Microsoft is shifting Copilot Cowork to usage-based pricing and is exploring a lower-cost model option, according to reporting by Axios and follow-ups. Axios reports Microsoft told the outlet it is testing a fine-tuned, self-hosted version of DeepSeek V4 or another open-source model as a cheaper alternative to the Anthropic and OpenAI models currently used. Axios also reports Microsoft expects to make a lower-cost model available in the coming weeks. Reporting by Axios and The Next Web says any DeepSeek option would be optional for customers and would be hosted on Azure, keeping data inside Microsoft’s cloud. Reporting by IT之家 (IT Home) provides a token-price comparison, saying Anthropic’s latest flagship model costs about $50 per million tokens while DeepSeek V4 Pro costs about $0.87 per million tokens, a roughly 57x price gap.