Saving money on your Microsoft 365 subscription

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MICROSOFT 365 By Peter Deegan Using the tips in this article, you can pay less for new subscriptions and renewals. Let’s start with Microsoft’s offici
[See the full post at: Saving money on your Microsoft 365 subscription]

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Hailstorm, lmacri, windbg, abbodi86

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I found this really useful as I’d been thinking about my subscription but was wondering if I’d be better off with just using the free online versions,

I’m the only one that uses it and just have a Windows 10 laptop and Windows 11 laptop here and I’d taken out the Personal version of 365 but find I’m only using the Excel program in the pack just to keep track of my incoming and outgoings and know I can click on the link in Edge to use it.

I know I’d lose the 1TB OneDrive but I’ve never got many MBs of data there anyway so I wouldn’t miss all that storage space.

Any thoughts about this?

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Here in the UK, I have just renewed via Amazon for 15 months.

£54.99 including 15 months of Norton360 as well.

Best deal I’ve found in a few years.

Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 Core Ultra 7 155H 32GB Win 11 Pro 23H2 (22631.5189)
Dell Inspiron 15 7580 i7 16GB Win 11 pro 24H2 (26100.4061),
Microsoft 365 Version 2504 (18730.20122)
Location: UK

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You’ve done well.  That price is now up to £68.87 for 15 months with Norton.  As mentioned in the article, you don’t have to uses these lures/extras if the price is good for Microsoft 365 alone.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-subscription-Multiple-multilingual-Download/dp/B08VDSBNB3/

It’s an example of how quickly prices can change, especially on Amazon.  They’ve made a habit of offering a very good price for a short time, which brings in links, then there’s an increase in price.

The same deal is available with McAfee but if you switch to ‘without offer’ the deal switches to 12 months only.

Peter Deegan

 

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I think you can  gain an extra month free if you flip auto renew on and then off.

Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 Core Ultra 7 155H 32GB Win 11 Pro 23H2 (22631.5189)
Dell Inspiron 15 7580 i7 16GB Win 11 pro 24H2 (26100.4061),
Microsoft 365 Version 2504 (18730.20122)
Location: UK

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We have been using WordPerfect, an alternative to Microsoft 365 and Office, for decades. Its only disadvantage is that WordPerfect does not have an equivalent to Microsoft’s Outlook app. On the plus side, the suites have powerful spell and grammar checker capabilities.

The various version of WordPerfect include:

• Home & Student for $99.99 US
• Standard for $249.99, and
• Professional for $399.99

WordPerfect apps supports more than 60 different file formats including those used by Microsoft 365/Office.

The WordPerfect versions include but are not limited to:

• The WordPerfect word processor (Professional, Standard, and Home & Student),
• Quattro Pro spreadsheet application (Professional, Standard, and Home & Student),
• Presentations slideshow creator (Professional, Standard, and Home & Student),
• WordPerfect Lightning digital notebook (Professional, Standard, and Home & Student),
• Paradox database management system (Professional),
• eBook Publisher (Professional and Standard),
• AfterShot 3 photo-editing (Professional, Standard, and Home & Student),
•  Corel® MultiCam Capture™ Lite (Professional), and
• Concise Oxford English Dictionary (Professional, Standard, and Home & Student).

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@Kathy Stevens,

I loved WordPerfect.

My favourite word processor was WordPerfect 5.1 but when 6 came out I experienced severe performance problems and moved to Word and just never returned.

Maybe I’d have been better sticking with it but it was company hardware and out of my control.

Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 Core Ultra 7 155H 32GB Win 11 Pro 23H2 (22631.5189)
Dell Inspiron 15 7580 i7 16GB Win 11 pro 24H2 (26100.4061),
Microsoft 365 Version 2504 (18730.20122)
Location: UK

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Didn’t we start out discussing how to save money on a Microsoft 365 subscription?

How did Norton 360 and WordPerfect come into play?

Dell E5570 Latitude, Intel Core i5 6440@2.60 GHz, 8.00 GB - Win 10 Pro

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One way to save money on Microsoft 365 with Office and Microsoft Office Home & Student 2021 is not to buy it at all and purchase an app that does the same thing for a lower price and is less expensive over time.

Based upon pricing data from the Microsoft and WordPerfect web sites you can purchase their software new for:

• Microsoft 365 Family is $99.99 /year,
• Microsoft 365 Personal is $69.99 /year,
• Office Home & Student 2021 (One-time purchase) is $149.99,
• WordPerfect Office 2021 Home & Student (One-time purchase) is $99.99
• WordPerfect Office Standard 2021 (One-time purchase) is $174.99
• WordPerfect Office Professional 2021 (One-time purchase) is $399.99

Bottom line, it is all about how to save money by purchasing an alternative to the Microsoft products.

