What is the cheapest way to get Microsoft Office? 44 Votes 25 Comments Home LibreOffice - Free Office Suite - Based on OpenOffice - Compatible with Microsoft 0 Votes 0 Comments RallyPoint Home.
- If you want the cheapest Microsoft Office deal you can find, then Office 2016 is going to be it. It includes the same core apps as Office 2019 (including the full set of programs if you upgrade to.
- Firstly, don't dismiss the subscription version, Office 365, outright. For what you get it's actually good value (it includes 1TB of online storage aside from anything else). Also, the family edition gives you licenses for six people (each with 1TB) so if you can split the cost with friends/family it can work out really cheap!
- If the free online versions of Microsoft Office simply will not cut it, then getting an Office 365 subscription is going to probably be the best solution. Though these subscriptions can be a little bit pricy, there are still numerous ways you can bring down the overall cost or at least bring down the cost you will have to pay per month.
- Oct 12, 2020 Some users want Office but don’t want to pay for the current products— Office 2019 standalone software, or Microsoft 365’s subscription-based Office apps. You can get Microsoft Office for cheap if.
All file opener for mac. Microsoft Office is something that most students, working professionals, and entrepreneurs will buy at some point in their lives. While these software programs seem to be abundant in nature, they are very easy to overpaid for. Buying Microsoft Office at a discounted price is something that everyone can appreciate. Read these five simple tips to learn how to save.
- Take Advantage of Student Discount Prices
If you’re a student, then you more than likely are going to need to get the best software you can to do well in your classes. But if you’re a student, you are also likely running on a very tight budget, and the cost of software can quickly add up. Fortunately, there are several places online where you can take advantage of your status as a student and save big on software costs. Getting a student discount on Microsoft software is easy; most online retailers will ask you to show proof of your status as a student by just simply entering your student ID number, scanning your student ID, or by some other simple form of validation.
But many online retailers won’t even go this far. All you might need to do is check a box that says “Student” and you will immediately be eligible to receive massive discounts of software. Because of this, even if you are not a student—per se—you can still take advantage of these great discounts by simply checking a box. After all, we are all at least studying something, right?
2.) Check out Office.com and Office Mobile Apps
If you are really restrained by your budget, there are still ways you can save even further. Many components of Microsoft Office can be found for free online, though they will limited in features. If you comfortable working with simplified versions of Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and other components of Microsoft Office, all of these can be accessed for free on Office.com.
Because these versions are free, they are missing many of the more advanced features. They are not the complete package, rather, they are more like a downloadable version of Google Docs you can use as needed. But if you are like many people and consider these advanced features to be a luxury, then the free online version will be the perfect option for you. Furthermore, you can also access these simplified versions for free through the Office Mobile Apps. These apps are perfect for if you are on the go and need to get a project done, or are still just looking to take advantage of as much free software as you possibly can.
3.) Consider Getting an Office 365 subscription
If the free online versions of Microsoft Office simply will not cut it, then getting an Office 365 subscription is going to probably be the best solution. Though these subscriptions can be a little bit pricy, there are still numerous ways you can bring down the overall cost or at least bring down the cost you will have to pay per month.
- Buy long-term. Buying long-term will require a greater commitment up-front, but the longer you buy a subscription for, the lower the monthly rate will be.
- Buy in bulk. If you are a part of an organization that requires multiple Microsoft Office 365 subscriptions or if you are willing to organize a group of friends with common needs, then you can save a substantial amount of money per unit by buying in bulk.
- Take advantage of discounts. Online retailers and other software providers are very eager to get you to purchase your software subscriptions through them, and because of this, they are almost always offering sales, discounts, and other ways to save.
4.) Compare the subscription option to a one-time purchase
If you are satisfied with the current state of Microsoft software, and believe that whatever it exists as right now will be good enough to last you into the foreseeable future, then you may want to take advantage of the option to make a one-time purchase option. By doing this, Microsoft will essentially take a “snap shot” of what you have purchased at a given point in time, and whatever that purchase may be, it is associated with your name.
