You'll be able to "buy" Microsoft Office as a standalone.

[George K]

Office 2024 for Mac is coming and you won’t need a subscription to get it

The commercial preview of Office LTSC 2024, Microsoft said in a blog post, will be released in April ahead of a general release later in 2024. Office LTSC, or Long-Term Servicing Channel, represents the version of Office intended for commercial and government use in specialist and niche uses where devices may not be able to access the internet, or where software updates are not desired: in manufacturing or medical testing labs, for example. It is not sold in stores and is only available for volume purchases.

However, the blog post also addresses the more conventional consumer version of Office 2024, which will also arrive later this year. Importantly for Apple users, Microsoft confirmed that this will feature a Mac version that will arrive alongside the Windows version, and will be available as a “device-based ‘perpetual’ license, supported for five years.” This means that you’ll be able to buy Office for Mac 2024 and the related individual apps for a one-time flat fee and get updates until 2029.

Microsoft has been somewhat inconsistent with its Office release schedule, with recent versions coming in 2021, 2019, 2016, and 2011. The release of Microsoft 2024 as a standalone purchase is significant as it’s been unclear whether Microsoft would release another non-subscription version.

[Mik]

Good. i refuse to subscribe to a software product, especially Office. Libre Office is free and works quite well. It's just not as pretty.

[taiwan_girl]

@Mik said in You'll be able to "buy" Microsoft Office as a standalone.:

Good. i refuse to subscribe to a software product, especially Office.

Agree.

[George K]

When you save a document in Libre Office, is it MS Office compatible? Do you have to do a "Save As..."?

I always found it a PITA to have to select what format to save a document in, considering that 95% of the planet uses Office from Micro$oft.

ETA: I never use the MS cloud service either, so I'm seeing little benefit for me.

[mark]

I am on a trial subscription of Microsoft365 for business.

I like it so far.

I am a long term user of Open Office (Libre Office) for word processing and spreadsheets, but my customer base is all Microsoft, so I decided to give it a trial.

[Mik]

I always save as an MS Office format if it's going anywhere else. Otherwise the Libre Office formats are fine.

[George K]

@Mik said in You'll be able to "buy" Microsoft Office as a standalone.:

I always save as an MS Office format if it's going anywhere else. Otherwise the Libre Office formats are fine.

https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/work-life/how-to-configure-libreoffice-to-default-to-ms-office-file-formats/

[Copper]

I have been subscribed to office for years, I just pay out of habit.