Above prices are from Microsoft and WordPerfect’s web sites at:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/buy/compare-all-microsoft-365-products

https://www.wordperfect.com/en/special-offers/

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Peter

I just wanted to say thank you for your extremely helpful article.  I have recently moved to subscription based MS Office and you have answered my key question about resubscribing early.

Two follow up questions:

1. Can you switch between personal and family editions seamlessly, by just resubscribing with a different edition?
2. Presumably with the OneDrive storage there is a grace period if you forget to resubscribe before your files are removed/deleted.  How does this work?

Many thanks

HS

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Thanks for your kind remarks.  To answer your questions:

1. Microsoft has a guide to switching between M365 Personal and Family.  https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/switch-to-microsoft-365-family-or-microsoft-365-personal-3fcc1efc-2722-427f-8efa-db94b9b0a36b

It’s typical Microsoft blather.  They open by saying that “switch to the Microsoft 365 subscription that best meets your needs” but what follows is quite convoluted.

In short, if you want to switch between the two consumer M365 plans, do it near the expiry date of the existing plan.  That’s easier and you get the most value out of each payment to Microsoft.

2.  The Grace Period after the expiry date applies to the whole Microsoft 365 plan; software and services.  Microsoft should warn you several times about both expiry and deletion of OneDrive data but they are under no obligation to do so.

Given the risks of losing OneDrive storage, I strongly recommend NOT leaving renewal to the last days.  In those last days there’s much less opportunity to find a discounted price.  If you’re “down to the wire” probably best to renew direct at full price, for your peace of mind.

Cheers,

Peter Deegan

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Hailstorm

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Hi Peter! Thanks for this article.  I checked and I was eligible for personal discounts as part of my employment.  I had no idea that this perk was available from my employer, and I am in IT!

I was able to add anther year to my Office 365 Family subscription at a 40% discount for $59.95.  As you pointed out, the extra year was just added to the end of my current subscription.  It also noted that my future auto-renewal cost is $69.95.

Thanks for alerting us on this feature, along with all of your ongoing columns!  I appreciate it.

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Peter Deegan

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Public Service Announcement:
Updated February 21, 2022: Android Authority Tech Deals has a limited time Deal: 85% off Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2021 “The deal is back. Get lifetime access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more. All for a one-time payment of just $49.99.” and “It’s back on sale now but stock is limited. Be quick if you want to catch it,” Read full details here:
https://www.androidauthority.com/microsoft-office-professional-plus-2021-deal-3097418/
The actual Tech Deals website for this offer is located here:
https://deals.androidauthority.com/sales/microsoft-office-professional-plus-2021-for-windows
Recommend read the information at first link to see if applies to you.
I am an amateur home user using LibreOffice when necessary, so I do not know anything about Microsoft Office or if this is a good deal, remember:
if it sounds too good to be true, it may not be true. Just thought I would share info links, and maybe Peter or someone can check out and give advice.

Amazing Truths Revealed: Link to Simply Magnificent AskWoody Knowledge Bases

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The link below contains a description of the Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2021 for Windows: Lifetime License where it explains that,

“Note that Professional Plus licenses are volume licenses not sold directly to individuals.

The only way individuals get such a license is through an employer’s home use program. If you purchased this license on the Internet chances are very good that it will stop working within a few months as Microsoft double-checks licensing.

Your only recourse is to go back to whoever sold you this license.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.”

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/microsoft-office-professional-plus-2021-for/cb294b95-c625-4149-b4e9-d419a59e7ce7

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There are lots of misunderstandings about the Home Use Program HUP and this is one of them:

“The only way individuals get such a license is through an employer’s home use program”

The HUP does not use volume licences from the employees organization.  Under the HUP, Microsoft sells a product key directly to the employee.

Until a few years ago, the HUP sold perpetual licence Office and the buyers got a separate product key direct from Microsoft.

Now, the HUP only sells Microsoft 365 plans (Family or Personal) which are linked to the employees personal Microsoft account.

Someone offering an Office  volume licence for sale has obtained them by some means from the organization that bought the licences from Microsoft.  NOT via the Home Use Program.

 “it will stop working within a few months as Microsoft double-checks licensing.”

The licence _might_ stop working at any time; weeks, months, even years or never.  It depends on the seller (e.g how many people have bought the same product key), organization and Microsoft.  Microsoft’s enforcement of these sales is inconsistent and spotty; far different from their anti-piracy rhetoric.

Peter Deegan

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Lars220

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Tim Carney – what program does your employer have, and in which country?  Maybe I should suggest it to my company.

Thanks.

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For those who want local copy of Office.

Lifetime Microsoft Office for Mac Home & Business 2021 license is back for $49.99 (85% off)
Both for Mac and Windows.

