Issue No. 65December 2017

What is the Difference Between Microsoft Office 2016 and Microsoft Office 365?

We actually get this question quite a bit.

Office 2016 (the suite) is also sold as a one-time purchase, which means you pay a single, up-front cost to get the Office applications (Word, Power-Point, Excel) for one computer. One-time purchases are available for both PCs and Macs. One-time purchases don’t have an upgrade option, which means if you plan to upgrade to the next major release, you’ll have to buy it at full price.

Office 365 is a subscription service that ensures you always have the most up-to-date software from Microsoft. There are Office 365 plans for small and midsized businesses, large enterprises, and nonprofits.  These plans include a wide range of Microsoft software including Exchange Email, SharePoint, and Skype for Business.

Some of these Office 365 plans also include the Office 2016 Suite, with the fully installed Office applications that you’re familiar with, like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. You can choose to pay for your subscription on a monthly or yearly basis.

Most of the Office 365 plans for business and nonprofits include the fully installed Office Suite applications, but Microsoft also offers basic plans with the online versions of Office, file storage, and email.  You decide what works best for you: Smaller Business, Enterprise, or Nonprofit.

 

If you have general questions regarding the Microsoft Office 365 landscape, or if your business needs cloud migration assistance please feel free to reach out to our engineering team at:

Phone: 858-952-5400 x0

Email: [email protected]