Seattle, Washington – Microsoft has introduced a new update to its popular Office suite, Microsoft Office 2024, as part of its ongoing efforts to cater to the needs of users who prefer perpetual licenses over subscription models. This latest release provides a “locked-in-time” version of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other applications for those who opt not to subscribe to Microsoft 365.
For individuals, Microsoft is offering Office Home 2024, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, all for $149.99. Meanwhile, Office Home & Business 2024, priced at $249.99, adds Outlook and permits commercial use of the apps. Both licenses are intended for use on a single PC or Mac.
In addition to the consumer-focused offerings, Microsoft is also rolling out Office Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) products tailored for businesses and organizations. The Office LTSC Professional Plus 2024 version for Windows even includes the Access database management app. Standalone products such as Project 2024 and Visio 2024 are still available for purchase as well.
The new Office 2024 suite incorporates the majority of updates introduced since the previous version, Office 2021, was launched three years ago. Although the perpetually licensed products will not receive continuous feature updates like their Microsoft 365 counterparts, they do come with a notable absence of real-time collaboration features and do not include the Copilot AI assistant functionality.
Microsoft has outlined the differences between the two licensing models on its dedicated documentation site, providing users with a clear understanding of what each option entails. As the tech giant seeks to balance the demands of both subscription-based and perpetual license users, the launch of Microsoft Office 2024 aims to cater to diverse user preferences in the evolving software landscape.