Overview of Microsoft Office editions
Microsoft Office Suite represents an irreplaceable standard for document creation at office or home. Whether it's a word processor, spreadsheet or presentation tool, it's hard to imagine software other than Word, Excel and PowerPoint. However, depending on the selected edition, Microsoft Office also includes the Outlook e-mail client, the Publisher as publishing tool, the Access database software or the Skype for business application. The standalone applications that are often referred to as Office products, although not included in the package, are Microsoft Visio and Microsoft Project, and therefore cannot be missing from our overview.
In recent years, however, Microsoft has been trying to persuade users to switch to a Microsoft 365 subscription (formerly known as Office 365). Let's leave aside the costs of acquisition and operation, and also focus on the content of the individual editions.
Perpetual Microsoft Licenses
Perpetual licenses use a traditional licensing model where the user pays a one-time fee and can use the software perpetually. In this case, the manufacturer also offers a specific period for which the software will receive general and security updates (see article Microsoft product lifecycle). However, after the official end of product support, the product does not stop working - it can be used further.
Under this licensing model, new-feature updates usually appear with the new software version, not continuously, as with subscriptions. There is nothing special about it - those are mostly functions and features that the average user often does not require.
A huge advantage of perpetual licenses is not only their price in the long run, but also the fact that due to their unlimited usage right, exhaustion of the author's right to control further distribution occurs, making them all automatically transferable, and if you no longer need them, you can legally uninstall and sell them. It is on this principle that it is built the business model of licenses from free market.
Overview of current editions of Office 2019
Home and Student | Home and Business | Standard | Professional | Professional Plus | |
Word | |||||
Excel | |||||
PowerPoint | |||||
Outlook | |||||
Publisher | |||||
Access | |||||
Skype for Business | |||||
Commercial use | |||||
Volume activation technology | |||||
Advanced management | |||||
Office Online | free of charge | free of charge | free of charge | free of charge | free of charge |
Price without VAT* | 149 € | 219 € | 411 € | 407,8 € | 334 € |
* Price for 1 license, without VAT. Discount possible in case of higher volume. Licenses for Standard and Pro Plus editions are from the free market.
Microsoft/Office 365 subscriptions
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.
Overview of current editions of Microsoft 365
M365 for individuals | M365 for families | M365 Business Basic | M365 Business Standard | M365 Business Premium | M365 Apps | |
Word | ||||||
Excel | ||||||
PowerPoint | ||||||
Outlook | ||||||
Publisher | ||||||
Access | ||||||
Skype for Business | ||||||
Commercial use | ||||||
Number of users | 1 | 1-6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
OneDrive | 1 TB | 1 TB / user | 1 TB | 1 TB | 1 TB | 1 TB |
Exchange Online | ||||||
SharePoint Online | ||||||
Teams Premium | ||||||
Advanced management | ||||||
Advanced security | ||||||
Office Online | free of charge | free of charge | free of charge | free of charge | free of charge | free of charge |
Price without VAT annually | 69 € | 99 € | 50,4 € | 126 € | 202,8 € | 105,6 € |