Microsoft sells Office two completely different ways. Office 2021 (also called Office Home & Student or Office Home & Business) is a one-time purchase you own forever. Microsoft 365 is a subscription you pay for monthly or yearly. Both let you use Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook — but the long-term value depends on a few details most buyers overlook.
What you get with Office 2021
One license, one device, lifetime use. The core apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote) are installed locally on your PC or Mac and never expire. You don’t get OneDrive cloud storage beyond the free 5 GB, you don’t get future major version updates (no Office 2024 features), and you don’t get the mobile/tablet app premium features. What you do get: a fully featured productivity suite that keeps working in 2030 just like it does today.
What you get with Microsoft 365
Up to six users, each on five devices simultaneously, plus 1 TB of OneDrive storage per user. The apps update continuously with new features. The Family plan also includes Microsoft Defender for advanced threat protection and Editor’s premium grammar suggestions. The catch: stop paying and the apps drop into read-only mode after 30 days.
The cost math over five years
Here’s where things get interesting. Microsoft 365 Family runs about €100 per year retail — €500 over five years. A retail Office 2021 Pro Plus license at full price is around €250, but resellers commonly carry it for €40–€80. If you don’t need the cloud storage and family-sharing features, paying once and using Office 2021 for five years saves between €420 and €460.
So which one?
Microsoft 365 makes sense if you actually use OneDrive heavily, share with multiple family members across devices, or rely on the constant feature updates (the AI-assisted features in particular get better every quarter). Office 2021 makes sense for everyone else — students, casual users, small offices, and anyone who doesn’t want a recurring bill.
One trap to avoid
Don’t buy “Office Home & Student” if you need Outlook — Outlook is only included in Home & Business and Pro Plus. The Home & Student edition gives you Word, Excel and PowerPoint only. Always check the edition name carefully before checkout.