After announcing it earlier this year, Microsoft is now offering a cheaper version of its Office 365 subscription program. Called Office 365 Personal, the new subscription tier allows access to Office applications on 1 PC or Mac and 1 tablet for $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year. This compares to the original Office 365 Home subscription which offers access to Office apps on 5 PCs or Macs and 5 tablets for $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year.
Both subscription levels provide access to Office Mobile on smartphones, Office.com web applications, 20GB of OneDrive storage per user, and 60 minutes of international Skype calling per month.
Microsoft continues to offer boxed retail copies of Office for Mac and Windows, but the company is pushing hard to move customers to a subscription model, which both ensures that customers always have access to the latest software and provides Microsoft with regular recurring revenue. The launch of what is now Office 365 Home in 2011 was a relatively good value for customers with multiple computers and devices, but this week’s introduction of Office 365 Personal represents Microsoft’s attempt to capture customers who need more limited access to Office applications.
By offering Office 365 Personal, in addition to Office 365 Home, we are better positioned to deliver the right Office to a broader range of households–whether it’s an individual or a family of five.
The introduction of Office 365 Personal arrives shortly after Microsoft launched its long awaited Office for iPad, and the new subscription tier is no surprise. Although free to download and view Office documents, the ability to create or edit documents in any of the Office for iPad applications (except OneNote, which is now completely free across all platforms) requires an Office 365 subscription. Longtime Office desktop users may already be Office 365 subscribers, or more likely to pay more for Office 365 Home or Business, but Microsoft is also looking to attract an entirely new demographic of user, and a cheaper version of Office is essential to that goal.
Office 365 Home Premium is now available to purchase on monthly or yearly terms at Microsoft’s website. Customers can also sign up via an in-app purchase in any Office for iPad application.
