Office Home & Business 2021

Microsoft 365 is a subscription that comes with premium apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, and Access (Publisher and Access available on PC only). The apps can be installed on multiple devices, including PCs, Macs, iPads, iPhones, Android tablets, and Android phones. Microsoft 365 also comes with services like 1 TB of OneDrive storage, 60 Skype minutes per month, and Microsoft chat and phone support. With a subscription, you get the latest versions of the apps and automatically receive updates when they happen.

Office 2021 is a one-time purchase that comes with classic apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for PC or Mac, and does not include any of the services that come with a Microsoft 365 subscription. One-time purchases don’t have an upgrade option, which means if you plan to upgrade to the next major release, you'll have to buy it at full price.

Learn more about the differences between Microsoft 365 and Office 2021 in Office Support, or use the comparison chart to help you pick the right Office version for your needs.

Internet access is required to install and activate all the latest releases of Office suites and all Microsoft 365 subscription plans. For Microsoft 365 plans, Internet access is also needed to manage your subscription account, for example to install Office on other PCs or to change billing options. Internet access is also required to access documents stored on OneDrive, unless you install the OneDrive desktop app. You should also connect to the Internet regularly to keep your version of Office up to date and benefit from automatic upgrades. If you do not connect to the Internet at least every 31 days, your applications will go into reduced functionality mode, which means that you can view or print your documents, but cannot edit the documents or create new ones. To reactivate your Office applications, simply reconnect to the Internet.

You do not need to be connected to the Internet to use the Office applications, such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, because the applications are fully installed on your computer.

A Product Key is a unique 25-character alpha-numeric code used to redeem and activate your Office product. You cannot use a product key for an older Office product (or a different product) to redeem your new copy of Office.

To find your Product Key, look for the 25-character alpha-numeric code on the back of the card inside your Office product packaging. Sometimes the Product Key may be printed on your retail receipt. If you purchased Office from a PC manufacturer, your Product Key will be located somewhere in your PC packaging. Sample Product Key format: XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

Get information on locating your product key.

Office is available in the languages listed below. Not all languages are available in all countries/regions.

• For PCs running Windows: Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Kazakh, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malay (Malaysia), Norwegian (Bokmål), Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Serbian (Latin), Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.
• For Mac: Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Danish, Dutch, English (United States), Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian (Bokmal), Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish.
• For iOS: Arabic, Catalan, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (United States), English (United Kingdom), Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian (Bokmål), Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.
• For Android: Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian (Bokmål), Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Serbian (Latin), Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Catalan, Kannada, Malayalam, Persian, Tamil, and Telugu.

Microsoft offers simple and cost-effective solutions for multilingual individuals, families, and small businesses.

• Microsoft 365: Each time you install Office on an additional PC or Mac at accounts.microsoft.com, you can choose the language in which to install Office.
• Office 2021: You can install language accessory packs after installing Microsoft Office, to add additional display, help, or proofing tools. Learn more about the Language Accessory Pack for Office.

To install Microsoft 365 or Office as a one-time purchase, visit accounts.microsoft.com on the PC or Mac that you want to install Office on. Sign in with the Microsoft account that you used to purchase, or have already associated, with the subscription or one-time purchase product, and then follow the onscreen instructions to install Office. Learn more about how to install Office.

If you need to set up your account and install Office for the first time, visit https://setup.office.com. Learn more about where to enter your Office product key.

To download and install older versions of Office, visit www.office.com/downloadoffice.

The actual download speed of Office depends on the speed of your Internet connection; a broadband Internet connection is recommended for the best download experience.

All versions of the new Office for Windows PCs use a streaming technology that lets you begin to use Office applications before installation is complete.

If Office is taking a long time to install, learn about possible solutions.

Icons for Office applications are created when you install Office. You can start the applications by clicking the icons, which are installed in the following locations:

• Windows
  • Windows 7: Start menu
  • Windows 8: Start screen and Apps view (the view under the Start screen that includes all apps installed on a PC)*
  • Windows 8.1: Apps view* 
    *If you cannot find your icons in Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, go to the Start screen and type the name of the application you want to launch (for example, Word).
  • Windows 11 and Windows 10: Start menu. You can also type the name of the application you want to launch (for example, Word) in Cortana. 
  • You can also pin an application shortcut to your Start screen or your desktop taskbar for convenient access. Learn more.
• Mac OS X
  • 10.6 (Snow Leopard): Dock
  • 10.7 (Lion): Dock and Launchpad
  • 10.8 (Mountain Lion): Dock and Launchpad
  • 10.9 (Mavericks): Dock and Launchpad
  • 10.10 (Yosemite): You can start the applications by clicking the application icons which can be found in the Launchpad and Applications folder in Finder.

The 32-bit version of Office is installed by default.

Even if your computer is running a 64-bit version of Windows, we recommend that you install the 32-bit version of Office, because it is more compatible with the applications and add-ins that work with Office. If you do want to install the 64-bit version of Office, you can do so by visiting accounts.microsoft.com and following the onscreen instructions to install the 64-bit version. It is not possible to install both the 64-bit version and 32-bit versions of Office on the same computer.

There are several ways to get a back-up for your Office product:

• Microsoft 365 customers can download or reinstall from accounts.microsoft.com.
• You may order a DVD back-up copy for the latest release Office products for a fee. Visit www.office.com/backup for details.

Back-up copies cannot be shipped to the following countries/regions: Bhutan, Brazil, China, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Cook Islands, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Iraq, Jan Mayen, Kiribati, Libya, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Niue, Palau, Pitcairn Islands, Saba, Samoa, Sint Eustatius, Timor Leste, Tokelau, Wallis and Futuna.

Visit Microsoft support for help on technical issues, including:

• Order status
• Billing
• Download
• Product key
• Installation/de-installation
• Product activation
• Product use