..Select between Microsoft Office Home & Business 2021 for Mac or Office Professional Plus 2021 for Windows — each option is $49.99…

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Lars220

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It looks like there are multiple websites offering “Deals” on Microsoft Office, I found another website offering: Office 2021 Pro Plus 32/64 Bit Lifetime License Key – For Windows $14.99
https://www.joywarp.com/product/office-2021-pro-plus-32-64-bit-lifetime-license-key/
Reading the information and Reviews at the website, it looks like the 8 programs of Office Plus are included in this price. Is this possible? I thought $50 sounded too good to be true, but how about $15 for the whole thing? I ran the above link thru VirusTotal and it comes out clean.
Can anyone offer more information about this $15 price, I am attaching some .jpg pictures with a few highlight concerns, maybe someone can more information, thanks in advance.

Amazing Truths Revealed: Link to Simply Magnificent AskWoody Knowledge Bases

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There are more sites selling Microsoft Windows, Office.. licenses very cheap.

https://www.redmondpie.com/insane-microsoft-software-deals-get-you-up-to-90-off-get-windows-10-license-for-just-12-office-2019-16-for-only-27-more/

Buy: Genuine Lifetime Windows 10 Pro: $15.80 with code RM30 | Original price $129
Buy: Genuine Lifetime Windows 10 Home: $12.99 with code RM30 | Original price $79
Buy: Genuine Lifetime Windows 11 Pro: $21.97 with code RM30 | Original price $199
Buy: Genuine Lifetime Microsoft Office 2016 Professional: $27.01 with code RM30 | Original price $599
Buy: Genuine Lifetime Microsoft Office 2019 Professional: $46.23 with code RM30 | Original price $699
Buy: Genuine Lifetime Microsoft Office 2021 Professional: $50.69 with code RM30 | Original price $799
Buy: Genuine Lifetime Windows 10 Pro + Office 2016 Pro: $40.77 with code RM30 | Original price $599
Buy: Genuine Lifetime Windows 10 Pro + Office 2019 Pro: $59.56 with code RM30 | Original price $699
Buy: Genuine Lifetime Windows 10 Home + Office 2019 Pro: $55.75 with code RM30 | Original price $649

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Lars220

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Wow Alex 5723, thanks for this list, but too late for me, maybe I shoulda shopped better.
Informational update concerning inexpensive License Keys;
first I would like to apologize to our helpful teacher Peter Deegan for my hijacking his saving money on Microsoft 365 subscription topic with my post, discussion, and questions about Microsoft Office. As an experiment to satisfy my hazardous curiosity, and on a better sounding altruistic motive of serving the diverse needs of the AskWoody readership, I went ahead and bought the $15 License Key from the joywarp Office 2021 Pro Plus 32/64 bit Lifetime License Key – For Windows website. Shame, Hiss, Beware – Hear me out please. Even before visiting that questionable(?) website, I used wumgr to check for updates, updated Microsoft Defender Antivirus, Malwarebytes, and SuperAntiSpyware scanners, and my browsers. Then I used Macrium Reflect to make a SIB System Image Backup, and then I manually Created a System Restore Point, gotta try to be safe. After paying with a credit card I immediately received instructions and the License Key. The instructions were easy and straightforward, and after downloading the 4.2 GB “ProPlus2021Retail.Img” file from officecdn,microsoft,com website I used all three scanners to check the .img file and they found no malware. Next was to double click the .img file to mount it, then click the setup.exe file to start the installation of all 8 programs in Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2021. After installation, closed the installer window, started Word, and the first screen was the “Enter your product key” with an Activate Office button for clicking after the 25 digit alphanumeric license key was entered. The next screen was “Accept the license agreement” with an Accept button. Then Word opened and I clicked on the “Account” button and saw the Product Activated screen, Yay!. Next I clicked on the Office Updates – Update Options button, and got the Downloading Office updates… mini window, and waited for about 60 minutes while the updates downloaded, must have been a lot, also I have slow DSL internet connection, the 4.2 GB took hours, I took a nap, mowed the lawn, did laundry, and walked the dog. Finally got ‘Updates were installed’ mini window. So I exited Word, and then restarted Word, and checked updates again, just to see what happens, I received the ‘You’re up to date!’ mini window. I found the 8 Office programs scattered around my Start Menu alphabetically and decided to move all the shortcuts into the newly created Microsoft Office Tools folder on the Start Menu, just so that they would be all together organized. I launched and played with the programs and all seems to be copacetic. So now I guess I wait and see how long this inexpensive License Key will last? So there you have my story, maybe sometime in the future I will need to find this post and update how Office became de-Activated (?) I sure hope not though. Let this be a lesson for all of us, sometimes we can throw caution to the wind and just go for it! With proper preparations and the best due diligence we can muster, of course. I have attached OfficeProPlus-ScreenShots.pdf with 8 screenshot pictures for information in case anyone is interested. Thanks for putting up with me.

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Peter Deegan, Alex5723

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