The official cost of buying Microsoft Office is rather expensive. There are lots of cheaper options on the web. Is it a case of you get what you pay for? Are the cheap versions legal? Do they work ok? Does anybody have any experience of what is the best way to download the software?
Judging from what has been mentioned on this forum over the last few years:
Some work OK, some don't.
Some are NOT in accordance with Microsoft's terms, but it appears Microsoft is not highly zealous in coming after you and you may never have the slightest issue--other than perhaps your conscience.
Some are outright frauds.
Some people will point to certain links for the software and say "this works fine for me, activates fine, and I never have had any issues". You'd then have to make the leap of faith that YOU wouldn't have issues.
I don't see how anyone could point you to a specific "cheap" source and also assure you that you'd never have a problem. I say assure.
There'll always be some doubt, so it's a roll of the dice in some fashion.
A UK buyer may have access to certain sources that are not available elsewhere. Or UK regulations regarding Microsoft products may differ. I have no idea.
I bought a cheaper 2019 Office license from an online retailer (in DK) - works just fine. I did read a couple of reviews of the retailer before i decided.
Maybe also consider free alternatives like LibreOffice. I just installed it on an old laptop a couple of days ago and it's surprisingly good. The suite has an alternative for nearly all Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc.) - except for Outlook.
I recently heard about FREE Microsoft Office web apps on Windows Weekly 669 podcast (1:16:30 to 1:20:00 on YouTube). No installation required; 5 GB of OneDrive storage included, can purchase 100 GB of storage for maybe $1.99/mo.
If you want to use FREE Microsoft Office don't click on Install Office tab; probably is for a Free-Trial of Microsoft 365, and might uninstall any current Microsoft Office software on your computer.
[login to your Microsoft account; then on another browser tab go to office.com webpage, you should be auto-logged in to Office and webpage should resemble my cropped screenshot below]
I have Microsoft Office Starter 2010 and Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business on my two Dell desktops.
Microsoft Free Office web apps seem OK. Plus it's easy to save/upload/download/delete Microsoft files on OneDrive.
Last edited by T J; 13 May 2020 at 16:10.
Thanks to you all for your comments. I will certainly bear these in mind when making my decision.
If you're talking about Office; I'd advise you get it from a reputable vendor or else you could run into support issues to say the least.
There's always someone claiming to have a great deal on Office only to find the software has been stolen or acquired by nefarious means leaving the buyer stuck with the bill so to speak.
I myself use legal copies of Office 365.
Good luck.
I've bought a couple of cheap single PC licences for Office 2016 which still work after 2 years. Confirm with the supplier before purchase that the key works with the genuine MS Office download server and buy from Amazon if possible who are better than providing a refund than eBay if yo are sold a duff key.
Hi there
as people have said : A.Y.O.R
Some work, some don't
It's obviously not a mega problem for Ms --otherwise these things would all be blocked etc.
I've had 3 ciopies of Office 2019 -- all still working, updating and remaining activated after updates and Windows updates.
Buy with a CREDIT rather than a DEBIT card - in most jurisdictions there's Consumer Protection when using a Credit Card -- in the event of not getting "Merchantable quality" of goods --i.e service not delivered / goods don't function etc then if the retailer won't refund your money then the Credit Card issuer / Bank is liable. With a Debit card purchase the rules are infintely less clear.
Cheers
jimbo
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A "free" cloud based Office .... I wonder who you'd be letting into your computer ???