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It sounds like an extravagance, but having the ability to access these apps on virtually any device can be a lifesaver. I’m not one to write in Word or create a Powerpoint presentation on my phone, you’d be surprised how often you may want to take a quick glance at a file, email it to someone, or print it. Microsoft 365 is the name for the subscription version of the service that offers the same apps available with Office 2021, but you will also get some extras. All of these applications are always up to date since new versions are automatically downloaded and installed once you have an active Office 365 subscription. If you are planning on using Office 365 with your family members, then really go for the Office 365 Home plan.
Office Professional 2021 comes with all the apps, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher, and Access. Another advantage of Office 2021 is that you can continue to use the apps without an internet connection. Although you can also use the apps with a Microsoft 365 subscription without a connection, you will need to get online every 31 days to reactivate. Otherwise, the apps will switch to the reduced functionality mode, which only gives you view and print access to the documents.
For most, Office 365 Home and Personal is the way to go
You can assign up to 6 user accounts to the same Office 365 Home plan. Each user gets it’s own account and can install the Office apps on an unlimited amount of devices. The web version of Office doesn’t have all the advanced features of the standard app, but you won’t notice the difference for the vast majority of daily work, especially with Word. The other caveat, of course, is that these apps require internet access to log in, and many of their features, including auto-saving, only work when you are online. The standalone suite of apps was designed for commercial customers with volume licenses who aren't ready for cloud apps and have specific requirements to use the apps on-premise.
As for online services, with an Office 365 Home subscription, you get access to Microsoft Teams, Skype, Microsoft Editor, and OneDrive. Along with the on-premises version of Office applications, you can also use Office 365 Web Apps and the Office mobile suite. When Microsoft debuted Office 365 back in 2011, the online subscription service was exclusively geared towards corporate users. Microsoft’s idea behind the launch of Office 365 back then was to provide its business-focused users with an overhauled successor to Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite. In 2013, to coincide with the release of Microsoft Office 2013, Microsoft introduced major changes to the Office 365 platform. For the first time, Office 365 included different plans, following the on-premises Office model.
How to get Office 365 for free
Office 365, as most of you already know, is a subscription based productivity suite that offers access to various Microsoft services and software. Launched nearly two years ago, Microsoft has provided regular updates as well as improvements to the cloud productivity suite. If you would be the only one using the apps and services, the "Microsoft 365 Personal" plan is for you.

Professionals with company-supplied devices may also opt for the single-purchase option, especially if they don't use these apps outside of their work. Furthermore, with Microsoft 365, each person can install all included Office apps on up to five unique devices of any combination. Even with this widespread popularity, confusion persists around the naming conventions for the online subscription plans for Microsoft 365 and Office 365. Simply put, Office 365 and all its collaborative tools represent just one part of Microsoft 365, which also includes the Windows operating system and Enterprise Mobility and Security . In can imagine that this could work perfectly fine if you only want to share Office with your husband or wife. With the 5 active devices limitation, you could install it on two desktops and to mobile phones without any issues.
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There’s no tangible benefit to buying Office 2019, except that you only have to pay for it once. When you choose one of the subscriptions, you should get the yearly plan to save money, plus you do not have to worry about payments throughout the year. Other premium features include Microsoft Editor for grammar checking and AI creative tools. For example, "PowerPoint Presenter Coach" helps you practice presentations, and "Designer" enables you to create effective slide presentations.
It costs $70 a year (or $7 per month) and gives you access to all the apps alongside 1TB of OneDrive storage. Ideally speaking, if you have a family with more members using the computers, it may be a good idea to opt for the Home plan so that you will save money instead of spending for each of the accounts. On the other hand, if you are someone alone using the services, it would be a good idea to go with the Personal plan.
Office 365 Personal, which is relatively a newer option, offers access to the same apps and storage space as Office 365 Home, except you can only install it on one PC or Mac, and one tablet or iPad. Planning to buy Office 365 for personal use but can’t decide if you need Office 365 Home or Personal? I am going to help you to explain what the differences are between these two Office 365 plans for home users. Although you're getting one license for one Windows 11, 10, or macOS device with this option, you can also install the apps on your phone with limited functionalities. The standalone version of Office (also referred to as the "on-premises" or "perpetual" version) allows you to install and update the apps on one device. In other words, it's possible to continue using the apps through their lifecycle and beyond .
Currently, there's no major distinction between them in terms of features, especially because Office 2021 was just recently released. In just two years, you would have already spent more if you chose Microsoft 365 Personal over Office Home & Student 2021. But if you pick the Microsoft 365 Family plan and have six users sharing it, you would have only paid $16.67 per head. It would take at least nine years for the cost of your Microsoft 365 to equal the price of an equal number of Office 2021 licenses. The initial cash outlay for both versions of Office 2021 is significantly higher than Microsoft 365's offerings. However, since it's a one-time purchase, you only need to spend on the app once.
In reality, you can install any of the plans on an infinite number of devices. Aside from Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, with Microsoft 365, you'll also get access to Skype and OneDrive. With Skype, you get a monthly allowance of up to 60 minutes of international calls. So if your family account has six users, you get 6TB of cloud storage. Office 365 packages are designed to provide individual users and businesses with various productivity and collaboration applications.

And while $69.99 per year doesn't seem like a lot for an essential piece of software, it isn’t insignificant, either. It feels particularly expensive for casual users, who only need Office occasionally. Office 365 Home is a subscription-based plan that includes the Office suite of productivity tools and Microsoft’s online collaboration services. This plan comes with the premium versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. The premium applications offer you smart assistance features such as advanced writing suggestions. Premium also gives you the ability to work on your documents in offline mode from any device.