I’m sure you’re wondering: what’s the difference between Office 365 and Office 2016?
Is one subscription-based and the other a one-time payment?
That would usually be the case. However, the Office 365 accounts available at our stores are different. They’re a lifetime subscription.
Here’s a side-by-side comparison between the two, summarized in the table below:
| Office 365 | Office 2016 | |
| Number of PCs | Up to 5 devices (PCs, Macs, iOS, and Android) | 1 PC/Mac |
| Apps included | Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote | Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Access, Publisher |
| Price | $30 | $40 |
| License type | Linked to the email account provided | Linked to the PC (one-time installation only) |
| Synchronisation | Among devices using the same email address | N/A |
| OneDrive | Up to 5 TB of cloud storage | N/A |
| SharePoint | Available | N/A |
As you can see, the differences between the two are pretty straightforward after all. But, what should you choose? It all comes down to preference.
Reasons to buy Office 365
Office 365 is perfect for students and home users. From writing your thesis and letters to tracking your budget to designing presentation slides for that next assignment, the three basic apps (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) are all you really require. Adding on to this, your email account will give you access to 5 TB worth of cloud storage space on OneDrive. Yes, that's 5,000 GB of songs, movies and other files!
This doesn't mean that Office 365 isn't good for business users as well. In fact, it is very good for an office setting. Other than the OneDrive, employees of a business are given a platform called SharePoint.
SharePoint is a cloud-based file sharing platform that allows users to upload and edit documents and files onto a common drive. This enables easier sharing and collaboration. In an office setting, it facilitates increased productivity and employee contribution. Sharing files has never been easier.
For all the CEOs out there, there is now a simple way to track your employees' progress and their modifications made to the files using SharePoint.
Reasons to buy Office 2016
To be frank, there are not many reasons why you should buy Office 2016 over the Office 365 anymore. For professional, power-users, we can still recommend Office 2016 as it includes a more complete set of tools (Access and Publisher) that most professionals are already familiar with. These are, of course, powerful tools that can improve productivity and efficiency.
Another reason why you'd pick Office 2016 is if you would like to add some value to the PC that you're selling or giving away, or if you didn't want your boss to track your work!
What we recommend
Office 365 is still the obvious choice for us. Its affordability, simplicity and versatility makes for a good purchase. It covers the essentials for the basic users and then some.
Where can you get it? We'll bring them right to you: