Microsoft has released a new one-time purchase version of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote. Microsoft Office 2024 is available to purchase starting today, but a Microsoft 365 subscription or a free alternative probably makes more sense for most people.

Microsoft Office Home 2024 and Office Home & Business 2024 can now be purchased from the company’s online store. They’re the new standalone one-time purchase versions of the classic Office apps, replacing the previous 2021 editions. If you don’t like subscriptions, but you still really want the modern Office desktop apps, this is the package for you.

Microsoft Office 2024 includes the desktop applications for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, with a license to install them on one PC or Mac. It doesn’t unlock features in the mobile Office apps, and there’s no support for Copilot AI features, even if you have a valid Copilot Pro subscription. Microsoft said in a blog post, “Microsoft 365 is the best way to access the latest versions of the productivity apps that millions of people use every day to bring their ideas to life and power through tasks. But we know some of our customers still prefer a non-subscription way to access our familiar apps, which is why we’re releasing Office 2024 on October 1 for consumers and small businesses.”

Compared to the previous Office 2021 release, this adds most of the features rolled out to Microsoft 365 subscribers over the past few years. The entire suite has an updated interface, with a Fluent Design-inspired look on Windows and a new color scheme across Mac and Windows, as well as improved accessibility tools and OpenDocument Format 1.4 support. Excel has 14 new text and array functions, an IMAGE function, and performance improvements. PowerPoint has new video and camera features, Outlook has improved search, OneNote has new drawing and ink tools, and Word has automatic document recovery.

Interestingly, the Outlook email app is not included in the Home 2024 edition, only the more expensive Home & Business 2024 package. The classic Outlook for Windows app is being phased out in favor of the new web-based Outlook, which is a dramatic downgrade in many areas. Outlook for Mac became a free download in 2023—you don’t need any paid Office package to download it.

The Microsoft 365 subscription starts at $69.99/year for a single user and $99.99/year for a family (of up to six people). It includes access to the desktop apps, all features unlocked in the web and mobile apps, access on multiple devices, and 1TB of cloud storage with OneDrive. The subscription version (or a free alternative like LibreOffice) is probably a better deal for most people, but it’s great that Microsoft continues to offer a one-time purchase version for anyone who wants it.

You can buy Office Home 2024 for $149.99 from Microsoft. The Office Home & Business 2024 package costs $249.99, which includes Outlook and “the rights to use the apps for commercial purposes.” The packages should also appear at other retailers soon.

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