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Most Affordable Way To Put Microsoft Word on New MacBook Pro Retina?

R

Republius

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 14, 2014
71
0
I was hoping to avoid the extra cost given how hard I had to stretch the budget to purchase a brand new MacBook Pro Retina, but I now realize I have to have go out and additionally buy Microsoft Word for Mac given how many documents I receive and send in that format. I do not think I need Excel or Powerpoint (given that Numbers and Keynote come with the Mac), but understand that I may have to buy them in the Office bundle to get Word.

What is the most affordable way to obtain Microsoft Word for my new Apple laptop?

Thank you.
 
The cheapest upfront way would be Office 365. It's $7 a month. That of course adds up over time, but it's a little easier to deal with than $140 (or $220 if you need Outlook) outright.
 
Appreciate the input.

I am torn, as over time that cost does add up - though it comes with constant updates and technical support.

A friend claims Office for Mac Home and Student (which is $140) can be purchased at a discount from Costco. If such is true then perhaps it would be worth it compared to the subscription.
 
Republius said:
Appreciate the input.

I am torn, as over time that cost does add up - though it comes with constant updates and technical support.

A friend claims Office for Mac Home and Student (which is $140) can be purchased at a discount from Costco. If such is true then perhaps it would be worth it compared to the subscription.
Click to expand...
Depending on how long you need to use Microsoft Word, the Mac Home and Student version may be the cheapest route, if you are not in college. If you are in college, you can get Office 365 University for $79.00 for 4 years. Check the Microsoft site for details.
 
Great input from everyone.

I am currently eligible for the Home Use Program, though it would not be a long-term solution.

If, as a non-student, I purchase Office for Mac Home and Student, do they charge you for updates? If they do charge, perhaps I should try to milk access to HUP until the 2015 updates come out for purchase.
 
Pages can open up word documents. It can also create them.
 
Republius said:
Great input from everyone.

I am currently eligible for the Home Use Program, though it would not be a long-term solution.

If, as a non-student, I purchase Office for Mac Home and Student, do they charge you for updates? If they do charge, perhaps I should try to milk access to HUP until the 2015 updates come out for purchase.
Click to expand...
They don't charge for updates.

----------
Gav2k said:
Pages can open up word documents. It can also create them.
Click to expand...

That is true. But, a lot of times, the formatting doesn't come out the same, which can be a real problem depending on the document.
 
BasicGreatGuy said:
They don't charge for updates.

----------



That is true. But, a lot of times, the formatting doesn't come out the same, which can be a real problem depending on the document.
Click to expand...

True. The cheapest option is to hop on eBay and buy office 2011 for Mac for a one off payment rather than the new subscription based office.
 
BasicGreatGuy said:
They don't charge for updates.
Click to expand...
For updates to a particular version of Office, you are correct that they don't charge for updates.

I don't know if the OP was referring to that scenario or going to different versions. If the OP were to purchase Office for Mac 2011, they would have to pay an upgrade fee to go to Office for Mac 2015 (if/when it is released).

An Office 365 subscription ($67/yr @ places like Amazon) or $79 for 4 yrs (for those with .edu email accounts) would be a good stop-gap measure... start the subscription now with Office 2011 and get the update to 2015 for no additional fee... or flat-out purchase 2015 at that time (if 2015 is as good as we hope).


Gav2k said:
True. The cheapest option is to hop on eBay and buy office 2011 for Mac for a one off payment rather than the new subscription based office.
Click to expand...
Given the way eBay works, and Microsoft's licensing, I recommend caution buying Office 2011 using eBay unless it was from a reputable seller.
 
Republius said:
Great input from everyone.

I am currently eligible for the Home Use Program, though it would not be a long-term solution.

If, as a non-student, I purchase Office for Mac Home and Student, do they charge you for updates? If they do charge, perhaps I should try to milk access to HUP until the 2015 updates come out for purchase.
Click to expand...

If you can get the HUP version, go for it. I used it for a few years on both Windows and Mac. I was able to continue using it for a couple of years after I retired. That ended when I was unable to install it on a new Mac.

If you buy the Home and Student version, any updates to that version are free. Updates to the next version will cost money.
 
If you work for a company that has Microsoft's Home Use Program (or know someone that does), it's $10 for Office for Mac 2011. MicroSlop is supposed to update Office for Mac sometime this year.
 
I would recommend saving yourself the aggravation and just get Office 365. Dealing with clients and the various .DOC and .DOCX versions I've received, Word has proven to be the easiest solution. Pages and LibreOffice are great programs in their own filetype environments but generally fail when dealing with complex Word files.
 
I'd also recommend LibreOffice. Then change the default save formats to docx, xlsx and pptx.

I've found that LibreOffice can have a higher level of compatibility with MS Office for Windows than MS Office for Mac does.

It doesn't really make sense but the Mac and Windows office teams develop separately. MS needs to scrap the current Mac version and do an exact Mac port.
 
Libre office for me too. It's managed some quite complex documents up to now for me including tables and the formatting has been spot on.

And it's free!
 
The MS Office 365 student subscription is dirt cheap.
Some workplaces offer discounts for their employees, too.
 
Try through your employer.

Depending on your employer, they may offer a HUP (Home Use Program).

It allowed me to get Microsoft Office 2013 Professional (Windows) or Office 2011 with Outlook (Mac) for $11.00.

They email you a activation fee and you can install on up to two (2) computers.

Only thing is, you can't download both...only one..so I put Office for Mac on my rMBP and Mac Mini.

http://www.microsofthup.com/hupca/home.aspx?country_id=CA
 
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