Office License Types: Perpetual vs Subscription (Microsoft 365)

Microsoft sells Office in two fundamentally different ways: a one-time (perpetual) license and a subscription. Both are genuine — the right choice depends on your needs.

• Pay once, own forever
• Word, Excel, PowerPoint (and more, depending on edition)
• Installed on one PC or Mac (some editions allow five)
• No new features after release; security updates continue for years

• Yearly or monthly fee
• Always the latest apps and features
• Install on all your devices (PC, Mac, tablet, phone)
• Includes 1 TB OneDrive cloud storage

Choose Office 2024/2021 if you want a fixed version with no recurring cost — ideal for one computer. Choose Microsoft 365 if you use multiple devices, want cloud storage, or like getting new features.

Both activate with a genuine key or subscription; see our Office activation guide.