The subscription of Office 365 comes in two main plans for general customers which seem confusing for a lot of people. These two plans are Microsoft Personal and Microsoft Home. Both the plans have numerous similarities but have distinct key differences too to suit different productivity suites and needs.
Microsoft Personal vs Microsoft Home
The main difference between Microsoft personal and Microsoft Home is that Microsoft Personal is ideal for individuals who would use it themselves and not share with others while Microsoft Home is ideal for a small group of users or within the members of a family.
Microsoft Personal offers 1 TB storage and the features and suites of Office. Since it is designed for single users, the allowance for the maximum number of users is one. The maximum number of devices that can be connected is five, giving provision for all the devices that an individual can have.
On the other hand, Microsoft Home offers up to 6 TB of storage (1 TB per user). Since it is designed for groups, the total number of users that can be connected is six. Each user can further connect five devices to the account. The subscription rate of Microsoft Home is more than Microsoft Personal due to its extra features.
Comparison Table Between Microsoft Personal and Microsoft Home
| Parameters of Comparison | Microsoft Personal | Microsoft Home |
| Audience | It is designed for single users | It is designed for a group of people relatively small or are family members |
| Maximum users | 1 user | 6 users |
| Maximum devices | 5 | 5 devices by each user at the same time |
| Advantages | Best plan for individual users, freelancers, students, or teachers and has features like AI-powered expansion to Microsoft Editor | Best plan for groups or families, and access to special features on OneDrive like Math Assistant, Ink Replay, Stickers, Researcher, and other |
| Disadvantages | Do not provide any trial before purchase | Expensive and won’t benefit single or less number of users |
What is Microsoft Personal?
Microsoft Personal is designed exclusively for one person only. It allows only one individual to access the account. The storage offered in this subscription plan is about 1TB. Microsoft Personal has new experiences and features like AI-powered expansion to Microsoft Editor and design ideas in PowerPoint.
It cannot work for a group of many members of a family. The access to features like Word, PowerPoint, OneDrive, Outlook, Excel, and Skype. At a time, only five devices can be connected. The subscription rate of Microsoft Personal is priced at $6.99 per month and about $69.99 per year and a provision of calling for 60 minutes on Skype every month.
Microsoft Personal allows a maximum of five devices to be connected. The plan works on all devices like tablets, PCs, Android, iOS, or multiple Macs. Collaboration through Microsoft Personal is easier. The other parties of the collaboration can access the link and work on files together even without owning an account of Office 365. And is the best plan for freelancers who need a good interface to interact with clients.
Microsoft Personal also caters and gives access to advanced grammar features and refinements in writing style. So the suggestions to re-write and rephrase can deliver clear and better sentences.
What is Microsoft Home?
Microsoft Home is designed for a group of people or by the members of a family. The principle of the Microsoft home plan is to pay one price and provide access to multiple users under that same price. The Microsoft home plan even provides a 30-trial to evaluate the suitability of the plan to the users.
Microsoft Home allows a maximum of six different users to access various features like Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, Skype, and OneDrive. With a single subscription, six Microsoft accounts can be linked. The subscription rate of Microsoft Home is about $9.99 per month and $99.99 per year.
Microsoft home provides 1 TB storage per user which can go up to 6 TB of storage including all the members on OneDrive and since OneDrive is personal for every user, the other subscribers of the same Home plan would not be able to see each other’s files. Microsoft Home has 360 minutes of call provision on Skype per month. The plan allows a maximum of five devices to be connected by a single user.
The plan of Microsoft Home is easy to upgrade. The user is not confined to one user and can opt for a change whenever required. It ensures security with all the non-commercial features provided.
Main Differences Between Microsoft Personal and Microsoft Home
- Microsoft Personal can be used only by a single individual user but Microsoft Home can be used by a group of people maximum of six people.
- There is only 1 TB of storage for a single user in Microsoft Personal while the additional terabyte is accessed only by the primary account holder in Microsoft Home.
- The subscription rate of Microsoft Personal is cheaper while the subscription rate of Microsoft Home is about $30 more.
- Microsoft Personal does not provide any 30-day trial while Microsoft home plan provides a 30-trial to evaluate the suitability of the plan to the users.
- Microsoft Personal offers 60 minutes of Skype calls per month while Microsoft Home offers 360 minutes of Skype calls per month.
Conclusion
Both the plans are designed for small businesses, individuals or families. It gives access to all the basic features of Office apps like Word, PowerPoint, Excel, OneDrive, Skype, and Outlook. Both the plans have access to similar apps and services. There are monthly updates for all the features of Microsoft.
Both the plans are similar in their allowance, provisions, and features. The basic difference between both the plans lies in their user allowance and features depending upon the number of users. Since the number of users is different for both the plans, the subscription rates are also different. Both the plan aims to bring productivity and an easy interface to work.
References
- https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/tlr78§ion=11
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01972240600791390