Is Office 365 really worth it?

[Mike Majeski]

I'm still on the "free preview" that came with my Surface Pro 3, but is dropping the $69 a year on Office 365 Personal really worth it for the casual user? The mail app in Windows 10 is starting to looking really nice, making Outlook desktop overkill for the general user, and personally the only word processing I do at home these days is simple tasks like updating a resume and whatnot.

Really the only big advantage I see for a general user is the extra terabyte of One Drive storage, as that comes in handy for photos and music. Just wondering what other "general" users have found. I guess if Microsoft keeps including a free pass with a $60 tablet, it is probably worth re-upping (just keep the tablet, or flip it on eBay) but for the most part, full office seems a bit overkill these days, especially with the Office Web apps.

I guess what I am asking is, if they weren't giving it away (in most cases), would you be an Office 365 subscriber, or could you make do with the standard Mail app, and the Office Online offerings?

 

[Lars Rasmussen]

I agree with you! Totally overkill for the casual Home user/small buisness/office.
There is a Lot of opensource out there to do the job just fine imo!

 

[Laura Knotek]

I have an Office 365 Home subscription. It's worthwhile to me, not only for the OneDrive storage, but because I have Office on 2 PCs, 1 Windows 8.1 tablet, 1 Android tablet, and 1 Android smartphone.

I like having use of Office no matter what device I happen to pick up.

I also use Outlook for my email, not the Windows 8.1 Mail. Outlook is much more robust and feature-filled than the free Windows 8.1 Mail.

 

[SteveNoza]

I have an Office 365 Home subscription. It's worthwhile to me, not only for the OneDrive storage, but because I have Office on 2 PCs, 1 Windows 8.1 tablet, 1 Android tablet, and 1 Android smartphone.

I like having use of Office no matter what device I happen to pick up.

I also use Outlook for my email, not the Windows 8.1 Mail. Outlook is much more robust and feature-filled than the free Windows 8.1 Mail.

Hey Laura, do you get a better mail client (Outlook mobile?) on Windows Phone with Office 365?

 

[Pete]

Hey Laura, do you get a better mail client (Outlook mobile?) on Windows Phone with Office 365?

No, you don't - not even for Office 365 business users. It's too early to say whether the "full fat" Outlook application on desktop will become a Universal App.

 

[SteveNoza]

No, you don't - not even for Office 365 business users. It's too early to say whether the "full fat" Outlook application on desktop will become a Universal App.

If Microsoft wants to be business friendly, an Outlook universal app is a must have, even if it's only available with an Office 365 subscription. Oh, and feature customizable notifications for specific email accounts, contacts, ect please.

 

[Pete]

There is a Universal Outlook app in Windows 10. The unknown at this point is whether there will be additional functionality for Office 365 users (business and personal) that would necessitate another Outlook app.

 

[paulsalter]

That's about the same usage as me, adding it up for a few devices and it works out good value

I have always liked outlook, but purchasing Office with this is the expensive version, another one for me, but I like having the mail, contacts and calendar in one app, makes it much easier for me to find/see things

 

[eusty]

If you need the Onedrive storage then adding Office 365 makes sense as the price difference is so small.

 

[rhapdog]

It is worth it in my instance, as I make excessive use of Excel, Word, and Publisher, and some of the advanced features in Outlook. I don't need that much storage on OneDrive, but I am using about 150GB, so having the 1TB storage is definitely an advantage.

It's not worth it for everyone. If you only do occasional word processing and don't use the other features of Office and don't need the OneDrive space, I can't think of a valid reason to purchase it.

It IS a good deal for people that need Office, however.

 

[fatclue_98]

I would recommend picking up a legal copy of Office 2010 or even 2007 online (eBay, Amazon, etc.) for $100 or less. You have the full suite and it's yours. It doesn't sound like you need all the bells and whistles all the time. You could pick up Home & Office Edition which is minus Outlook (and a lot cheaper) and download the free Windows Live Essentials that gives you a darn near Outlook experience plus the OneDrive app. Options abound my friend.

 

[Don Geronimo]

I'm one of the people that use Office extensively in my professional work and personal work, so I find it worth it for the ~15 US$/month I pay (I have to buy Office 365 business for ~5 US$/month in addition to Personal so I could be a good boy and use Office in a business setting). Since I'm pretty all-in to Microsoft services the OneDrive space really helps out. Plus, buying just the space on OneDrive costs as much per month as a 365 subscription.

If you don't need the space or the programs, though, I would say don't get them once the trial is up. If you don't mind using a web app you can still use Office Online to edit your r?sum?s for free. Plus it syncs with OneDrive and other cloud services.

I would recommend getting LibreOffice instead of buying an older version of Office, though, if you want a non-web application. It's free, just as powerful as Office for your needs, it's compatible with Office files, and you can keep getting updates for it.

 

[Yazen]

I'm still on the "free preview" that came with my Surface Pro 3, but is dropping the $69 a year on Office 365 Personal really worth it for the casual user? The mail app in Windows 10 is starting to looking really nice, making Outlook desktop overkill for the general user, and personally the only word processing I do at home these days is simple tasks like updating a resume and whatnot.

Really the only big advantage I see for a general user is the extra terabyte of One Drive storage, as that comes in handy for photos and music. Just wondering what other "general" users have found. I guess if Microsoft keeps including a free pass with a $60 tablet, it is probably worth re-upping (just keep the tablet, or flip it on eBay) but for the most part, full office seems a bit overkill these days, especially with the Office Web apps.

I guess what I am asking is, if they weren't giving it away (in most cases), would you be an Office 365 subscriber, or could you make do with the standard Mail app, and the Office Online offerings?

Office 365 is more than just online apps. The latest version of Microsoft Office x86/64 Pro Plus is free, thus you will always be up to date. The full retail cost for Standalone Pro Plus $400 ... This does not include major updates, which are around every 2-3 years.

In a sense Office 365 -- even at full retail actually saves money, and has some nice perks!
If you have an email account from an academic institution/employer you probably have Office 365 already

 

[tgp]

Office 365 is more than just online apps. The latest version of Microsoft Office x86/64 Pro Plus is free, thus you will always be up to date. The full retail cost for Standalone Pro Plus $400 ... This does not include major updates, which are around every 2-3 years.

In a sense Office 365 -- even at full retail actually saves money, and has some nice perks!
If you have an email account from an academic institution/employer you probably have Office 365 already

That is why I am more than happy to pay for Office 365 Home Premium. I have Office installed on 3 PCs, 1 Macbook, 3 Android devices, and 1 iPad. If you buy a new version of Office at release, Office 365 is worth it for Office alone, even if you install it on only one device.

 

[Oliverspin]

For your needs I'd say no. You have Office Online anyways!

 

[Kebero]

I'm satisfied with the O365 Home Premium subscription. Aside from the unlimited OneDrive storage (reported as 10TB), I have it installed on my in laws PC and my wife's laptop. I was using it on my laptop before my office (as a Microsoft partner) got their O365 Business licensing.

 

[WillysJeepMan]

$67/year for a subscription is a good value if you'll be installing it on multiple devices. 5 PCs/Macs + 5 tablets. I (and my wife) need access to Office on OSX, Windows, Android, and iOS so it's worth it.

Because of limitations of the client code, I find OneDrive pretty useless for my use cases so that is of no real benefit to me. DropBox is far more reliable and responsive.