The one-time purchase option was an option introduced by Microsoft in response to a growing number of customers who were very vocally against the idea of subscription services, such as those mentioned above. These customers decided they already liked what they had, and therefore, did not feel it was fair to keep having to pay for new/updated software as time went on. The benefit of this option is that you only make a single payment. From there you are set with quality Microsoft software for theoretically the rest of your life. The biggest drawback, however, is that you do not get to take advantage of the upgrades and improvements made with each additional version of the software, and though with each version these changes may seem marginal, over time, they can quickly add up (compare current software to, say, 2008).
5.) Be sure to buy from a licensed Microsoft partner
When it comes to buying discount software online—or elsewhere—you certainly have a lot of options available, and because of this, it becomes particularly important to distinguish which online retailers are indeed the very best. Microsoft is a corporation that uniquely seeks to distribute its products through a partnership modeled system, and though there are many organizations that may be attempting to offer you Microsoft software, only some of these organizations are legitimately Microsoft partners.
There are a number of benefits from buying software exclusively from Microsoft partners:
- In-depth knowledge of savings opportunities. Microsoft partners know a lot about their products, and in order to offer you the best deals you will find on the internet, they will direct you to potential savings opportunities you may have otherwise never even imagined. Buying discount software online is an art, and Microsoft partners are their own sort of artists.
- Guaranteed security and legitimacy. There are a number of illegitimate websites online that exist for the sole purpose of gaining your credit card information, selling you counterfeit products, or finding various other ways to permanently rip you off. Only by working with licensed Microsoft partners can you be absolutely sure to avoid these potential (and sadly common) traps.
- Substantial understanding of Microsoft products. Nobody knows Microsoft products better than those who are certified to distribute them, and this can be particularly helpful if you are unfamiliar with the contracts, the conditions, or the products themselves.
- Continuous customer support. One of the great things about working with official Microsoft partners as that even after you make your purchase, they will continue to be there to assist you as long as you might need their help. Having a reliable customer support system available will be a uniquely valuable asset if you plan on using the software for a long time.
Microsoft Office is a great software package that if you are a student or businessperson will certainly come in handy. These tips are just a few ways in which you can buy your product securely, confidently, and with the greatest amount of savings possible.
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There's two expensive application suites that are almost considered a necessity to have on your computer: Microsoft Office, and Adobe Creative Suite. Many find ways around paying for the latter (alternate apps work, there's the cheaper Adobe Elements apps that work for most stuff, and such), but Office is a bit trickier.
Especially this year. After releasing Office 2013 for Windows and the new Office 365 subscription version of Office, traditional Office pricing has gone up. Used to, all editions of Office let one user install Office on up to two computers, which worked great if, say, you had a desktop and a laptop. Then, the Home and Student edition let you install Office on up to 3 computers in the same household, which was a great deal for families.
With Office 2013's release, now all editions of both Office 2013 and Office 2011 for Mac are only licensed to be installed on one computer. At least you're still allowed to transfer your Office license to a new computer if you need to, something Office 2013 oddly didn't allow at first.
The Cheapest Way to Get Office Today
So, if you want to purchase Office today, and not get it as part of a subscription, then here's your options:
Office Web Apps
I know, I know: it's not real Office, but it's close enough for basic use, and it's free. It's the best option if you really need to go cheap on Office. Check out my full review of the Office 2013 refresh of the Office Web Apps at Web.AppStorm, or go try them out for yourself at SkyDrive. Notes 9 for mac. You might be surprised.
Real Office
Ok, so you want real Office to install on your computer? Here's the options today:
- Office 356 - the subscription version of Office for Mac and PC
- Office 2011 for Mac
- Office 2013 for PC
- Office 2010 for PC
Office 365
The first option — and easily the best if you have more than two or three computers — is Office 365 Home Premium, Microsoft's new subscription for Office. For $9.99/month or $99.99/year, you can run Office on up to 5 computers (Macs or PCs), get 20Gb extra Skydrive storage (a $10/yr value, though even that's way cheaper than, say, extra Dropbox storage), and 60 minutes of Skype calls per month (worth around $20/yr). You'll get full Office - Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, as well as Access and Publisher on a PC. If you'd pay for Skype and extra Skydrive storage as well, and have 5 computers in your household, it works out to around $14/computer/year.
Students get Office 365 University even cheaper: $79.99 for 4 years of Office 365 for 2 computers. That'd work out to around $10/computer/year.
