You tin run Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook on a Mac (and on your iPad or iPhone). Just it's not a simple case of installing the awarding you need and starting to type. You lot need to cull whether to sign upward to a subscription or buy the total version outright. Y'all need to decide whether you demand just one application or all of them. And, if you lot are choosing a subscription package, y'all need to determine what kind of subscription applies.

There are multiple ways in which you tin get the Office apps on your Mac. We'll help you figure out which version of Office for Mac is the correct one for you lot in our consummate guide to ownership Microsoft Role for Mac.

What is the latest version of Function for Mac?

The latest version of Office for Mac is bachelor via a Microsoft 365 subscription (from £59.99/$69.99 per year or £5.99/$6.99 per month). If yous subscribe you benefit from the fact that you always receive the latest updates to the software, continuously, without the need of having to buy the whole program or suite once again. The service, previously called Office 365, rebranded as Microsoft 365 on 21 April 2020, subsequently receiving a whole agglomeration of updates which you tin can read almost on our sister site Tech Advisor. Despite the name alter and upgrades, the prices remain the aforementioned.

If you don't want to buy a subscription, y'all will exist glad to hear that Microsoft has updated the Office suite for 2021. Read nigh Microsoft Role for Mac 2021 in our guide.

The latest version of Office for Mac for habitation users is Part Abode & Educatee 2021 (£119.99/Us$149.99). It includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint. There is as well a new Office Home & Business concern 2021 (£249.99/$249.99) which is designed families and pocket-sized businesses who want the office apps Word, Excel, PowerPoint equally well as Outlook.

Microsoft likewise offers Function LTSC (Long Term Servicing Channel). Details of how to upgrade to that are on Microsoft'southward site here.

Microsoft 365 subscribers become updates every month (though organizational subscriptions can choose to upgrade user accounts either semi-annually, every January and July).

However, both versions volition receive security and performance updates. You can find details of the latest version hither:

  • Microsoft 365
  • Office 2019

What's the difference between Microsoft 365 and Office 2021?

Office 2021 for Mac was launched in September 2021 (3 years after  Office 2019 launched). Withal, some of the new features had already been available as part of the Microsoft 365 (previously Office 365) subscription.

With Microsoft 365, customers pay monthly or yearly to always have the most up to appointment version of the software. At that place are various packages depending on whether you lot will exist the simply person using the software, if you will be sharing the subscription with friends and family unit, or if you are a minor business or a larger enterprise.

The subscription system suits some users but others adopt to pay for software outright and know that they will own it for eternity. Hence, Microsoft as well allows you to buy the total Function 2021 suite for a i-off payment. That licence will never run out, although Microsoft might eventually stop support for that version.

As far equally stand-alone software become, you tin can either choice up Office Home & Student 2021 (£119.99/US$149.99), Office Domicile & Business 2021 (£249.99/$249.99) or opt for the Office LTSC if you are ownership for a business or to use commercially (in which case y'all will find details on Microsoft's site here.

You can also purchase the apps individually, more on that below.

At that place is also a free cloud-based version of Part that y'all tin can access online via a web browser. Think of information technology as a Light version of the paid versions of the app. You yet need to sign up for a Microsoft Account. This is handy if you lot have found yourself working from dwelling during the pandemic, if that sounds like y'all read: How to work from home with a Mac.

Individual Office Apps

Home use: Office 2021 vs Microsoft 365

Part Home & Pupil 2021 and Office Home & Business 2021

Microsoft 365 (Family or Personal)

Pay in one case.

Pay monthly or yearly. Finish paying and yous lose the license.

Includes Discussion, Excel, PowerPoint. (Works with Microsoft Teams). Office Home & Business organisation 2021 as well include Outlook.

Includes the most up to date version of Excel, Give-and-take, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

No services included.

Skype and One Bulldoze included. Family: 6TB (1TB for each person); Personal: 1TB. OneDrive Personal Vault security.

Runs on i Mac or i PC

Runs on Mac, PC, iOS & Android

Ane person.

