Because of the vagaries of Microsoft's support for the perpetual license Office, both Office 20 - the two newest editions - exit support in October 2025, or just a year before Redmond retires Office 2021. That date will give customers an opportunity to shave spending by skipping an upgrade. Although Microsoft has not yet confirmed the date, Computerworld expects that support will cease Oct. Office Home and Student 2021 and Office Home and Business 2021 will be supported for only five years, half the historical decade that earlier Microsoft-branded suites received. Microsoft had previously said it would not raise prices for these editions. Those prices were identical to the full list prices of the same-named Office 2019 SKUs, the perpetual license versions that launched in late 2018. Office Home and Student 2021 will sell for $150, while Office Home and Business 2021 will cost $250. Each SKU comes in editions for either Windows (Windows 10 or 11) or macOS (the three most-recent versions) and can be run on only one device.

By Microsoft's licensing terms, only Home and Business can be used for business purposes. The former includes Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint, Teams and Word the latter adds Outlook to the mix. The new Office comes in two SKUs: Office Home and Student 2021 and Office Home and Business 2021. Unlike Office 2021, Office LTSC 2021 is not sold retail but is available only through volume licensing. Last month, Microsoft debuted Office LTSC 2021, the acronym standing for 'Long-Term Support Channel,' as the perpetual-license Office for commercial and government customers. Office 2021, which Microsoft will aim at consumers and very small businesses, is slated to launch Tuesday, Oct. Microsoft has revealed the pricing of its perpetual-license versions of Office 2021 and listed the features and functionalities it lifted from Office 365 and dropped into the new pay-for-once suite.

Office 2021 volume license pack