Office applications service description
Microsoft 365 (formerly Office applications) is a subscription service that provides you with the latest version of the Microsoft 365 apps that you're already familiar with, such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Even though it is a cloud-based service, Microsoft 365 apps don't run in the cloud. Instead, users download the apps from the Microsoft 365 portal and install them on their local computers, available on Windows, Mac, IOS and Android operating systems. Microsoft uses Click-to-Run technology to make the download and installation of Microsoft 365 apps fast and simple. Click-to-Run uses virtualization technology to run Microsoft 365 apps in a self-contained environment on a local computer, which allows users to run Microsoft 365 apps side-by-side with earlier versions of Office. Microsoft 365 apps are available in 32-bit* and 64-bit editions.
For detailed plan information on enterprise subscriptions that enable users for Microsoft 365 apps service description, see the full subscription comparison table.
Available plans
For detailed plan information on subscriptions that enable users for Office Applications, see the Microsoft 365 business plan comparison and Microsoft 365 Enterprise plan comparison.
For detailed plan information on subscriptions that enable users for Office Applications and are currently available in European Economic Area (EEA) countries and Switzerland see the Microsoft 365 business plan comparison for EEA and Microsoft 365 Enterprise plan comparison for EEA.
Feature availability
The following table lists the major Microsoft 365 apps features available across plans (certain caveats apply - see the footnotes for further information). Use the table to compare feature availability across plans and volume licensed editions of Microsoft Office 2013, Office 2016, Office 2019, and Office LTSC.
Several of the Microsoft 365 for business plans have add-ons that you can buy for your subscription. An add-on provides additional functionality to the subscription. For more information, see Buy or edit an add-on.
MICROSOFT 365 APPS FEATURE AVAILABILITY ACROSS PLANS
| Application/feature |
Office Professional Plus 2013 / 2016 / 2019 | Office LTSC 2021 | Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise | Microsoft 365 Apps for business | Microsoft 365 Business Basic | Microsoft 365 Business Standard and Premium | Office 365 E1 | Office 365 E3/E5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Word Microsoft Excel Microsoft PowerPoint Microsoft OneNote Microsoft Outlook Microsoft Publisher Microsoft Access |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Microsoft InfoPath | Yes1 | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Windows 10 Apps | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes2 | Yes |
| Microsoft 365 Apps for Mac3 Outlook for Android3 |
No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Office Mobile for iPad/iPhone3 Office Mobile for Android3 |
No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes4 | Yes | Yes4 | Yes |
| Microsoft Teams | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
ENTERPRISE FEATURE AVAILABILITY ACROSS PLANS
| Enterprise value |
Office Professional Plus 2013 / 2016 / 2019 | Office LTSC 2021 | Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise | Microsoft 365 Apps for business | Microsoft 365 Business Basic | Microsoft 365 Business Standard and Premium | Office 365 E1 | Office 365 E3/E5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 installs per user on PC or Mac3 Version upgrades |
No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Automated user account provisioning3 |
No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Client push deployment Offline support for client applications |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Client support for on-premises Exchange Client support for on-premises SharePoint Control of software updates PowerPivot for Excel6 |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Database Compare6 Excel Spreadsheet Compare6 Excel Spreadsheet Inquire6 Office Telemetry |
Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Desktop virtualization6 | Yes | Yes | Yes7 | No | No | Yes8 | No | Yes |
| Exchange Online and SharePoint Online Archiving and Compliance | Yes9 | Yes | Yes10 | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Information Rights Management | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Microsoft Purview Information Protection - manual sensitivity labeling | No13 | No | Yes | No | No | Yes8 | No | Yes |
| Microsoft Purview Information Protection - automatic sensitivity labeling | No13 | No | Yes15 | No | No | No | No | Yes16 |
| Multilingual user interface | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Office Add-in ActiveX BHO support6 |
Yes17 | Yes17 | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| OneNote client access to notebooks on SharePoint Server SharePoint Online OneDrive for Business Microsoft 365 |
Yes18 | Yes18 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| 3D Maps(Power Map for Excel)6 | Yes19 | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| PowerQuery for Excel | Yes20 | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| PowerView for Excel6 | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Roaming settings6 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes16 |
| Shared computer activation6 | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes8 | No | Yes |
| Support for blocking cloud-based file storage6 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes8 | No | Yes16 |
| Group Policy support6 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes11 | No | Yes11,12 | No | Yes |
| Cloud Policy support | No | No | Yes | Yes11 | Yes12 | Yes11 | Yes12 | Yes |
| Tap to find and reuse content | No | No | No | No | No | Yes6,21 | No | Yes |
| Volume activation (KMS/MAK) | Yes | Yes | No22 | No | No | No | No | No |
1 Infopath 2013 is still supported and comes in the Office Professional Plus 2016 installation, but there is no new version for Office 2016 or later versions. Read more here.
