Microsoft released a new non-subscription version of Microsoft Office for home users and businesses. This one differs from the subscription-based Microsoft 365 version of Office in several meaningful ways.

The following paragraphs highlight these differences. Office 2024 is the successor of Office 2021, which Microsoft released in October 2021.

Which Microsoft Office 2024 editions are available? There is Office 2024 Home for a one-time payment of $149.99 and Office Home & Business 2024 for a one-time payment of 249.99.

Third-party online shops will sell Office 2024 as well. The price is often discounted at these shops. There will also be options to buy a key for Office 2024, but this may not be legal in all jurisdictions.

What is the difference between the two Office 2024 editions? Both Office 2024 editions include the desktop apps Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. Office 2024 Home & Business includes Outlook next to that, and it may be used in commercial environments.

What is the difference between Office 2024 and Microsoft 365? Here is the list of core differences:

For how long will Office 2024 be supported? Microsoft will support both Office 2024 editions for five years. This means that they won't receive security or non-security fixes after October 2029 anymore.

Note that you need to purchase the next version of Office by the time to continue using it. It is not clear at this point whether Microsoft will release another non-subscription version of Office.

A switch to Microsoft 365 is always possible as well.

Can documents created with Office 2024 be opened in earlier versions or Microsoft 365? Yes, the format is compatible. Documents may be created and opened in the following Office versions without any issues:

• Microsoft?365
• Office 2024
• Office 2021
• Office 2019
• Office 2016
• Office?2013
• Office?2010
• Office 2007
• Office for Mac 2011
• Office for Mac 2008

Is Internet access required for Office 2024? Internet access is not required for use, but Office needs to be activated, and that is done over the Internet.

More about this:

LibreOffice 24.2 released: enables automatic recovery of documents

How many Office 2024 licenses can a single Microsoft account hold? Microsoft limits the number of licenses to 25 for Office Home 2024, Office Home & Business 2024, and Office Professional 2021.

Is there a free alternative to Office 2024? Yes there is. LibreOffice is an open source Office suite that is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Is it not 100% compatible with Office, but very close. Most Home users probably never encounter issues with compatibility.

What about you? Do you use Microsoft Office, Microsoft 365, or another Office solution? Feel free to leave a comment below.