Updated October 2021

Purchasing a new version of Microsoft Office today is different from the past because you now have many choices and it’s quite a minefield to negotiate.

If you are looking for Microsoft Office for Business Versions – click here

Microsoft Office – Which is the latest version?

The latest version(s) of Microsoft Office now comes in 2 purchase options:

1. Microsoft 365 subscription (annual subscription)
2. Office 2021 (one-time purchase)

Office 2021 is the current version of Microsoft Office, succeeding Office 2019, Office 2016 and Office 2013. It was released to general availability for Windows 10 and for macOS on September 24, 2018.

What is the difference between Office 2021 and Office 365?

In very simple terms.

• Office 2021 is an outright purchase for 1 PC or Mac and costs per computer and is for customers who aren’t ready for the cloud, Office 2021 is on-premises version of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Project, Visio, Access, and Publisher and lasts 3 to 5 years. There are 3 versions, Home & Student, Home & Business , Professional
• Office 365 is a monthly or annual subscription and costs as little as *A$22 per computer per year and can be installed on up to 5 computers (PC or Mac)

*based on purchasing Office 365 Home – A$109/year inc GST and installing on 5 computers

Can you buy Microsoft Office outright?

Yes, Office 2021. The outright purchase model is the traditional way of buying previous versions of Microsoft Office (2019, 2016, 2013, 2011, 2010, 2007, 2003 etc). This is an expensive way of purchasing Office as it is superseded every 3 years and receives no security updates after 5 years. We recommend the 365 subscription model.

There are three versions of Office 2021 you can buy outright:

• Microsoft Office Home & Student(for Mac or PC)
• Microsoft Office Home & Business (for PC or Mac)
• Microsoft Office Professional (for PC or Mac)

How much does Office 365 cost?

• Microsoft 365 Personal, 1 Year Subscription 1 User
• Microsoft 365 Family, 1 Year Subscription 6 User

And forget about discounted upgrade prices, there are NO UPGRADES available from Office 2016, 2013, 2011, 2010, 2007, 2008 or earlier.

If you wish to purchase Office or Office 365, you will need to pay outright for Office 2021 or per month or year for Office 365.

Quick Facts

• Office 2021 and Office 365 have superseded Office 2019 and Office 2019 (For Pc’s) and Office 2011 (for Mac.) or earlier (Office 2010, Office 2008, Office 2007, Office 2003 etc)
• Office 2021 will ONLY work on Windows 10 and MacOS (it no longer works on earlier windows versions)
• Office 2019 was recently upgraded to Office 2021
• Office 365 remains unchanged besides a renaming of the packages.
• Boxed retail versions of Office 2019 are still available for purchase at some retail outlets. Avoid these as you are purchasing old stock which is already obsolete and not supported by Microsoft.
• Office 365 can be purchased as web-access only, for PC’s or Mac’s on 1 or more devices and there are Individual and Business versions available, offering different features and applications such as 100 or 50GB Mailboxes, Access etc.
• Microsoft Hosted Exchange – If you are an existing user of any version of Outlook you can get all the advantages of the more expensive options by simply add a Microsoft Hosted Exchange mailbox.

Can I still use Office 2016?

Can I still use Office 2013?

Can I still use Office 2011 for Mac?

Can I still use Office 2010?

Does Windows 10 come with Microsoft Office?

Generally No (except as a FREE trial) but the two do come bundled with some Microsoft Education versions and as Microsoft 365 Business

Can you get Microsoft Office for free?

Yes, if you are a student (at a participating school) or you purchase Microsoft Hosted Exchange (Plan 1 or Plan 2) you can then get the online (browser) version of MS Office for FREE.

https://www.itguyswa.com.au/how-to-fix-office-365-or-office-2019-activation-or-unlicensed-product-problems/

https://www.itguyswa.com.au/fix-office-365-office-2013-activation-unlicensed-product-problems/