Why is office 365 so cheap

Finally, gray market stores are a goldmine for thieves. Criminals can steal credit and debit cards and then use the funds to purchase many Office keys. They can then flip the Office keys on gray market websites for a lower price than retail, then direct the profits to their bank account. We briefly touched upon OEM keys above, so it's worth going into detail on what these are. You should consider OEM keys when buying a license to avoid any future headaches.

If you've ever bought a computer or a laptop that came with Office pre-installed, there's a good chance that it uses an OEM key. Computer manufacturers and builders purchase the OEM key and immediately install it onto a device.

You can't use an OEM key to install Office on multiple machines; that's what the retail version is for. As such, if a computer with an OEM version of Office is stolen or fails, you can't re-use the key on a new computer. OEM keys are cheaper than buying retail Office suites, so manufacturers can supply Office with their computers without hiking up the price. This is how manufacturers can sell laptops with Office pre-installed at around the same price as the retail version of Office.

Despite using them outside their intended use, buying an OEM key by itself isn't illegal. Just as long as the key was bought through legitimate means, there's no reason to worry about the legality of buying OEM keys.

Microsoft Office's price can be prohibitive, but it doesn't have to burn a hole in your pocket. By using the free versions, finding a cheap deal, or using a gray market website, you can get your hands on this powerful productivity suite for less.

If you'd rather use a free alternative to Office, don't worry. There are plenty of alternatives out there, and a huge number of them are worthy of your time. Microsoft Office is the king of office suites, but that doesn't mean it's the right one for you.

Here are some other office suites you might like better! A Computer Science BSc graduate with a deep passion for all things security. After working for an indie game studio, he found his passion for writing and decided to use his skill set to write about all things tech. Use Microsoft's Student Office Plans.

The 7 Best Free Microsoft Office Alternatives Microsoft Office is the king of office suites, but that doesn't mean it's the right one for you. Share Share Tweet Email. The latter is particularly useful for editing documents on the go. If the online cloud storage and device switching won't be useful, we'd recommend scrolling further down this page and consider buying Microsoft Office Home and Student instead for a one-off fee but you won't get any updates.

There are four different Microsoft business plans as of September Microsoft says that it changed the name to "to be more reflective of the range of features and benefits in the subscription. Microsoft includes everything you know in Office , including best-in-class Office apps, intelligent cloud services, and advanced security.

Microsoft certainly took its time to give us a new standalone Office package as it's moved its focus to the Microsost subscription service nowadays. But if you want a modern version of Office with just a simple one-time fee, this is the way to go.

You don't get the fancier cloud-based features and multi-device support that you do with Microsoft , but this can work out much cheaper in the long run. After many years of scouring the net for the cheapest games and tech for his own personal use, he decided to make it his job to share those bargains with you. What you buy is what you get. Heck, you may even be okay with an older version of Office, say Office , which you can still find keys for from third-party sellers for cheaper than Office However, Office has reached end of life EoL , meaning Microsoft no longer provides security updates for it.

But customer service may be lacking more on that later. Remember, to use Office , you need to be running Windows But before you take out credit card, let's talk about the reasons you might want to avoid these retailers. You may be more hesitant to buy from key reseller website like Kinguin. Many question their legitimacy or morality behind such deals. To learn more about its Office , we spoke with Kinguin directly.

Kinguin does reserve its right not to accept any returns of already delivered items or game keys to protect itself from scams. Regardless, we've heard of customer complaints regarding slow customer service or the company offering refunds rather than dealing with individual complaints. We haven't been able to get in touch with Kinguin for a response. Instead, you can only access these services with an internet connection.

You also have to have a Microsoft account. You can get to Office Online by signing in with your Microsoft account here. Once you do so, you have access to free Office tools.

Plus, since everything is internet-based, you can access it from any computer connected to the web. Free Office Online may not be a good fit for your largest or most complex projects, since features are more limited than what's offered in Microsoft It has less menu options. For example tabs like Draw and Design are missing from Word online. Note that you may also end up getting Microsoft for free through a sale. On April 21, Microsoft renamed Office to Microsoft You can use Microsoft Home for free through a one-month trial.