CIPP review
Open, multi-tenant Microsoft 365 administration with free self-hosting or €99/month hosting.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
CIPP is an open-source Microsoft 365 administration platform for managed service providers handling multiple client tenants. Its web portal brings together user creation, editing, offboarding, group membership, license assignment, tenant dashboards, security assessments, and estate-wide license counts. MSPs can also schedule user edits and send results to configured notification channels. The fit is strongest for small and mid-market providers that need shared operational controls across Microsoft 365, Microsoft Entra ID, Exchange Online, and Intune environments.
Pricing is split between a free Self-hosted plan and a Hosted subscription priced at €99 per month with monthly billing. Self-hosting runs in the provider's own Azure environment, giving organizations control over deployment while leaving Azure costs separate. The hosted option provides a hosted CIPP instance and removes the need to operate that environment directly. Both deployment paths support the same central management purpose, but the self-hosted route requires Azure administration and the hosted route adds a recurring subscription cost. Integrations include Microsoft Graph, Exchange Online, and Sherweb, aligning the platform with Microsoft 365 administration workflows.
CIPP's standout area is operational automation across tenants. Administrators can apply scheduled configuration standards with reporting, alerts, or remediation; monitor configuration drift and review deviations; and run tenant security assessments. That combination helps MSPs turn recurring administration and review work into scheduled processes rather than isolated tenant changes. The trade-off is dependency on the licenses and permissions configured in each tenant, so available actions vary with the underlying Microsoft setup. Organizations seeking a focused, open tool for multi-tenant administration should consider CIPP; teams that do not want Azure responsibilities, or need a platform beyond Microsoft 365 management, should evaluate alternatives.
CIPP pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Central portal for managing multiple Microsoft 365 tenants
- Bulk licensing, user administration, and scheduled configuration standards
- Drift monitoring, security assessments, dashboards, and reporting
- Where it doesn't
- Self-hosting requires your own Azure environment and may add Azure costs
- Functions depend on each tenant's Microsoft licenses and permissions
- Web-based platform with community and email support channels
CIPP fact sheet, pricing and score →
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