Personal: One person; Family unit: Six people.

Includes security updates, but no characteristic updates.

Microsoft will update the apps with new features.

Install on 1 Mac or PC.

Install on all your devices (iPad, iPhone, Mac). Depending on your subscription parcel you lot may be able to share your subscription with five others.

You get basic versions of the mobile apps that can exist used on iPhones and iPads (equally long as the iPad is under 10.1in - then iPad mini simply).

You become free versions of the mobile apps with extra features that aren't available in the bones versions.

No online storage.

1TB of deject storage in OneDrive, to be used by up to vi users depending on your subscription package.

Installation help. Support for offset lx days at no actress price.

Ongoing technical assistance.

Business employ: Microsoft 365 for Business vs Role LTSC

If you are a enterprise user you demand to consider a version designed for deploying to businesses. With the 2021 version of Office Microsoft has added Office LTSC as an option.

Office LTSC

This version of Office 2021 is bachelor to book licence customers who just want to make a one-time purchase, rather than subscribing to Microsoft 365. It includes the same apps as the Habitation & Business version of Office Home & Business concern 2021, simply, Mac users besides get Outlook LTSC (PC users also get Access and Publisher LTSC versions).

The price is 10% more than the Function Domicile & Business 2021 version, and will depend on how many Macs or PCs are being deployed to.

Microsoft 365 for Business

There are also Microsoft 365 subscription packages for businesses and enterprises. Each is charged per user/per month and there are lower monthly prices if you sign upwardly for an annual commitment.

Microsoft 365 Business Bones (formerly Office 365 Business Essentials) is the cheapest selection at £3.80/$5 per user per month. It includes only web and mobile versions of the Role apps. Subscribers also get access to OneDrive, Exchange, SharePoint and Teams.

Microsoft 365 Apps for Businessprovides app access only and access to OneDrive. You get the desktop versions likewise only not the added services around the software such as Teams or threat protection. Information technology costs £7.xc/$8.25 per user per month.

Microsoft 365 Business Standard (formerly Part 365 Business Premium) includes Excel, Discussion, PowerPoint, and Outlook (plus Admission on a PC), forth with business concern email, Microsoft Teams access and cloud storage via OneDrive. This tier costs £9.xl/$12.50 per user per month.

Role 365 Business organisation Premium (formerly Microsoft 365 Business) includes everything you arrive the Business Standard choice plus cyber-threat protection. This is the most expensive at £fifteen.10/$20 per user per month.

Head to Microsoft now to compare its plans for business.

PowerPoint for Mac

How much does Microsoft 365 for Mac price?

With then many options around, the pricing varies depending on the type of license y'all want and how you want to pay. Nosotros've broken it all downwardly in our table below.

Microsoft 365 prices

Subscription blazon

Annual cost

Monthly cost

Max number of users

Microsoft 365 Personal

£59.99/year ($69.99/year)

£5.99/month ($6.99/calendar month)

I person

Microsoft 365 Family

£79.99/year ($99.99/year)

£7.99/month ($nine.99/month)

Up to six people

Microsoft 365 Business concern Basic

-

£3.80 per user month

($v per user per month  for a year)

Per user

Microsoft 365 Apps for business

-

£7.90 per user per month for a twelvemonth

($eight.25 per user per month for a twelvemonth)

Per user

Office 365 Business Standard

-

£ix.forty per user per month for a yr

($12.fifty per user per month for a twelvemonth)

Per user

Microsoft 365 Business organisation Premium

£15.10 per user per month for a yr

($20 per user month for a twelvemonth)

Part 2021 prices

Home and Student

£119.99

Purchase from Microsoft

N/A from Apple

One person, one user, one Mac

Dwelling house and Business

£249.99

Buy from Microsoft

N/A from Apple

I person, ane user, ane Mac

Word

£149.99/$159.99 or £5.99/$vi.99 per month

Buy from Microsoft

Buy from Apple

One Mac (or PC)

Excel

£149.99 /$159.99 or £five.99/$6.99 per month

Purchase from Microsoft

Buy from Apple

One Mac (or PC)

Powerpoint

£149.99 /$149.99 or £5.99/$6.99 per calendar month

Buy from Microsoft

Buy from Apple

One Mac (or PC)

Outlook

£14.99 /$149.99 or £v.99/$half dozen.99 per calendar month

Buy from Microsoft

Buy from Apple tree

One Mac (or PC)

If yous are a PC user in that location is too Office Professional 2019 for £419, but there is no Mac version of this suite. More data here.

