How much does Office cost when one upgrades from the Starter version?

MS no longer Offers a discounted "upgrade". All Office 2010 purchases are full price.  The price depends entirely on which Office bundle you buy.

Here is link to online site: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/buy/

Think of Starter as a "bait and switch" deal. It provides just enough of a "taste" to get you hooked, but not enough to keep you happy so you just "have to" buy the full version.

Note: I always recommend people buy the slightly more expensive "Retail" or "FPP" or "2-computer" license over the Product Key Card or "PKC" or "1-Computer" license. The disadvantage of the PKC is that it is "disposable". It is tied permanently to the hardware. When the hardware is sold or dies, the Office license goes with it. The Retail license can be transfered to new hardware if you wish.

Also, 2013 pricing has been announced. If you can wait till after Oct 19 to buy 2010, you can get a limited "upgrade" to 2013 when it is released for sale to the public some time in the new year.

2012 09 17- MS Announcement The new Office 365 subscriptions for consumers and small businesses – Technical Upgrade package

http://blogs.office.com/b/office-news/archive/2012/09/17/the-new-office-365-subscriptions-for-consumers-and-small-businesses.aspx

 Starting October 19, people who purchase Office 2010 or Office for Mac 2011 will qualify to download, for free, one year of Office 365 Home Premium or the equivalent Office 2013 offering, when available.  Small business customers in applicable markets will also be eligible for a three-month trial of Office 365 Small Business Premium.

 Subscription features and details are available here.  In the coming months, we'll share information about Office 365 Enterprise and other business offerings. 

 * OneNote, Access and Publisher available for PC only.

NOTE: Pricing for 2013 has been announced and it is substantially MORE expensive for “retail licenses” than the 2010 equivalent because they are really pushing people to go with the “rental” scheme, that will cost you more money in the long term.

2012 09 17- MS announces Office 2013 prices and packaging

http://www.winsupersite.com/article/office-2013-beta2/office-2013-pricing-packaging-144267

http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-announces-office-2013-prices-and-packaging-7000004381/

• Office Home & Student, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, will cost $140, up 17% from the current $120.
• Office Home & Business, which includes the above apps plus Outlook, will go for $220, up 10% from the current price of $200.
• Office Professional, which includes the above apps plus Access and Publisher, goes up to $400, a 14% bump from the current sticker price of $350.

·         If you want to install the traditional versions of Office 2013 on multiple PCs, you’ll need to buy separate licenses for each one.

My math has it a little different comparing retail to retail rather than PKC to new retail. The 2013 “Retail” licenses are now only good on 1 machine at a time, but still include transfer rights:

·         H&S $150/3 users = $50 up to $140  is 2.8 times more expensive, 180% more

·         H&B $280/2 users = $140 up to $220 is 1.8 times more expensive, 80% more

·         Pro $500/2 users = $250 up to $400 is 1.6 times more expensive, 60% more