Microsoft Reveals Office 2021 Pricing

[Deleted member 185088]

I thought Microsoft said that they wouldn't be releasing any more standalone Office products and were going Microsoft 365 only?

I remember Office 2019 was to be the last version. I wonder what changed.

I believe they said something similar about Windows 10.
I am glad they kept Office, I don't like the subscription model so you have to pay every year, plus it's very poorly made, they didn't work on collaboration at all, they are way behind Google.

 

[lexluthermiester]

So $149 for a Home & Student version.... Compared to free for LibreOffice or Open Office? Gee, which one should I choose..

 

[TxGrin]

My work i can buy it for $15, I always grab the latest version every time it comes out

 

[Frick]

That said I will die before I use OneDrive as my main cloud solution. Dropbox Pro hasn't been cheap either but the file version history has saved my ass multiple times, and I've never had reliability issues with Dropbox on mobile, Linux, Mac, or PC. OneDrive reliability is hilarious and so is the Android app - it's why I always put my OneNote notebooks in Dropbox and dealt with the hassle rather than set it up in O365 as they would prefer. Maybe I'll store some useless stuff with the free OneDrive that comes with O365 Family, if I don't first automatically uninstall Onedrive as on any new Windows installation of mine.

I've used Onedrive for a long time and find it heaps better than Dropbox, on Android as well... Dropbox is probably better on sharing tho.

Also even the standalone versions aren't really "yours forever" either, MS still has control over you. MS pulled the installer for Office 2010 recently I think, found out the hard way when trying to reinstall. No security updates either, obviously. I'm not gambling an important computer on some alleged O2010 installer downloaded from a random obscure third party website.

And that is why we never delete installers.

So $149 for a Home & Student version.... Compared to free for LibreOffice or Open Office? Gee, which one should I choose..

If you don't need the features of Excel (which most don'), Libre. If you do need Excel, Excel. As said elsewhere here, the free alternatives can't compete when you get serious about your spreadsheets.

 

[windwhirl]

As said elsewhere here, the free alternatives can't compete when you get serious about your spreadsheets.

*Looks at a few thousands spreasheets full of VBA* Yep, Excel all the way baby.

 

[lexluthermiester]

As said elsewhere here, the free alternatives can't compete when you get serious about your spreadsheets.

Rubbish. I've seen the difference and that's all they are, differences. Once learned there is little that can be done in Excel that can not also be done in LibreOffice Calc.

*Looks at a few thousands spreasheets full of VBA* Yep, Excel all the way baby.

Ok, please show an example. Use screenshots if you would please.

 

[zlobby]

Office 2003 still serves me well, why should I upgrade to that stinking ribbon?

Well, new Excel for example got way more powerful. Other than that all else is 'Meh!' Especially true for Outlook. IDK who approved it for production.

 

[efikkan]

So $149 for a Home & Student version.... Compared to free for LibreOffice or Open Office? Gee, which one should I choose..

Pricing aside, when LibreOffice is a much better product, yes it's a really hard choice…
For those who haven't, it's free and it's easy to install, what do you have to loose by trying it out?

As said elsewhere here, the free alternatives can't compete when you get serious about your spreadsheets.

Why, because they're free? A price tag makes software good?
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind paying for good software, but Office 2019 is a buggy bloated mess. It seriously lags a lot even in small spreadsheets, and often leads to incorrect input. I've never seen such nonsense in LibreOffice OpenOffice or very old MS Office. Actually old Office 95 worked better on my old Pentium 90, it worked smoothly with huge spreadsheets full of formulas. Microsoft had a good product and they ruined it.

 

[zlobby]

My work i can buy it for $15, I always grab the latest version every time it comes out

Drop me a line next time. I like buying it on the cheap too.

Pricing aside, when LibreOffice is a much better product, yes it's a really hard choice…
For those who haven't, it's free and it's easy to install, what do you have to loose by trying it out?


Why, because they're free? A price tag makes software good?
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind paying for good software, but Office 2019 is a buggy bloated mess. It seriously lags a lot even in small spreadsheets, and often leads to incorrect input. I've never seen such nonsense in LibreOffice OpenOffice or very old MS Office. Actually old Office 95 worked better on my old Pentium 90, it worked smoothly with huge spreadsheets full of formulas. Microsoft had a good product and they ruined it.

Bruv, fully patched Outlook runs like carp on a very beefy workstation machine. Excel starts for 25s just opening a small .csv file.

 

[W1zzard]

*Looks at a few thousands spreasheets full of VBA* Yep, Excel all the way baby.

+1 on that, people who say they replaced excel probably never used more than „= <click cell> + <click cell>“

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Still using office 2007 ms stopped allowing activations though so it's only on three machines now, bastards

Fortunately TPU often posts deals on windows and office so office 2016 is pretty cheap I might get one or two next round

Never had a need for excel
Word format can do small spread sheets just fine I only need a about 4-6 columns anyway hardly worth using excel for that lol

 

[zlobby]

+1 on that, people who say they replaced excel probably never used more than „= <click cell> + <click cell>“

Excel is now a full-fledged PowerBI, which is quite good. Together with VBA is makes for a very potent stuff. Sadly, it is buggy and laggy AF.

 

[windwhirl]

+1 on that, people who say they replaced excel probably never used more than „= <click cell> + <click cell>“

To be honest I wouldn't mind replacing VBA with a more... "normie" feature of Excel or Calc that does the same, if there are, but these spreadsheets have been in use since forever and I can't really justify modifying all of them and potentially breaking work flow either by doing that (with what time? I definitely don't have the time) or switching out Excel for Calc.

