Office 2024 Home vs Home & Business vs Professional Plus: Which Edition Do You Need?
Office 2024 comes in several one-time-purchase editions, and the names don’t make the differences obvious. Is Home enough? Do you need “Business”? What does Professional Plus add?
The short version: the editions differ in three ways that matter: which apps you get, whether you can use it for work, and how it installs. This guide compares Office Home 2024, Office Home & Business 2024 and Office 2024 Professional Plus side by side, so you can pick the right one the first time.
(Weighing a one-time purchase against a Microsoft 365 subscription instead? That’s a different question, covered in our Office 2024 vs Microsoft 365 guide.)
The quick answer
- Office Home 2024: for personal, school and family use. Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. No Outlook. Microsoft labels it for non-commercial use.
- Office Home & Business 2024: for small businesses and anyone using Office for work. Everything in Home, plus Outlook. Available for PC or Mac.
- Office 2024 Professional Plus: for Windows PCs that need Access for databases, or businesses that want the fullest classic desktop suite. Everything in Home & Business, plus Access.
Side-by-side comparison
| Office Home 2024 | Office Home & Business 2024 | Office 2024 Professional Plus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Word, Excel, PowerPoint | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| OneNote (desktop) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Outlook | No | Yes | Yes |
| Access | No | No | Yes (Windows only) |
| Publisher | No | No | No |
| Microsoft’s intended use | Home or school (non-commercial) | Home or work | Commercial and government customers |
| Windows PC | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mac | Separate Mac version | Separate Mac version | Windows only |
| How it installs | Microsoft account | Microsoft account | Office Deployment Tool |
| Teams | Works with Teams (separate app) | Works with Teams (separate app) | Not preinstalled; separate download |
| New features after release | No | No | No |
All three are classic desktop apps that you install on your computer. None of them get new features after release. Microsoft says Office 2024 and Office LTSC 2024 “remain locked in time,” though they continue to get security updates. All three support VBA macros, which matters if your spreadsheets rely on them.
Office Home 2024: the essentials for home and school
Microsoft describes Office Home 2024 (previously called Home & Student) as being “for students and families who want classic Office apps.” It includes:
- Word for documents
- Excel for spreadsheets and budgets
- PowerPoint for presentations
- OneNote for notes
Who it suits: students, families and personal use: homework, household budgets, letters, school projects.
Who it doesn’t suit: businesses. Microsoft’s store page marks Office Home 2024 “For non-commercial use.” It also has no Outlook, so you’d need a separate email app.
Shop: Office Home 2024 for PC | Office Home 2024 for Mac
Office Home & Business 2024: the small-business standard
Office Home & Business 2024 is Microsoft’s edition “for families and small businesses who want classic Office apps and email,” for use at home or work. It includes everything in Home 2024, plus:
- Outlook for email, calendar and contacts
That one app is the main practical difference from Home, but the licensing difference matters just as much: Home & Business is the one-time edition Microsoft positions for work use.
Who it suits:
- Sole traders, freelancers and small offices that write proposals, send invoices from Excel, and run email in Outlook
- Anyone who uses Office for paid work on their own computer
- Mac users who need Office for work. Home & Business 2024 has a dedicated Mac version. (Microsoft notes the Mac apps are Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote.)
What it doesn’t include: Access. If you don’t know what Access is, you almost certainly don’t need it.
Shop: Office Home & Business 2024 for Windows PC | Office Home & Business 2024 for Mac
Office 2024 Professional Plus: the full Windows suite
Microsoft documents Professional Plus under the name Office LTSC Professional Plus 2024. According to Microsoft, it includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote and Access. Microsoft’s own comparison describes it as “everything in Office LTSC Standard 2024, plus Microsoft Access (PC only).”
A few things set it apart:
- Access is included. Access is Microsoft’s desktop database app, used for things like inventory lists, client records and custom data-entry forms. If your business already has Access databases (.accdb files), this is the edition that opens and edits them.
- It’s Windows only. Access isn’t available on macOS, and Professional Plus is a Windows edition.
- It installs differently. Instead of signing in with a Microsoft account, Professional Plus is installed with Microsoft’s Office Deployment Tool. We have a step-by-step Office LTSC Professional Plus 2024 install guide for that.
- Built for managed business PCs. Microsoft lists administrator Group Policy support for the LTSC editions, which IT providers use to manage settings across office computers.
- Teams isn’t preinstalled. Microsoft says it’s available as a separate download.
Who it suits: businesses that use Access, Windows-based offices that want every classic desktop app on each PC, and IT-managed environments.
Shop: Office 2024 Professional Plus. Need project scheduling and diagrams too? See the Office 2024 Professional Plus + Project 2024 Professional + Visio 2024 Professional bundle.
What about Office 2024 Standard?
Office LTSC Standard 2024 sits between Home & Business and Professional Plus. Microsoft lists it with classic Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, plus administrator Group Policy and volume activation. It doesn’t include Access. Like Professional Plus, it’s a Windows edition. Check the product page for the exact details before you buy: Office 2024 Standard for Windows.
How to choose in four questions
- Will you use it for work or business? If yes, rule out Office Home 2024, which Microsoft labels for non-commercial use.
- Do you need Outlook? If you only use webmail and never need desktop email, Home may be enough for personal use. If you want Outlook, choose Home & Business or Professional Plus.
- Do you use Access databases? If yes, you need Professional Plus. Home & Business doesn’t include Access.
- Are you on a Mac? Choose a Mac version: Office Home 2024 for Mac or Office Home & Business 2024 for Mac. Professional Plus is Windows only. Always check that the product page says Mac before you order.
Common scenarios
| You are… | Best fit |
|---|---|
| A student or family using Office at home | Office Home 2024 |
| A freelancer or small business on Windows using Outlook | Office Home & Business 2024 |
| A small business on Mac | Office Home & Business 2024 for Mac |
| An office that runs Access databases | Office 2024 Professional Plus |
| An IT provider setting up several managed Windows PCs | Office 2024 Professional Plus or Standard (request a quote) |
Installing your edition
The install route depends on the edition:
- Office Home 2024 and Home & Business 2024: redeem the product key you receive to a Microsoft account, then download from your account. See how to install Office 2024 on Windows.
- Office 2024 Professional Plus: install with the Office Deployment Tool, following our Professional Plus install guide.
Your product page lists the device and activation details for your key. Already installed and not sure which edition you have? In any Office app, go to File > Account. Microsoft says the product name is shown there.
Frequently asked questions
Home & Business 2024 adds Outlook and is intended for use at home or work. Office Home 2024 includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, and Microsoft labels it for non-commercial use.
No. Office Home 2024 includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. Outlook is included in Office Home & Business 2024 and Office 2024 Professional Plus.
Microsoft’s store page marks Office Home 2024 “For non-commercial use.” For business use, choose Office Home & Business 2024 or Office 2024 Professional Plus.
Access, Microsoft’s desktop database app. Professional Plus also installs with the Office Deployment Tool instead of a Microsoft account, and it’s Windows only.
No. Professional Plus is a Windows edition, and Microsoft says Access isn’t available on macOS. Mac users who need Office for work should choose Office Home & Business 2024 for Mac.
No. Microsoft says Publisher isn’t included in Office 2024 or Office LTSC 2024.
Still not sure which edition fits?
Contact our support team and tell us how you’ll use Office. We’ll point you to the right edition. Email support@solveditservices.com or call (447) 223-5297. You can also browse every edition in our Microsoft Office 2024 category, read our FAQ, or see how your product key reaches you on our delivery page. Equipping several PCs? Request a quote.