Microsoft wants you to sign up for a Microsoft 365 subscription to experience its suite of office and productivity tools However, the company knows that not everyone wants to take the ongoing cost for a word processor Microsoft wants people to sign up for an Office 365 subscription To that end, Microsoft is offering Office 2024 for a one-time cost of $149

Not necessarily cheap, but you get a lock-in time version of Microsoft's major software: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook are all part of the purchase Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook are all part of the purchase Lock-in time means you don't get all the new features that come with Microsoft 365, but if you don't have a problem with your current Office functionality (and it's definitely in better shape now), this is a valid option

This is Microsoft's first Office release after 2021 that is not part of Microsoft 365 Those who were worried that a new version might not come can finally rest easy and get the latest version; since 2021, Microsoft has added many new features for subscribers, many of which are part of Office 2024

Office 2024 has a large amount of accessibility and UI changes that may seem a bit odd at first if you are used to the 2021 version Nevertheless, the Fluent Design principles match the visuals of Windows 11 better than previous versions, so you will feel right at home

Here are some of the improvements that come with Office 2024:

The $149 version of Office 2024 is for Home users only For commercial use, the Home & Business version costs $249