Microsoft 365 vs Office perpetual — which should you buy?
The most common licensing question we get from UK buyers: do I take the subscription route (Microsoft 365) or buy Office outright (Office 2024 Home & Business / Professional / LTSC)? This guide answers it with numbers, not marketing.
The 30-second answer
- Choose Microsoft 365 if you want cloud email, OneDrive/SharePoint, Teams, Copilot, multi-device installs, and always-current apps.
- Choose Office perpetual if you only need the desktop apps, hate ongoing fees, and are happy keeping a stable version for 3–5 years.
- Choose Office LTSC if you’re a regulated/air-gapped/long-life-deployment site that needs Office without telemetry or feature churn.
Cost comparison (per user, 3-year horizon, excl. VAT)
| Option | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | 3-yr total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office Home & Business 2024 (perpetual) | ~£250 | £0 | £0 | ~£250 |
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard | ~£127 | ~£127 | ~£127 | ~£381 |
| Microsoft 365 Apps for Business (no email) | ~£99 | ~£99 | ~£99 | ~£297 |
| Office LTSC 2024 Standard (perpetual) | ~£330 | £0 | £0 | ~£330 |
Indicative UK pricing. Microsoft 365 includes cloud services (Exchange Online, OneDrive 1TB, SharePoint, Teams). Perpetual Office only covers the desktop apps.
What you get with each
| Feature | M365 Business Standard | Office 2024 H&B | Office LTSC 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Teams | ✓ | — | — |
| Exchange Online (50GB mailbox) | ✓ | — | — |
| OneDrive (1TB) | ✓ | — | — |
| SharePoint sites | ✓ | — | — |
| Copilot eligibility | ✓ (add-on) | — | — |
| Installs per user | 5 PCs/Macs + 5 phones/tablets | 1 PC or Mac | 1 device |
| Always latest version | ✓ | Frozen on 2024 release | Frozen + no feature updates |
| Telemetry / connected experiences | Yes (cloud) | Yes | Minimised / can be disabled |
| Renews? | Annual subscription | One-off purchase | One-off purchase (KMS activation) |
Who should pick perpetual?
- Single-user / sole trader who only needs Word + Excel.
- Workshop / factory PC that needs Office but no cloud.
- Anyone with their own email (e.g. third-party hosted) who doesn’t need Exchange Online.
- Buyer who prefers CapEx accounting over OpEx.
- Schools/charities already paying for email elsewhere.
Who should pick Microsoft 365?
- Any business with 5+ employees collaborating.
- Teams using Teams (calls, meetings, channels) — bundled in.
- Anyone wanting Copilot (perpetual Office doesn’t qualify).
- Multi-device users (one licence covers 5 PCs/Macs + 5 mobile).
- Hybrid/remote workforces that need OneDrive/SharePoint.
Who should pick LTSC?
Office LTSC (Long-Term Servicing Channel) is for very specific use cases — not for general office workers:
- Air-gapped / classified / regulated networks.
- Manufacturing or medical devices that need fixed-version Office.
- Sites where you’ll never see a feature update for the next 5+ years.
Activated via KMS / Active Directory-based activation. No connected experiences, no AI/Copilot, no cloud add-ons.
Common mistakes we see
- Buying perpetual Office then realising you need Teams — you end up paying for both.
- Buying M365 then never using OneDrive/SharePoint — downgrade to Apps for Business and save.
- Buying retail Office for a business — H&B is for one device only and not transferable; M365 is more flexible.
- Buying LTSC for general users — you lock yourselves out of Copilot and modern features.
Still on the fence?
Send us your headcount and what email/collab tools you already use. We’ll come back with a no-pressure recommendation + quote — UK billing, VAT invoice, instant digital delivery.