What's the difference between a paid Microsoft 365 subscription and the free web apps?
If you signed in to Microsoft365.com with your Microsoft account and you see a Free or Subscribed badge, you may wonder what that means.
Free
A Free badge means an active Microsoft 365 Family or Personal subscription isn't associated with the account you signed in with.
Only the free web versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are available to you. To access these apps in your browser, all you need to do is to sign in to Microsoft365.com with your Microsoft account and select the app you need from the app launcher 
Subscribed
A Subscribed badge means a Microsoft 365 subscription such as Microsoft 365 Family or Personal is already associated with your account and you can access many of your subscription benefits including installing the desktop apps.
Don't already have Microsoft 365, or you're looking for product details and prices?
: See the comparison table below for more details.
Other subscription plans
Besides Microsoft 365 Family or Personal, there are other Microsoft 365 plans which include additional benefits and features designed specifically for small and mid-size businesses, enterprises, schools, or non-profits.
You also get 5 GB of OneDrive online cloud storage with your free Microsoft account so you can access your files from anywhere. Any documents you create with the free versions of apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are automatically saved to OneDrive.
With a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription, you'll always have the most up-to-date modern productivity tools from Microsoft all with the latest features, fixes, and security updates. You also get perennial tech support, and 1 TB of cloud storage to store your files and photos at no extra cost. And with Microsoft 365 Family you can add up to five additional people to your subscription.
If you don't think you'll need the full richness of the desktop apps right now, but want the extra cloud storage and email benefits that come with a Microsoft 365 Family or Personal plan, check out Microsoft 365 Basic which comes with 100 GB of cloud storage.
Learn more about the differences between these Microsoft 365 plans in the table below.
Not sure what you have now? See What version of Office am I using?
Think you might need a business subscription? See What's the difference between a Microsoft 365 subscription for personal and family and a subscription for business
Ready to install the desktop apps? See Install Microsoft 365 or Office on your PC or Mac.
Looking for product details and prices?
Compare the Microsoft 365 free web apps with Microsoft 365 Basic, Personal, or Family
The table below highlights subscription plans for home use. If you think you might need a business subscription, see What's the difference between Microsoft 365 personal and business plans.
|
Microsoft 365 web apps |
Microsoft 365 Basic |
Microsoft 365 Personal or Family |
|
|
Cost |
Free with your Microsoft account |
Small monthly fee, or save by paying annually |
Small monthly fee, or save by paying annually |
|
Number of users |
1 person |
1 person |
1 person (with Microsoft 365 Personal) 1 to 6 people (with Microsoft 365 Family) |
|
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote |
Web versions only |
Web versions only |
Includes both web apps and desktop apps for PC and Mac with premium features. Install the desktop apps on all your devices. You can be signed into five devices at the same time. : With Microsoft 365 Family, each person you share your subscription has the same benefit. This means they can also install the apps and be signed in on five of their own devices at the same time. |
|
Feature updates |
Security updates, but no new features. |
Security updates, but no new features. |
Desktop and web apps are always improving. Get all the latest features and updates, as well as security updates and bug fixes. |
|
Install apps on phones and tablets : Availability of mobiles apps vary by country/region. |
Basic editing only on tablets or phones under 10.1 inches. |
Basic editing only on tablets or phones under 10.1 inches. |
Get all the extra features available on Microsoft 365 mobile apps. |
|
Microsoft Teams |
Group calling for up to 60 minutes per month and 100 participants. |
Group calling for up to 60 minutes per month and 100 participants. |
Group calling for up to 30 hours per month and 300 participants. |
|
Access and Publisher (for PC only) |
Not available |
Not available |
Includes desktop versions of Access and Publisher (for PC only). |
|
Online cloud storage with OneDrive |
5 GB |
100 GB |
1 TB With Microsoft 365 Family, each person sharing your subscription (up to 5 additional people) get their own 1 TB of online storage. : With Microsoft 365 Family, each person sharing your subscription (up to 5 additional people) get their own 1 TB of online storage. |
|
Technical support |
No technical support |
Includes support for all Microsoft 365 benefits |
Includes support for all Microsoft 365 benefits |
Frequently asked questions
Choose an option below to get pricing info.
|
Microsoft 365 subscriptions |
For personal use: Microsoft 365 Family (share with up to 5 additional people) Microsoft 365 Personal (for one individual) Microsoft 365 Basic (for one individual) For business use: Compare Microsoft 365 small and midsized business plans (up to 300 users) Compare Microsoft 365 enterprise plans For non-profits: |
|
|
One-time purchases of Microsoft 365 |
Yes. You can buy standalone versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for Mac or PC. Go to the Microsoft Store and search for the app you want.
You can purchase subscription or non-subscription versions of Visio or Project (desktop versions of these apps are for PCs only). Buy Visio or buy Project.
Most apps for Microsoft 365 Family or Personal subscriptions and Office 2021 apps can be installed on either Mac or PC. Compare prices
If you're using Microsoft 365 Family or Personal and after the desktop apps are installed on your devices, you don't need to be online to use Microsoft 365. However, you'll need internet access to do any of the following:
-
First time install (if apps weren't pre-installed on your device)
-
Initial activation of the Microsoft 365 desktop apps
-
Install updates or to reinstall the apps
-
Manage your subscription (for example, you need to update your payment method, renew, or share a Microsoft 365 Family subscription)
-
Access documents stored on OneDrive, unless you install the OneDrive desktop app to your device.
You should connect to the internet regularly to keep your version of Microsoft 365 up to date and benefit from automatic upgrades. If you don’t connect to the Internet at least every 39 days, your apps will go into reduced functionality mode, and you might see an unlicensed product error. To reactivate the Microsoft 365 apps, simply reconnect to the internet and sign in to Microsoft 365. Learn how to sign in. For help with renewing an expired subscription, see Renew Microsoft 365.
Use Contact us at the bottom of this page.
See Also
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