Universal Print vs cloud print vs print server
Microsoft’s Universal Print against PaperCut, Printix and your own print server — with a calculator for print jobs and running costs.
Print calculator
How many print jobs your licences include, and what each way of printing costs per month — from published list prices only.
Your Universal Print job pool
50 people with this licence add 5,000 print jobs a month to your tenant’s shared pool; you need about 1,000. That leaves 4,000 jobs spare.
One document is one job, however many pages or copies. Jobs are pooled per tenant and reset each month. Printing continues when the pool runs out; you then buy add-ons to stay compliant. Source
Universal Print
Microsoft’s cloud print service, part of many Microsoft 365 licences
CHF 0.00/ month
- Print jobs covered by your licencesCHF 0.00Source
PaperCut Pocket / Hive
Vendor-neutral cloud print management
CHF 78.17/ month
- PaperCut Pocket, per active userCHF 78.17USD 95.00 converted at 0.8229 (ECB, 23 September 2026)Source
Printix
Vendor-neutral cloud print management (Tungsten Automation)
CHF 85.99/ month
- Printix Starter, per userCHF 85.99USD 104.50 converted at 0.8229 (ECB, 23 September 2026)Source
Windows print server
Your own server, on site or in Azure
from CHF 36.14/ month
Part of this option has no public price — ask an IT partner.
Universal Print costs nothing extra when your users already have an eligible licence; the licences themselves aren’t counted here.
USD and EUR list prices are converted to CHF with the ECB reference rate of 23 September 2026: 1 USD = 0.8229 CHF, 1 EUR = 0.9390 CHF. These vendors publish no CHF prices.
Optional print management on your own server with PaperCut NG: CHF 461.05 one-time for this many users, plus support from CHF 225.36 a year. Source
Not included anywhere: printers, paper and toner, network and backup — and for an Azure VM, disks and the VPN to your printers.
How the four options differ
| — | Universal Print | PaperCut Pocket / Hive | Printix | Windows print server |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Server on site | None for Universal Print–ready printers; other printers need the Universal Print connector on a Windows PC or server that runs around the clock.Source | No print server: the PaperCut app on users’ devices forms an “Edge Mesh”. Hive’s printer apps may need an always-on edge node on site.Source | No server or database on site; the Printix Client on users’ computers holds encrypted jobs for a short time.Source | A Windows Server (physical, virtual or an Azure VM) that you run, patch and back up.Source |
| Secure release at the printer | Pull printing (Universal Print anywhere) is included; release by QR code in the browser portal. Badge release comes from the printer maker, who may charge for it.Source | Pocket: release by QR code or NFC in the app or web. Hive: also by badge, card or code at the printer.Source | Release in the Printix app, or by badge or ID code at the printer with Printix Go on supported printers.Source | Not built in; needs print-management software such as PaperCut NG/MF, licensed separately.Source |
| Scanning & copy tracking | Printing only; cloud scanning was announced as a private preview for summer 2026.Source | Pocket: printing only. Hive: copy, scan and fax tracking, scan to email, OneDrive, SharePoint and Google Drive.Source | Copy, scan and email at supported printers with Printix Go.Source | Only with add-on software such as PaperCut MF, priced by partners.Source |
| Where jobs are hosted | Azure regions North Europe or West Europe; no Swiss region listed.Source | Chosen at sign-up: Australia, Canada, EU (Germany), UK or US; no Swiss region. Some global sub-services run in the US.Source | Printix Cloud runs on Azure; the region wasn’t stated on the pages we checked.Source | On your server — in your office, your data centre or Azure Switzerland North.Source |
| How it’s priced | Jobs included with Microsoft 365 E3/E5/Business Premium (100 per licence and month, pooled); F3 and Windows Enterprise add 5. Add-ons: 500 jobs for USD 25 or 10,000 jobs for USD 300 a month.Source | Pocket per active user and month (USD 1.90 up to 50 users); Hive per printer and year, on partner quote only.Source | Per user and month (Starter USD 2.09 for 15–50 users); a minimum of USD 29.85 a month below 15 users; larger plans on quote.Source | Windows Server licence (USD 1,176 list for 16 cores) plus CALs (no public price), hardware or VM, and your time.Source |
Running your own print server: what’s changing
- Windows Server 2022 leaves mainstream support on 13 October 2026 (extended support until 14 October 2031).Source
- Windows Server 2016 extended support ends on 12 January 2027 — print servers still on it need replacing.Source
- Microsoft is ending servicing for third-party printer drivers: since 15 January 2026 no new drivers through Windows Update for Windows 11 and Server 2025; from 1 July 2027 only security fixes.Source
- Since the 2021 PrintNightmare fixes, only administrators can install printer drivers (Point and Print), so drivers have to be deployed centrally.Source
- PrintNightmare (CVE-2021-34527) showed the risk: its main workaround blocks incoming print connections — exactly what a print server has to accept.Source
Facts checked on 24 September 2026.