Microsoft Office 2013 review

Office 2013 pricing

Microsoft is keen for users to take a subscription-based license for Office 2013, which bundles Office 365 and Office 2013, though the firm still offers standalone pricing for its office suite.

There are four standalone Office 2013 SKUs with UK pricing ranging from 79.99 for the Office 365 Home Premium while Office 2013 Home and Student will cost 110.

Microsoft's subscription model for Office 2013 will allow businesses to offset the high cost of purchasing licenses for Office 2013 but in the long term the savings are not so clear. Even if companies purchase upgrades to the latest version of Office at release, which has been roughly clocked at every two years, a subscription based on the prices above works out about the same or slightly more expensive than buying a standalone license.

Licensing changes

Microsoft has re-jigged its Office 2013 licensing rules, and will now allow end users to install the software on a second machine in the event of a hardware failure. Redmond had previously stated that users who purchased the fully packaged version of Office 2013 would only be able to install the software on one device. This meant that if their machine stopped working, they would be forced to re-purchase the software if they wanted to use it on another machine.

The move prompted a backlash from users, with some suggesting the move was merely a ploy by the firm to get more people using its cloud-based Office 365 product.

Jevon Fark, part of the Microsoft Office Team, confirmed the change in policy in a blog post, noting that the firm had taken on board user feedback.

"This means customers can transfer Office 2013 to a different computer if their device fails or they get a new one," he wrote.