Today, anyone can use Google’s free editing apps and Microsoft’s Office Online, as well as free productivity tools like Libre Office. So, paying $100 per year for “Microsoft 365 Family” or $70 for “Microsoft 365 Personal” might seem a bit strange. But a Microsoft 365 subscription helps. Throw away the idea that it’s just an Office app and you’ll quickly see why.
Lots of OneDrive capacity
Whichever plan you choose, it’s a feature worth paying for the full subscription. In particular, if you sign up for the family plan, you can enjoy a lot of benefits for the price even if you don’t use Microsoft Office apps at all.
In the personal plan, 1TB of storage space for one person is provided. If you don’t need more capacity, you can save $30-$50 compared to competitors’ plans (eg Google, Dropbox, etc.). In the family plan, 1TB of storage space is provided per user and up to 6 people can use it. Each user’s storage space is calculated independently. That’s a minimum of $16.50 per user per year. That’s a hefty cloud storage price, along with other perks.
Enhanced OneDrive security
Microsoft 365 offers stronger security as well as greater capacity in OneDrive. To get started, you can add an expiration date and password to your shared links. In addition, you can use the ‘Personal Vault’, a folder accessible only by unlocking it, without limit. This is useful for storing tax documents, bank statements, and other sensitive information in the cloud, and all files in this folder are encrypted, even on local drives.
You can also restore your entire OneDrive. You can revert to a previous point in the last 30 days if you accidentally deleted a file, corrupted a file, or encountered other issues. Additionally, if a ransomware attack is detected, you can get support for restoring your files for up to 30 days.
Web, mobile and desktop access to Microsoft Office applications
Free versions of free text editors, especially Microsoft’s web and mobile apps, have limitations. If you need consistent formatting across the enterprise when editing documents, or if you need more sophisticated tools, Microsoft Office is what you need. With a Microsoft 365 subscription, you can use the full versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and more. across the web, mobile devices, and desktops. And unlike standalone Office, you get updates whenever the latest version of the app is released.
Microsoft programs are very diverse. You’d expect Access, OneNote, OneDrive, Skype, and Teams, but there are so many more. Examples include Clipchamp for quick editing of video files, Power Automate and Power BI for easy creation of automated tasks and data dashboards.
Seamless multi-device support
A single license of Microsoft Office Home and Student only works on one computer. With a Microsoft 365 subscription, any user can activate Office apps on up to five devices at the same time and install programs on other devices that aren’t activated. When using the app on a new or previously disabled device, you are automatically logged out on the device that is not in use.
additional user
As mentioned earlier, the family plan supports up to six users, and each user in the group is entitled to the same benefits as the primary account holder. In other words, 6 people can enjoy the benefits of the personal plan at a much lower cost. Since Microsoft doesn’t require all plan members to live at the same address, the “family” can be stretched far.
free skype calls
What if you need to make occasional national or international calls? Microsoft 365 can be helpful. All Personal and Family plan users can make up to 60 minutes of free calls to landlines and mobiles per month.
Bonus: subscription discount
Unlike competing plans, Microsoft 365 subscriptions are cheaper than list price. You can save money by targeting regular sales from Newegg, Antonline, and Amazon. There are also hidden tips that can be used during regular sales. The discount code for the personal plan can be prorated and applied to the family plan in 9 month increments. Did you find a good deal on the personal rate plan? If you use it to supplement your family plan, you can get more benefits for less.
What about Microsoft 365 Basic?
Microsoft’s latest 365 plan offers 100GB of storage and full versions of web and mobile desktop apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive, etc.) for $20 per year (or $2 per month). It’s a good plan to compete with the basic Google One plan, but it lacks the benefits of the personal and family plans. Recommended for users who need the Microsoft ecosystem but don’t want desktop Office.
editor@itworld.co.kr
