire economic area.
- When several models are neededSummarising, drafting, reviewing, translating: different tasks run differently well on different models. One route to leading models from several providers saves separate contracts, invoices and logins.
- When the whole organisation is not on MicrosoftCustodos assumes no particular office environment and can be rolled out where Copilot would first require an additional licence tier.
Custodos supplies the technical preconditions for handling your data confidentially. The legal assessment in each individual case remains with your organisation.
What speaks for Microsoft 365 Copilot
Copilot has one advantage no external platform can match: it sits inside the applications your team already uses. Writing a letter in Word or analysing a spreadsheet in Excel does not mean switching tools for AI support. If your organisation runs entirely on Microsoft 365 and model variety is not a concern, that is a strong argument.
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On top of that comes the compliance apparatus of a corporation. Microsoft is ahead of us on these points; we would rather say so ourselves than let you discover it during a tender:
- Certifications at a breadth a young company does not have: for Copilot, Microsoft cites ISO 27001, ISO 42001 and HIPAA among others. Custodos does not currently hold these certifications.
- Microsoft Purview: sensitivity labels, retention policies and eDiscovery apply to Copilot histories as well.
- Access to your content through Microsoft Graph needs no integration work, because the data is already there.
- A copyright commitment: under certain conditions Microsoft will defend customers against third-party copyright claims over the service's output.
Sources
- Data, Privacy, and Security for Microsoft 365 Copilot · Microsoft Learn
- Microsoft 365 Copilot: plans and pricing · Microsoft
- EU Data Boundary for the Microsoft Cloud · Microsoft Learn
- License options for Microsoft Copilot · Microsoft Learn
All product and company names mentioned are trademarks of their respective owners. Custodos has no business relationship with the providers compared here; this comparison is based solely on publicly available information.
Frequently asked questions
Can I run Custodos and Microsoft 365 Copilot in parallel?
Yes. The two tools do not exclude one another. Copilot stays inside the Office applications; Custodos covers the work for which you need a particular model, a particular region or access outside Microsoft 365. Many teams start with Custodos in the departments handling the most confidential data and leave Copilot where it is already licensed.
Does Microsoft 365 Copilot process data in Switzerland?
Microsoft makes a commitment to users in the EU through the EU Data Boundary. Calls to the language model go to the nearest data centre in the region and may be routed to other regions during high utilisation; Anthropic models are excluded from the EU Data Boundary according to Microsoft. Copilot offers no “Switzerland” option as a separate processing region. With Custodos you choose between the EU and Switzerland.
What does Microsoft 365 Copilot really cost?
Microsoft lists the current price for Copilot Business on its pricing page, linked below. What is certain: Copilot Business is not a standalone product but an add-on with an annual commitment for up to 300 users, and it requires an eligible Microsoft 365 Business licence. The base licence therefore always comes on top of the add-on price. Custodos costs €12, €24 or €72 per seat per month billed annually (€15, €30 or €90 monthly) depending on the plan, excl. VAT and with no precondition.
Does either platform use my data for AI training?
No, neither does. Microsoft states that prompts, responses and data retrieved via Microsoft Graph do not train foundation models. The same holds for Custodos: your inputs and documents are never used to train AI models.