Microsoft Office is a family of productivity applications, led by Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and sometimes including OneNote, Outlook, and Access depending on the edition. You can get it in two ways: as classic desktop apps bought once, such as Office Home 2024, or as a Microsoft 365 subscription that provides current app versions and cloud services. A free browser-based version is also available through Microsoft 365 for the web. The names overlap, but these are different products with different costs, app lists, and support timelines.
What the Office suite includes
“Office” is the umbrella name for Microsoft’s productivity apps. The core set is Word for documents, Excel for spreadsheets, and PowerPoint for presentations. OneNote is a note-taking app that appears in the consumer editions. Outlook, the email and calendar client, is included in some editions, and Access, the database app, is part of certain business editions on Windows. Because the app list changes from edition to edition, check the exact list before you buy.
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| Edition or service | Apps listed by Microsoft | How you pay or get it | Where and for whom it runs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 for the web (free) | Web versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint | Free with a Microsoft account; includes 5 GB of OneDrive storage (Microsoft Support, page accessed 2026) | Browser; not the installed desktop apps |
| Office Home 2024 | Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote | One-time purchase | One PC or Mac |
| Office Home & Business 2024 | Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook | One-time purchase | One PC or Mac |
| Office LTSC 2024 | Business edition; Access is included on Windows. The full app list is not restated here. | Business and enterprise licensing; purchase terms not stated in the sources reviewed | Business use; device terms not stated in the sources reviewed |
| Microsoft 365 Personal or Family | Desktop and web apps; the exact list depends on the plan | Recurring subscription | Family can be shared with other people |
A traditional Office suite is a one-time purchase that installs desktop apps on one device. It does not include Microsoft 365 cloud services such as OneDrive, Exchange Online, or SharePoint Online, or some features that depend on those services.
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Office or Microsoft 365: the core difference
The distinction is about how you pay and what you receive after you pay. Microsoft’s Office 2024 FAQ states: “Office 2024 provides the essential tools you need to capture, analyze, and organize your ideas.” The same FAQ explains that Microsoft 365 is different: it is a subscription that keeps you on the latest modern productivity tools.
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- Office 2024 (one-time purchase): You own the apps for the device they are installed on. You do not get the next major version included. If you want a later major release, you buy it separately.
- Microsoft 365 (subscription): You pay on a recurring basis and receive the latest app versions and feature updates. Cloud storage and other service benefits depend on your plan.
If your work depends on continuing feature updates or cloud services, the subscription is the better fit. If you need a fixed set of desktop apps on one computer and do not need the cloud services, a one-time edition may be enough.
Free options
Microsoft offers a free way to use Office in a browser. With a Microsoft account, free users can use web versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and they receive 5 GB of OneDrive storage. This is not a free desktop license. The web apps run in a browser and do not replace the installed Office apps. Features and availability can depend on your device, your plan, and any organizational settings.
If you already have a Microsoft account, you can open these web apps without buying anything. That makes them useful for light editing, sharing a file, or working on a computer where you cannot install software.
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Each Office version has its own support lifecycle, and the dates matter if you rely on security updates. The table below uses Microsoft’s consumer support page and the Microsoft 365 supported-products page.
| Version | Support status | End-of-support date |
|---|---|---|
| Office 2024 | Supported | October 9, 2029 (Microsoft 365 supported-products page) |
| Office 2021 | Supported; support ends soon | October 13, 2026 (Microsoft 365 supported-products page). This is four days after this article was published. |
| Office 2019 | No longer supported | Already passed (Microsoft consumer support page) |
| Office 2016 | No longer supported | Already passed (Microsoft consumer support page) |
Microsoft 365 subscriptions are not covered by a fixed end-of-support date in these sources. They are positioned as providing continuing updates while the subscription is active.
Publisher is also changing. Microsoft has announced that Publisher will be retired in 2026. The sources reviewed do not give an exact retirement date, so do not rely on Publisher as a long-term part of the suite.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Which version do I have?
If you already have Office installed, identify it before you decide whether to upgrade or subscribe.
- Open any Office desktop app, such as Word.
- Select File, then select Account.
- Read the product name shown in the product information area. It will read something like Office Home 2024, Office 2021, or Microsoft 365 apps.
- Compare that name with the support table above. If the product name is Office 2019 or Office 2016, it is no longer supported.
If the product name shows a Microsoft 365 subscription, your software is updated through the subscription and does not follow the one-time-version lifecycle.
Choosing the right option
- You only need occasional document or spreadsheet work: Start with the free Microsoft 365 for the web apps and 5 GB of OneDrive storage.
- You want to own a set of desktop apps for one PC or Mac: Consider Office Home 2024, or Office Home & Business 2024 if you need Outlook.
- You need ongoing updates, cloud services, or sharing with family: Consider a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription.
- You already run Office 2021 and rely on security updates: Plan an upgrade now, because support ends October 13, 2026.
Prices change by region and over time, so check Microsoft’s current store for your location before you buy.
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