Cheapest way to get Microsoft Part

Every bit you can run into from the above, there are various ways to become Office, or single programs from the Function suite, on your Mac. You could subscribe for the time you demand access to the software and so cancel your subscription. That mode you could become the basic version of Role for Mac for £5.99/month and abolish subsequently 30 days. Beware that you may lose access to your data though. After you cancel, you lot can still use Role in View Only style.

Speaking of View Only mode, this mode is handy if you but desire to exist able to read Word documents or PowerPoint slides. In this mode you can view, just not edit. That may be all you lot demand to do, in which instance this is the cheapest selection - because it's free.

If you do need to be able to edit documents another option is to open up them in Apple tree'due south iWork apps. Apple tree has a word processor called Pages that tin open Word documents, Keynote for PowerPoint presentations, and Numbers for Excel. These options will enable you to open and edit the Office documents and save them in the Office format, without ever having to open up Office. Sometimes the formatting tin can be out slightly, but information technology'south a great solution. And crucially it won't toll you lot anything because these apps are gratis for Mac users.

If all you demand is Word, for example, you don't take to purchase all the Office apps. As yous can encounter from the table above, it is possible to buy Give-and-take, Excel and PowerPoint separately. At but over £100 a popular, it could be a good solution if you lot don't want to pay more than to go the other apps that are included in the suite.

We also take this article near how to get Microsoft Word for free.

Word for Mac

Should I buy Office 365 or Office 2021?

If y'all subscribe to Microsoft 365 Personal for 2 years y'all'd spend £119.98. That's essentially the same outlay as buying the software outright.

Of form, there are plenty of disadvantages in this scenario too. Office 365 subscribers will benefit from new feature updates throughout those 2 years, meaning that you will miss out on some great new tools. You may benefit from technical support that y'all get with a 365 subscription. Peradventure you need to have access to the iOS and Android versions of the software. We have this commodity well-nigh getting Office apps for gratuitous on iPad.

Another cistron that may sway your decision is that Microsoft volition stop mainstream back up for Mac versions of Part Home & Student 2021 besides as Home & Business 2021 in October 2026 (which means Microsoft is merely supporting it for five years, rather than the usual ten). This ways that information technology will no longer receive security or not-security updates, such as changes to features or blueprint. If that'south a concern for you, you might prefer a subscription.

Volition my Mac run Microsoft 365 or Office 2021 for Mac?

In terms of system requirements, both Microsoft 365 and Part 2021 volition operate on macOS Monterey, Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave and High Sierra (Microsoft will e'er endeavour to support the current and two previous versions of macOS). Mac users volition demand at least 10GB of deejay space.

One affair to note is that older, 32-bit versions of Role, such equally Role 2011, will not work on Macs running Catalina or later. To find out whether your version is 64 scrap click on the Apple tree icon in your menu and choose About This Mac, and then System Study. Scroll downwardly to Software and cull Applications. If any of your apps are 32-chip y'all will see that data here.

Another compatibility consequence is with M1 Macs. Soon afterward the arrival of the M1 Macs in Nov 2020 Microsoft fabricated sure that Office worked natively on the M1 Fleck. Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and OneNote all work on the M1 Macs. Microsoft 365 users would have had the new version of the software update automatically. Should compatibility issues come upwards again in the time to come yous may accept to wait longer for an update if yous aren't a Microsoft subscriber. See all Microsoft Office and Role 2019 system requirements.