Office Home and Student vs Home and Business comes down to two things: Outlook and the right to use Office for work. Home & Student, renamed Office Home in the 2024 release, includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote for non-commercial use. Home & Business adds Outlook and permits business use, on one PC or Mac.
| Feature | Office Home 2024 (formerly Home & Student) | Office Home & Business 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote | Included | Included |
| Outlook | Not included | Included |
| Commercial (work) use | Not permitted: non-commercial use | Permitted: home or work |
| Devices | One PC or Mac | One PC or Mac |
| Windows and macOS | Both | Both |
| Access, Publisher | Not included | Not included |
| Microsoft US list price (Nov 2026) | $179.99 | $249.99 |
| Security updates until | 9 October 2029 | 9 October 2029 |
What is the difference between Office Home and Student and Home and Business?
Office Home and Student covers the core apps, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, for personal, household and school use only. Office Home and Business includes the same apps plus Outlook, and its licence allows commercial use, so you can use it to run a business, invoice clients or handle work email.
Everything else is the same. Both are one-time purchases for a single PC or Mac, both receive the same security updates, and both open and save identical file formats, so documents move freely between them.
Microsoft's Office 2024 and Office LTSC 2024 FAQ describes Office Home as being for "home or school" and Office Home & Business as for "home or work", which is the licensing distinction in plain words.
Is Office Home and Student still available in 2026?
Not under that name for the current release. With Office 2024, Microsoft renamed Home & Student to Office Home 2024; the apps and non-commercial terms are the same. The older Office Home & Student 2021 is still sold by some retailers, but it reached end of support on 13 October 2026.
The rename causes confusion in searches and listings, because "Office Home" sounds like a cut-down product. It is the direct successor to Home & Student, and Microsoft's own Office Home 2024 store page labels it "formerly Home & Student".
Cause and effect: because Office 2021 no longer receives security fixes, a discounted Home & Student 2021 licence now buys an unsupported product. Our guide to Office 2021 end of support explains the practical risk for existing users.
Can I use Office Home and Student for business?
No. Microsoft licenses Office Home 2024, like Home & Student before it, for non-commercial use, and its store page says so explicitly. Using it to earn income, serve clients or run an organisation falls outside those terms, so sole traders and small businesses should choose Home & Business or a business edition instead.
The line can feel blurry for people who work from home. Writing a personal CV or managing household accounts is non-commercial; drafting a client proposal or keeping the books for a side business is commercial.
What we commonly see: a freelancer buys Office Home because it is cheaper and it already does everything technically needed. It works, but the licence does not match the use, and that becomes a problem if a client, auditor or software asset review asks for licence evidence.
Does Office Home and Business include Outlook?
Yes. Outlook is the main app difference: Office Home & Business 2024 includes the classic Outlook desktop app on both Windows and Mac, while Office Home 2024 does not. Home users can still read email in the free Outlook for Windows app or in a web browser, but without the classic desktop client.
Classic Outlook matters if you rely on PST archives, offline mailboxes, shared calendars with an Exchange or Microsoft 365 business account, or VBA add-ins. For a single personal Outlook.com or Gmail account, the free options are often enough.
Neither edition includes Teams, Access or Publisher. Microsoft states that Home & Business "works with Microsoft Teams", which you install separately from Microsoft's site.
Which is better for a Mac, Home and Student or Home and Business?
Both editions run on macOS with the same licence, so choose on the same basis as Windows: Office Home for personal and school use, Office Home & Business if you need Outlook or use the Mac for work. Access is not available on Mac in any edition, so a Mac buyer gives up nothing by skipping Professional Plus.
For a Mac used for freelancing or a small business, Office 2024 Home & Business for PC and Mac is the most practical one-time option; see the current price on the product page.
Our Office 2024 for Mac installation guide covers download, sign-in and activation on macOS step by step.
How much more does Home and Business cost?
At the time of writing (November 2026), Microsoft's US list prices are $179.99 for Office Home 2024 and $249.99 for Office Home & Business 2024, a difference of $70. That premium buys Outlook and commercial use rights; the other apps are identical. Prices vary by country and seller.
Microsoft's own Home & Business 2024 store page shows the current US price. Regional differences can be significant, and our Office 2024 price comparison explains why prices vary between sellers and editions.
Can I upgrade from Home and Student to Home and Business?
There is no paid upgrade path between Office editions. To move from Office Home or Home & Student to Home & Business, you buy a Home & Business licence, sign in or enter the new key, and install it; your documents are unaffected because both editions use the same file formats.