Why fix what works?

Though, outside of Excel, I replaced Outlook for Thunderbird many years ago, so I think at work I could do just fine with the basic Excel/Word/PowerPoint combo.

At home, the Family plan of 365 is just too damn good for me, because 1 TB of OneDrive and being able to install it on my mom, my sister and my grandma's computers, so it's up to date and I don't even have to think about backing things up (I still do, force of habit, but it's nice to have an extra backup place).

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

As a bit of an Excel nerd, I always get a kick out of seeing other people’s files. You can tell how much people understand the program when you see equations like =sum(A4)

 

[W1zzard]

Would love to replace vba with c# or something modern too, vba is so horrible, but there’s no alternative on the market

 

[lexluthermiester]

Would love to replace vba with c# or something modern too, vba is so horrible, but there’s no alternative on the market

You'd be getting into the programming side of things and most people/professionals just want a spreadsheet that works and let's them do their job without to much fuss.

 

[NC37]

Means absolutely nothing when Chinese key vendors can sell you cheap legit keys for a tiny fraction of the price.

 

[Vayra86]

Too many complaints? Or too few Microsoft 365 customers?

Both and in other news, water is wet and MS is really that arrogant.

I love how its user base is never biting on these idiotic moves. And how MS is quick to adjust back to common sense again.

I think that’s the real issue they went to the subscription. Office was good enough for 95% of users probably 10-15 years ago. Today, I click the “update office” prompt with hesitation, because I highly doubt there’s anything new that I will notice or appreciate. Sometimes it changes things for the sake of change, requiring me to relearn. Does it take long to relearn? No, but it disrupted my workflow, with typically no reward to me. MS just doesn’t want to sell a one-time copy of if software that they know will last many of its users a lifetime. I appreciate Excel and I guess outlook, but the rest of the suite is marginal at best. Word is quite possibly the most frustrating program I have ever used. Formatting is often a nightmare.

Im still using Office XP pro. Its fantastic. High info density on taskbars, no ribbon, no BS I never have or want to use. That said, only excel and word for private use.

At work Im using newest Word 90% of the time to edit documents and the whole new revisions/version history system is a big plus. It works well. And yet I still prefer the old one for private use. It can make docs, and doesnt need to do more

 

[Frick]

Rubbish. I've seen the difference and that's all they are, differences. Once learned there is little that can be done in Excel that can not also be done in LibreOffice Math.

See answers above.

Why, because they're free? A price tag makes software good?
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind paying for good software, but Office 2019 is a buggy bloated mess. It seriously lags a lot even in small spreadsheets, and often leads to incorrect input. I've never seen such nonsense in LibreOffice OpenOffice or very old MS Office. Actually old Office 95 worked better on my old Pentium 90, it worked smoothly with huge spreadsheets full of formulas. Microsoft had a good product and they ruined it.

No, because the software is powerful. I don't need Excel because my spreadsheeting needs are hilariously basic, but I have it (2007) and rather use it than alternatives because I'm used to it. I wouldn't pay for a new version. The only annoying thing is that it requires register hacks to be able go have multiple instances running.

It's great there are free alternatives obviously, but I find the entire "Excel is useless because there are free options" idea a bit weird. People don't say Photoshop is useless because Gimp exists.

 

[Vayra86]

Excel is now a full-fledged PowerBI, which is quite good. Together with VBA is makes for a very potent stuff. Sadly, it is buggy and laggy AF.

Yep. I do think thats where it excels (yep...) nowadays, especially for how easily it works that way. And if youre waiting in the bosses time, win win!

 

[Easo]

MS office lol who uses that anymore..................besides business that is?

I wouldn't buy that for home or personal use anymore, lot more other more economical options. It was great when it was $20 as part of the HUP, now, not so much.

There is always a comment like this. Reminds me of the "Lol who uses FB/Twitter in 2021 anymore?"

 

[lexluthermiester]

There is always a comment like this. Reminds me of the "Lol who uses FB/Twitter in 2021 anymore?"

Except that it's true. There is no reason for the general public to buy ms office for personal use anymore. There are so many competent alternatives out there at a fraction of the cost or out-right free.

 

[windwhirl]

Except that it's true. There is no reason for the general public to buy ms office for personal use anymore. There are so many competent alternatives out there at a fraction of the cost or out-right free.

Partially agree. I think people will keep going to buy Office, *BUT* the overwhelming majority of people won't bother buying a new version and will just stick with what they already had unless they really have to upgrade. Like a few here using 20-year-old versions.

To throw in an example, the only real reason we (the accounting firm I work for) switched out of Office 2003 to 2016 is that people kept sending us files in the newer Office formats. So might as well upgrade. But that's about the only reason for it.

Also, I don't think most people care about the "non-commercial use" license restriction on certain Office editions. So I think it's also a matter of an important subset of people thinking "I only need Excel/Word, so I'm getting the Home edition" and not giving a damn about the non-commercial use licensing conditions... I don't think many people outside of corporate read the EULAs anyway.
And nevermind people getting it for cheap from some CD key site.

 

[The red spirit]

Too many complaints? Or too few Microsoft 365 customers?

Imagine complaining about MS office. This is probably the least changing software on Earth. I don't think that MS cares much about them anyway as they will have to use Office anyway. So far there hasn't been any serious competitor to Office. LibreOffice doesn't 100% support Office formats and people don't care about it, Apple Pages and etc. are just too shit for anything serious.

 

[Metroid]

Is microsoft office so much better than free office software available to charge such insane price?