Office 365 Versions: Which one should I buy?

Microsoft Office 365 includes all the usual Office applications in all versions. But what kind of plan should you choose? Or even... Maybe it would be better to buy a standalone version?

In recent years, the term "Microsoft Office" has become synonymous with productivity. Programmes such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint are among the most successful and well-known in the world.

Although these programmes could previously be downloaded once from the Microsoft website, this changed with the introduction of Office 365 in 2011. Since then, it has been possible to subscribe to all Office applications for a regular monthly fee, without having to buy each new version as it is released.

On 21 April 2020, Office 365 was renamed Microsoft 365, reflecting the growing number of exclusive features available to its subscribers in these 365 versions. However, the main benefits of the service remain unchanged: unlimited access to Microsoft Office applications and free cloud storage via OneDrive.

In contrast, there are a variety of different Microsoft 365 subscriptions, so it can be difficult to choose one. Depending on what you need it for, it may be best to buy a single version of Microsoft Office.

Office 2019 is the latest version, although Microsoft has announced it will release Office 2021 later this year. What you'll miss most are updates for new features, as well as integration with the cloud via OneDrive. Microsoft 365 subscribers usually get monthly updates. In this article you will learn more about Office 2019 and how it differs from the Microsoft Office 365 versions.

How to get Microsoft Office on your PC

Years ago, the best (and only) way to get Office was to buy a CD-ROM for a one-off price and install it on your PC or laptop. Nowadays that would be quite a hassle, as many laptops don't even have hard drives, but back then it was a way to make sure you had a physical backup.

Today, Office is available as a download, but you can also buy it for a one-off annual price or as a monthly subscription. Both options have their advantages.

When we talk about Microsoft products that fall under the term "365", they are subscription-based products because "365" refers to the number of days in a year. Microsoft products without "365" in the name, on the other hand, are likely to be a one-off purchase - which is fine if you only want to pay once, but you can't redundantly update the software online like you can with 365 subscriptions.

There are also different versions of Office, and you should choose the best one depending on your needs.

First we'll go over the Office options if you're buying it for personal use at home or for students, and then the options if you're buying it for work or for use in a small business.

Which version of Microsoft Office do you have?

It is easy to check which version of Microsoft Office you have installed. If you downloaded all the applications at the same time, they should all have the same version. In this case we will use Microsoft Word. The process may vary slightly depending on your device and application, but it should be easy to find:

1. Open the Office application of your choice. You should see a start screen similar to the one shown below.
2. Click on "Account" in the lower left corner.
3. Under the "Product Information" section, look for "About Word". Here you should see "Version" followed by a four-digit number.
4. To find out when this version was released, a quick web search can answer the question.

In older Office applications, however, the process is different. In Word 2010, for example, you have to select "File" and "Help". The information is then displayed on the right-hand side of the screen.

For Word 2007, however, it is different again. Click on the round Microsoft Office symbol at the top left and then on "Word Options" at the bottom of the menu. Then select "Resources", the last option in the left-hand bar. At the bottom of the list you should see an "About" button that gives you additional information about the version you have.

Finally, in the 2003 version, click on "Help" in the top menu bar and then on "About Microsoft Office Word". The pop-up window will show the version of MS Office World along with the suite it belongs to, e.g. Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003.

Will Windows 11 come with Microsoft Office?

No, it won't. Windows 11 is expected to launch in late 2021, but it will not include the Microsoft Office apps. The main exception is if you already have a standalone version (like Office 2019). In all other cases, you will need to sign up for a new Microsoft 365 subscription to gain access.

Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365)

Microsoft's productivity-focused subscription service was known as Office 365 from its first launch in 2011 until 2020, but it will only be known simply as "Microsoft 365" from April 2020. However, this does not change the price or the way it is used, but brings with it a number of new features.

First we come to the options intended for the individual consumer (i.e. probably you). There are three different options to choose from, with two price tiers for the Microsoft 365 subscription and a version of Office Home & Student 2019 that you can buy directly (without a subscription).

You can also make use of a special free version for students and university staff, which we will discuss later. Let's first take a look at Microsoft 365...

The main advantage of Microsoft 365 is that you get regular updates as long as you are a subscriber, without having to switch from one version to another and without file compatibility issues.

In addition, you can save your work in the cloud, similar to Google Docs. Microsoft also offers some additional benefits, such as cloud storage, free Skype minutes and access to apps for tablets and smartphones.

Office 365 - Family or Private?

Microsoft 365 offers two options:

• Family (formerly Office 365 Home) for €79.99/US$99.99 per year
• Personal (formerly Office 365 Personal) for €59.99/$69.99 per year (prices in the Microsoft Store).

The main difference is that with Microsoft 365 Family, up to six users can use the software on multiple devices at the same time, while the personal account is for a single user.

The Family Option offers licences for up to 6 people and up to 6 TB of cloud storage. On 2 October 2018, Microsoft lifted the device restriction for Office 365 installations, meaning that both Family and Personal subscribers can install the software on as many devices as they need.

The extra

€/US$20 per year or €/US$2 per month for the family subscription is a great deal if you want to share the subscription cost with friends. An annual subscription also saves you two months' fees, compared to the €/US$9.99/US$6.99 monthly fees for each subscription type.

Please also note that as a student you are also entitled to free use of Microsoft 365 Education.