- Buy the Home & Business licence and keep the key email.
- On Windows, open Settings > Apps > Installed apps and uninstall Office Home; on Mac, move the Office apps to the Bin.
- Install Home & Business and activate it with the new key or the Microsoft account it is linked to.
- Open Word and check File > Account to confirm the new product name is shown.
Advanced nuance: retail Office licences are tied to the Microsoft account used to redeem them. If you redeem the new key on a different account from the old one, your account page will show both products, so redeem it on the account you want to keep long term.
Should students buy Office Home or Microsoft 365?
Students who need only Word, Excel and PowerPoint for coursework often get the best value from Office Home 2024, a one-time purchase that is supported until 9 October 2029. Microsoft 365 suits students who want cloud storage, several devices or the latest features, and many universities provide it free while enrolled.
Check with your school or university before paying, because institutional licences are common. Our guide to Microsoft Office student discounts covers eligibility and the cheaper routes in detail.
Which edition should I choose: Home or Home and Business?
Choose Office Home if the computer is used only for personal tasks, household admin or study and you are happy reading email outside the classic Outlook app. Choose Home & Business if any work or paid activity happens on that device, or if you depend on classic Outlook features such as PST files or shared calendars.
| Your situation | Better fit |
|---|---|
| Family PC for homework, letters and budgets | Office Home |
| Student without an institutional licence | Office Home |
| Freelancer, consultant or sole trader | Office Home & Business |
| Small office needing Outlook on each desk | Office Home & Business |
| Windows user who also needs Access databases | Office Professional Plus 2024 |
If a household laptop is also used for a side business, licence it for the stricter use. Paying the difference once is simpler than keeping personal and work tasks on separate machines.
Frequently asked questions
Is Office Home 2024 the same as Home and Student?
Yes, in practice. Office Home 2024 is the 2024 release of the edition previously called Home & Student. It includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, is licensed for one PC or Mac, and keeps the non-commercial restriction. Microsoft simply dropped "Student" from the name with this release.
Does Office Home and Business work on two computers?
No. Office Home & Business 2024 is licensed for one PC or Mac at a time. You can usually move it to a new computer after removing it from the old one, but you cannot run it on two devices at once. If you need Office on several devices, Microsoft 365 or additional licences are the right route.
Can I use Office Home and Business for a limited company?
Yes. Office Home & Business permits commercial use, so a sole trader, partnership or small limited company can use it. Each licence covers one device, so a business with several staff needs one licence per computer, or a business edition such as Office LTSC or a Microsoft 365 business plan for central management.
Does Home and Student include Microsoft Teams?
No. Neither Office Home nor Office Home & Business includes Teams. You can download the free Teams app from Microsoft and sign in with a personal or work account. Business users who need Teams meetings with company-wide management typically use a Microsoft 365 business plan that includes Teams.
Will Office Home and Business 2024 stop working after 2029?
No. After 9 October 2029, Office 2024 stops receiving security updates, but the apps continue to open and save documents. The risk is security rather than function, because unpatched Office apps can be exploited through malicious documents or email, so plan an upgrade around that date.
Related guides
- Office 2024 Home & Business vs Professional Plus
- Office 2024 vs Office 2021: what's new
- Microsoft Office versions compared
- Office 2024 vs Microsoft 365: five-year cost
Links in this guide
| Link | Type | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Office 2024 and Office LTSC 2024 FAQ | External | Microsoft's description of each edition's apps and intended use |
| Office Home 2024 (Microsoft Store) | External | Confirms the rename from Home & Student and the non-commercial terms |
| Office 2021 end of support | Internal | Why Home & Student 2021 is no longer a safe buy |
| Office 2024 Home & Business for PC and Mac | Internal | One-time licence with Outlook and work-use rights |
| Office 2024 for Mac install guide | Internal | Installation steps on macOS |
| Office Home & Business 2024 (Microsoft Store) | External | Current list price and app list for Home & Business |
| Office 2024 price comparison | Internal | Why prices differ by seller and edition |
| Office student discounts | Internal | Student eligibility and cheaper routes |
| Home & Business vs Professional Plus | Internal | Next step up for Windows users needing Access |
| Office 2024 vs Office 2021 | Internal | Feature changes between releases |
| Office versions compared | Internal | Overview of every Office release |
| Office 2024 vs Microsoft 365 cost | Internal | Long-term cost against a subscription |