Office for Mac 2019

[pettycash]

I am looking to make a single-licence purchase to update my Office for Mac from 2011 to 2019. Can anyone help me clarify the following ambiguities please?

1. Historically, Office for the Windows and Mac versions were updated in different years until 2016 and 2019. Is this going to be the trend so that I don’t have to worry about the compatibility of my spreadsheet, say, created under different os?

2. Also, going forward, any purchase from the MS or Apple websites will be identical?

3. Why are some products called pc/Mac compatible and some for Mac only? Any technological difference there? From the MS store (similar in Apple I think), I saw there is a home and student version for Mac only without any equivalence for home and business. Is it simply because they want to push people to use the cloud-based version for businesses? The fact is I just want to buy the for-Mac version for my own MBP to save up but nothing seems to be available from those two sites.

4. On the other hand, I could find a home and business version for-mac only from a third-party vendor, called Softwarekeep, which officially carries MS product, and the price is roughly half of that which is both pc and Mac compatible. The question is that if MS does not carry this version itself, how can Softwarekeep carry it and its half price is due to Mac only but not both pc/Mac compatible?

5. The one carried by Softwarekeep seems to best suit my need but the only thing is I don’t know who the developer was if not MS? Would it be developed by Apple directly and Softwarekeep is the exclusive agent?

Thanks!

 

[chscag]

Office for Windows and Mac supposedly are the same, however, truth is they are not. Word and Excel for Windows both have more features and are better represented than their equivalent Mac versions.

As to your other question about the Softwarekeep reseller: Their US reviews all seem good with no complaints. Prices are a bit lower than from the Apple or MS stores but keep in mind those prices are in US $ so you will have to convert to Canadian $ to get your true pricing.

I purchased my version of MS Office from the Apple App Store which only sells the Office 365 versions by subscription. However, I received 30 days free which gave me a 13 month subscription for the same price. Also, the updates are timely and automatic. I could use my subscription for one Mac or PC. It also includes the iOS version and free storage on the MS OneDrive site.

 

[MacInWin]

CLIP...

I purchased my version of MS Office from the Apple App Store which only sells the Office 365 versions by subscription. ...CLIP

Actually you can buy Office 2019 and not get Office 365. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/office-home-student-2019/CFQ7TTC0K7C8?activetab=pivot:overviewtab

 

[chscag]

Actually you can buy Office 2019 and not get Office 365.

That's from MS direct, not from the Apple App Store. The reseller he quoted above sells the Office 2019 stand alone version for less than what MS sells it for. However, as I pointed out to him those prices are in US dollars. Since he lives in Toronto, he will need to either purchase from the Canadian Apple App Store or if the reseller he mentioned also sells to Canadian residents.

 

[MacInWin]

True, Charlie. I missed that you were talking about the Apple App Store. I got Office 365 directly from MS.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

I am looking to make a single-licence purchase to update my Office for Mac from 2011 to 2019. Can anyone help me clarify the following ambiguities please?

1. Historically, Office for the Windows and Mac versions were updated in different years until 2016 and 2019. Is this going to be the trend so that I don’t have to worry about the compatibility of my spreadsheet, say, created under different os?

You have never had to worry about that. Microsoft Office files are what is known as "binary compatible" across platforms. In other words, they are identical; no translators necessary. Also, Microsoft has an excellent record on keeping file compatibility with files that are quite old.

4. On the other hand, I could find a home and business version for-mac only from a third-party vendor, called Softwarekeep, which officially carries MS product, and the price is roughly half of that which is both pc and Mac compatible. The question is that if MS does not carry this version itself, how can Softwarekeep carry it and its half price is due to Mac only but not both pc/Mac compatible?

Microsoft offers both a Home version and a Business version of Office, that you can purchase directly from them...at least they do in the U.S.:

Office 2019 stand-alone for home ($150 US)
Shopping cart - Microsoft Store

Office 2019 stand-alone for business ($250 US)
Shopping cart - Microsoft Store

5. The one carried by Softwarekeep seems to best suit my need but the only thing is I don’t know who the developer was if not MS? Would it be developed by Apple directly and Softwarekeep is the exclusive agent?

You should be aware that there are a lot of third parties on the Web that are claiming to be Microsoft authorized resellers selling what they claim are legitimate copies of Office for what seem to be huge discounts. These are NOT legitimate copies. They MAY install and work fine...but if you have any problems with them you can forget about getting tech support from Microsoft. And if you need to migrate your copy from one computer to another at some point, you may find that to be impossible.

Before you shell out a lot of money for MS Office, may I make a suggestion? Try this product, which is NOT a Microsoft product, but which is extremely similar, and which has EXCELLENT file compatibility with MS Office file formats, but which is FREE:

FreeOffice (free)
www.freeoffice.com - FreeOffice for Windows, Mac, Linux and Android
FreeOffice is impressive in it’s features, and it may be all that many users need. It can open older (and the latest) Office file formats, but will only save in the latest Office file formats.

- - - Updated - - -

 

[pettycash]

FreeOffice (free)
www.freeoffice.com - FreeOffice for Windows, Mac, Linux and Android
FreeOffice is impressive in it’s features, and it may be all that many users need. It can open older (and the latest) Office file formats, but will only save in the latest Office file formats.

So Randy, why does it come free when there is no free lunch in the world?

 

[chscag]

So Randy, why does it come free when there is no free lunch in the world?

