Office 2024 vs Microsoft 365: One-Time Purchase or Subscription?

Microsoft now sells Office in two very different ways. Office 2024 is a one-time purchase: you pay once and keep the apps. Microsoft 365 is a subscription: you pay every year and get the latest apps plus cloud services. Both open the same Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. The right choice depends on how many people use it, how many devices you have and whether you care about cloud storage.

What Office 2024 is

Office 2024 was released in October 2024. It is a perpetual licence for one PC. You activate it once and it keeps working; there is no renewal. It receives security updates until October 2029, but it does not get new features. What you install is what you keep.

On ShopQiQ there are two versions for Windows:

• [Office 2024 Home](/product/office-2024-home) at $19.99: Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.
• [Office 2024 Pro Plus](/product/office-2024-pro-plus) at $24.99: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote and Access.

Mac users have their own version, Office 2024 for Mac at $21.99, covered in our Office for Mac guide.

What Microsoft 365 is

Microsoft 365 Family is a 12-month subscription for up to six people. Each person can install the apps on their PCs, Macs, tablets and phones, and each gets 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage. Apps update continuously, so new features arrive as soon as Microsoft ships them. A year of Microsoft 365 Family costs $29.99 on ShopQiQ.

When the year ends, the apps switch to read-only mode until you renew. Your files remain yours, and anything stored in OneDrive above the free 5 GB becomes read-only, so you can still download it.

Cost over time

The simplest way to compare is a five-year view, because that is roughly how long Office 2024 is supported.

• Office 2024 Home: $19.99 once, one PC.
• Office 2024 Pro Plus: $24.99 once, one PC.
• Microsoft 365 Family: $29.99 per year, around $150 over five years, for up to six people and all their devices.

For one person with one Windows computer, Office 2024 is clearly cheaper. For a family of four with laptops, phones and a tablet, Microsoft 365 becomes the better deal per person, especially once you count the 6 TB of total cloud storage.

Apps and features compared

• Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote: included in both.
• Outlook: Office 2024 Pro Plus and Microsoft 365. Office 2024 Home does not include Outlook.
• Access: Office 2024 Pro Plus (Windows only) and Microsoft 365 on PC.
• New features: Microsoft 365 only. Office 2024 is frozen at its release feature set.
• Copilot AI features: tied to Microsoft 365 plans. Office 2024 does not include them.
• Cloud storage: 1 TB per person with Microsoft 365; Office 2024 uses the free 5 GB OneDrive tier.
• Devices: Office 2024 is one PC; Microsoft 365 is unlimited installs with five signed-in at once per user.
• Works offline: both. Microsoft 365 needs to go online about once a month to check the subscription.

When Office 2024 is the better choice

• You use Office on one Windows PC.
• You want to pay once and stop thinking about it.
• You need Outlook and Access for work, without a subscription: choose Pro Plus.
• You work in a place with poor internet, or on a PC that is deliberately offline.
• You do not use OneDrive and prefer local files or another cloud service.

When Microsoft 365 is the better choice

• Several people in your household need Office.
• You switch between Windows, Mac, iPad and phone.
• You want 1 TB of cloud backup for photos and documents.
• You like getting new features and AI tools as they arrive.

What about Office 2021?

Office 2021 Pro Plus is still available at $17.49, but Microsoft ended its support on 13 October 2026. It keeps working, but it no longer receives security fixes. For a machine that touches email and documents from strangers, we recommend Office 2024 instead. The extra $7.50 buys you security updates until 2029.

Can I combine them?

Yes. Some people keep Office 2024 Pro Plus on their main desktop and use the free web versions of Word and Excel on other devices. Others buy Microsoft 365 for the family and a separate Office 2024 licence for a work PC that must stay offline. The file formats are identical.

Installation is the same simple process

For Office 2024 you sign in at setup.office.com or use the Office Deployment Tool, depending on the key type, and activate with your key. We explain each step in our Office 2024 Pro Plus install and activation guide. Microsoft 365 is redeemed on your Microsoft account and installed from microsoft365.com.

Our recommendation

• One person, one PC, needs Outlook: Office 2024 Pro Plus, $24.99.
• One person, one PC, no Outlook needed: Office 2024 Home, $19.99.
• Family or multi-device user: Microsoft 365 Family, $29.99 per year.
• New PC that also needs Windows: the Office 2024 Pro Plus + Windows 11 Pro bundle at $36.99.

Questions about which version fits your situation? Write to support@shopqiq.com before you buy and we will help you choose.

Frequently asked questions

Can I move Office 2024 to a new PC?

That depends on the licence type. Keys redeemed on a Microsoft account can usually be reinstalled on a replacement PC after you remove Office from the old one. Volume keys installed with the Office Deployment Tool are meant for one device.

Does Office 2024 work without internet?

Yes. After activation it runs completely offline. You only need a connection to download it and to receive security updates.