An essential productivity solution, the Microsoft Office package has been the default on most Windows and Apple user computers since 1989. The office suite has evolved considerably since the first versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint... which were marketed individually until the most recent versions, where the applications constitute a connected and interoperable whole. In 2011, Microsoft released the first version of its Office suite in SaaS mode, Office 365, which in 2020 became Microsoft 365. This cloud-based connected suite is accessible via a subscription. The offering is built on pricing and licensing management that is very different from traditional on premise versions like Office 2019.
Office 365 functional coverage VS Office 2019
Before addressing the economic aspect of licensing Office 365 vs. Office 2019, it's worth finding out about each of these offerings so that you can establish financial but also functional comparison criteria.
Office 365 functional coverage
Microsoft's on-demand productivity solution Office 365 combines in its entry-level version, Microsoft 365 Business Basic, the applications that made the success of the office suite, namely :
- Word (word processing)
- Excel (spreadsheet)
- PowerPoint (presentation tool)
- Outlook (email client)
It also includes collaborative tools such as Teams (videoconferencing), Exchange (instant messaging client), Sharepoint (collaborative work and document sharing tool, worflow). With the solution Office 365, Your data is hosted in the cloud in Microsoft data centers on the OneDrive storage space included in your subscription.
More Office 365 The latest version of Microsoft 365 Business Premium for small and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises (SMEs) is available for rental in the following way: Microsoft 365 Business Basic (detailed above), Microsoft 365 Apps for Business (including the desktop version of Office, Access, Publisher), Microsoft 365 Business Standard (basic version plus Access and Publisher applications) and Microsoft 365 Business Premium, corresponding to the standard version enriched with the Intune application (cloud-based service for managing devices and mobile applications) and Azure Information Protection.
The Microsoft 365 offer is declined for large groups through the Microsoft 365 E3, E5 and F3 solutions, including advanced applications of social networks and intranet, file and content management, analytics, work management ... There is an offer Office 365 E1, E3, E5 which is based on the Office for the Web version (Word online, Excel online, PowerPoint online...) integrated with cloud services.
Office 2019 functional coverage
The Microsoft Office 2019 productivity suite released in the second half of 2018 is an on premise solution based on a perpetual license. This latest version of the suite compatible with Windows 10 and 11 and Mac OS environments incorporates many of the features of Office 365.
For businesses, Microsoft has declined its Office 2019 office suite with the Standard solution including the :
- Word
- Excel
- OneNote (note-taking tool)
- PowerPoint
- Outlook
The Microsoft Office 2019 Professional edition includes, in addition to the applications of the Standard version, Access, Publisher and Lync (instant messaging tool). The Microsoft Office 2019 Professional Plus edition, which is the most complete suite, includes Skype Enterprise (professional online meeting solution, replaced by Teams) and online storage with the OneDrive solution.
It is possible to extend the functionality of the Microsoft Office 2019 productivity suite by integrating the Visio standard and Professional 2019 perpetual licenses, local diagramming solutions, and Project standard and Professional 2019, advanced project management solutions.
The differences between Office 365 in terms of budget and maintenance
In addition to the technological aspects that differentiate the SaaS version Office 365 cloud-based and perpetual Office 2019, the budget issue also arises. The solution Office 365 is based on a subscription system, which starts at 5.10 € HT per user/month for the Microsoft 365 Business Basic version and goes up to 53.70 € HT per user/month for Microsoft 365 E5. This subscription automatically provides access to minor and major functional and security updates and services included in the selected edition. Based on the version Office 365 In the case of Microsoft Business Standard, the cost of the subscription over 5 years is €10.50 ex VAT multiplied by 12, i.e. €126 ex VAT per user per year.
In comparison, the Office 2019 Professional Plus on premise license, whose functional scope is very similar d'Office 365The software is available for just over €100 per seat as a permanent purchase from the Softcorner marketplace. This perpetual license benefits from minor and major security updates until 2025 via extended support.
Benefits of used perpetual licenses with Softcorner
In addition to a really good price, in buying your used license Office 2019 on the Softcorner marketplace, you take back control of your software architecture evolution. With the Office 2019 suite, you cover the functional needs of your employees and extend the life of your digital infrastructure. You participate in the development of a circular economy for more digital sobriety while maintaining the performance of your tools.