2 Not available for Office 365 F3.
3 Not available in the device-based version of Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. See more about device-based subscription of Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise.
4 Limited to devices with integrated screens measuring 10.9 inches or less diagonally.
5 The Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise plan doesn't include the Teams service, but Teams will still be installed with Microsoft 365 Apps and users in your organization who have Microsoft Entra ID will be able to initiate an exploratory experience of Teams. For more information about this free trial version and providing your users access to it, see Manage the Microsoft Teams Exploratory experience.
6 Only available in the Windows version of Microsoft 365 Apps.
7 Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise is supported on user-dedicated Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise only supports Remote Desktop Services (RDS) when purchased through a Volume Licensing Program. To install on RDS you must use the shared computer activation method, and Apps for Enterprise obtained through CSP supports Shared Computer Activation.
8 Not available for Microsoft 365 Business Standard.
9 Not available for Office Professional Plus 2013.
10 Archiving and compliance features are supported with this version of Office, but the Exchange Online and SharePoint Online plans are not included and must be purchased separately or used with supported on-premises server equivalents.
11 Limited to policies for web apps and privacy policies for client apps.
12 Limited to policies for web apps.
13 The Azure Information Protection add-in for Office can be used to enable sensitivity labeling in these SKUs. It is not included but can be purchased as a separate add-on. For more information, see Information Protection: Sensitivity labeling.
15 Specifically requires Microsoft 365 E5, Office 365 E5, EMS E5, Microsoft 365 Compliance, or Microsoft 365 E5 Information Protection & Governance.
16 Not available for Office 365 E3.
17 BHO support is an extension technology for Internet Explorer.
18 OneNote app access to notebooks on SharePoint Server, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Office 365.
19 3D Maps (Power Map for Excel) is not available for Office 2013 Professional Plus.
20 Power Query is a free add-in that can be downloaded here: Microsoft Power Query for Excel. Once enabled, Power Query functionality is available from the Power Query tab on the ribbon.
21 Only available for Microsoft 365 Business Premium.
22 Volume activation for Office 365 E3 and Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise are limited to installations on Windows Server 2008 R2 and newer with the RDS role enabled or Windows To Go installations. In either case, users accessing these installations need to be licensed users of Office 365 E3 or Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise.
Microsoft 365 apps availability in plans for Mac
The following Office applications are available for Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise for Mac and Office LTSC 2021 for Mac: Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft OneNote, Microsoft Outlook, and Microsoft Teams. Office for Mac is supported on the three most recent versions of Mac OS. As new major versions of Mac OS are made generally available, Microsoft will stop supporting the oldest version and support the newest and previous two versions of Mac OS. Product functionality and feature availability may vary on older systems. To learn more, see Microsoft 365 and Microsoft 365 apps Resources. The following Office applications are not available for Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise for Mac and Office LTSC 2021 for Mac: Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft Access, and Microsoft InfoPath.
Microsoft 365 apps and feature availability in Government plans
The following Office applications are available in the government clouds; however, some cloud-based capabilities may not be currently available, as indicated in Office application and feature availability in Government plans.
Microsoft 365 Education
For more information regarding Microsoft 365 Education plans, go to the Microsoft 365 Education page.
Learn more
For more information about Microsoft 365 apps, check out the following resources:
- Resources: Microsoft 365 and Microsoft 365 apps Resources.
- Support Matrix: Windows and Microsoft 365 apps configuration support matrix.
- Tech Community: Microsoft 365 - Microsoft Tech Community.
- Messaging: To stay informed of upcoming changes, including new and changed features, planned maintenance, or other important announcements, visit the Message Center. For more information, see Message center.
- Licensing Terms: For licensing terms and conditions for products and services purchased through Microsoft Commercial Volume Licensing Programs, see the Product Terms site.
- Accessibility: Microsoft remains committed to the security of your data and the accessibility of our services. For more information, see the Microsoft Trust Center and the Office Accessibility Center.
- Privacy: Your privacy is important to Microsoft. To learn how we protect your privacy, see Microsoft's privacy statement. For more information, go to Microsoft Trust Center.