Overview of Microsoft Office editions

For its SaaS solutions, Microsoft strictly separates the personal and business use of its applications. For private use, classic Office applications are available for up to 6 users for a relatively reasonable price (especially if you use the maximum user limits). The subscription also includes a virtual disk space for storing and synchronizing OneDrive files in the range of 1 TB.

However, Microsoft is not so generous for corporate or commercial use of office software, and whether you use Microsoft's e-mail solution (Exchange), SharePoint, or Teams, you simply pay for these applications. An exception is Microsoft 365 Apps, where you get 1 TB of storage on OneDrive in addition to classic applications, however, due to its price, the subscription ceases to pay after three years compared to perpetual licenses.

For larger organizations, Microsoft offers comprehensive F and E edition plans, which will be discussed in a future article.

The biggest disadvantage of the subscription is the so-called vendor-lock. If you use Microsoft's online services, such as OneDrive, you have to pay all the time. When you stop paying, you will lose access to your data as well as the ability to use installed applications. Therefore, before deciding which edition to choose, it is necessary to carefully consider all the pros and cons.