Which edition of Office 2021 fits? Office Home & Student 2021 includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. Home & Business adds Outlook, Professional additionally Publisher and Access. Office Professional Plus 2021 is the edition for businesses. Important before you buy: support for Office 2021 ended on October 13, 2026. If you are buying new and have no particular reason for 2021, you are better served with Office 2024.
Quick decision
- Only writing, calculating, presenting: Home & Student 2021.
- With email and calendar: Home & Business 2021.
- With Publisher and Access on the PC: Professional 2021 or Professional Plus 2021.
- On the Mac: Home & Student or Home & Business for Mac; for businesses Office LTSC Standard for Mac 2021.
- Without a firm reason for 2021: choose Office 2024. The differences are covered in Office 2024 or Office 2021.
Editions and included programs
| Feature | Home & Student 2021 | Home & Business 2021 | Professional 2021 | LTSC Professional Plus 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Word, Excel, PowerPoint | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| OneNote | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Outlook | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Publisher | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Access | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Skype for Business | No | No | No | Yes |
| Platform | PC or Mac | PC or Mac | PC only | PC only |
| Devices | one PC or Mac | one PC or Mac | one PC | one PC |
| Target group according to Microsoft | school, studies, family | family, small businesses | family, small businesses | businesses, government organizations |
For businesses, Microsoft also offers Office LTSC Standard 2021 and, for the Mac, Office LTSC Standard for Mac 2021. According to Microsoft, Office LTSC comprises Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote, and on Windows additionally Access and Publisher. Access and Publisher are not available for macOS.
On Microsoft Teams: at release, the Teams app was part of the installation. Microsoft has since removed it from Office LTSC 2021; existing installations remain unchanged. Teams can be downloaded separately.
Support: ended on October 13, 2026
| Product | End of support |
|---|---|
| Office 2021 (Home & Student, Home & Business, Professional) | October 13, 2026 |
| Office 2021 for Mac | October 13, 2026 |
| Office LTSC 2021 (Standard, Professional Plus) | October 13, 2026 |
| Publisher 2021 | October 13, 2026 |
| For comparison: Office 2024 | October 9, 2029 |
Office 2021 had five years of support. According to Microsoft, there is no extension. After the end the programs continue to run, but Microsoft no longer fixes newly discovered security vulnerabilities. All dates in context are shown in the
overview of Office end of support.
System requirements
| Feature | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows 11 | the three most recent versions of macOS |
| Additionally with Office LTSC 2021 | Windows 11 LTSC 2024, Windows 10 LTSC 2021 and 2019, Windows Server 2025, 2022 and 2019 | – |
| Processor | 1.1 GHz or faster, 2 cores | Intel or Apple silicon |
| Memory | 4 GB | 4 GB |
| Free disk space | 4 GB | 10 GB |
| Display | 1280 × 768 | 1280 × 800 |
| Graphics | DirectX 9 or later | – |
Office 2021 is available for Windows in 32-bit and 64-bit versions, for the Mac in 64-bit only. It is installed with Click-to-Run technology, no longer with Windows Installer.
When Office 2021 still makes sense
- Publisher is needed. Office 2024 no longer includes Publisher. If you still have to edit existing Publisher files, you need Office Professional 2021, Professional Plus 2021 or Publisher 2021 on its own. Plan the changeover anyway: Microsoft recommends converting the files to another format.
- Windows Server 2019. Office LTSC 2021 supports this system, Office LTSC 2024 does not.
- Requirement of a software vendor. Some industry programs are only approved for certain Office versions.
- Uniform installed base. If all workstations run Office 2021 and another workstation is added, the same version can simplify administration. You should consciously factor in the missing support.
In all other cases we recommend Office 2024. The editions there are shown in the
comparison of the Office 2024 editions.
Typical cases
Second workstation in the office, everything Office 2021 so far. Technically, Home & Business 2021 fits. But check whether you should not start the switch to Office 2024 with this workstation.
Parish newsletter with Publisher. Office Professional 2021 includes Publisher and Access. Also save your templates as PDF.
Terminal server with Windows Server 2019. Office Professional Plus 2021 is approved for this system. For new servers with Windows Server 2025 or 2022, choose Office 2024.
Office 2021 at VivaKeys
Redeem with a Microsoft account (guide:
Install Office and redeem the key):
- Microsoft Office Home & Student 2021
- Microsoft Office Home & Business 2021
- Microsoft Office Professional 2021
- Microsoft Office Home & Student 2021 for Mac
- Microsoft Office Home & Business 2021 for Mac
With installation file and product key (guide:
Install Office Professional Plus):
- Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2021
- Microsoft Office Standard 2021
- Microsoft Office Standard 2021 for Mac
All offers are in the
Microsoft Office 2021 category. Which activation method applies to a product is stated on the product page and in the delivery email.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still buy an Office 2021 license? Yes. The programs can still be installed and activated. Note that support ended on October 13, 2026 and there are no more security updates.
What is the difference between Office 2021 Professional and Professional Plus? Professional is aimed at families and small businesses and is redeemed with a Microsoft account. Microsoft’s name for Professional Plus is Office LTSC Professional Plus 2021; it is aimed at businesses and government organizations and is activated with the product key. Both include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher and Access.
Is Office 2021 Professional Plus an LTSC version? Yes. Microsoft lists the edition under the name Office LTSC Professional Plus 2021. What LTSC means is explained in
Office LTSC 2024 explained.
Is Office 2021 available for the Mac? Yes, as Home & Student and Home & Business for Mac and as Office LTSC Standard for Mac 2021. Support for these editions also ended on October 13, 2026. Which version fits on the Mac today is covered in
Office for Mac.
Do I have to renew the Office 2021 license? No. The license is a one-time purchase without a term. Only a subscription can be renewed.
Sources
Checked on 2026-11-10 against the publisher’s information:
- support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/office-for-mac/office-2021-and-office-ltsc-for-windows-and-mac-faq
- learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/ltsc/2021/overview
- learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/office-2021
- learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/office-ltsc-2021
- support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/system-requirements/office-suites-for-individuals-and-families
- support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/system-requirements/office-suites-for-enterprise-business-education-and-government
- support.microsoft.com/en-us/publisher/microsoft-publisher-will-no-longer-be-supported-after-october-2026