[EN.ALGHADEERTV.NET] We may be in the tail end of 2021, but Microsoft is on the verge of releasing the latest edition of the non-subscription version of its office suite bearing this year in its name. Microsoft Office 2021 is due for release on October 5, the same day as Windows 11, and will be available for Windows and macOS. If you want Office without a subscription, you will have to be willing to pay upfront for Office 2021. Microsoft has now revealed that pricing starts at $50, but you could pay much more than this.I keep pointing out to people that Libre Office doesn't cost anything, does everything Microsoft Office does, and can write to Microsoft's formats. It comes in Windoze, Mac, and Linux versions, also Solaris and who knows what else.
For most people, Office Home and Student 2021 will be the version to go for. This includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Microsoft Teams and is priced at $149.95. But for anyone who needs Outlook, or who needs to use any of the Office apps for business purposes, there is Office Home and Business 2021 priced at $249.99.
... which is $249.99 more than zero dollars, or twenty five cases of beer...
Opting for the non-subscription version of Office does not mean missing out on a lot of important features and options. Office 2021 includes various collaborations features, for instance, such as real-time co-authoring, you can work with others in the same document at the same time.
I never have had occasion to use those particular bells and whistles, but I understand Libre Office has them as well. Apache (the guys who developed the web server the Burg runs on) also has Open Office if you don't like the color scheme of Libre Office, which is a fork off an older version of Open Office.
Microsoft is using the launch of Windows 11 to encourage subscription-hating Office users to upgrade to Office 2021. The company says:
Both Microsoft 365 and Office 2021 run on Windows 11, Windows 10, and the three most recent versions of macOS. Note that Office 2013 won’t be supported on Windows 11, so now is the right time to upgrade to Microsoft 365 or Office 2021 if you’re planning to upgrade to Windows 11. Finally, to use Microsoft 365 or Office 2021, both a Microsoft account and an internet connection are required.
You don't need a Linux account to download either Libre Office or Open Office.