If you need Word, Excel and PowerPoint, Microsoft gives you two very different ways to pay for them: Microsoft 365, a yearly subscription, and Office 2024, a one-time purchase. Both include the apps most people use every day, but they are built for different situations. Picking the wrong one usually means paying more than you need to, or ending up without a feature you assumed was included.
This guide explains the differences in plain language and ends with a simple recommendation for each type of buyer.
The short answer
- Choose Microsoft 365 if you use more than one device, want cloud storage and backups, share with family, or run a business that needs professional email.
- Choose Office 2024 if you only need the core apps on a single computer, rarely change computers, and prefer to pay once instead of every year.
What you get with Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 is a subscription that renews every 12 months. As long as it is active, you always have the newest version of the apps, including new features as they are released.
- Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote
- Use on Windows PCs, Macs, iPhones, iPads and Android devices
- 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage per person, which also works as an automatic backup for your documents and photos
- Ongoing feature and security updates
There are three plans most of our customers choose between:
- Microsoft 365 Personal – one person, signed in on up to five devices at the same time.
- Microsoft 365 Family – up to six people in one household, each with their own account, apps and 1 TB of storage.
- Microsoft 365 Business Standard – licensed per user for businesses, adding professional email on your own domain, Microsoft Teams for meetings and chat, and business-grade management.
What you get with Office 2024
Office 2024 is the traditional way to buy Office: you pay once and install it on one computer. It does not expire, but it also does not gain new features over time. Microsoft provides security fixes for a set number of years, after which you would need to upgrade.
- Office Home 2024 – Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote for home and personal use on one PC or Mac.
- Office Home & Business 2024 – adds Outlook and the right to use the apps for business work.
Office 2024 does not include the 1 TB of OneDrive storage, the mobile app features tied to a subscription, or business email hosting.
Side-by-side comparison
| Microsoft 365 | Office 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Every year | Once |
| Devices | PC, Mac, phone and tablet | One PC or Mac |
| Cloud storage | 1 TB per person | Not included |
| New features | Yes, automatically | No |
| Business email | Business Standard only | No |
| Best for | Most households and businesses | One computer, light use |
Doing the math
A one-time purchase looks cheaper at first, and for someone who uses one computer for many years it can be. But the comparison changes quickly when you factor in the extras. If you would otherwise pay for cloud storage or a backup service, Microsoft 365 often costs less overall. For a household with several people, Microsoft 365 Family spreads one price across up to six users, which is usually far cheaper per person than buying Office 2024 for each computer.
For businesses the decision is usually simple: Microsoft 365 Business Standard bundles the apps, email, file sharing and meetings that a company would otherwise buy separately.
Our recommendations
- Students and single users with one laptop: Office Home 2024 if you never need cloud storage, otherwise Microsoft 365 Personal.
- Families: Microsoft 365 Family. One subscription covers everyone.
- Freelancers and sole proprietors: Office Home & Business 2024 for one computer, or Microsoft 365 Business Standard if you want professional email.
- Small businesses with employees: Microsoft 365 Business Standard, one license per person.
How to buy
All of these are available in our Software section as genuine product key cards that ship to you with simple activation steps. Buying for a whole team? Request a volume quote and we will put every license on one itemized price.