Office 2021 has the potential to be cheaper in the long run and the apps still benefit from the same kinds of online collaboration features as their Microsoft 365 counterpart. Meanwhile, Office 2021 customers pay a single upfront fee in exchange for a lifetime license. Microsoft 365 follows the software-as-a-service (SaaS) business model, whereby customers pay a regular subscription fee for access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook etc. The primary difference between Office 2021 and Microsoft 365 is the way in which customers pay for the services. Microsoft Teams in Office 2021 on Windows 11 (Image credit: Microsoft) Office 2021 vs Microsoft 365: What’s the difference?

That means rounded corners, a new color palette and an updated ribbon interface.

FeaturesĪs you might expect, the latest version of Microsoft’s Office package comes with a range of new features, detailed in full here.īeyond performance improvements across the board, the highlights include support for OpenDocument format (ODF) 1.3, new Excel functions, a new presentation recording feature for PowerPoint and updated translation functionality for Outlook.Īt the top of all Office apps, users will also find a new intelligent search box, which is designed to help surface documents, commands and specific portions of text more easily.įinally, all the apps have been given a visual refresh that aligns the user interface with Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows 11. Other than price, the only difference between this package and the cheaper option is the addition of email service Outlook and the legal rights to use the apps in a commercial context.īoth versions of the suite have to be purchased on a per device basis.

The former is the cheaper of the two at $149.99/£119.99 and comes with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Microsoft Teams for both PC and Mac.

Microsoft Office 2021 comes in two flavors: Office Home and Student 2021 and Office Home and Business 2021. Microsoft Office 2021 (Image credit: Microsoft) Pricing and availability

Office 2021 vs 365