Microsoft Office 365 Family version

• For 6 users simultaneously on an unlimited number of PCs/Macs, tablets and phones
• 1 TB cloud storage per user for 6 users (6 TB in total)
• 60 minutes per month for Skype calls to landlines and mobiles
• Permanent access to updates
• Includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher (PC only),
• Access (PC only), OneDrive, Skype, Microsoft Teams
• 1 month free trialUK
  €79.99/year or €7.99/monthUS
  $99.99/year or $9.99/month

Microsoft Office 365 Personal version

• For 1 PC/Mac on an unlimited number of PCs/Macs, tablets and phones
• 1 TB cloud storage per user for 1 user
• 60 minutes Skype calls per month for 1 user
• Permanent access to updates
• Contains: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher (PC only),
• Access (PC only), OneDrive, Skype, Microsoft Teams, Family SafetyUK
  €59.99 per year or €5.99 per monthUS
  US$69.99 per year or $6.99 per month

Office 365 Education - Free options for students

Office 365 Education is a special version of Microsoft 365 for students and teachers or university staff. Students and teachers can sign up for free web access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint OneNote and Microsoft Teams as part of the Office 365 A1 plan.

Of course, you will need a university email address or other proof of your status to make the request. Read our full article on how to get Microsoft Word for free.
For desktop access to the applications, there is also the Office 365 A3 plan, which costs €2.20/US$2.50 per month for students and €2.85/$3.25 per month for teachers and staff. The top-of-the-line Office 365 A5 plan, which costs €5.30/US$6.00 per month for students and €7.05/US$8.00 per month for teachers, offers desktop and web access as well as additional security features.

Office Home & Student 2019

If you prefer to pay a one-off price, Office Home & Student 2019 is the package for you. You lose the automatic software updates of Microsoft 365, but that means you can technically use the software for years without being tied to a subscription.

However, there are other reasons why you should choose Microsoft 365:

You don't get full access to the apps for mobile devices and tablets (everyone can use them for free to view documents, but not to edit or create them), cloud storage is not included, and you don't get access to the entire Office suite included in Microsoft 365.

The latest standalone full version available now is Office 2019, which includes new features such as a black design in Word, new learning tools, new charts and timelines, new transitions in PowerPoint and much more.

It is important to note that you need Windows 10 to run Office 2019 on your PC. In this case, the functionality is more limited:

• Only for PC or Mac
• View, share and edit documents online
• Includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote

In an official blog post from February 2021, Microsoft confirmed that Office 2021 will be available "later this year". Expected features include a dark mode for Word, performance improvements and special features such as dynamic arrays and XLOOKUP in Excel. In addition to Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, Microsoft will also offer OneNote as standard. The company has said that pricing for Office 2019 will remain unchanged.

Microsoft Office 365 versions for Businesses

Microsoft also offers enterprise-oriented versions of its software. Here we focus on the small business options, but Microsoft also offers enterprise plans for larger companies. Again, there is a distinction between the 365 subscription packages and the one-off purchase version of Office 2019.

There are three main versions of Microsoft 365 Business, each offering very different software packages. So make sure you choose the right version. Pay
particular attention to Microsoft 365 Business Basic (from €3.80), which does not include the desktop versions of the core Office software such as Word and Excel, but only Microsoft's online and cloud tools.

Also consider the Microsoft 365 Apps for Business plan (€7.90/$8.25 per user per month), which includes both the desktop and mobile versions of the apps, but without the other productivity tools such as email, calendar and team conferencing features.

Office 365 Business Standard version (Business versions)

• One licence for 5 PCs/Macs plus 5 tablets and 5 phones per user
• 1TB cloud storage per user
• Allows up to 300 users
• Permanent access to updates
• Desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, Access, OneDrive
• Web versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint
  UK: €9.40 per user per month
  US: $12.50 per user per month

Office 365 Business Premium version (Business versions)

• For 5 PCs/Macs plus 5 tablets and 5 phones per user
• 1TB cloud storage per user
• Allows up to 300 users
• Email hosting with 50 GB mailbox and personalised domain address
• Permanent access to updates
• Desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, Access
• Access to OneDrive, Exchange, Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Yammer, Skype for Business
• Web versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook
  United Kingdom: €15.10 per user per month
  US: 20 € per user and month

Office 365 Business Basic version (Business versions)

• 1TB cloud storage per user
• Email hosting with 50 GB mailbox and personalised domain address
• Allows up to 300 users
• Permanent access to updates
• Video conferences with up to 250 people
• OneDrive, Exchange, Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Yammer, Skype for Business
• Web versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote

UK: €3,80 per user per month (annual plan)
USA: $5 per user per month (annual plan)

Microsoft Office 365 Versions and Apps for Businesses

• For 5 PCs/Macs plus 5 tablets and 5 phones per user
• 1TB cloud storage per user
• Web versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote and OneDrive
• Permanent access to updates
• Allows up to 300 users
  United Kingdom: €7.90 per user per month (annual plan)
  USA: $8.25 per user per month (annual plan)

Upcoming price increases on all Microsoft Office 365 versions

Microsoft has announced that prices for some of its commercial and enterprise-focused Office 365 versions will increase on 1 March 2022. In an official blog post, Jared Spataro, corporate vice president of Microsoft 365, says the new prices "reflect the increased value we've delivered to our customers over the past 10 years". It is the first increase since Microsoft 365 launched as Office 365 in 2011, adding products such as Teams, OneDrive, To-Do and Sharepoint since then.

These are the changes you can expect:

• Microsoft 365 Business Basic - $5 to $6 per user
• Business Premium - from $20 to $22
• Microsoft 365 E1 - from €8 to €10
• Office 365 E3 - from €20 to €23
• Office 365 E5 - from €35 to €38
• Microsoft 365 E3 - from $32 to $36
• Possible price increases outside the US have yet to be confirmed, but are likely to be similar. We will update this article as soon as we know more.

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Yours sincerely,

Your Licendi Team