While Pages is a great word processor, Microsoft Word and other programs available with Microsoft Office are still widely used. It can be frustrating to pass documents between Apple's applications and Microsoft Office. I have dealt with getting Word documents from friends, only to open them in Pages a realize they aren't formatting correctly, or the spacing is off, etc.

The good news is Microsoft Office for Mac is pretty great. If you've ever used a PC before, you're likely familiar with the interface, and personally, I think the design of the Office programs for Mac is stellar. Of course, Microsoft offers two versions of Office for Mac, Microsoft Office 2016 and Microsoft Office 365, so here's a breakdown of each one so you can choose the right one for you.

Users and devices

When deciding what Microsoft Office package you want, you're going to need to know how you intend to use it. Are you one of those people who want to use Office on your Mac, iPad, and iPhone, or do you only need it on your MacBook Pro you use for work or school every day?

Office 365 Commercial customers can get the new Outlook for Mac by accessing their Office 365 Portal, (Gear icon Office 365 Settings Software Outlook for Mac icon) or visiting the Software page Office 365 consumer subscribers can get the new Outlook for Mac by going to their My Account page. Office 365 + your device + the Internet = productivity wherever you are. Yep, all these: Windows devices, Mac, iPad®, iPhone®, and Android™. It's your great work, in the cloud OneDrive makes the work you do available to you from anywhere—and to others when you collaborate or share. Microsoft offers two versions of Office for Mac: Microsoft Office 2016 and Microsoft Office 365, so here's a breakdown of each one so you can choose the right one for you. Installed on one Mac; Office 365 Personal: Installed on your Mac, iPhone, and iPad with only one user allowed to access the 1TB One Drive storage.

• Office 2016 Home & Student: Installed on one Mac
• Office 2016 Home & Business: Installed on one Mac
• Office 365 Personal: Installed on your Mac, iPhone, and iPad with only one user allowed to access the 1TB One Drive storage.
• Office 365 Personal: Installed on up to five Macs, PCs, iPhones, and iPads with five users allowed to access the 1TB One Drive storage.

Programs

Which programs you need in your Microsoft Office suite will also be a critical deciding factor in which version you buy.

• Office 2016 Home & Student: Comes with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote
• Office 2016 Home & Business: Comes with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook
• Office 365 Personal: Comes with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher (PC only), and Access (PC only).
• Office 365 Home: Comes with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher (PC only), and Access (PC only).

Cloud storage

Microsoft OneDrive is a cloud storage service that you can use to store files, photos, documents, and other data. If you get either version of Microsoft Office 365, you'll get a free TB of OneDrive storage to access and use.

• Office 365 Personal: 1TB of OneDrive storage for one user, plus 60 minutes per month for Skype calls.
• Office 365 Home: 1TB of OneDrive storage accessible by up to five users, plus 60 minutes per month for Skype calls.

Neither tier of Microsoft Office 2016 comes with OneDrive storage.

Pricing

The most significant difference by far is pricing and payment model. Microsoft Office 2016 is a one-time payment, while Office 365 is a monthly subscription model.

• Office 2016 Home & Student: $149.99 and doesn't come with updates.
• Office 2016 Home & Business: $229.99 and doesn't come with updates.
• Office 365 Personal: $69.99 per year (or $6.99 per month), includes updates.
• Office 365 Home: $99.99 per year (or 9.99 per month), includes updates.

The bottom line

Office 365

The enormous benefit to Office 365 is the 1TB of OneDrive storage. This means all your work documents, personal finance spreadsheets, or school presentations can be saved locally and in your OneDrive, keeping all your data safe and accessible to you whenever you need it.

Chances are Office 365 Personal is the best bet for most people, but if you love the free cloud storage and you need Office for your entire family, the Office 365 Home version is your best bet.

Office 2016

If you're looking for the basic Office program like Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, and don't need OneDrive cloud storage, Office 2016 is perfectly fine for one person.

You'll only have to pay once, meaning you don't have to worry about that yearly subscription fee hitting your credit card every year. Of course, the lack of updates is a little annoying, but for most users, you'll probably not even notice or miss the extra features Office 365 provides anyways.

Office 2016 Home & Student is going to be all the majority of people will need; however, if you do want Outlook your can always get the Home & Business version as well.

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Office for Mac that comes with an Office 365 subscription is updated on a regular basis to provide new features, security updates, and non-security updates. The following information is primarily intended for IT professionals that are deploying Office for Mac to the users in their organizations.

Note

• Starting with Version 16.21, Microsoft Teams will be installed by default for new installations if you're using the Office suite install package. For more information, see Microsoft Teams installations on a Mac.
• For security reason, Microsoft has deprecated the use of SHA-1. Learn more
• Starting with the 16.17 release in September 2018, this information also applies to Office 2019 for Mac, which is a version of Office for Mac that’s available as a one-time purchase from a retail store or through a volume licensing agreement.
• The update history information for version 16.16 and earlier also applies to Office 2016 for Mac, which is also a version of Office for Mac that’s available as a one-time purchase. Older versions up to and including 16.16 can be activated with an Office 2016 for Mac volume license. You can’t activate version 16.17 or later with an Office 2016 for Mac volume license. For information about Office 2016 for Mac releases from September onward, see Release notes for Office 2016 for Mac
• For information about the features, security updates, and non-security updates that are included in a given release of Office for Mac, see Release notes for Office for Mac.
• If you want early access to new releases, join the Office Insider program.

Most current packages for Office for Mac

The following table lists the most current packages for the Office suite and for the individual applications. The Office suite includes all the individual applications, such as Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. All packages are 64-bit only. The build date is listed in parentheses, in a YYMMDD format, after the version number. The install package is used if you don't have the application already installed, while the update package is used to update an existing installation.

To view release notes, see Release notes.

October 15, 2019

Version 16.30 (19101301)

Most current packages for other Mac programs from Microsoft

The following table provides information about the most current packages, including a download link, for other Mac programs from Microsoft that may be of interest to IT professionals. The build date is listed in parentheses, in a YYMMDD format, after the version number.

Word Mac

Note: Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU) release information has moved to the MAU Release History page.

Release history for Office for Mac

The following table provides release history information and download links for Office for Mac. The table is ordered by release date, with the most recent release date listed first. The build date is listed in parentheses, in a YYMMDD format, after the version number. All releases after August 22, 2016 are 64-bit only. All releases prior to August 22, 2016 are 32-bit only.

Office 365 For Mac Support

Note

Download links are only provided for the most recent releases.

Office 365 For Mac Reviews