# What Microsoft Office should I get for my new M1 Mac?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-microsoft-office-should-i-get-for-my-new-m1-mac/962126>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [April 1, 2022, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-microsoft-office-should-i-get-for-my-new-m1-mac/962126 "2022-04-01T22:31:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2022, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-microsoft-office-should-i-get-for-my-new-m1-mac/962126/1 "2022-04-01T22:31:09Z")

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Hey guys, old computer died, new M1 chip Mac.

My old MS Office doesn’t work any more, so I was wondering what to do? It seems there is no one-time purchase of Office in the App Store. I get directed to the 365 subscription. If I try to restore my old purchase, that doesn’t work.

Thanks for your advice!

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**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2022, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-microsoft-office-should-i-get-for-my-new-m1-mac/962126/2 "2022-04-01T22:35:29Z")

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Short term, perhaps use this?

> **[Free Microsoft 365 Online | Word, Excel, PowerPoint](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/free-office-online-for-the-web)**
>
> With Microsoft 365 for the web you can edit and share Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote files on your devices using a web browser.

It’s the low-featured office product for Word, Excel and Powerpoint. It isn’t as powerful as a full suite, but with the subscription prices, I was very unwilling to continue with 365.

The rest of the time, I use LibreOffice, which again, is not as nice as 365, but as free as free can be.

[https://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/install-howto/macos/](https://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/install-howto/macos/)

Otherwise, it’s pay to play for Office I’m afraid.

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**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2022, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-microsoft-office-should-i-get-for-my-new-m1-mac/962126/3 "2022-04-01T22:47:27Z")

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I also recommend Libre Office. It has its quirks, but is generally easier to use than MS Office.

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**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2022, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-microsoft-office-should-i-get-for-my-new-m1-mac/962126/4 "2022-04-01T22:47:31Z")

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Thanks! So is 365 otherwise the only option? No one-time purchase?

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**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2022, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-microsoft-office-should-i-get-for-my-new-m1-mac/962126/5 "2022-04-01T22:55:28Z")

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No, they still sell the one-time purchase option of Microsoft Office. Google “Microsoft Office Home & Business 2021” for one example.

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**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2022, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-microsoft-office-should-i-get-for-my-new-m1-mac/962126/6 "2022-04-01T23:18:46Z")

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[quote=“Dewey\_Finn, post:5, topic:962126, full:true”]  
No, they still sell the one-time purchase option of Microsoft Office. Google “Microsoft Office Home & Business 2021” for one example.  
[/quote]Thanks! I was surprised how much it is. Nearly $300!

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**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2022, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-microsoft-office-should-i-get-for-my-new-m1-mac/962126/7 "2022-04-01T23:54:19Z")

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If there is a student in your household, you may be able to buy Office Home & Student 2021 for less money. (And also Home & Business isn’t nearly $300; list price is $250 and Amazon has it for $220.)

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**Author:** ![Anita\_Dayoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Anita\_Dayoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anita_Dayoff)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2022, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-microsoft-office-should-i-get-for-my-new-m1-mac/962126/8 "2022-04-02T22:10:14Z")

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Open Office is a good, free, open source equivalent.  
[https://www.openoffice.org/](https://www.openoffice.org/)