Microsoft Office is one of the world’s most popular office suites, providing applications that enable you to create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and databases, as well as manage your email. The suite can consist of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher, and Access, depending on the version you select. Additional services such as OneDrive cloud storage space are also included with specific bundles. Let’s take a look at how much Microsoft Office will cost depending on your needs.
If you want Microsoft Office for free
You’re not going to receive the best Microsoft Office experience without the company’s more feature-packed desktop applications and included services. Still, if you need a free option, you can turn to Microsoft Office Online. Online applications feature more limited versions of Microsoft Word for document writing, Excel for spreadsheets, and PowerPoint for presentations. There is no online access included for more advanced applications such as Publisher or Access — additionally, you are limited to OneDrive’s free storage tier.
While you may be able to get by with the free edition, some users will find themselves restricted to the web version’s limited capabilities. For more information on the full-featured versions of Office for Mac and PC, as well as their mobile counterparts for iOS and Android, keep reading.
Grab Office free as a student
Are you currently a student? If you have a valid school email address, you can obtain a completely free version of Microsoft Office 365. Known as Microsoft Office 365 Education, the bundle includes Word for document writing, Excel for spreadsheets, PowerPoint for presentations, and Microsoft OneNote for note-taking. Students even receive free access to Microsoft Teams for easy collaboration with other students when working on projects. As Microsoft says, “it’s not a trial — so get started today.”
If you are using Microsoft Office at home
One-time purchase options
If you are a home user looking to purchase Microsoft Office to install onto a personal computer or tablet, you’ll want to check out Microsoft Office Home and Personal editions. All Home and Personal variations include Microsoft Word for document writing, Excel for spreadsheets, and PowerPoint for presentations. If these three pieces of software are the only needs you have, and you will be using the software on a Mac or PC, you may want to check out Office Home & Student 2019, which sells for a one time fee of $149.
If you would prefer to pay for Microsoft Office all at once, but require Outlook as part of the suite, Microsoft does offer Office Home & Business 2019 for $249; it includes everything that Office Home & Student includes, plus Outlook for email.
Subscription service options
Otherwise, if you need additional software from the Office suite or prefer to pay with an ongoing subscription, you can opt for Office 365. Designed as a recurring monthly or yearly payment, you will be provided with an always up-to-date version of Office, as well as the complete suite, which adds on programs including Access for databases and Publisher for page layout and design — Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook are also included. Office 365 users are additionally treated to Android and iOS versions of Office apps, and receive cloud storage via Microsoft’s OneDrive service.
If you are opting for Office 365, you can choose from two editions and pay either monthly or yearly. Office 365 Personal edition provides you with 1TB of cloud storage and a license for one single person — it will cost you either $6.99 a month or $69.99 a year. If you require more licenses and cloud storage, Office 365 Home can be used by up to six people (great for a household) and includes 6TB of cloud storage.
If you are using Microsoft Office at work
One-time purchase option
If you plan on using Microsoft Office at work, you’ll want to check out the features that the Business editions feature. As mentioned previously, Office Home & Business 2019 is a one-time payment option that includes Microsoft Word for document writing, Excel for spreadsheets, PowerPoint for presentations, and Outlook for email. The Office Home & Business edition is only compatible with PC and Mac computers and does not include mobile software for iOS or Android. Additionally, no cloud storage services are provided.
Subscription service options
Most businesses will want to opt for Microsoft’s Office 365 subscription service, which keeps your Office suite always up to date, includes additional software, and provides mobile apps for Android and iOS devices. Office 365 Business costs $8.25 per user/per month with an annual commitment and includes Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Access; it also provides 1TB of cloud storage via OneDrive.
If you need additional services from Microsoft, you can choose Office 365 Business Premium, which includes the software mentioned above in addition to Microsoft Exchange, SharePoint, and Teams. Designed for businesses that rely on teamwork, Microsoft Teams and SharePoint together provide online meeting and video services, chat services between colleagues, and file collaboration. The Exchange component allows businesses to host email accounts using their company domain name. Office 365 Business Premium costs $12.50 per user/per month and requires an annual commitment.
Lastly, comes a slimmed-down version of Office 365. For only $5 per user/per month, businesses can access Office 365 Business Essentials. This variation of Office includes only web and mobile versions of its apps — nothing for Mac or PC. However, Office 365 Business Essentials does add all Microsoft services, including Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams.
If you are using Microsoft in an enterprise
Large enterprise clients can use all Microsoft Business options as noted above, but also gain access to Microsoft 365 Business. Built for large organizations, Microsoft 365 Business provides Office, while also enabling advanced security and device management options. These additional add-ons allow system administrators to run tasks such as remotely wiping data from stolen devices, restricting document save locations, restricting general document access, configuring Windows 10 policies, and automatically deploying apps to PCs.
For more help with Microsoft 365 Business, it is recommended you contact Microsoft Sales.
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