Microsoft provides a variety of office tools to manage data and process information. It is the most popular office tool with billions of subscribers worldwide. Microsoft office is a favorite of offices and homes alike as it is easy to use. The best thing about Microsoft office is that it has so many options to choose from.
Microsoft Office vs 365
The main difference between Microsoft Office and 365 is that Microsoft Office is a perpetual license and is a one-time purchase product whereas Office 365 is a subscription product. As soon as you purchase the license you will get a product key which is an alpha-numeric set of 25 characters. It is the identity associated with the license which helps you recover your product in case you need to reinstall it.
Microsoft office is a perpetual license that can be used by various organizations and family users. This kind of license will help you use the license after just a one-time purchase. The features and technical support however are limited depending on the license you have. If you are a home single language user for instance then you will only get limited applications and features.
Microsoft office 365 is a subscription license. If you happen to purchase the license then you need to renew it after a certain period of time depending on the duration for which you have purchased the license. To acquire the license, you must have a Microsoft Account. Microsoft account is nothing but a working Microsoft email ID.
Comparison Table Between Microsoft Office and 365
| Parameters of Comparison | Microsoft Office | Microsoft Office 365 |
| License term | It is for a lifetime term. | It is for a certain period of time. |
| Benefits | With the different products, you will get different features. | It contains outlook which is not available in most of the perpetual licenses. |
| Recoverability | It can be recovered if you have either your associated email ID or product key. | It can be recovered through associated email ID only. |
| Features | It will have limited features. | It has all the latest features. |
| Support | Some of the versions are supported on Windows 2007. | It is only supported on Windows 10 and above. |
| Technical support | Technical support is not available for most of the versions of perpetual licenses. | Technical support is available for it as of now. |
What is Microsoft Office ?
With so many varieties it provides a number of options to suit the user and their needs. One of the latest versions of this type of Microsoft Office is Office 2019 which comes in various forms. This office has various versions depending on the type of customer.
The Home Single Language version is fit for users like students. It provides only three applications namely Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. The other version is Office 2019 ProPlus which is suitable for small and medium businesses. It provided apps such as Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook.
Once purchased you do not need to renew the license. You just need the product key associated with your license and the day on which the product was redeemed. You can also get back your license if you have the Microsoft Email ID associated with the license. The license serves for an extended period which amounts to the entire life of your computer/laptop.
Office 2019 Home and Student doesn’t come with a dictate option which is a very handy tool for differently-abled people.
What is Microsoft Office 365?
Microsoft office 365 is the latest Microsoft office product. It is a subscription license which means that you need to renew your license after a certain period of time. It has got many license forms. It is divided into two broader categories depending on the type of user.
If you are a home user then you can go for office 365 home and if you are a business user you can go for Microsoft Office Business. These are further classified into different categories.
The Home license is categorized into three parts namely Office 365 family, Office 365 Personal, and Office Home and Student 2021 which is a one-time purchase product. Family and personal versions allow you to share your license with more than one person.
The Business version is classified into various parts such as Office 365 Business Basic, Business Standard, Business premium, and office 365 apps. Different versions have different features and applications. Every license is designed keeping users in mind.
The new office license is AI-enabled and has some cool features to offer. The best thing about these licenses is that they can be used offline as well. It is suitable for medium and small businesses. To acquire this type of license one must have a Microsoft Account.
Main Differences Between Microsoft Office and 365
- Office 365 is a subscription license whereas Microsoft Office (Perpetual) is a one-time purchase license.
- Office 365 has more features compared to any perpetual license.
- To acquire the license of office 365 one must have a Microsoft Account whereas you just need the product key to get Office perpetual license.
- Technical support is available for all office 365 licenses whereas it is not available for many perpetual versions (the technical support is subjected to the terms and conditions of Microsoft)
- Office 365 has AI enabled features such as Dictate whereas office perpetual lacs such features.
Conclusion
Office 365 and Office perpetual are different categories of products offered by Microsoft. These licenses differ from each other in terms of feature and license terms. Office 365 is the latest of all the office products with the latest and all the features. If one goes for the business product then based on the license one gets different features and apps.
If one purchases Office 365, they need a Microsoft account and it can only be recovered using the same. If you have purchased the perpetual license then you can recover it with the help of Microsoft Technical Support. You just need to remember the redeem date and product key associated with the license.
The various products are based on the user experience and can be used offline as well.
References
- https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4302-6686-0_1
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=GvSBmTiNvqcC&oi=fnd&pg=PT5&dq=office+365&ots=JsuE_tIKAF&sig=vMdwtLcVjIMjRHSuMQnZQ-mbpIQ
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=UaV8DwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT15&dq=microsoft+office+2019&ots=gScvzhT1oA&sig=o2EHCelT45WcfMv5y0mIRDyHI_Q