These apps have been the standard for home office productivity for a long time, but they aren't always included with your device, and getting access on your own may cost more than you think.Īssuming the barebones online freebie version of Office won't work for you (see below), your options essentially boil down to paying a rolling monthly or yearly fee for a Microsoft 365 subscription or punting for a one-time Office license, which typically costs as much as $430 with the full panoply of apps. There's also Microsoft PowerPoint for creating presentations, Microsoft Outlook for email and scheduling and Microsoft Access for database management (though that last one is available only on the Windows edition).

And for spreadsheets, Microsoft Excel offers a higher level of functionality than you'll generally find in Google Sheets. Microsoft Word, for instance, is the industry standard when it comes to word processing. Microsoft Office is used by businesses, schools and individuals around the globe and is often considered the default when it comes to productivity apps.

Office 365 lifetime subscription price