Which product do I need

Choose by the computer first and the apps second. Office 2024 for Windows and Office 2024 for Mac are separate products, Access comes with Professional Plus and the Office 365 Pro Account on Windows only, and a Windows 11 Pro key upgrades a Home PC without a reinstall. The Office 365 Pro Account works across Windows, Mac, phones and tablets with one account.

Each Office 2024, Project, Visio and Windows licence covers one computer, and the Office 365 Pro Account is advertised for up to five devices. Windows Server is licensed by the number of physical cores in the server.

On a Windows PC where nobody needs Access, Office 2024 Standard has every app people will open. Professional Plus adds Access, and Skype for Business as an optional install. A Standard licence doesn't convert into Professional Plus later, so if Access might be needed on a PC, buy Professional Plus for it now.

On a Mac, the product is Office 2024 Standard for Mac. Microsoft doesn't make Access for macOS, so there's no Professional Plus edition for the Mac.

The three Office 2024 products are the volume licensed, one-time purchase LTSC editions. They don't receive new features, they get security updates until 9 October 2029, and they don't include Teams, Copilot, OneDrive storage or Publisher. Microsoft's consumer products, Office Home 2024 and Office Home & Business 2024, are different products that are installed from a Microsoft account. Ours install with the Office Deployment Tool on Windows and activate with the Volume License Serializer on a Mac.

Our blog compares the options in more depth, in Office LTSC Standard 2024 against Professional Plus 2024 and Office LTSC 2024 against Microsoft 365.

The account suits someone who works on more than one device, such as a PC, a Mac and a phone, and doesn't need Outlook. It's a Microsoft 365 account that we deliver ready to use, so the apps activate when you sign in, and its email address can't be changed. Microsoft 365 is a subscription-based service, and access depends on the subscription behind the account staying active, as the product page explains.

On Windows, the account's apps and Office LTSC 2024 can't be installed on the same PC, because Microsoft's rule is "You can't have a mix of update channels on the same device." To keep Office 2024 on a PC, use the account on your other devices. Set up your Office 365 Pro Account explains what happens after you order.

A PC running Windows 11 Home becomes Windows 11 Pro when you enter a Pro key in Settings, with files and apps left in place. Pro adds BitLocker drive encryption, the ability to accept Remote Desktop connections, Hyper-V, Windows Sandbox, Group Policy, and joining an Active Directory domain or Microsoft Entra ID. The comparison of Windows 11 Home and Pro covers each feature.

For a new or empty PC that needs both Windows and Office, the bundle covers both licences in one order.

Project Professional 2024 runs on Windows only. It has to use the same architecture as the Office on the PC, so both 32-bit or both 64-bit. The comparison of Project Professional and Standard 2024 explains what Professional adds, such as Team Planner.

Visio Professional 2024 runs on Windows only. It isn't part of any Office 2024 edition, so it comes as a licence of its own, and it has to use the same architecture and update channel as the Office on the PC. If the PC already has Office, read Visio won't install alongside Office before you order.

Microsoft's comparison of the one-time purchase editions lists what Professional adds over Visio Standard 2024. Among the additions are Azure and AWS shapes, ERD and UML diagrams, templates for electrical schematics and P&ID, and shapes linked to data in Excel, SharePoint lists and SQL Server.

Windows Server 2025 Standard is licensed by physical core, with at least 16 core licences per server. With every core licensed it covers two virtual machines, and every user or device that connects needs a Client Access Licence. How Windows Server 2025 Standard is licensed works through the numbers.

Tell us what computer the licence is for and what you need it to do, and we point you to the right product before you order. Our contact details are in the help centre.