If you're running a business, Office 365 for Business makes a fairly compelling choice as well if you do need Office, or even if you just need hosted email. You can get hosted Exchange email for your team starting at $4/month, and can get Office for your employees (and yes, they'll each be able to run it on up to 5 devices) for $12.50/month. You can check through the options and see what works for you. I'm actually considering giving the cheaper option a shot for my own domain's email, and have an upcoming AppStorm series about it. Stay tuned.
Oh, there's one more awesome feature in all versions of Office 365: you can run Office — full Office — from the web if you're away from your computer (though it only works on PCs). It lets you essentially stream the full-featured app, downloading the features you need as you need them, so you can use full Office anywhere. That's pretty nifty.
So, all of those are decent options if you have a lot of computers to use with Office, and if you want Microsoft's other services anyhow. The only problem is, you don't really own Office, and can't use it forever. It's a subscription. If you'd buy Office upgrades each time they come out, it likely won't work out more expensive, but you have to consider the best for you.
If you want real Office that you own, for good, then there's still options.
Office 2011 for Mac
Mac users don't have a new version of Office yet, but even still, the existing version of Office got slapped with the same 1 computer per copy of Office restriction. The good thing is, there's still copies of the original Office 2011 Home and Student Family Pack on Amazon, and it'll still get all of the latest updates. That'll get you Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for up to 3 Macs in the same house for ~$120. That's $40/Mac, and if you use it for 4 years without buying an upgrade, that'll cost $10/Mac/year.
If you're using Office professionally, you can get a download 1-computer copy of Office 2011 Home and Business for just under $200, or there's a few copies of the original 2-computer boxed copy of Office 2011 Home and Business for $299.
Now, both of these prices are only for right now; as soon as those copies sell out, then Office 2011 will cost $119 per computer for Home and Student. Also, remember that Office for Mac is due for a refresh perhaps later this year, so if you can, it might make the most sense to hold off on a purchase, or go for Office 365 so you'll get updates included.
Office 2013 for PC
If you want Office 2013, even just for one computer, you're likely best to go with Office 365. Your cheapest options, otherwise, are Office 2013 Home and Student for $139.99, and Office 2013 Home and Business for $219.99. The former gets you Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote for home use, while the latter adds Publisher and Access and is licensed for business use.
Both options only are licensed for one PC, though the good thing is you can use it perpetually. If you only need the basics of Office on one PC, then Office 2013 Home and Student will likely work out cheaper over time. Otherwise, though, the subscriptions start looking really attractive price-wise.
Best Price On Office 365
And Office 2013 is nice, with a much more streamlined UI across the whole suite, web app creation in Access, PDF editing in Word, smart data entry in Excel, and more. It's worth checking out … just maybe not as a boxed version, as you would have purchased Office before.
Office 2010 or older versions
But you know what? Office 2010 or 2007 is still a good option if you've got a copy around, and if you're not feeling like you've got to have the latest features, then your best value would be to stick with what you have. Office 2010 is still quite similar to 2013, and even 2007 is enough up-to-date to keep you from feeling too behind.
Or, if you need to buy Office, you can still get Office 2010 Home and Student for $169, and it'll still let you install it on 3 computers, which works out to just $56/computer. That's a perpetual license, so you can keep using it forever, making it quite a bit cheaper right now than Office 2013 or Office 365 if that's all you need. Plus, it'll run on XP and newer, while Office 2013 and Office 365 will only run on Windows 7 and 8.
There's also still copies of the pro versions of Office 2010 around on Amazon, as well as Office 2007, but none of those would really work out cheaper than their 2013 competitors right now. Though, that's still an option if you need to buy Office for XP or Vista PCs.
That's a wrap
Microsoft Office
So, that's a lot to consider, but hopefully it'll help you find the best option to buy Office for your PC or Mac in 2013, or get around having to shell out for it. The Office Web Apps on SkyDrive really are a great option, and older versions of Office still are a great value option — especially if you already own them.
But Office 2013 is a compelling release if you're on a PC, and the new Office 365 subscriptions are far more interesting than they look at first glance. I'm especially interested in their hosted Exchange/Sharepoint/Office options, and that's surprising for this Mac and web app guy that's almost left Office behind. Microsoft may have made some missteps with Windows 8 and Windows Phone, but they've also got some interesting things going on.
Cheapest Way To Get Microsoft Office 2016
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