Office 2021 vs Microsoft 365: what's the difference & what's new?

Find out what's new in Office 2021 and how it compares to Microsoft 365. If you want to get the desktop apps for Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, you'll have to choose one of these options.

With Office 2021, you pay a one-time fee and that gives you a perpetual license to Office on one PC, so you never have to pay Microsoft again. The price ranges from $150 for Home and Student, which comes with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Microsoft Teams. Home and Business costs $250 and comes with everything in the previous plan plus Outlook and you can use it for commercial purposes. With these options, you get no additional updates. What you buy is what you get. If you don't like subscriptions and you don't care about all the latest features, this is probably the best choice for you.

With Microsoft 365, on the other hand, this is a subscription offer. You'll have to keep paying to use Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Over the first two years, you'll end up paying less: $70 for an individual plan & $100/year for the family plan, which is good for up to 6 people. Also, you get everything in Office 2021 and more, including:
- Up to 6TB of storage space on OneDrive, so you can backup videos and photos
- 30 devices with the family plan
- 60 minutes Skype calling to make international calls
- Around the clock phone and online support
- Grammarly type offering with Microsoft Editor
- Presenter Coach in PowerPoint
- Access
- Publisher
You also get ongoing updates and new features with this option.

👋 Additional resources

⌚ Timestamps
0:00 Introduction
0:27 Major differences
0:57 Office 2021 versions
1:32 Downsides of Office 2021
2:12 Microsoft 365
3:47 Feature updates
4:04 What's new in Office 2021
7:06 What should you choose?
7:49 Wrap up

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[KevinStratvert]

⚖ DISCLOSURE: Some links are affiliate links. Purchasing through these links gives me a small commission to support videos on this channel. The price to you is the same.

[charlesrodriguez]

Kevin, as always, you're a wonderful resource and a fount of information - thank you for all you do!

One factor I could see a benefit in adding to this video or a supplemental video is including information on "Work use" vs. "Home use". Meaning answering the question: "Do I need to have a subscription if my employer provides Microsoft Office already?" And then talking about the pros/cons of still having a personal subscription/copy, separate from a work-access version.

Also in this video, I lost track of when you were talking about the benefits of subscription vs. Office 2021. Perhaps having text on the screen that reads "Microsoft 365" and "Office 2021" when you're talking about pros/cons for each. Visual indicators are a big help to me, and may be for others. A comparison chart of both would be helpful, too.

Thanks again - you're great!

[kevinphilips]

Thank you so much for the video!
Is there any trustworthy website to get Office 2021 for cheap?

[GURken]

95% of the time when I've read about new features in 365 my thoughts were "Who the hell is ever gonna use that?". So i bought office 2021 as soon as it became available. It has more than enough for me.

[Stephen_A.]

And here I am, working in a multi-billion dollar company, still stuck using 32 Bit Office 2013.

[rogerhodge]

Kevin, Thank you for your video. I'm an old guy and have been working on Office 2007. I don't need or want all the bells and whistles/subscription fees etc. Your video helped me decide on Office 2021. Thank you..

[OhShunz]

Thanks for the review. Just bought a new PC and before that it's been many years since I purchased Office, I had no idea there was this subscription system in place now. I think I'll get the one time purchase version and call it a day.

[barrybrian]

Kevin, great video! I hate subscription services, but my son-in-law has offered to put me on his family plan. Also, I'm retired and haven't needed MS Project or Visio in years. So, I'll go with MS 365. Thanks for clearly laying out the differences.

[ArchieDuke.]

Great video Kevin, answered exactly what I was wondering about the 2 products.

[DaveInPA]

Just a quick note Kevin that I love your content. I’m not a regular watcher, it’s more specific things I’m trying to understand (Although I’m still trying to wrap my head around teams channels and other overlapping task and project features), but I really appreciate the clarity and quality and production values and the effort you put into it!
If Microsoft gave you a 365 affiliate link I would go for it!

[elijah]

Kevin, the speed you talk with is so easy to understand for international individuals and young children as well as oldest old, those who are 85+ all others can figure out these differences on their own, hypothetically 😎 THANK YOU!

[vivienwatson]

I love your work Kevin. So informative and beautifully presented, thank you! x

[shalomrutere]

With the horrors I've seen from Office 365 and what you've now said about office 2021, I'm still sticking to Office 2016. 2021 is still good but 2016 has everything I need without stress ☺️

[gageputman]

Very well presented. For future videos of the developing Office subscription and standlone business models, I would like to see in your videos what Microsoft offers as to the levels of techncial support for each business model. Troubleshooting Microsoft Office issues through Microsoft portals (chat/email/community) is often wasted with "try this/try that" solutions, only leading to the necesity of phone support (if you can find it) and service from Microsoft. My two cents...I think your audience would really appreciate knowing some additional tips/tricks to resolve issues with both models, if the need arised.

[DealerLoot]

Kevin, can you please provide some details on the functionality or features in OneNote in Office 2021 vs 365. Some of the features are lacking on the app/365 version compared to offline stand-alone version.Thank you!

[silverlily]

I love how you explained everything slowly and clearly, 👍, thank you ❤️.

[vesnatodorovic]

I'm still using Office 2016, a one-time offer for Home edition. Given the rather basic use of my personal computer I don't need all the extra features. It's nice to see updates, but the price aspect is more in favour of 1 time payment vs.subscription. In the end it all comes down to which specific tasks you do and/or how much time you spend working on the computer.

[euuki]

It's been a few years since the last time I use MS office. I've been switched to linux and used LibreOffice and google docs for free. Still not considering to buy MS office tho. But seeing it's getting more features is good to know. If one day I'll need MS office, Office 365 seems like a good deal.

[rexn]

Happy New Year Kevin and family! Really enjoy your content and the exceptional clarity of your presentations.

[J_T_]

Thanks for making the comparison video. For me, the one time purchase is all I need. Still using Office 2010 and I've yet to use Access, Outlook, One Note and Publisher.