Which laptops come with Microsoft Office

Which laptops come with Microsoft Office?

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You might think that “which laptops come with Microsoft Office?” is an easy question with an easy answer, but it isn’t. The simple answer is “zero”, as that’s how often you’ll receive a full version of Microsoft Office pre-installed on a laptop bought from a high-street retailer. And yet nine out of ten laptops will ship with a Microsoft 365 icon. So what gives?

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What version of Microsoft Office is installed on my laptop?

Which laptops come with Microsoft Office?

The confusion occurs because the likes of Acer, HP and Lenovo typically do include a version of Office on their laptops. However, if you click on the Office icon then you’ll almost certainly see something like the above image.

You’re not really getting Office as you know it. You’re getting “Office on the web”, so apps that run within a web browser.

That’s actually fine. Word and Excel both work effectively from within a browser, and you won’t get charged a penny. You will, however, need to set up a Microsoft account if you haven’t already done so.

Once you’ve signed up, you’ll be hit with the upsell. This includes “premium desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and more”, and naturally Microsoft wants you to buy direct from it. (Cycle through the screenshots above to see what we mean.)

However, don’t rush in. There are cheaper ways to buy Microsoft Office and gain access to those “premium desktop versions”, as we reveal below.

Which version of Microsoft Office should I buy?

Microsoft presents a simple choice between Microsoft 365 Personal and Microsoft 365 Family. You can pay monthly (£5.99 or £7.99) or save around a quid per month by paying annually (£59.99 or £79.99).

If you can share the subscription costs with anyone (they don’t have to be a member of your family) then 365 Family makes a lot more sense. But, you have other options.

One is to buy a licence key from elsewhere. In particular, Amazon sells one-year licences (in fact, they’re usually for 15 months) for a cheaper price than Microsoft and you don’t get sucked into the renewals cycle:

Can I still buy Microsoft Office without a subscription?

Yes: your second option is a “one-time purchase” version of Microsoft Office.

The advantage of a Microsoft 365 subscription is that your software will be automatically updated and includes all the desktop apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access and Publisher for instance.

The one-time purchase version is stuck in time, only includes Word, Excel and PowerPoint (plus Outlook for the Home & Business version) and only gets security updates. And even then, only for a few years.

However, if you don’t care about having the most up-to-date version of Word, Excel etc then you will be more than happy with the 2019 version of the software – and as you’ll see, it’s a bargain by comparison.

Here’s a brief rundown of your Office one-time purchase options along with the cheapest place we could find them:

What’s the difference between Office Home & Student and Office Home & Business?

Officially, you can’t use Microsoft 365 Personal in a commercial role (eg if you give laptops to people who work for you) and the same goes for Office Home & Student.

The other difference is that Home & Business includes Outlook. Note that neither the 2021 nor 2019 editions work with Windows 8 or earlier.

Home & Student 2021Home & Business 2021
WordYesYes
ExcelYesYes
PowerPointYesYes
OutlookNoYes
Works with Windows 10/11?YesYes
Works with Windows 8 or earlier?NoNo
For commercial use?NoYes

Will my laptop be fast enough to run Microsoft Office?

Almost certainly, yes. Microsoft Office isn’t overly taxing on a computer; if it ships with Windows 10 or Windows 11 then we can say with some confidence that it will run Microsoft Office.

Any other questions about Microsoft Office? Then let us know in the comments and we will either answer directly there or update the main article.

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Are there any free alternatives to Microsoft Office worth considering?

If you’re hesitating over the cost of a Microsoft 365 subscription or a one-time Office licence, it’s worth knowing there are several high-quality, free alternatives that work on most laptops. While they don’t always replicate every Office feature, they’re more than capable for everyday document, spreadsheet and presentation tasks:

  • LibreOffice: Arguably the best-known free Office alternative, LibreOffice includes Writer (Word equivalent), Calc (Excel equivalent), and Impress (PowerPoint equivalent). It’s open source, actively maintained, and works offline.
  • Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides: If you’re happy working online, Google’s suite is free with a Google account. It integrates well with Gmail and Google Drive and allows real-time collaboration, which even Microsoft 365 sometimes struggles with.
  • WPS Office: A polished, free suite with strong compatibility for Microsoft Office formats. It also offers premium features for a fee, but most users will be fine with the free tier.
  • OnlyOffice: A lesser-known but capable free option that aims for high compatibility with Microsoft Office file formats and supports both online and offline modes.

These options can be installed or accessed alongside Microsoft’s free web-based Office apps, giving you flexibility without locking you into a subscription.

How to tell if your laptop has a Microsoft Office trial pre-installed

Many laptops come with a 30-day trial of Microsoft 365 pre-installed, which differs from the free web apps. To check if this applies to your machine:

  1. Open any Office application like Word or Excel.
  2. Click File > Account.
  3. Look for the subscription information — it will tell you if it’s an active trial or a full subscription.
  4. You can also visit Settings > Apps on Windows and see if ‘Microsoft 365’ or ‘Office’ is listed with a trial label.

If it’s a trial, you’ll receive reminders as the expiry date approaches, with options to upgrade.

Can you transfer a Microsoft Office licence to a new laptop?

If you’ve previously purchased a one-time Microsoft Office licence, you might wonder if it’s tied to your current laptop forever. The answer depends on the type of licence:

  • Microsoft 365 subscription: Easily transferable. Just sign out on your old device and log in on your new laptop.
  • Office 2021/2019 one-time purchase: Technically, these are meant for one PC only, but if your old laptop fails or is replaced, you can contact Microsoft Support to deactivate the licence on the old machine and activate it on the new one.

It’s a handy way to protect your investment if you change devices.

This article was updated on the 20th of June 2025 with additional info.

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Tim Danton

Tim has worked in IT publishing since the days when all PCs were beige, and is editor-in-chief of the UK's PC Pro magazine. He has been writing about hardware for TechFinitive since 2023.