Office Professional Plus 2024 costs less and includes more applications than Office Home & Business 2024. That’s not a mistake — they’re sold through different channels. Here’s what each contains, who each suits, and why the pricing works the way it does.
Both versions available — instant UK delivery
One-time perpetual licences. Lifetime activation. No subscription required.
Side by side
| Office Home & Business 2024 | Office Professional Plus 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | — | — |
| Word | ✓ | ✓ |
| Excel | ✓ | ✓ |
| PowerPoint | ✓ | ✓ |
| Outlook | ✓ | ✓ |
| OneNote | ✓ | ✓ |
| Access | ✗ | ✓ Pro Plus only |
| Publisher | ✗ not in 2024 | ✗ not in 2024 — see Pro Plus 2021 |
| Mac compatible | ✓ | ✗ PC only |
| Commercial use rights | ✓ | ✓ |
| Security updates until | October 2029 | October 2029 |
| Devices | 1 PC or Mac | 1 PC |
| Licence type | Retail | Volume channel |
Why Pro Plus costs less
The pricing looks wrong until you understand the channel difference. Office Home & Business 2024 is Microsoft’s retail consumer product — sold direct through Microsoft.com, major retailers, and high street. The retail price reflects that distribution model.
Office Professional Plus 2024 is a volume licensing product, distributed through authorised commercial resellers rather than retail. The channel is different; the application version is identical. Both install the same Office 2024 builds, both activate through your Microsoft account, both receive security updates through October 2029.
At Software Supplies, Professional Plus 2024 is — and Home & Business 2024 is —. Pro Plus includes Access in addition to the core suite and costs less. For PC users, the only reasons to choose Home & Business over Pro Plus are if you have a specific policy requirement for retail packaging, or if your organisation’s procurement rules mandate a particular licence type — neither of which applies to the vast majority of home and small business buyers.
The applications that actually differ
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote are in both versions. The difference comes down to two applications.
Microsoft Access
Access is a desktop relational database application — tables, queries, forms, and reports, all locally stored. It’s genuinely useful for small businesses managing structured data that’s too complex for Excel but doesn’t warrant a full SQL Server implementation. Stock management, client records, booking systems — Access handles these well and has done for decades.
Most home users don’t need it. Most small businesses that know they need it already know they need it. If you’re unsure whether you need Access, you probably don’t — but if you’re asking the question, it’s worth knowing it’s in Pro Plus and not in Home & Business.
Microsoft Publisher
Publisher is a desktop publishing application — newsletters, flyers, brochures, and print-ready layouts. It occupies a niche between Word (too limited for layout work) and InDesign (too complex and expensive for occasional use).
Publisher is not included in any Office 2024 version. The last perpetual licence to include it is Office Professional Plus 2021 at £114. Microsoft is retiring Publisher in October 2026 — after that date it stops functioning in Microsoft 365, though in the perpetual Pro Plus 2021 install it continues to run. If Publisher is central to your workflow, that’s the route. The Publisher alternatives guide covers what to migrate to.
Mac users: one option only
There’s no Mac version of Professional Plus. If you’re on macOS, Office Home & Business 2024 for Mac (—) is your only perpetual suite option. It runs natively on Apple Silicon (M1 through M4) and includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote. Access is not available on Mac regardless of which version you buy.
If you only need Word on Mac, the standalone Word for Mac licence is £54. The Mac without subscription guide covers all the options.
Which version to buy
- ✓ Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook
- ✓ Access, OneNote
- ✓ Commercial use rights
- ✓ Security updates to Oct 2029
- ✓ Instant digital delivery
- ✗ PC only — no Mac version
- ✓ Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook
- ✓ OneNote
- ✓ Commercial use rights
- ✓ Security updates to Oct 2029
- ✓ Instant digital delivery
- ✗ No Access
- ✓ Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote
- ✓ Optimised for Apple Silicon (M1–M4)
- ✓ The only perpetual suite for macOS
- ✓ Commercial use rights
- ✓ Security updates to Oct 2029
Common questions
Gary Walsh is the Head of Tech Support at Software Supplies, with more than 20 years in the IT industry. Fully Microsoft-certified and experienced across the full business software stack — from Windows and Office to cloud infrastructure and device management — Gary delivers practical, no-nonsense advice that helps users and businesses get the most from their technology.
