Office 365 is subscription-based licensing. So what’s up with the new kid on the block: Office 365. So traditional Office licenses are still available. Visit my previous post for more information on Office 2016. Here are the MSRP prices for Office 2016 licenses without Software Assurance in the Open Licensing program: For a detailed list of what is included in each suite, visit Microsoft’s Office product comparison page. You can buy Office 2016 Standard, Office 2016 Professional Plus, or Office 2016 for Mac Standard. In the past, this was taken for granted: you pay for the software once and then keep using it until you retire! That’s the way software is supposed to work, right? Well, that’s debatable … which is why we’re having this discussion.īut the good news is that perpetual licenses of Office 2016 are still available. In other words, they can be used forever. You may have never thought about this before, but traditional software licenses are perpetual licenses. Let’s begin with what is already familiar: traditional licenses of Office. In other words, let’s compare Office 2016 and Office 365. Here’s a brief overview of the differences between the traditional licensing model and the new subscription model. Should you stick with traditional Office licensing or take the plunge into an Office 365 subscription?Īllow me to shed some light on the subject. This is especially true if you’re looking at upgrading your Office software. And if you are a business owner or a staff member of an IT department, you may be confused about what all this means for you. It’s been quite a metamorphosis to watch. Confused about Microsoft Office these days? Join the club.įor the last few years, Microsoft has been transitioning from a traditional software company to a subscription software company.

Difference between o365 and office 2016