Buy Microsoft Office: Which Version Should You Choose in 2026?

Microsoft Office in 2026: pay once or subscribe

Word for documents, Excel for spreadsheets, PowerPoint for presentations, Outlook for email: Microsoft Office is still the standard toolkit on most computers, at home and at work. If you want to buy Microsoft Office today, a subscription is not your only option. Office 2024, 2021 and 2019 are sold as perpetual licenses: you pay once, install the suite on your PC and keep using it with no time limit. Office 365, on the other hand, is a 12-month subscription that covers several devices.

At Euro Shop Key, perpetual licenses start at 12,90 € for Office 2019 Professional Plus, 19,90 € for Office 2021 Pro Plus and 24,90 € for Office 2024 Pro Plus, the latest release. Office 365 for 12 months on up to 5 devices starts at 9,99 €. Whichever you choose, your product key arrives by email within minutes with the official download link, and it activates on Microsoft’s own servers.

This guide helps you pick the right version for your needs, compares the four options side by side and explains how delivery and activation work, so you can order with confidence.

Which Microsoft Office version should you buy?

All versions share the same core apps. The real question is not which suite is better in general, but which one fits your use, your computer and your budget. Three profiles cover the vast majority of situations.

Students: the essentials on a small budget

Essays, reports, dissertations and slide decks all rely on Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Two options stand out:

• Office 2019 Professional Plus (12,90 €): our entry-level perpetual license. The full suite stays on your PC long after graduation. Bear in mind that Microsoft stopped releasing security updates for Office 2019 in October 2025.
• Office 365, 12 months (9,99 €): the smart choice if you switch between a laptop, a desktop and a tablet, since one subscription covers up to five devices and the apps are always up to date.

Home use: one payment, no renewals

Letters, the household budget, school projects, an updated CV: for the family computer, a perpetual license removes monthly payments altogether. Office 2024 Pro Plus is the long-term option, with Microsoft security updates until October 2029. Office 2021 Pro Plus costs less and does everything a family needs, but Microsoft ended its support on 13 October 2026: it keeps working normally, without new security fixes.

Professionals and remote workers: the latest release

Freelancers, small businesses and remote workers spend their days in Outlook and Excel. Office 2024 Pro Plus brings the improvements that matter for intensive use: new Excel functions, improved search in Outlook, an interface in line with Windows 11 and better performance. For a tool you open eight hours a day, it is the sensible choice, and it is the only perpetual version on this page that Microsoft still supports.

Whatever your profile, the number of computers covered is shown on each product page: each perpetual key on this page activates one PC, with multi-PC options where available, while Office 365 covers up to five devices.

Lifetime license or Office 365 subscription?

Before you buy, decide between a permanent license and a subscription. Both give you the same core apps, but they follow a different logic.

A perpetual license (Office 2019, 2021 or 2024) works like any other purchase: one payment, one installation, no renewal date. The suite keeps the features of its release year, which does not get in the way of everyday work: a document created today opens just as well in Office 2019 as in Office 2024.

A subscription reverses the logic: a recurring cost, but apps that are updated continuously and can be installed on several devices. Our Microsoft 365 page explains how the subscription works.

The rule of thumb is simple: for one computer and classic office tasks, a lifetime license removes any future cost; a subscription makes sense when you work across several devices. For a cost comparison over several years, read our analysis lifetime Office license or subscription.

Office 2024, 2021, 2019 and Office 365 compared

The table below sums up the four options, from the entry-level license to the latest release. Each version name leads to its detailed page.

What each app is for

• Word: word processing for letters, reports, CVs and dissertations
• Excel: spreadsheets for budgets, schedules, invoices and data analysis
• PowerPoint: presentations and slide shows
• Outlook: email, calendar and contacts
• OneNote: notes organized in notebooks
• Access: creating and managing databases
• Publisher: page layout for flyers and brochures, included in Office 2019 and 2021

One detail worth knowing: Publisher is not part of Office 2024, as Microsoft has retired the app. If you rely on it, Office 2021 or 2019 still include it. Conversely, Office 2024 is the only perpetual release here with the newer Excel functions and the Windows 11 look.

Office 2021 or Office 2024?

This is a frequent dilemma. Office 2021 Pro Plus covers everyday needs with a modern interface and costs less, but its Microsoft support ended on 13 October 2026, so it no longer receives security updates. Office 2024 Pro Plus is supported until October 2029 and suits recent PCs and heavy Excel users. For a main computer that handles email and files from outside, choose 2024; Office 2021 remains a reasonable budget option for a secondary or offline PC. Files are fully interchangeable between the two.

Compatibility: Windows 10, Windows 11 and Mac

The three perpetual versions on this page install on Windows 10 and Windows 11; none of them runs on Windows 7 or Windows 8. A few guidelines:

• recent PC running Windows 11: Office 2024 takes full advantage of it, with an interface designed for this system;
• computer a few years old, on Windows 10 or 11: Office 2021 and 2024 both run comfortably;
• modest hardware: Office 2019 is light on resources.

On a Mac, the Pro Plus licenses do not apply: they are for Windows only. The Office 365 subscription is the simplest route for a MacBook or an iMac, as one subscription covers PCs, Macs, tablets and mobile devices alike.

How to buy Microsoft Office online: delivery and activation

No box, no shipping, no waiting for a courier: everything happens online, in four steps.

1. Choose your version and pay securely by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or Bancontact.
2. Receive your product key by email, usually within minutes and within 48 working hours at most, with the official download link and step-by-step instructions.
3. Download and install the suite from Microsoft’s servers.
4. Enter your key when Office asks for it: activation is validated on Microsoft’s official servers and your suite is ready to use.

Every order comes with a VAT invoice, and a defective key is replaced for life. Our team answers by email 7 days a week, with a reply within 2 hours on average, before and after your purchase. Delivery times and methods are detailed on our delivery page.