Update: The release of Office 2021 is now scheduled for October 5, 2021. However, the price is expected to be approximately 10% higher. The following products have been announced: Microsoft Office Home and Student 2021, Microsoft Office Home and Business 2021, Microsoft Project Standard 2021, as well as Microsoft Visio Standard 2021 and Professional 2021 as FPP editions.

Office 2021 – What We Know So Far

Microsoft Office 2021 is about to be released—and things are still up in the air. When Office 2019 was released, rumors began to circulate that this version would be the last one available as a one-time purchase.

Office 2021 is still available as a one-time purchase

And indeed, Microsoft 365—a software subscription model—has firmly established itself in the market. With an annual payment, users are always guaranteed the latest version of Office and are kept happy and engaged with perks such as Office apps and extra storage.

For all critics of this business model, there is now justified hope that this is not (yet) the case after all, and that, at least in the near future, it will still be possible to purchase software packages with a one-time payment.

The subscription model is expected to gradually gain traction following the release of Office 2021

Various statements from within the software giant indicate that another retail version, called Office 2021, will be released in the fall of 2021. It will be compatible with both Windows and Mac and will be available in 32-bit and 64-bit editions.

However, this does not change the fact that Microsoft is still working hard to convince as many customers as possible to switch to its subscription model. To achieve this, for example, the prices for the perpetual license version have been increased by about 10% compared to Office 2019, and mainstream support has been reduced from seven to five years.

To avoid ongoing costs, used software solutions are a great option. You can save up to 75%—while still getting 100% quality!

Office 2021 cannot be upgraded with a one-time purchase

It has also been confirmed so far that there will be an Office Standard edition and an Office Professional Plus edition—no information is available yet regarding another version of Office Home & Business.

Office 2021 is also expected to include a Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) version. This means that this version will receive only security updates and patches (and will therefore remain at the state it was in at the time of initial installation) and cannot be enhanced with additional features.

Microsoft Teams and OneNote are included with Office 2021

Furthermore, as of today (early April 2021), no further details have been announced regarding the exact contents of the new suite. However, Microsoft Teams—the successor to Skype—and OneNote will certainly be included as complementary products in the new Office package.

As soon as we have new information from Redmond, you’ll find all about it right here, of course!