Microsoft 365 vs Office Online: What’s free, what’s not and do you need the paid version?

With the widespread adoption of Microsoft products across businesses and individuals, it is critical you understand the differences between Microsoft 365 and Office Online to ensure you are using the right software for the right purposes.

Microsoft 365 is the premium version of Microsoft Office and it comes with a multitude of features including extensive collaboration tools, Office 365 Business applications, advanced security and productivity features, access to latest versions of Office Applications, and technical support. On the other hand, Office Online is a free version of Microsoft Office where almost all the Office applications can be accessed via web browsers but with limited features compared to Microsoft 365.

So, what’s the difference between the two?

Microsoft 365 requires subscription which usually starts from $5/months for home users, but for business users and organizations it may range from $5 – $20/user/mo. Whereas Office Online is free of cost and users can use it to work on all the applications on the web.

The notable difference between the two is that Office Online provides basic editing, authoring and formatting capabilities with limited collaboration options. Whereas, Microsoft 365 comes with full editing, collaboration, and delivery options. Microsoft 365 also allows access to the latest versions of Office where users can create documents and collaborate with much more sophisticated tools.

So, what do you need the paid version for? For basic document editing, Office Online should be enough. However, if you want to unlock the most collaboration features and some advanced options like linear marking notations and editing options, then you’d need to pay for Microsoft 365. Also, if you want better security and compliance features, then paid version is worth the investment.

Due to the rise in the demand of digital collaboration and flexible working arrangements, it is necessary that you analyze your needs and determine whether or not investing in a paid version of Microsoft Office makes sense for your organization.