Microsoft Office subscription prices start at $6.99 per month for a single person using one device, and go up to $20 per month for a household of up to six people

Microsoft offers three main subscription tiers under the Microsoft 365 brand. Microsoft 365 Personal costs $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year and covers one person on up to five devices at once. Microsoft 365 Family costs $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year and covers up to six people, each with their own account and up to five devices each. Microsoft 365 Business Basic starts at $6 per user per month for small businesses and includes cloud storage and email hosting through Outlook.

These prices are what Microsoft charges directly. Some retailers and subscription services offer discounts or bundle deals, but the official Microsoft Store prices are the baseline. If you buy a year upfront instead of paying monthly, you save roughly 17 percent on Personal and Family plans.

There is also a one-time purchase option called Office Home & Student 2024, which costs around $160 and works on one device forever, with no monthly fees. This is not a subscription — you own it outright — but it does not include cloud storage, Outlook email hosting, or the online versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Key Takeaways

  • Microsoft 365 Personal is $6.99 monthly for one person on up to five devices, while Family is $9.99 monthly for up to six people.
  • Paying annually instead of monthly saves about 17 percent on both Personal and Family plans.
  • A one-time purchase of Office Home & Student 2024 costs around $160 and never expires, but lacks cloud storage and online apps.
  • Business plans start at $6 per user per month and include email hosting and cloud storage, unlike personal subscriptions.

What's included in each subscription tier

All Microsoft 365 subscriptions include the desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, plus the online versions you can use in a web browser. Personal and Family plans also include 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage per person, which is where your files sync automatically when you save them.

Microsoft 365 Family adds the ability to share your subscription with up to five other people. Each person gets their own Microsoft account, their own 1 TB of storage, and their own copy of the apps — they are not sharing a login. If someone in the family leaves, you can remove them and invite someone else.

Business Basic includes Outlook email with your own domain name, Teams for video calls and chat, and 1 TB of OneDrive storage. It does not include the desktop versions of Word, Excel, or PowerPoint — you use the online versions only. If you need the desktop apps, you step up to Microsoft 365 Business Standard at $12.50 per user per month.

Monthly versus annual payment

Microsoft 365 Personal costs $6.99 per month on a month-to-month plan, or $69.99 if you pay for a full year upfront. That works out to $5.83 per month when you do the math, saving you about $12.50 over the year. You can cancel a monthly subscription anytime, but an annual subscription locks you in for 12 months.

Microsoft 365 Family follows the same pattern: $9.99 per month month-to-month, or $99.99 per year. Paying annually saves you about $20 over 12 months. If your family uses the subscription heavily, the annual plan usually makes sense because the savings are real and the commitment is only one year.

Business plans are billed monthly by default, and you can add or remove users anytime. There is no discount for paying a year in advance on business subscriptions.

One-time purchase versus subscription

If you do not want a monthly bill, Office Home & Student 2024 is a one-time purchase for around $160. You install it on one device and it never expires. You get Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, but not Outlook or OneDrive cloud storage. The online versions of the apps are not included either.

The trade-off is that you do not get updates automatically. Microsoft releases a new version of Office every few years, and you have to buy it again to upgrade. With a subscription, you always have the latest version and new features roll out automatically.

For most people, the subscription is cheaper over time. If you use Office for five years, Microsoft 365 Personal at $69.99 per year costs about $350 total. A one-time purchase of Office Home & Student 2024 costs $160 upfront, but you would need to buy an upgrade in a few years to stay current. If you only use Office for one or two years, the one-time purchase might be cheaper.

How to find discounts and deals

Microsoft sometimes runs promotions on the Microsoft Store, especially around back-to-school season in August and September. These are usually short-term discounts on annual plans, not permanent price cuts.

Some retailers like Best Buy, Costco, and Amazon sell Microsoft 365 gift cards at a discount, which you can redeem for a subscription. The discount is usually 10 to 20 percent off, but availability changes. Costco members sometimes see deals on Microsoft 365 Family specifically.

If you are a student or educator, you may be able to get Office through your school for free or at a reduced price. Check with your school's IT department or student services to see what is available.

Avoid third-party key resellers that advertise extremely cheap Microsoft 365subscriptions — these often sell keys that are not licensed for your region or that violate Microsoft's terms of service, and your account can be suspended.

Comparing Microsoft 365 to alternatives

Google Workspace offers Gmail, Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Meet for $6 to $18 per user per month depending on the plan. The free version of Google Workspace (Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides) has no per-user cost but limits storage to 15 GB shared across all Google services. Google Workspace files live in the cloud by default, while Microsoft 365 files live on your device and sync to the cloud.

LibreOffice is free and open-source software that runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux. It includes Writer (like Word), Calc (like Excel), and Impress (like PowerPoint), but there is no cloud storage, no online versions, and no email client. It works well for basic document editing but lacks some advanced features and does not integrate with OneDrive or Outlook the way Microsoft 365 does.

Apple's iWork suite (Pages, Numbers, Keynote) is free for Mac and iPad users and includes 5 GB of iCloud storage. It is not as full-featured as Microsoft Office and does not run on Windows or Android, so it only works if your whole household uses Apple devices.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use Microsoft 365 on multiple devices at the same time?

Yes. Microsoft 365 Personal lets you install on up to five devices and use the apps on all of them, but you can only be signed in and actively using Office on one device at a time. Microsoft 365 Family lets each of the six people have up to five devices, so theoretically 30 devices total, but again only one per person at a time.

What happens to my files if I stop paying for Microsoft 365?

Your files stay in OneDrive, but you cannot edit them with the desktop versions of Word, Excel, or PowerPoint. You can still view and download them through the OneDrive website. If you want to edit them again, you need to resubscribe or buy a one-time license.

Is Microsoft 365 the same as Office 365?

Microsoft renamed Office 365 to Microsoft 365 in 2020. If you see "Office 365" mentioned, it is the same product under an older name. The current branding is Microsoft 365 Personal, Microsoft 365 Family, and Microsoft 365 Business.

Do I need Microsoft 365 if I only use Word occasionally?

No. You can use Word, Excel, and PowerPoint online for free at Office.com if you have a Microsoft account. The online versions have fewer features than the desktop apps, but they work for basic writing, spreadsheets, and presentations. You only need a subscription if you need the full desktop apps or want offline access.

Can I share a Microsoft 365 Family subscription with someone who does not live with me?

Technically yes, but Microsoft's terms of service say Family subscriptions are for people in the same household. Microsoft does not actively police this, but they reserve the right to cancel a subscription if they determine it is being misused. If you need to share with someone outside your household, a separate Personal subscription for each person is the safer choice.