Why don't you try it for yourself and see? It won't cost you anything.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

So Randy, why does it come free when there is no free lunch in the world?

Because they likely want you to buy the commercial version, which they will send you an offer for via e-mail a couple of weeks after you download the free version, for only $20. But there's more to it than that.

A few years back Microsoft started to feret out and prosecute in a draconian fashion folks (i.e. businesses and schools) in Europe that were using multiple copies of one license for Office. This incensed many Europeans, who vowed never to purchase Office again. This is especially true for schools, who couldn't afford Microsoft's usurious pricing.

I suspect that Softmaker makes most of its money from big businesses and schools. If you look at their Web site they have a "professional" version of Softmaker Office designed for the enterprise, with special features for administration over a network. Large businesses and schools can save a fortune by going with Softmaker's Office products instead of Microsoft's.

There are a few features in the commercial version of Free Office (called Softmaker Office) that you might like to have if you really like the free version (and I strongly suspect that you will), but which aren't strictly speaking "necessary", such as customizable toolbars and the ability to save files in the old Microsoft file formats. I think that the $20 price is extremely reasonable, if for no other reason than to support the developer.

Comparison of features between Free Office and Softmaker Office:
Comparison: FreeOffice and SoftMaker Office

But if you wanna be really cheap, you can just use Free Office indefinitely for free. It really is completely free, and it's all that many folks will need. This is the Microsoft Office substitute that Mac users have been clamoring for for years!

 

[pettycash]

Thanks for the info Randy. My MBP is currently running on High Sierra and I want to upgrade the os and Safari; however, I can't as the office 2011 will stop working. Thus it is very important to see that the free office can work with macOS and up to which version. Can you tell me please?

 

[chscag]

The Free Office referred to by Randy is 64 bit and will run in Catalina. Also, the paid version which I'm sure you will like much better is likewise 64 bit. The developer has been real diligent about updating the Office suite and just recently published a service pack which added some enhancements.

Randy recommends the free version which I also agree with, however, as he stated the developer will offer you a special price for the paid version.

 

[Slydude]

I tried the free version, liked it, and a few weeks later purchased the paid version because I might, from time to time, need one or two of the added features. Even if I only use the features in the free version I consider it money well spent.

 

[pettycash]

All your comments sound very encouraging! $20 for the free version is not too much to worry about. Btw, is it compatible to Win 10 as well and do you think I can download to both pc and mac with buying just one copy?

 

[chscag]

No. If you decide to purchase "Softmaker Office", you will need to purchase the Mac and Windows versions separately. Make sure you try the Free Office version first.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Thanks for the info Randy. My MBP is currently running on High Sierra and I want to upgrade the os and Safari; however, I can't as the office 2011 will stop working. Thus it is very important to see that the free office can work with macOS and up to which version. Can you tell me please?

"System requirements:
Windows 7, 8, 10, Windows Server 2008 R2 or newer
macOS 10.10 or higher"

www.freeoffice.com - FreeOffice for Windows, Mac, Linux and Android


Note that, while we are recommending free stuff, you might like this browser even more than Safari, it's free, and you don't even have to upgrade your OS to use it:

Brave (free)
Secure, Fast & Private Web Browser with Adblocker | Brave Browser

Brave is *FAST*! It has built-in ad blocking. It blocks trackers. You have no idea how much nicer a browser can be to use until you try Brave.

 

[pettycash]

Thank you all for the info and recommendation. I will take a look and study about it in greater details later.

 

[ambimom]

Do yourself a favor and switch to LibreOffice for Mac. It works like a charm and compatible with Word, Office, Excel, Pages, Numbers. et.al. It's free and constantly updated with new features. It has tons of helpful templates and extensions. Its cross-platform too Mac, Windows, and Linux.

 

[Slydude]

I've used LibreOffice and it's well worth a try. I have it on the PC sitting at my desk because I really don't need to pay for an Office license for the little bit I use that PC.

I've used LibreOffice on my Mac though I don't think I've used the current version. I find it a little slow on my Mac (compared to either of the SoftMaker products) but still have it just in case.

 

[chscag]

Lots of folks like LibreOffice but when I tried it I found it to be clunky and bloated. If you just need a Word equivalent program, LibreOffice is not a good choice; here's why: You can not just install the word processor, but the entire program with all the fluff gets installed. Which requires trying to remove what you don't need. FreeOffice is small and so is Softmaker Office. Much nicer and lots easier to work with in my opinion.

 

[PGB1]

Hello PettyCash,
I don't think you will have any trouble with old document version compatibility, now or later.

All of my documents created in Office 2011 still work, as that is what is on the computer now.
I also still use several Word & Excel documents that were created as far back as Office 1.5 for Windows 3.0 in 1992. They use doc and xls extensions. (Newer are docx & xlsx)

We also still have some Word For DOS files on a 5-1/4" floppy. I tested some after reading your question #1. They still open in Office 2011 and can be edited. Office programs use what they call "Compatibility Mode" for those. I apologize, but I forgot to check the dates before I put the discs back in storage.

My mother used to use "Microsoft StarWriter" for DOS in her job. I remember her telling me that the documents opened in her new, fancy Windows 95 computer's Microsoft Word.

Would it not be nice if all of our stuff stayed compatible for so many decades?

I think, but am not sure, that Apple's Pages & Numbers can open older Word & Excel documents, too. It might be worth checking out. (If those applications still exist under those names.)

Hope this information is helpful when you make your decision.
Paul