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Grab a Lifetime License for Microsoft Office 2021 for Only $45

Gain access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and more with this one-time purchase.

Adrian Marlow Writer I
Adrian is a deals writer on the Commerce team at CNET. With a love of books, entertainment, travel, tabletop games and, yes, even fandom, they can often be found at concerts, RenFest, Dragon Con or at home binge-watching everything from new hits to classics. After graduating from Kennesaw State with a B.A. in English and Professional Writing, Adrian had a short gig in casting, followed by a long stint teaching English lit, theater and film, before transitioning into commerce writing in 2021. Adrian enjoys sharing insights and favorite finds with their readers.
Expertise Deals
Oliver Haslam Writer
Oliver Haslam has been writing about phones, computers, games, and anything else that takes a battery or plugs in for more than he'd like to admit. With a focus on mobile and laptops, Oliver is never too far away from whatever social network is trending today and is never short of an opinion to share.
Expertise Apple, phones, laptops, smartwatches, mobile accessories, gaming, apps
Adrian Marlow
Oliver Haslam
2 min read
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Microsoft's Office apps are essential for a lot of folks, whether you use them for work or school. Unfortunately, accessing Office apps usually means paying a monthly subscription for Microsoft 365 or buying a license outright from Microsoft at a significant cost. But if you don't need the absolute latest version of the software, you can get your hands on Microsoft Office without for much less. StackSocial has knocked the price of Microsoft Office Professional 2021 down to just $45 from over $200. This offer is slated to end today, March 25, so we recommend making your purchase sooner rather than later. 

It's also important to note that this deal is for the Windows version, so those who live in the Apple world will need to look elsewhere. If this deal is still more costly than what you'd like to pay, you could always grab the Office Pro Plus 2019 version instead.

StackSocial's deal is a great bargain when compared with the online Microsoft 365 subscription suite, which starts at $7 a month or $70 a year for individuals. There's a free online version of Microsoft Office that you can use as well, but it isn't nearly as feature-complete. (Separately -- and notably -- Apple users should be aware that Outlook is now a free app for the Mac.)

Now, a deal this good comes with some caveats. First, the code provided can be used one time for a single computer, so you won't be able to install it on multiple machines in your home, and if your current computer happens to die, you could run into a snag when trying to transfer it. Likewise, you're passing up on other benefits you'd get as a 365 subscriber. You won't get any OneDrive Cloud Storage, nor will you get the fancy new cloud-based AI features like Microsoft Copilot. While the apps should continue to work as long as your computer does, Microsoft's support for this version of Office ends on Oct. 13, 2026

To that last point: Though this is listed as a "lifetime license" -- that is, the lifetime of the computer you installed it on -- it's worth noting there's always a risk that Microsoft could terminate the license. Versions of StackSocial's deal have been running for more than a year; the one we bought in early 2022, for instance, still works fine.

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