Office Software: Buy or Rent or Pass

When it comes to office software, most people think of Microsoft Office, which includes Word, Excel and PowerPoint. But Microsoft’s options can be complicated. There’s a lot to think about before you spend money on their Office suite! So here are the details that may help you figure out if you will buy or rent or pass on Microsoft’s Office software:

Buy: Microsoft Office

When you want to pay a one-time fee and “own” your Office programs, focus on Office 2021. Note that Office Home 2024 version only contains Word, Excel and PowerPoint. For those needing Outlook (Classic) & OneNote, look at Office Home & Business 2024.

And if you must have Publisher or Access, you’ll have to rent your 365 apps (next section). I’m sorry, but Publisher is no longer included in an Office purchase, because it is slated to be discontinued in late 2026. And Access? I can only find it offered in 365.

Rent: Microsoft 365

If you’re open to paying a recurring fee to use Office software, then Microsoft 365 is what to consider. When you agree to an annual fee for Microsoft 365, you get access to all Microsoft Office apps, plus you get 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage. And you can install your software on up to 6 devices. Microsoft 365 Personal is intended for one person to use on all his/her devices, whereas Microsoft 365 Family is used when you want to “send” an Office license to other people (family or friends).

A further benefit to Microsoft 365 is that it automatically upgrades to the new version of Office as it comes available. In October 2024, for example, Office 2024 was released. Microsoft 365 users woke up one morning to see this magically appear on their systems. But those who bought Office 2021 or 2019… saw no change. That’s not a big deal, because Office 2019 will be usable for many more years. But no one can see the future of this software, so it is hard to tell: Will Office 2019 users ever be forced to upgrade (repurchase) their software? Will it happen in 2025? 2030? For now, this is unknowable.

Pass: LibreOffice/OpenOffice

For many of you, though, this is all moot. Because for us frugal types, there is still LibreOffice and OpenOffice. Instead of shelling out $150 or $70/yr., these open source programs are available for $0. So if you want to take a pass on paying Microsoft, give LibreOffice a try!