If you don’t want to subscribe to the rebranded Microsoft 365 Copilot (formerly Microsoft 365) here we show you how to buy Microsoft Office For Mac as a one time purchase in 2025.
Although Microsoft Office For Mac is now subscription-only under the rebranded Microsoft 365 Copilot, there are still ways to purchase a perpetual license of the Mac desktop version.
Since October 1st 2024, you can get a perpetual license of Microsoft Office For Mac 2024.
Limited Offer: You can currently get a discounted lifetime license of Office for Mac Home & Business 2024.
Microsoft Office 2024 is still available as a desktop version despite Microsoft rebranding its online version to Microsoft 365 Copilot.
There are two standalone desktop versions of Office 2024 available as a one time purchase:
- Office Home 2024 For Mac ($149.99/£119.99)
- Office Home & Business 2024 For Mac ($249.99/£249.99)
These versions are sold as a “digital download” from Amazon which means when you purchase them, you simply receive an email with the download link and license key.
One purchase of either version is valid for one installation of Microsoft Office 2024 on one Mac only.
Note that there is no version of Office Professional 2024 available although there is a one time purchase edition of Office 2021 but it is only available for Windows PCs, not Macs.
Table of Contents
Office Home 2024 For Mac
Microsoft Home For Mac 2024 (formerly known as Microsoft Office Home & Student 2021) gives you a unlimited desktop access to the following Office apps:
- Microsoft Office Word
- Microsoft Office Excel
- Microsoft Office PowerPoint
- Microsoft Office Outlook
- Microsoft Office Teams (Basic Only)
It requires at least macOS Sequoia, Ventura, Monterey or Big Sur to work but is compatible with both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.
Office Home & Business 2024 For Mac
Microsoft Office Home & Business 2024 For Mac includes everything in the Home & Student version plus Outlook.
The Home & Business version gives you a unlimited desktop access to the following Office apps:
- Microsoft Office Word
- Microsoft Office Excel
- Microsoft Office PowerPoint
- Microsoft Office Outlook
- Microsoft Office Teams (Basic Only)
- Microsoft Office OneNote
What These Versions Of Office Don’t Include
The following apps are not included in the Mac desktop version of Office 2024 as Microsoft has not made a Mac compatible version of them:
- Publisher For Mac
- Access For Mac
- Project For Mac
- Visio for Mac
Windows users can however get Microsoft Publisher and Microsoft Access for Windows included in Microsoft Office Professional 2021 but this is not available for Macs.
They also do not include Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant which is only integrated with the online version of Office.
Office For Mac 2024 System Requirements
The system requirements for Microsoft Office for Mac 2024 are as follows:
- Operating System: macOS Sequoia, Sonoma or Ventura
- CPU: Intel or Apple Silicon
- RAM: 4GB Minimum
- Hard Drive: 10GB Minimum
Where To Get The Best Deals For Microsoft Office?
Usually the best discounts for the 2024 desktop version of Office are to be found on Amazon.
You can of course get them both from Microsoft too although usually these are not discounted.
However, sites like Stack Commerce often offer huge discounts of up to 50% the one time purchase versions, often with perpetual licenses too.
For example, you can currently get the following deals on Stack Commerce:
- Microsoft Home & Business 2024 For Mac: Lifetime License for $159.97
- Microsoft Office for Mac 2021 Home & Business for Mac: Lifetime License $79.97
- Microsoft Office For Mac 2019 Home & Business for $42.99
Note that these are labelled as “lifetime licenses” by Stack Commerce which is the same thing as a one time purchase perpetual license.
If you’re based in the UK, you may also be able to purchase these older versions of Office 2021 at a discount via sites such as Currys.
What’s The Difference Between Office For Mac & Microsoft 365 Copilot?
Microsoft 365 Copilot is effectively the new Cloud name given to Microsoft Office For Mac 2024 and Office 365 by Microsoft.
In 2025 it was rebranded as Microsoft 365 Copilot which followed a previous rebranding in 2022 as Microsoft 365.
The Copilot rebranding was an attempt to promote Microsoft’s AI assistant which helps you write documents, fill in spreadsheets and compose emails among other things.
Microsoft 365 Copilot is completely Cloud based and works in any browser but it requires a subscription to use.
Microsoft Office For Mac 2024 is still desktop based and requires downloading MS Office onto your Mac.
If you’re wondering whether you should buy Microsoft Office For Mac or Microsoft 365 Copilot can find out more about the difference between Microsoft Office For Mac vs Microsoft 365 Copilot here.
You can also check the comparison table below to see a summary of the key differences between the two products.
| Microsoft Office For Mac 2024 Desktop | Microsoft 365 Copilot (formerly Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft 365) | |
|---|---|---|
| Works on a Mac | ||
| Compatible with latest versions of macOS | ||
| Works on Apple Silicon Macs | ||
| Works Online | No | |
| Online Storage | No | 1TB of online OneDrive storage per user. |
| Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote | Classic Versions | Premium Versions |
| Install on more than one Mac | No | Up to 5 different Macs on one subscription with Microsoft 365 Family subscription. |
| Mobile app | Free mobile apps but only basic editing features on screens under 10.1 inches. | Extra features included in Microsoft 365 mobile apps. |
| Microsoft Teams | Only Basic version | |
| Outlook | Only Home & Business | |
| Family Safety App | No | Family version only |
| Advanced Security | Security updates included but no new features or upgrades to major updates included. | |
| Copilot AI integration | No | |
| Ongoing Technical Support | Initial technical support for 60 days only | |
| Pricing | $149.99 Home & Student / $249.99 Home & Business | $69.99 Personal / $99.99 Family |
Buy Now | Free Trial |
Alternatives To Microsoft Office For Mac
If after reading this you don’t want to buy Microsoft Office For Mac then you could consider using an alternative.
We’ve looked at the best Microsoft Office For Mac alternatives many of which can open and edit Microsoft Office files.
However, none of them can preserve the formatting as well as Microsoft Office itself or offer the same level of integration with Microsoft Office.
If you’re dealing with Office files on a regular basis, we recommend biting the bullet and either buying Microsoft Office For Mac or getting a Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription.