Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Is it worth to upgrade from Office 2011 to 2016?

Much like upgrading hardware - if what you have still does what you need it to do, there's no need to upgrade. If the new software brings you new functionality or performance that your current version does not, then go ahead and pull the trigger.

When I bought my new Mac a year and a half ago the question I asked myself was whether to buy Office or just give Pages/Numbers/Keynote a try. I still haven't bought Office - not because it isn't any good, but because the software I already have does what I need.
 
I like Office 2016, started using it 2 weeks ago, functionality is more or less the same, but UI is much smoother for my taste. I have a feeling, they are trying to copy OSX more and more.
 
Tomorrow said:
Much like upgrading hardware - if what you have still does what you need it to do, there's no need to upgrade. If the new software brings you new functionality or performance that your current version does not, then go ahead and pull the trigger.

When I bought my new Mac a year and a half ago the question I asked myself was whether to buy Office or just give Pages/Numbers/Keynote a try. I still haven't bought Office - not because it isn't any good, but because the software I already have does what I need.
Click to expand...


Hi,
So two new macs arrive later this week, and having just looked to the new Office suite 2016 I just can't bring myself to pay for so much money for two licenses ( my wife's new business machine and our new home machine). Just using Pages, have you had any issues with formatting when you've sent docs to an office using friend/colleague etc?
Thanks,
Josh
 
agent mac said:
Hi,
So two new macs arrive later this week, and having just looked to the new Office suite 2016 I just can't bring myself to pay for so much money for two licenses ( my wife's new business machine and our new home machine). Just using Pages, have you had any issues with formatting when you've sent docs to an office using friend/colleague etc?
Thanks,
Josh
Click to expand...

Nothing I've noticed. There's an option to save as a Word file (I've done this a couple of times without any problems), but I normally send PDF's.
 
I have upgraded, but I have found nothing compelling in Office 2016 that would indicate to me that I should upgrade. There are a few interface changes that require getting used to. I generally upgrade to the latest version of the apps I use the most and Office is number one for me. Office 2011 is pretty old.
 
After holding off for a while, I've just upgraded from 2011 to 2016. I only did this as I wanted to use some of the later functionality on offer (Slicers on Pivot Tables) that isn't on 2011.

I purchased the Office 365 family licence off Amazon for the price of the single user licence if I'd used the MicroSoft website. For £60, I can install msoffice on 5 macs, 5 iphones, 5 iPads and everyone gets 1Tb of cloud storage each.....as there are 4 of us in the family, it works out at £15 each for the year!! A bargain when you consider it cost over £100 just for me to have MS Office 2011 some years back.

For me, it's been worth it. 2016 version of office finally gives virtually the same experience / functionality between Mac and PC, which really helps when I swap from work to home.

If you are a lighter user, or don't swap between home and office too much, then stick with 2011 version.
 
I have both versions, but have reverted to office 2011. Office 2016 is slower, prone to crash, takes much more memory and battery, and some useful features of 2011 have been left out of 2016 (esp. concerning customization). The interface of 2016 is nicer looking like a combination of Office 2016 for windows and Office for iPad (mostly the latter). Moreover, if you store your docs on OneDrive you can co-author a document simultaneously. However, the windows version is far more feature rich and runs much smoother and efficient. I have been really disappointed as it seems that more efforts have been invested in the iPad version (and windows of course) than in the OSX 2016.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Brutalbrutus
I have both through Office 365, and I'm still using 2011. None of the new features are worth it to me.
 
I have 2016 at home and at work. I use Outlook MUCH more extensively at work than at home and have found some nice features added in the latest update. Full screen mode was added, as was "tabs" at the bottom to indicate other open windows such as open messages or compositions. Unfortunately, that second add-on disables the cmd-` window switch for Outlook, at least in full-screen mode.

If you work for a large company, be sure to check your benefits, many that have licenses also offer the Home Use Program through which you can get Office for $10.
 
2016 does look prettier, especially Outlook. I find Excel slightly less responsive and overall I don't think it's that much better than 2011.
 
I use Office 2016 (primarily Word and Excel, and occasionally PowerPoint) everyday throughout the day. No issues at all. Word is the best of the apps I think. PowerPoint is improved, and I use Excel with no issues. If you work for a college you can probably get Office 365 for free, which is a nice benefit.
 
it looks a bit shinier but id say 2011 is a bit more stable. To be fair 2016 has been improved greatly in terms initial bugs. I imagine another 6 months and will be up to the 2011 standard.
 
peterpan123 said:
Hello, is it worth to upgrade from 2011 to 2016?

The article and comments from readers seem to be a bit negative.

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc.../microsoft-office-2016-for-mac-1302503/review
Click to expand...

As with all upgrades the two fundamental questions one needs to answers are.

1: do you need any of the new features on the latest version, or is the 'shiny' the main attraction?
2: do you have bugs to fix which in your current version which require the new version?
 
I use 2016, and after a slightly buggy install process, have had no complaints. There were some issues with the application icons displaying properly immediately after install, but some trivial fix took care of it.

It's not a whole lot different for my uses.

I chiefly use Word and Excel. Frankly, both were are pretty sophisticated and mature as they were. Aside from universal things like stability, it's hard to imagine what new features could be added to make them much better.

I'm not crazy about cloud-based anything, so I've been a little resistant toward the 365 services. Maybe some day?
 
peterfc said:
I have both versions, but have reverted to office 2011. Office 2016 is slower, prone to crash, takes much more memory and battery, and some useful features of 2011 have been left out of 2016 (esp. concerning customization). The interface of 2016 is nicer looking like a combination of Office 2016 for windows and Office for iPad (mostly the latter). Moreover, if you store your docs on OneDrive you can co-author a document simultaneously. However, the windows version is far more feature rich and runs much smoother and efficient. I have been really disappointed as it seems that more efforts have been invested in the iPad version (and windows of course) than in the OSX 2016.
Click to expand...
You are not kidding. Office 2016 is a pig. It takes forever for any of the apps to open. In my opinion not much difference between 2011 & 2016 and 2011 is quicker. I got a new computer and thought I'd upgrade to '16, a big mistake.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ifti
I would also stick with Office 2011 if it does everything you need - I did!!

I upgraded to Office 2016, then took it off and stuck with 2011.
2016 took a good 5GB or so more space then 2011, and I found nothing different, other then a slight change to the interface. It also felt as though it was bulkier and slower then 2011 for some reason.

Hence I removed it and stuck with 2011 instead. It does everything I need and I see no compelling reason to move to 2016.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ffjxc
Just installed 15.18.0 (aka Office 2016). If anything, slightly snappier - certainly not slower. This is on an 2014 MBP. Hard to tell if it's taking any more space - while both were installed, of course it did (essentially doubles Outlook email size, as stored differently than 2011). I agree that they are mature products, and an incremental update. The interface is more aligned with 2013 (meh) but the under-the-covers is supposed to be better (here's hoping). For example, 2011 PPT with an extra monitor is like playing Where's Waldo, especially with a retina system. Already that seems better. My take is, wait for a good sale and proceed. Eventually everyone will get there. After all, how many said: I'm not moving off 2008!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back