Technology

Office 2024 will be available for one-time purchase

Paul Mah

Paul Mah

— 2 min read
Office 2024 will be available for one-time purchase
Photo Credit: Unsplash/Dennis Cortés

Microsoft Office 2024 will be available for purchase at a one-time fee later this year.

Microsoft has recently confirmed that it plans to release a new version of "on-premises" Office by this year.

  • Will be supported for five years.
  • Under the "one-time purchase" model.
  • Supports macOS, Windows 10/11, 32-bit installs.

There will be no security updates after five years; so it won't be safe to use beyond that.

Note that there won't be feature updates either.

💳 Do you subscribe

To be clear, you can already buy Office without subscribing, though the newest version is "Office 2021" - released some time ago.

I've always believed in paying for the software I use. In fact, I have been paying for Office 365 Business since 2014, or 10 years.

Beyond doing what is right, the reality is: I'm not quite sure what I'm paying for anymore.

Microsoft 365 Family does offer the ability for up to 6 family members to use Office. But while it costs "just" SG$14.80 per month, it adds up quickly over months and years.

Moreover, I do most of my writing these days on Obsidian, a text editor. Perhaps it's time I check out Open Office or buy a one-time Office license.

💸 The agony and the ecstasy

I think the subscription model has a place to help even the field and let smaller developers keep releasing compelling new features. Who doesn't like improvements to their favourite software?

But beyond a certain point, it's about maximising profitability. Add in multiple SaaS fees, and it becomes pretty painful on the wallet.

In other news, Affinity today announced that it has been acquired by Canva. Probably not so great news for Adobe.

For those who don't know it - I didn't - Affinity makes popular illustration, photo editing, and design software that competes with offerings from Adobe.

Except Affinity sells its products for a one-time fee. You can also pay for a discounted "Universal License" for use on multiple platforms: macOS, Windows, and iPadOS.

Do you spend too much on subscriptions? What software subscriptions or online services do you currently pay for?

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