The subscription system suits some users, but others prefer to pay for software outright and know that they will own it for eternity. There are various packages depending on whether you will be the only person using the software, if you will be sharing the subscription with friends and family, or if you are a small business or a larger enterprise.

With Microsoft 365, customers pay monthly or yearly to always have the most up to date version of the software. However, some of the new features had already been available as part of the Microsoft 365 (previously Office 365) subscription. Office 2021 for Mac was launched in September 2021 (three years after Office 2019 launched). What’s the difference between Microsoft 365 and Office 2021? If you are a PC user there is also Office Professional 2021 for $439/£419, but there is no Mac version of this suite. Microsoft 365 subscribers get updates every month (though organizational subscriptions can choose to upgrade user accounts either semi-annually, every January and July). Details of how to upgrade to that are on Microsoft’s site here. Microsoft also offers Office LTSC (Long Term Servicing Channel). Read about Microsoft Office for Mac 2021 in our guide to the latest version of Office. There is also Office Home & Business 2021 ($249.99/ £249.99) which is designed for families and small businesses who want the office apps Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.

Outlook isn’t included in this version, but since March 2023 Microsoft has started offering Outlook for free, and you can download that on the Mac App Store. The latest version of Office for Mac for home users is Office Home & Student 2021 ($149.99/ £119.99). If you don’t want to sign up for a subscription and would rather own the software outright, you will be glad to hear that Microsoft continues to sell and update the Office 2021 suite. Despite the name change and a bunch of upgrades at that time, the prices remain the same. The service, previously called Office 365, rebranded as Microsoft 365 in April 2020. If you subscribe you benefit from the fact that you always receive the latest updates to the software, continuously, without the need of having to buy the whole program or suite again. The latest version of Office for Mac is available via a Microsoft 365 subscription which costs from $69.99/ £59.99 per year or $6.99/£5.99 per month).

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