Have you just formatted your PC and realized you no longer have the Office installation DVD? Don’t despair, you can download the well-known Microsoft suite directly from the Internet and activate it with your product key. To find out how to do it, read on: in this guide you’ll find explained in detail how to download Microsoft Office both on Windows and macOS and then how to install it on both platforms. In addition, I’ll explain how to download Office applications that are available for smartphones and tablets and can be used for free on all devices that are 10.1″ or smaller.
First, however, let me make an important clarification, which concerns the mode of distribution of Office. Microsoft Office is currently distributed in two different versions. the “classic” one, which is purchased by paying a one-time license (starting at 149 euros), linked to the single version of the product, and the one contained in Microsoft 365, a subscription service costing 7 or 10 euros per month including all applications of the suite (including future updates), plus 1TB of space on OneDrive.
Having clarified these aspects regarding the currently available Office versions, I’d say we can finally get started. Are you ready? Are you? Excellent! Get comfortable, take all the time you need to focus on reading the next paragraphs and, most importantly, try to put into practice the “tips” I’m going to give you, so as not to have problems installing the famous Microsoft productivity suite. There’s nothing left for me to do but wish you a good read!
Preliminary information
Before starting this examination on how to download Microsoft Office, I would talk for a moment about the prices and the ways to purchase the suite.
As I mentioned in the introduction of the post, the first solution is to activate the subscription service Microsoft 365, which, in addition to allowing you to download and use all the applications of the Office suite on Windows and macOS (as well as mobile devices), includes additional services such as OneDrive and Skype. At the time of writing, you can subscribe to the following subscription plans.
Microsoft 365 Personal – at a cost of 7 euros/month or 69 euros/year includes all the applications of the suite that can be used on a Windows PC or Mac, provides access to advanced features found in Office apps for mobile devices, allows you to use Office mobile applications on devices larger than 10.1″, offers 1TB of storage space on OneDrive.
Microsoft 365 Family – costs 10 euros/month or 99 euros/year and includes the use of Office on 6 PCs or Macs, unlocking the advanced features of the mobile version of Office on 6 users, the use of Office mobile applications on devices larger than 10.1″, 1TB of space on OneDrive.
An interesting aspect is that, by subscribing to the Microsoft 365 Family plan, you can activate the 30-day free trial and decide (before it ends) whether to leave the subscription active or deactivate it.
The second option you have is to buy the “classic” Office package with a one-time payment, giving up in this case the additional cloud services I told you about earlier.
Opting for the version of Office with a one-time payment is possible, however, to take advantage of services such as Mr Key Shop, which allows you to save significantly on the purchase of the license for the Microsoft suite (and not only).
Mr Key Shop offers a money back guarantee on all products and provides free specialized Italian assistance (quite a rare commodity for services of this kind). It also guarantees a short time to receive the licenses, which are sent directly via e-mail together with the instructions for use (which also allows you to avoid the pollution caused by sending physical goods) immediately after purchase.
To buy a license from Mr Key Shop, all you have to do is visit this page of the site and choose one of the available Office editions, for example the new Microsoft Office 2021, Microsoft Office 2019 (still widely used) or even Microsoft Office 2016. There is also no lack of Office for Mac.
Once you choose the edition of Office that interests you, press the button to add it to your cart, then go to checkout and complete the transaction by following the practical on-screen instructions. You can complete the purchase with one of the many secure payment methods supported, such as PayPal, Amazon Pay or card.
Finally, I suggest you take a look at the other products as well. On Mr Key Shop, in fact, you can also find discounted licenses for operating systems, including the latest Windows 11, and for some of the best antivirus on the market.
All clear? Well, then now we can to practice and let’s go see how to download Office both with Microsoft 365 and in the version with one-time payment.
How to download Microsoft 365 on a PC
To download Microsoft 365 on Windows, you must first connect to this page and select one of the two available plans. I recommend you to activate the trial of the Home plan, so you can try the package for free for 30 days.
To do so, you have to click on the Free trial for 1 month link located in the Microsoft 365 Family box (alternatively, if you don’t want to activate the trial, click on the Buy now button). On the page that opens, click the Try it for free for 1 month button and sign in to your Microsoft account (if you don’t have one yet, click on the Click here to create one on the spot).
