Microsoft has long been offering Office only via a subscription to Office 365, which is billed monthly or yearly. In the past, Microsoft used to offer Office as a one off fee and then users could upgrade when they feel best or things stop working. Also with nearly everything moving to subscriptions, there is such a thing as ‘subscription fatigue’ and Microsoft has acknowledged this.

In a recent blog post, Microsoft announced that be launching a separate version of Office for Windows and Mac which will be available with a one off payment, like the old days. However Office 2019 has been offered and is offered as a standalone product, for $150 in the US and £59.99 in the UK.

The new one off version of Office is set to launch in 2021.

“Microsoft Office will also see a new perpetual release for both Windows and Mac, in the second half of 2021.”

Microsoft