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Microsoft has unveiled the pricing structure for the next version of its Office suite.
Although there is no indication as to when Office 2013 and Office 365 will be available, Microsoft has provided details of its subscriptions for consumers and small businesses in a new blog post.
It seems Microsoft is steering its users towards a subscription model rather than buying the software outright, although the option is still there for customers wanting a one off payment.
“Subscriptions open a host of possibilities, and subscribing to Office 365 will be the best choice for many – especially families, people with multiple devices and small businesses,” reads the post.
Office 365 Home Premium, which is a single subscription for up to five users, will cost $8.33 per month ($99.99 billed annually). With this subscription you will get:
• Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Access, and Publisher.
• Ability to use Office on up to 5 PCs or Macs shared among all users in the home. Subscribers also have flexibility to change their 5 devices at any time, and full featured Office applications are available for temporary use on any PC.
• Nearly 3 times the amount of SkyDrive storage with an additional 20GB over the 7GB you get for free.
• 60 minutes of Skype world calling per month to keep in touch with family anywhere.
• Premium licenses that are always up-to-date with latest new features and services released regularly. With the new Office, new capabilities will be added multiple times per year.
Office 365 Small Business Premium will cost $12.50 per user per month ($149.99 billed annually). With this subscription you will get:
• Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Access, and Publisher plus Lync.
• Ability to use Office on up to 5 PCs or Macs for a single user. Users also have flexibility to change their 5 devices at any time, and full featured Office applications are available for temporary use on any PC.
• A 25 GB Outlook mailbox, shared calendar, contact manager, scheduling and task-list tools, and 10 GB professional-grade cloud storage for the organisation plus 500 MB per user.
• Ability to host online meetings with audio and video using one-click screen sharing and HD video conferencing (HD video camera required).
• Set up, build, and maintain a public-facing website with no additional hosting fees.
• Premium licenses that are always up-to-date with latest new features and services released regularly. With the new Office, new capabilities will be added multiple times per year.
• No IT expertise needed. Simple setup to get started quickly and customise the service with ease.
People who need Office on only one device can buy traditional Office suites. These offerings allow users to save to SkyDrive by default and make it easy to connect to the cloud, but they are not available for multiple devices and do not include the latest updates or additional SkyDrive and Skype services.
Prices start at $139.99 for Office Home and Student 2013 which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.
Office Home and Business 2013 will cost $219.99 and includes all the applications in Home and Student plus Outlook.
Office Professional 2013 will be prices at $399.99 and includes the applications in Home and Business plus Access and Publisher.
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.
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