After logging in, provide a valid payment method from credit card, prepaid card or PayPal account. Next, click the Subscribe button to complete the transaction and download the installation file.
Once the download is complete, open the .exe file you obtained and wait patiently for all the components necessary to complete the Office installation to be downloaded from the Microsoft site. Once this operation (which may take several minutes) is finished, Office will be installed on your PC automatically. It’s as simple as that!
Once the installation is complete, remember to activate the suite using the procedure I indicated in another guide (just sign in with the Microsoft account used to activate Microsoft 365). If, however, you want to cancel your subscription before the free trial expires, connect to this page and click on the relevant item.
How to download Microsoft 365 on Mac
Microsoft 365 is also available for Mac. To proceed with the installation of the version of the suite for macOS, open this link from the Mac App Store, click on the View in Mac App Store and Get buttons and, if necessary, verify your identity by typing in the Apple ID password or using Touch ID (if you have a Mac that has that component). If you prefer, you can also download the Office for Mac apps individually, again via the Mac App Store. Use these links to do so: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote and OneDrive.
Alternatively, you can follow the “standard” download and installation procedure, similarly to what you have seen for Windows systems. Go to this page, click on the Try it for free for 1 month link or the Buy now button and then click on the Try for free for 1 month/Complete transaction button.
The next step is to log into your Microsoft account (or create one at the moment, if you haven’t already done so), click on the Start Now! Add a payment method located at the bottom left corner and add a payment method among the accepted ones (credit card, prepaid card or PayPal). After that, click on the Next button, check that the data entered is correct, click on the Next button again, then on Buy and finally on Install twice in a row.
If everything went well, an automatic download of a .pkg package should start: once downloaded, open it and follow the wizard to complete the Office installation. Then press the Continue (twice in a row) and Accept buttons, choose the destination disk for the suite, press the Continue and Install buttons and provide the administration password for your macOS user account.
Once you’ve completed the installation of Office, remember to activate the suite using the procedure that I have indicated in another guide. If, instead, you want to cancel the subscription before the free trial expires, connect to this page to proceed with the deactivation of the automatic renewal of the subscription.
How to download Microsoft Office Home & Student/Professional
Do you think Microsoft 365 is not for you and therefore you would like to install Microsoft Office 2021? What is the problem? Before explaining how to proceed, however, I want to remind you that this version of Office must be purchased once and its price starts from 149 euros. Activation is done using the product key (an identification code consisting of alphanumeric characters) that must be provided at the time of downloading the Office installation package.
To proceed with the download, go to the Microsoft website, click on the Sign in button and log in to your Microsoft account. If you do not have one yet, click on the Create a new account button to create one now.
Once you’ve logged in, type the product key code you received by email or that you see on the label on the box of the Office copy you purchased, use the drop-down menu to indicate your country and language and then click the Next button. Then click the Next and Download Now buttons.
Now all you have to do is wait until the download of the suite is complete, open the installation package that you have obtained and follow the instructions that appear on the screen to complete the procedure (following the same steps that I indicated in the chapters dedicated to the installation of Microsoft 365 on Windows and Mac).
How to download Microsoft Office on Android
As I told you in the opening of the article, you can also download Microsoft Office on smartphones and tablets. To do so on an Android device, just download the Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote and OneDrive apps that can be used for free on all devices with a size of 10.1″ or less (otherwise, you have to subscribe to Microsoft 365, with prices starting at 7 euros/month).
Alternatively, you can download for the all-in-one Microsoft Office application, which allows you to view and create Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents. It also lets you scan documents with your device’s camera, create annotations, generate PDFs from images or documents, sign PDFs and scan QR codes. Always free.
To install Office apps, all you have to do is launch the Play Store and search for them using the search form, or tap on the links I provided earlier (if you’re reading this article from the device you want to install them on). Once you’ve reached the tab of one of the apps in question, click on the Install and Accept buttons to start downloading and you’re done.
How to download Microsoft Office on iOS
Want to download Microsoft Office on iOS? To do so, launch the App Store and search for the official Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, OneDrive or the all-in-one Office app, or tap on the links I just provided (if you’re reading this tutorial from the iPhone or iPad on which you want to install them).
Then, click on the Get/Install button and wait for the app to download and install on your device. Keep in mind that you may be asked to confirm the operation by authenticating with Face ID, Touch ID or your Apple ID password.