No subscription, no Teams: Microsoft Office 2024 is here

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If you don't want a subscription but still want the popular Office 365 applications, you can now fall back on Microsoft Office 2024. The software package is a stand-alone version of most popular Microsoft applications that can be purchased permanently with a one-off payment. There are no monthly or annual payments as with Office 365. However, this also applies to some familiar programs and features.

Office 2024 includes the programs Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and, depending on the version, Outlook. The software package has been available for Windows and Mac since October 1, 2024. There is an improved search function in Outlook. Excel should run faster and more stable, even if many worksheets are open at the same time – Microsoft promises. Mac users can customize gesture control for Magic Mouse and Multi-Touch Trackpad.

PowerPoint with new video features

With the new Cameo feature, PowerPoint offers the option of integrating a live camera feed directly into the presentation slides. There is also a new recording function, Recording Studio, with new options for voice recording, animations, transitions and drawings. Closed captions, video subtitles and audio files can also be integrated.

There are also improved tools for freehand drawings in OneNote: a full-screen view for the drawing cursor allows you to draw on the entire screen. For Excel, Microsoft promises easier handling of references and formulas in Office 2024. Images should be easier to insert, with the "IMAGE" function in a cell even without changing the format first. Charts update automatically as soon as the linked data is recalculated.

Improved restore function

Word offers an improved recovery function: if the computer crashes or the program is unexpectedly closed, Word opens all documents from the previous session when restarting. However, Office 2024 users will have to do without the Teams collaboration software. The option to save data directly in the cloud, which is familiar from Office365, has also been completely removed.

Overall, the new features are not particularly spectacular. The most recent predecessors of Office 2024 are Office 2021 and Office 2019. With Office365, Microsoft is focusing primarily on the software-as-a-service strategy – like many other software providers –, but the Office software packages are still intended to appeal to customers who do not want to pay for new software every month or every year.

Office 2024 is available for Windows 10 and Windows 11. An account and an internet connection are required. However, as with Office 2021, the latter is only really required for installation. The one-off price is 149 euros for the Home and Student version, but this comes without Outlook.

If you also want to use your Office 2024 package commercially, including Outlook, you can opt for Office 2024 Home and Business for 299 euros. Both versions can only be used on one device. The prices apply to a registration number that is linked to your own account. There will be no function updates for Office 2024, only security updates.

For whom Office 2024 is worthwhile

If you can come to terms with these restrictions, you can save a lot of money. The software is permanently available for the above prices, whereas a user of the Office365 subscription plan, for example, currently pays 69 euros per year. Assuming Microsoft maintains its three-year release cycle for Office software packages, the next version would be released in 2027.

If a private user purchases Office 2024 Home and Business for 149 euros today and then presumably the new version again in 2027, they will have paid 149 euros for three years of Office 2024 instead of 207 euros for three years of Office365 Single. There is also always the option of using Office 2024 for longer and saving new costs. In the past, there have always been discount campaigns for the subscription-free Office versions at various retailers. There is even more savings potential here.

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