Office Home & Business 2024 and Office Professional Plus 2024 share the same core apps, and both are one-time purchases supported until October 2029. The differences come down to Access, Mac support, how the licence is tied to you and how you install it. This guide compares the two editions so you can match one to the way you actually work.
| Point of comparison | Office Home & Business 2024 | Office Professional Plus 2024 (retail or LTSC) |
|---|---|---|
| Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote | Yes | Yes |
| Access | No | Yes (Windows only) |
| Publisher | No | No |
| Teams | Not included | Not preinstalled, separate download |
| Platform | One PC or one Mac | Windows only |
| Intended use (Microsoft) | Home or work, families and small businesses | Business use; LTSC is aimed at commercial and government customers |
| Licence tied to | Your Microsoft account | The product key (retail) or MAK/KMS volume activation (LTSC) |
| Typical install method | office.com/setup and your Microsoft account | Office Deployment Tool (LTSC) or a retail installer |
| Support ends | October 2029 | October 2029 |
What is the difference between Office 2024 Home & Business and Professional Plus?
The main difference is Access: Professional Plus 2024 adds the Access database app to the Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote set that Home & Business 2024 already includes, while Home & Business runs on a PC or a Mac and links to a Microsoft account, and Professional Plus is a Windows-only edition aimed at business deployment.
Both editions are perpetual licences, so you pay once and keep the version you install. Neither receives new features after release; they receive security and quality updates until the end of support.
The advanced nuance is that "Professional Plus 2024" can mean two different products. A retail Professional Plus key installs with the ProPlus2024Retail product ID, while Office LTSC Professional Plus 2024 is a volume edition that installs with ProPlus2024Volume. Our guide to ProPlus2024Retail vs ProPlus2024Volume explains why mixing them causes activation errors.
Which apps are included in Office 2024 Home & Business?
Office Home & Business 2024 includes the classic desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote, which Microsoft describes as suited to families and small businesses that want Office apps and email installed on one PC or Mac, and it does not include Access, Publisher or Teams.
For most office work, this is the complete toolkit: documents, spreadsheets, presentations, email with calendar, and notes. Office Home 2024, the smaller edition, drops Outlook and is described by Microsoft for use at home or school.
The Mac version contains the same five apps. Our Office 2024 Home & Business for Mac guide walks through installing it on macOS.
Which apps are included in Office 2024 Professional Plus?
Office LTSC Professional Plus 2024 includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote and Access, according to Microsoft, with Skype for Business as an optional install, while Publisher is not part of any 2024 edition and Teams is not preinstalled but can be downloaded separately.
Access is the reason most buyers choose Professional Plus. It is a desktop database tool for building small business systems, such as stock lists, customer records or order forms, that would outgrow a spreadsheet. Microsoft's What's new in Office 2024 page notes that Access 2024 adds a Dataverse connector for cloud storage and Power Platform integration.
What we commonly see is a buyer who chooses Professional Plus expecting Publisher, because older Professional Plus suites included it. Microsoft retired Publisher, so if you still need it, keep an older version installed or convert your files before you switch.
Can you use Office 2024 Home & Business for business?
Yes, Microsoft describes Office Home & Business 2024 as intended for use at home or work, for families and small businesses, which makes it the usual choice for freelancers, sole traders and small offices, whereas Office Home 2024 is described for use at home or school.
The wording comes from Microsoft's Office 2024 and Office LTSC 2024 FAQ. If a business plans to run Office on many PCs with central management, Office LTSC is designed for that scenario.
Licence terms can vary by country and by the agreement under which a product is sold, so treat this as general guidance rather than legal advice. If your organisation has a formal compliance process, check the licence terms that come with your product.
How is each edition licensed and activated?
Home & Business 2024 is a retail licence that you redeem once and link to your Microsoft account, after which you can reinstall from the account without the key, while Professional Plus is activated by its product key, either as a retail key or as an LTSC volume key that uses MAK or KMS activation.
The cause and effect is practical. Because Home & Business lives in your Microsoft account, reinstalling after a new drive or a reset is simple, but the account must be the one you used when you redeemed the key. A Professional Plus key, by contrast, is not linked to a personal account, which suits a business PC that several people use.
Device count also differs by product. Home & Business covers one PC or one Mac. Our Office 2024 Pro Plus LTSC 3-device licence covers three Windows PCs, which can suit a small team.
How do you install each edition?
You install Home & Business 2024 by redeeming the key at office.com/setup, signing in with a Microsoft account and downloading the installer, while Office LTSC Professional Plus 2024 is installed with the Office Deployment Tool and a configuration file that uses the ProPlus2024Volume product ID and the PerpetualVL2024 update channel.
- Home & Business: redeem the key at office.com/setup, sign in, then install from your Microsoft account page.
- Professional Plus (retail): run the installer, then enter the key in File > Account > Activate Product.
-
Professional Plus LTSC: download the Office Deployment Tool, write a configuration.xml, run
setup.exe /configure configuration.xml, then activate online or by phone.
Microsoft states that PerpetualVL2024 is the only update channel available for Office LTSC Professional Plus 2024 and Standard 2024. Our step-by-step guides cover Office 2024 Professional Plus and Office 2024 Pro Plus LTSC in full.
Which one should you buy: Home & Business or Professional Plus?
Choose Home & Business 2024 if you need Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote on one PC or Mac and want easy reinstalls through a Microsoft account, and choose Professional Plus 2024 if you need Access, use only Windows, or want a licence that is not tied to a personal Microsoft account.
| Your situation | Better fit |
|---|---|
| Mac user | Home & Business 2024 |
| Freelancer on one laptop | Home & Business 2024 |
| Need Access databases | Professional Plus 2024 |
| Small office with several Windows PCs | Office LTSC Professional Plus 2024 |
| Shared PC without a personal Microsoft account | Professional Plus 2024 |
If Home & Business fits, see our Office 2024 Home & Business for PC/Mac licence. For every edition in one place, browse the Office 2024 collection.
Frequently asked questions
Does Office 2024 Home & Business include Access?
No. Office Home & Business 2024 includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote only. Access is available in Office Professional Plus 2024 and Office LTSC Professional Plus 2024, and it runs only on Windows, so no Mac edition of Office 2024 includes Access in any form.
Can I install Office 2024 Professional Plus on a Mac?
No. Professional Plus 2024 is a Windows edition, and Access does not run on macOS. Mac users can choose Office Home & Business 2024, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote, while volume customers can use Office LTSC Standard for Mac 2024 instead of Professional Plus.
Is Office 2024 Home & Business a one-time purchase?
Yes. Office Home & Business 2024 is a perpetual licence, so you pay once and keep using the installed version without a subscription. Microsoft supports it under the Modern Lifecycle Policy until October 2029, after which security updates stop, although the apps are expected to keep opening files.
Does Professional Plus 2024 include Publisher?
No. Microsoft does not include Publisher in any Office 2024 or Office LTSC 2024 edition because the app was retired, with support for perpetual versions ending in October 2026. If you still rely on Publisher, keep an older licensed version or convert your publications to Word or PDF.
Can I move Home & Business 2024 to a new computer?
Generally yes, because the licence is linked to your Microsoft account rather than to the hardware. Uninstall Office from the old device, sign in with the same account on the new one and install from your account page. Contact support@licencehouse.com if activation does not complete.