One time $70 for standalone, no phoning home version of Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

Office Home and Student, the cheapest retail option for office, was $149.99 for a permanent license, no upgrades, per computer.

365 gives you $70/yr for latest version per computer.

Or, the real win, $100/year for up to 5 people. That's $20/year/person, which is cheaper than buying Office Home and Student for each person and upgrading periodically.

Good question.

Fwiw, I personally have no issue with the price.

That said, I know people who do, and I have pointed them to Libre Office.

Folks who complained, but who would probably like to know about a free version (I didn’t know there was one):

- retirees on very limited income

- unemployed people

- folks of limited means who only use any of these tools 1-5 times a year, but really need the specific MS tools those 1-5 times

I will point these people to the free web app option moving forward.

I realize that the free version won’t get a lot of marketing since it produces no revenue, but it may be prudent to have an evangelist hang out in online communities of old people, caregivers, and unemployed people and keep them informed. It would help the MS image.

I realize that such a person might exist, but the relatively large number of people who complain to me about Office pricing makes me think that the word is not being spread efficiently.

I hope that the free web apps option works for this group of folks. I don't work for the Office org, but I'll see if I can't figure out a way to channel your suggestion about online community engagement to someone who can do something about it. Thanks for the follow-up!