What is the cheapest way to get Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Office on a laptop?

Very few laptops these days come with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint etc) already installed, even though for many people, these are the most important applications. For a lot of people, it is surprising that Microsoft Office doesn’t come already installed on their brand new laptop. However, my take is that it is a good thing that your next new computer probably won’t come with Office pre-installed. You’re better off adding it yourself if you want it.

What is Microsoft 365?

It’s Microsoft Office. They changed the name from Microsoft Office 365 and made it into a subscription. But Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365 are basically the same thing, just a different way of paying for them. Put simply, you pay once for Microsoft Office but you pay a recurring subscription fee for Microsoft 365.

I will use the terms “Office” and “365” somewhat interchangably throughout this article to emphasise the point that you are getting the same core Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) whichever you buy.

If I don’t want the hassle, can I get MS Office or 365 preinstalled?

It is definitely possible to get a laptop or desktop computer with Office applications already installed. However, you will usually end up paying for this one way or another – often with either a higher purchase price or reduced specifications in your computer to offset the cost. Sometimes the version of Office you receive is the full, stand-alone version, sometimes it is the subscription model and sometimes it is the free 30-day trial. It’s very important to check which you are receiving, as they are not the same product.

I strongly recommend against getting a laptop with Office preinstalled. It often ends up costing more than adding it yourself later and you are not in control of the payment model that is chosen for you. You can get any version of Office very easily by following the instructions below.

What instructions? How do I install Office apps if I didn’t buy a laptop with them preinstalled?

There are lots of ways to get Office (explained below), but the simplest are by either visiting the Microsoft 365 Website or (on PC) by clicking on the Start menu, typing “store” [Enter] and then typing “Office” into the store. Then follow the instructions you are given. It is a simple process but you will need a Microsoft account.

So what are my options?

Firstly, you need to ask whether or not you need to buy Microsoft Office at all. With a free Microsoft account, you can access free versions of Word, Excel and Powerpoint. They do not have all the features of the paid versions and they can only be accessed through the internet (through a web browser), but for many people that might be all you need.

You might also try other Office suites of applications. Google has its own very capable (and also free) versions of all the main Office applications – Google Docs, Sheets and Slides perform almost identical functions to Word, Excel and Powerpoint.

Another option is Libre Office, a free and open-source suite of office applications. It is an open-source application. That means the code that the program is built on is not a secret (as it is with most paid-for applications) so anyone can see how it works and anyone can contribute to help make it better (although changes are scrutinised before they make it into the final application).

OK, I want to buy MS Office, but there are so many versions! Which do I get and which is best value?

It all depends what your circumstances are. Firstly, the pricing model. We’ll get into the different versions in a minute.

You can buy Microsoft Office applications for a one-time fee (Office) or as a monthly subscription (365).

If you pay a one-time fee, you will have the software for one computer. You will not get any feature updates. You will not have to pay for it again and you can keep using it basically forever. At the current time of writing, the 2021 version costs £120 if you buy directly from Microsoft, although it is also available from other shops such as Amazon and sometimes goes on sale for less (for example, it was reduced to £80 on Amazon at the time of writing).

If you buy a subscription, you must pay a recurring fee every year – £60 for a 1 person licence or £80 for a 6 person licence. There are a few additional perks to subscribing, such as always getting updated to the latest version. However, the biggest advantage of the subscription is the online storage you get – 1TB for every person your product is licenced for. I don’t have space here to explain why online storage is so important, but suffice to say that if you are going to pay for cloud storage anyway, this could be the best option for you.

And what are the different versions?

The buy-once options are the Home and Student version (Word, Excel and Powerpoint) or the Home and Business version (Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook). Both are compatible with PC and Mac. You can also buy Microsoft Office Professional which adds Microsoft Access and Publisher (both PC only), but this costs significantly more.

The subscriptions include Personal (1 user) and Family (2-6 users) subscriptions. These are often the best choice for home and family use. They include Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook. The other subscription choices are Business and Enterprise versions which include more applications (Microsoft Access and Publisher) but cost significantly more too, so be sure you need those additional features. Finally, there is an Education subscription which you can apply for if you are a school or place of Education.

So what do you recommend, James?

• If you need online storage, you should subscribe to either the Personal (1 person) or Family (6 people) plans (buying from Amazon or similar may be cheaper than directly from Microsoft).
• If you don’t need online storage but you want full versions of the Office applications on 1 computer only, you should buy the one-time purchase Home and Student version (Word, Excel and Powerpoint) or the Home and Business version (Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook).
• If you don’t want online storage and you don’t use Office very often at all, you should stick with the free version or try Google’s office suite.

Couldn’t you have just said that at the start?

Yes, but you should know what you’re getting. With many different versions, it can be a little confusing, so a little explanation hopefully goes a long way.

Are there any cheaper ways of getting the subscription version?

The subscription model can also be bought at stores like Amazon as a 1 year purchase, but you will need to keep paying when the year ends. It is often cheaper than buying directly from the MS website (£10 cheaper at the time of writing). You might find that you get it cheaper with an anti-virus app included (e.g. 15 month MS 365 + 12 months Norton Antivirus is £30 cheaper than the MS store). This is in the hope that you continue subscribing to their anti-virus software too. If you can be strong enough to avoid paying for the anti-virus at the end of the year, this is an even cheaper way to pay for Office.

Psssst… any “other” ways to get Office? Nudge nudge, wink wink?

I am not recommending this final method for anyone other than those who are savvy about these things, but I am saying it is out there: you can buy licences from third party resellers. Many of these are OEM or bulk licences that have not been used by large organisations or manufacturers. This might mean that a large organisation bought thousands of licences and did not use them, selling them on to a third-party who will then sell them to you at a hugely discounted price.

If you decide to go down this route, it is up to you and you will need to do your own research. Many of these websites are legitimate and offer genuine licences at massively discounted prices. However, I’m sure there are also websites that operate on the wrong side of the law too, either dealing in stolen licence keys or taking payment but not giving a valid licence. You must do your research if you decide to go down this route. For what it’s worth, I have used sites like these before for Windows licences and I haven’t yet had a problem. In theory, you should be paying a store like this for an perfectly legitimate, unused licence key that has been obtained through completely legal and morally respectable means. But I’m not recommending this method to you, I’m just letting you know it exists and how these companies are supposed to operate. If you want to try this, do your research and do it at your own risk.

James